The iconic pairing of Cheech & Chong has been a massive hit with audiences for more than 50 years, and the legendary stoners have gotten back together for a highly entertaining, tell-all documentary. From director/producer David Bushell comes a surprising and hilarious trip down memory lane that, like the two subjects, is anything but conventional. We got to speak with Bushell about his process. As this was very much a passion project and a dream opportunity, this director’s primary focus was, and I quote, “not to fuck this up.” Further, Bushell tells us that this documentary – replete with fourth wall breaking exposition, throwback animation, thirty hours of interviews, archival…
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Interview…Brandi Burkhardt on Singing, Dreaming and Summertime Fun
We had a lot of fun on the show today with Brandi Burkhardt. This seasoned song siren has done it all – from stage to screen to voice overs and more. She’s had a memorable role as ‘Crickett Watts’ on Hart of Dixie and in films like Confessions of a Shopaholic and A24’s Friendship (which is in theaters now). Burkhardt has also done many guest spots on hit television shows such as Mad Men, How I Met Your Mother, Boston Legal, Numb3rs, Brothers & Sisters, The Defenders, NCIS and others. Performing is in her blood, and when she’s not acting, she’s turning heads with her sensational voice that is suited…
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Interview…Molly Rogers on Violin, Vocals and Melodic Brilliance
They say that “practice makes perfect.” Yet, in any profession, practice really just makes you better. The pursuit of excellence and precision is constant for many musicians. They may second guess themselves along the way, but as an audience member, seeing what they do is almost like watching magic. Today we feature one such individual who is so accomplished and proficient, we’re not even sure she’s human. Violinist and vocalist Molly Rogers has incomparable skills, an otherworldly sound, and she works hard at her craft. Like really hard. After all, you don’t get this good overnight. But that last one is important because as a contractor, you never know if…
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Interview…Composer Carlos Rafael Rivera on Piano, Guitar, Teaching and the Sounds of ‘Dept. Q’
Over the years, we’ve become increasingly fond of TV shows for a few reasons. One of which is pretty obvious: we get more time with characters we love. Their arc can be spaced out as the story tops and tails. But another more satisfying reason is that the music can get the same amount of space. Many times, it can find room to evolve and change with the narrative. So let’s look at one such property where the music played an incredibly important role in the production. The Queen’s Gambit was a captivating series whereby the lush musical score captured our imagination, got the heart racing and made chess pretty…
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Interview…Nina Conti and Shenoah Allen on the Monkey Business of ‘Sunlight’
After delighting audiences on stage and on screen for more than twenty years, acclaimed British actress, comedian, and ventriloquist Nina Conti gives the world her feature film debut. Presented by Christopher Guest, Sunlight re-imagines “Monkey” – Conti’s most iconic character – as the human-sized alter ego of a woman on the run from a toxic relationship. Conti stars alongside her longtime creative collaborator Shenoah Allen, who also co-wrote the screenplay. Allen, a Barry Award-winning comedian and one half of the cult comedy duo Pajama Men, plays Roy, a suicidal radio host who becomes Jane’s unlikely companion. Conti, who began her career with the Royal Shakespeare Company before becoming an inventive comedy…
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Interview…Scary Good Fun Talking with Brett Simmons
When film fans get to talking about what we like, time can quickly get away from us. As such, we had a fun-filled chat catching up with our good buddy, filmmaker Brett Simmons. And isn’t that a cool name? If he wasn’t making films, he could very well be a pro wrestler or something else in show business. Anyway, we spent about an hour talking about new projects on his plate and things he’s trying to get off the ground. Right now, he’s writing another fun slasher movie – his cult hit You Might Be the Killer is evidence he knows what he’s doing. Brett also has an awesome…
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Interview…Ernesto Dìaz Espinoza On Directing Fights and Delights in ‘Diablo’
Genre filmmakers speak to us on a level like no other storytellers. They, most times with a shoe-string budget, show that art through adversity is a cinematic technique that will always gain fans. One such filmmaker is Chilean-born Ernesto Dìaz Espinoza. We first came to know the work of Espinoza while covering Fantastic Fest. It was there in Austin where we were treated to the passion and the precision he brought to Bring Me the Head of Machine Gun Woman (yes, that is a real title). We were hooked and, since then, have followed his career with great interest. This year, he gives us another vigilante-esqe story led by regular…
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Interview…Griff and Nathan Furst on ‘A Breed Apart’
From Lionsgate and The Furst Brothers comes a daytime horror film in the tradition of Cujo, Midsommar, Sharknado and Cheech and Chong’s Things Are Tough All Over. Their latest, A Breed Apart, is the spirit animal sequel to 2006’s The Breed. The team of Griff and Nathan Furst are writers/directors from a famous filmmaking household – one I can only assume their motto is “Family Furst“? Their father famously played ‘Flounder’ in Animal House, and was in The Dream Team with Michael Keaton (among many other projects in his decades long career), so cinema is certainly in their blood. We got to sit with them to talk about the absurd…
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Interview…Trenton Judson and Lizbeth Cazares on ‘Bad Bitch’
Speed and efficiency can be powerful tools when you’re trying to create something. Knowing your resources, staying in your lane, and finishing when promised all sound easy to do but take a lot of work to execute. Take for example a two-plus hour feature length film being shot in just seven days. Seven. Such is the case for Trenton McKay Judson‘s 2025 film. Shot in Mineola, TX, it is structured like a Western and Judson (who wrote, directs, and stars in the film) plays the town bully. The rub is that he and his goons have pissed off the wrong townie. But that should not be a surprise as the…
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Interview…Anthony J Agnello on Video Games, Soundtracks, Vinyl and Writing For the Love of It
The best part of running this site, contrary to what you may think, isn’t getting bucket list interviews. Nor is it getting to see movies way before they are released. Those are perks -which we do love – but what we strive for beyond that is value. To that point, what we value most is connecting with people about the things we love and having great conversations. Our most recent guest is a true renaissance man in that he’s been writing on the web since the renaissance. We say that in jest, but Anthony J. Agnello is an internet veteran who has made a career hammering out excellent material on…
