It should be news to no one that Quentin Tarantino, Kevin Smith, Edgar Wright and Brett Simmons are big names in film. Granted you might not know the latter (yet!) but these filmmakers all share the same level of encyclopedic knowledge about the industry and important films which they use to take viewers on rides they’ve never had before.
They make films the way they want and, more importantly, the way we fans want to see them. A sometimes hodgepodge of ideas and inspiration from what spoke to them through the years can be an instant hit and keep us talking long after the credits have rolled. Anyway, Simmons belongs in the pantheon with the others above.
Now speaking of “years,” we first met Brett Simmons at Fantastic Fest back in 2018. My God, has it been that long? Well, it has but good interviews stick with you and that was one for the books!
The meta horror/comedy You Might Be the Killer was a heartfelt send-up of horror tropes that genre fans have come to love. It was crafted by Brett, Thomas Vitale, Griff Furst and at the Fest, we talked about film music, horror inspirations, John Carpenter, Jaws sneakers and so much more…oh, yeah, and we loved the film which made them happy.
A big part of the success of You Might Be the Killer is the double dose of Andrew Morgan Smith‘s score, the equally meta titular song. It all just works…the only time you’re not having fun is when the movie’s over.
Brett has been a writer and director of TV and films and has so many great behind the scenes experiences. He got to make his first film, Husk, which was adapted from his short film that was shown at Sundance. At 27, he had the world ahead of him, but the reality of the industry set in and he was fraught with second guessing from himself and everyone over his shoulder.
But, to paraphrase the philosopher Zeddemore, Brett has the tools, he has the talent…and everything worked out in the end. And it cemented him as a legitimate filmaker, one with people rallying behind him which is hugely inspiring.
We try to keep our podcast high energy, but thanks to Brett, we outdid ourselves. We dive deep into our love of The Thing, The Frighteners, The Rocketeer, Back to the Future …pretty much anything with a The in front of it or in it. Beyond that, Brett offered up fantastic interactions with actors like Stephen Lang and Jeffrey Combs – apparently, contrary to the popular phrase, it is quite great to meet your heroes.
And rounding out the show we also got to the important questions like: Would Adam Driver make a good Indiana Jones? Would Big Trouble In Little China work as a TV show? And Is Galaxy Quest the best Star Trek movie to date?
So hop aboard the film fan freight train as we go off the rails on many topics on conversation mountain. Hope you enjoy the ride!
