If you had it all to do over again, would you have married me? Hitch takes on married life in its screwball form! These comedies were very popular at the time (see: Grant and Hepburn in Bringing Up Baby), so it's not surprising that our British Director, fresh in Hollywood, would take on such a project. Given his hit and (mostly) miss track record …

How do you know when you've gone in the wrong direction? What are the signs? And when you realize that you have, what do you do? Josh and Ira share their own personal insights on this question, covering the spectrum of a chronic over-planner to leaping-before-looking impulsiveness. Also, Josh recommends South Park currently available on Prime, and …

There's a crime hatching on that bedeviled continent... World War II is in full swing when this movie releases. Or, at least it is in Europe. London is being bombed, and Hitchcock can't help but feel, well, helpless. And guilty for not being there. This film, more than any he's made to this point, truly reflects the time in which it was made: an Am…

What makes a good movie? What are the things that stand out? We all have our own personal versions of the answer to this question. Josh and Ira each answer for themselves without getting into the weeds as much as possible. Also, Josh recommends Somebody Feed Phil on Netflix, and Ira recommends Tarkovsky's Stalker on Max.…

Do you think the dead come back and watch the living? Mr. Hitchcock is in Hollywood! Alfred makes his first film in the States, and holy crap does he have some fun with his budget. Everything tinsel town had to offer in 1940 is on display: star power, massive sets, camera tricks, sweeping score, and even FIRE. It's a moody, gothic horror story to b…

Hitchcock is moving to Hollywood! As the master of suspense makes his way west, we're taking a pause here to look back on his period in Britain. 13 years. 24 films (one of which has been lost since). An era that saw him struggle to fit in, thrive as technology developed and ambition increased, and eventually find his "thing." What are the ups and d…

CHAAADWIIIICK??!! Hitch teams up with dynamo actor Charles Laughton for a tale of piracy, lies, and corruption. The stage actor is riveting, even if the film has its flaws, and apparently he and Alfred had a hard time working together. There's a lot to like with Jamaica Inn! More than we expected. And certainly lots to criticize. We discuss it all.…

A small lie. A sentence I didn't actually write, or a shot I didn't really shoot that I pass off as my own. Or I didn't actually do something the way I said I did. How big of a deal are these kinds of lies or omissions? Do they really matter? How truthful do we need to be with those who consume our work? Where is the line? We discuss! Also, Josh re…

Nuns don't wear high heels... A woman has disappeared into thin air, on a train no less. But when Iris Henderson reports it, nobody believes her. In fact, nobody on the train even knows who she's talking about. So, what gives? Is Iris crazy? Or is everyone else? This dilemma caps off a pretty solid run of Hitchcock's later British period that's see…

What's the difference between good...and great? Think about how each of those words makes you feel. The contrast is pretty dramatic, isn't it? Like, MILES different, not inches. So, if the difference between good and great is massive, how do we make the leap between the two? Is it possible? We discuss! Also, Josh recommends Oppenheimer, currently i…

Oh Robert, if only things would turn out all right... A woman's body washes ashore. A young man is seen fleeing from the sight of it. But...did he do it? That's the question the local constable's daughter must answer, even as she finds herself falling for him. Sounds like vintage, bang-on Hitchcock doesn't it??? So, how effective is this one? How m…

Ernest Hemingway famously once said: "The most essential gift for a good writer is a built-in, shockproof, shit detector." We all must be able to distinguish between good storytelling and bad storytelling. So...how strong is yours? (hint: it's probably super strong) And once you've got one that's working, how do you actually USE it to make your wor…

What goes on after hours in that cinema of yours...? Alfred takes on Joseph Conrad's popular novel The Secret Agent, about a man who's tasked with planting a bomb in London to create fear and terror. In this adaptation, he owns a movie theater, a detective from Scotland Yard is onto him and falling for his wife, and the motivations behind the consp…

Frodo had Sam. Luke had Artoo. Harry had Ron and Hermione. Side characters are just as important to a well-told story as the main characters are. So, how do you make a great one? And what's the trap, sometimes, of a side character who's more interesting, more active than even your hero? We discuss! Also, Josh recommends Love On The Spectrum on Netf…

General Pompellio Montezuma De La Vilia De Conde De La Rue! Peter Lorre is back, this time as a sidekick assassin who goes by the name "The Hairless Mexican," and "The General," of which he is neither. Hitch has been on a roll with his newfound focus on suspenseful fare. How does this one stack up against the previous two breakthroughs? We watch an…

If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go? What would top your list? Money is no object, neither is time. Dream as big as you want. Also, Josh recommends Deep Space Nine on Pluto TV and Paramount+, and Ira recommends both versions of Suspiria; the new film is on Prime, and the original is on Tubi.…

Beautiful, mysterious woman pursued by gunmen. Sounds like a spy story... Widely considered to be the first modern spy movie ever made, Hitchcock is leaning into his strengths yet again (huzzah!): murder, conspiracy, and a man on the run. This time, its Robert Donat who's world is turned upside down in a single night when a mysterious woman asks fo…

Framing devices can be a powerful storytelling tool...but what ARE they? What is an "epistolary," or a "flashback" or an "unreliable narrator"? And whyyyy would we use them? What effect can they have on a story? We talk about it! Also, Josh recommends the animated series Justice League which is currently on Netflix and Max, and Ira recommends Andor…

Goodbye for the last time. What could be more touching than that? Peter Lorre. That's the first thing to know about this movie: Peter. Lorre. Hitch teams up with his first truly enduring star, someone we still know to this day, and they're off on an adventure of spies, murders, conspiracies, and kidnappings. Off the heels of what even he calls his …

We all know the power of a personal story when we encounter one. Nothing cuts like the truth. But, turning that lens to our own work...just how personal should our own work be? Is it possible to be too personal? Sure seems like it is. By the same token, it seems even easier to not be nearly personal enough, which leaves our audience cold and confus…

And now the polka, you worms. Hitchcock makes a musical! ...kinda. It's an operetta, which were very much in fashion at the time; a little music, a little dancing, and a love story at the center. This one centers around a highly-fictionalized version of how "The Blue Danube" was written in 19th-century Vienna. So, can Hitchcock do song and dance? W…

Who are the heroes that got under your skin, that live with you well past watching or reading the story, the heroes that changed you? Why? Why did they stick with you? And in thinking about/asking those questions, how can we apply the answers to our own storytelling? This week, we dive in on how to create a great protagonist. Also, Josh recommends …

Ya don't have to do nothin' in this 'ere house - ya stand still and things happen! Cutting to the chase here: this miiight be Hitchcock's first truly terrible film. It's a bit baffling how clumsy it is given how many films he's made before this, several of them decent, and perhaps one or two of them even good. But this one...it's so convoluted, so …

Do you have a time of day (or night) where you find that you're the most creative? What about times that are consistently free? Or have the least number of distractions? Finding a reliable pocket of your day in which you can do your creative work can be a superpower. On this episode, Josh and Ira discuss what's worked and not worked for them. Also,…

I want some of the good things of life... Hitch definitely tries something a little different with this one: it's a comedy drama this time--not nearly the silly farces he's tried to this point on the comedy side, and certainly nothing as dark as murder on the drama side. It's a rags to riches to rags tale with the beating heart of a love story. So,…

There's much ado these days about making your villain's point of view a sympathetic one. After all, everyone is the hero of their own narrative. But...what about all those villains who are just, you know, assh*les? DO you have to make your villain sympathetic??? We discuss! Also, Josh recommends Seinfeld on Netflix, and Ira recommends Cheers on Plu…

What's gentility worth if it can't stand fire? This film is about the revolution in "Industrial Revolution." An old school landowning family finds their idyllic country world being invaded by a young-money industrialist. A feud develops. And grows. And grows until it sucks everyone down into the muck. It's very...high-minded, prestige-type fare for…

Not everyone is aware that Hitchcock actually started making movies all the way back in Britain’s 1920s silent era. Now that we’ve watched all of those films (that are available, anyway), we take a look back and think about what we’ve learned. What takeaways can we glean, not just about Hitchcock, but about the film industry in general, and–dare we…

Das ist kein Theaterstück, das ist das Leben. The 1930s were a wild era in film. The industry was exploding; there was a ton of money to be made, especially in foreign markets...if you could figure out a way to get your movie into the local language...like German! Because sound couldn't be added after the fact yet, this meant literally making your …

Happy New Year! Lots of fun stuff to come on the podcast this year, and for Josh and Ira personally. We talk about what the year-to-come has in store. What’s on the horizon for you?

As we turn the page on 2023, we take a look back on the last FIVE YEARS that we've done this exercise, and we consider how far we've come, and how that affects what we think of this year. It was a banner year in some ways, and a difficult one in others. We discuss what this year means for us, and we invite you to consider how 2023 has been for you.…

God bless us, everyone! Jim Henson's Muppets take on the Dickens classic holiday tale of the humbug-miser who discovers that generosity is not only the way to live Christmas, but to live your entire life. Michael Caine plays Scrooge, Kermie plays Bob Cratchit, and Gonzo is our narrator...shenanigans, hilarity, and life lessons ensue. It was the fir…

I'm dreaming of a white christmas... Kinda wild we haven't watched this classic yet. Not all old musical, romantic comedies translate to the modern era. So much has changed in how we feel about love, what is good comedy, and the holidays. AND YET...there is something absolutely magical about the way old movies are able to transport us somewhere war…

Does what you watch, read, or listen to influence what you're creating? YES! So, is that a good thing? A bad thing? Perhaps both? What does that depend on? And how exactly does it influence our work in those ways? If that influence is tehre, SHOULD we be watching, reading, and/or listening to stuff while we're working? We discuss all the above for …

Any answer to that, sir John??? See, now this seems like something Hitchcock: a woman is found beside a dead body with the knife that killed them in her hand. But...did she do it? One juror doesn't think so, even after agreeing to convict her. So, he launches his own investigation. Can he discover the truth in time? THIS is the Hitchcock premise we…

Now that we're decently far into our second filmmaker deep dive, let's take a moment to think about what we've seen thus far. What are the differences and similarities between the two of them. Are there any patterns we can see between David Lynch and Alfred Hitchcock? Where to do they align, and where do they depart? And what can we as writers, fil…

It's miraculous. Whenever he senses a job in front of him, his legs begin to fail him. Alfred takes on the beloved (at the time) play about the Irish Civil War and modern times with this one. There's fast talking, heavy drinking, rags and riches, frivolity and tragedy, slaptstick and drama. It's a lot. Is it too much? And just what in the feck are …

As soon as we learned there was ANOTHER version of Hitchcock's Blackmail--the silent version, which was actually more popular at the time than the "talkie" version was--we knew we had to set aside the time to watch it. It's not exactly a different movie. Most of the cast is the same. Most of the shots are the same. But it IS different. Substantiall…

Morning, Alice. 'Eard about the murder? The talkies have arrived! Alfred Hitchcock has the distinction of making Britain's very first. So, how does Hitch do with a full-on script, and TALKING actors? The subject certainly seems like Alfred's cup of tea. So...how does it turn out? We watch and find out. A particularly fascinating watch and discussio…

Get away from her you bitch! Cameron drags us back, kicking and screaming, to the world of the Aliens. And yes, this time, there is more than one. There's a whole outpost full of them. But we have marines! Guns! Explosives! We'll be fine...right? It has the reputation of being one of those rare sequels that might actually be better than the origina…

Before you die, you see...the ring Spooky season 2023 bringing the noise. US gets hit with its own version of The Ring. So, how similar is it to the Japanese version? What did they change? The movie was a sensation at the time--especially with that four-quadrant-friendly PG-13 rating...so how does it hold up 20 years later? We watch and find out!…

In space, no one can hear you scream. This movie. THIS. MOVIE. It's one of those unicorns--it could have been so bad, so cheesy, so forgettable. And yet, through that incredible collision of luck and execution, we got a masterpiece. HR Giger's creature design is still the scariest monster ever created, almost 50 years later. Dan O'Bannon's script i…

You will die in one week... The original. This was one of--if not THE--films that kickstarted a renaissance in Japanese (and Korean, and Hong Kong, and more) horror. Old world ghosts and curses meet new world anxieties when our protagonist Reiko finds herself sucked into the mystery of how four teenagers died on the same day. Can she solve it in ti…

The book is written. The film is shot. Now, it's time to edit, it's time to rewrite, it's time to turn it into the finished product that you send out to your audience. So, how do you do that? And what about that advice we've all heard: "kill your darlings." What does that mean? We tackle the question "what's next?" this week on the Cutting Room Flo…

What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul? It's Hitchcock's LAST silent film (at least that was released only as silent). He turns to the sticks. Small fishing town. Love triangle. Secrets and lies. Will it all work out in the end? And how is old Hitch progressing in terms of his abilities as a filmmaker, and as a …

So, you've finished the big project. Whew! What a monster effort that was. Now...what next? How do you handle the inevitable let-down to come? You're exhausted. Zonked. Burned out. Suddenly, the purpose for your days, weeks, or months, has disappeared. What's the best way to navigate the post-finish vacuum? We discuss what's worked and not worked f…

I must have come in the wrong door - but it's all the same to me if you can give me a job. Hitch takes a second whack at comedy. This time, a young heiress apparently needs to be taught a lesson in squalor and humility. Is is successful? We watch and talk about it.

What do you want to eat when you're feeling blue? Or anxious? Or even feeling like you're on top of the world? Our collective relationship with food is complicated, certainly, but sometimes there are foods that put us exactly where we need to be. Josh and Ira discuss what those are for them. Also, Josh recommends Justice League: The Animated Series…

Shoot! There's nothing left to kill. We're tackling divorce this time on the Hitchcock show. The young director takes on a play by Noel Coward with mixed results. A woman tries to leave her past behind, and we all know how that goes. There's love, secrets and high drama. Even some glimpses of great performances playing real characters. We discuss!…

How do you write something deeply personal without coming off like an asshole? How do you share your fears, insecurities, anger, and desperation without taking a shit on your life and everyone else in it? It happens a lot. When it's not done well, a personal story can be really self-serving, icky and frustrating to watch/read/listen to/etc. So...ho…