Christoph Magnussen Podcasts

For this masterclass on the Art of Sound in film and TV, we welcome on the show Gwen Yates Whittle, a 2-time Oscar-nominated sound professional whose credits include this summer's JURASSIC WORLD: DOMINION, Steven Spielberg's SAVING PRIVATE RYAN, TOP GUN: MAVERICK and the upcoming AVATAR: THE WAY OF THE WATERIn today’s conversation, the Skywalker So…

We had a blast welcoming on the show Billy Magnussen, a Tony-nominated actor whose credits include GAME NIGHT, BLACK MIRROR, Disney’s live-action ALADDIN, and Daniel Craig’s final chapter as Bond, 2021’s NO TIME TO DIE.In today’s emotionally-honest conversation, we discuss how Billy's early work on a soap opera impacted his process as an actor; wha…

Such a treat to welcome as a guest Les Bohem, an Emmy-winning screenwriter whose credits include THE ALAMO, A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET: THE DREAM CHILD, as well as some of the biggest disaster movies of the 1990’s - like DANTE'S PEAK and DAYLIGHT, starring Sylvester Stallone.Today’s conversation was recorded to mark the 25th anniversary of DAYLIGHT,…

It was awesome to welcome on the show Marc Shaiman, a 7-time Oscar-nominated composer and lyricist whose credits include (among others) the musical HAIRSPRAY, and films like WHEN HARRY MET SALLY, SISTER ACT and MARY POPPINS RETURNS.Today’s conversation is a masterclass in musical theater, as we discuss how a simple songwriting audition turned into …

What an honor to chat with Martin Campbell, a BAFTA-winning director whose credits include THE MASK OF ZORRO, GOLDENEYE and Daniel Craig’s first James Bond movie CASINO ROYALE... among many others!Today’s conversation marks the 15th anniversary of CASINO ROYALE, and in the episode we discuss how Martin started his career in the UK as a TV cameraman…

It was so much fun to welcome on the show Ve Neill, a 3-time Oscar winner and Makeup Effects Designer whose credits include EDWARD SCISSORHANDS, BEETLEJUICE, and the PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN among many other iconic films.In today’s conversation, Ve and I discuss her early love for the Universal Monsters, and how the appreciation for makeup history …

What a joy to welcome on the show Kevin Lima, an award-winning film director whose credits include Disney classics like A GOOFY MOVIE, TARZAN, and ENCHANTED (starring 6-time Oscar-nominee Amy Adams).In today’s conversation, Kevin and I discuss several topics: how his early days at Disney led him to make A GOOFY MOVIE as his directorial debut, a pro…

It was fantastic to welcome on the show David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick, a Hollywood screenwriter whose credits include AQUAMAN, RED RIDING HOOD and this month’s newest release, THE CONJURING: THE DEVIL MADE ME DO IT.In today’s conversation, David and I discuss a wide range of topics: from stumbling into the business as an assistant on THE SHAWSHAN…

We're so lucky to welcome on the show Chris Beck, an Emmy-winning music composer with over 150 credits in film and television, including THE HANGOVER, Disney’s FROZEN & FROZEN 2, the ANT-MAN franchise and Marvel’s first original series WANDAVISION.In today’s conversation, Chris and I discuss a wide range of topics: how he wound up a student at the …

What a pleasure to speak with Jenny Beavan, a two-time Oscar-winning costume designer whose credits include SHERLOCK HOLMES, MAD MAX: FURY ROAD, and Disney’s newest release CRUELLA (starring Oscar-winner Emma Stone).In today’s conversation, Jenny and I discuss a wide range of topics: an in-depth chat on the design of MAD MAX: FURY ROAD; the hypnoti…

It was awesome to welcome on the show Ted Griffin, a director, producer and screenwriter whose credits include OCEAN'S ELEVEN, MATCHSTICK MEN and Martin's Scorsese's THE WOLF OF WALL STREET.Ted has an encyclopedic knowledge of film history, and in today’s conversation we discuss a number of topics: from Ted selling his first script at age 27 and th…

What a treat to speak with Ilya Naishuller, a Russian filmmaker whose credits include HARDCORE HENRY and NOBODY (starring Bob Odenkirk as a kick-ass action star).In today’s conversation, Ilya and I discuss a wide range of topics: how directing a music video that went viral led him to receive a fully-financed offer to make his first feature film; ho…

It's a pleasure to sit down with Salvatore Totino, a Hollywood cinematographer whose credits include BIRD BOX, THE DA VINCI CODE, SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING and SPACE JAM: A NEW LEGACY.In today’s conversation, discuss a wide range of topics: from Sal’s career-long relationship with Oscar-winning director Ron Howard and the creative choices they made du…

What a treat to be welcomed in the offices of Stunts Unlimited to chat with Jack Gill, an award-winning stunt coordinator and second unit director whose credits include VENOM, CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR and several chapters in the FAST & FURIOUS franchise.In today’s conversation, discuss a wide range of topics: from Jack’s violent beginnings in the…

UPDATE: Erik won a 'Best Cinematography' Oscar for MANK since our conversation! Congratulations!It’s so exciting to sit down with Erik Messerschmidt, ASC - an Emmy-nominated cinematographer whose credits include the popular Netflix series MINDHUNTER, HBO’s RAISED BY WOLVES and David Fincher's latest Netflix film MANK!In today’s conversation, Erik a…

We're honored to welcome to the show Kazu Hiro, an Oscar-winning makeup effects designer from Japan whose credits include THE GRINCH, PLANET OF THE APES and THE DARKEST HOUR, which earned him and Gary Oldman Academy Awards for the stunning transformation into Winston Churchill.In the conversation, we discuss Kazu's personal relationship with makeup…

It was a joy to be welcomed in studio by Emmy-winning composer David Arnold, whose credits include CASINO ROYALE, INDEPENDENCE DAY and BBC’s SHERLOCK.In today’s conversation we discuss how avoiding a formal music training (in favor of scoring student films) prepared David for his launch into the film industry—and why David chooses not to listen to …

It’s so exciting to sit down with cinematographer Shelly Johnson, whose credits include CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER, THE WOLFMAN and BILL & TED FACE THE MUSIC.Shelly is an amazing storyteller, and in our conversation we discuss a number of topics: from Shelly getting chosen by Spielberg himself to shoot JURASSIC PARK III as his first studio …

To complete our conversation we catch up once more with Zoë Bell, a New Zealand actress, stunt double and stunt coordinator whose credits include THE HATEFUL EIGHT, THOR: RAGNAROK and ONCE UPON A TIME... IN HOLLYWOOD.While in Part 1 of our conversation we discuss Zoë's experience on the XENA TV series and memories from shooting KILL BILL in China, …

We're so lucky to sit down with Zoë Bell, a New Zealand actress, stunt double and stunt coordinator whose credits include THE HATEFUL EIGHT, THOR: RAGNAROK and ONCE UPON A TIME... IN HOLLYWOOD.In Part 1 of our conversation we discuss Zoë’s beginnings in New Zealand stunt doubling Lucy Lawless in the XENA TV series; how a special trip to Los Angeles…

It’s so exciting to sit down with Emmy-nominated British film composer Lorne Balfe, whose credits include THE DARK KNIGHT, BAD BOYS FOR LIFE and Marvel's BLACK WIDOW.In our conversation we discuss a number of topics from Lorne's career: an introduction to his score for HBO’s HIS DARK MATERIALS, Lorne’s technical approach to film scoring and creativ…

It’s an honor to sit down with legendary Dutch filmmaker Jan de Bont, who directed the most exciting action cinema of the '90s. He began his career as the cinematographer of DIE HARD, before directing pulse-racing movies like SPEED (with Keanu Reeves) and the disaster flick TWISTER.In our conversation we discuss the horrific accident Jan suffered o…

We're so happy to be joined on the show by Oscar-winning Production Design duo David Wasco & Sandy-Reynolds Wasco, whose credits include COLLATERAL, THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS and LA LA LAND.In Part 2 of our conversation, we briefly talk about the history of Los Angeles in movies and the Wasco's experience trying to re-invent the city 11 different times …

We're so happy to be joined on the show by Oscar-winning Production Design duo David Wasco & Sandy-Reynolds Wasco, whose credits include KILL BILL, THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS and LA LA LAND.In Part 1 of our conversation, we discuss how their creative process ranges when working with directors like Wes Anderson, Michael Mann and Quentin Tarantino; an in-d…

We're jazzed to sit down with award-winning filmmaker Alice Wu, whose credits include SAVING FACE and THE HALF OF IT, which won 'Best Narrative Feature' at the Tribeca Film Festival and is now streaming on Netflix!In our conversation we discuss with Alice the importance of writing emotionally authentic stories, the path that led to her first featur…

It was awesome to welcome to the show Oscar-nominated film director Morten Tyldum, whose credits include 2014's THE IMITATION GAME (for which he received his first Academy Award nomination), PASSENGERS - starring Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt - and this year's DEFENDING JACOB, now streaming on Apple TV+.In our conversation we discuss the impact…

What a pleasure to be joined on the show by Chad Stahelski, a former stuntman turned filmmaker who since 2013 has dedicated his directing career to the JOHN WICK franchise, starring Keanu Reeves.We're big fans of Chad's creative approach to turning stunts into a storytelling device, and in our conversation we provide an in-depth breakdown of the JO…

What a treat to sit down with animation director of photography Patrick Lin, who's curated the cinematography for your favorite Pixar films including INSIDE OUT, RATATOUILLE, UP and THE INCREDIBLES.In our conversation, we break down the creative pipeline of how movies are made at Pixar, how Patrick chose dynamic camera angles for THE INCREDIBLES, t…

We're so excited to welcome on the show Oscar-winner Chris Corbould, a Special Effects Supervisor whose credits include STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS, THE DARK KNIGHT and every James Bond film from THE SPY WHO LOVED ME (1977) to the upcoming NO TIME TO DIE (2021). Chris has discovered a way to merge imagination and engineering to create larger than …

We're honored to welcome to the show Oscar-winning Production Designer Barbara Ling, whose credits include BATMAN & ROBIN and Quentin Tarantino's ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD.In our conversation, we briefly discuss her creative experience working on two of the most controversial BATMAN films before deep-diving into a nearly hour-long spoiler conve…

We're so happy to welcome back to the show Assistant Director WILL CLARK, whose credits include KILL BILL, INGLORIOUS BASTERDS and ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD.Will has been Quentin Tarantino's Assistant Director for over 20 years, and in our conversation we deep-dive into a nearly hour-long spoiler conversation on the making of ONCE UPON A TIME I…

We’re grateful to be welcomed into the offices of Company 3 to chat with legendary colorist STEPHEN NAKAMURA, whose credits include FIGHT CLUB, THE MARTIAN and IT: CHAPTER TWO.In our conversation, we discuss the creative process of arriving at a film's final look, collaborating with visually-driven directors like David Fincher and Gore Verbinski, a…

What a treat to welcome on the show Benjamin Wallfisch, a prolific music composer whose credits include SHAZAM!, BLADE RUNNER 2049 and Christopher Nolan’s DUNKIRK.In our conversation we discuss Benjamin's early love for music; his creative experience working on the incredibly underrated A CURE FOR WELLNESS; the mentorship received from friend and f…

We're so lucky to sit down with Editor-turned-Director JOHN GLEN, a UK filmmaker famous for helming the 007 franchise throughout the 1980s, directing 5 of the Bond films including 'For Your Eyes Only' and 'License to Kill'!In our conversation we discuss the creative process of building each Bond screenplay from the ground up, what John learned work…

Just in time for the release of 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood', we sit down with 1st Assistant Director William Paul Clark, who has worked with Quentin Tarantino for the last 25 years, and whose credits include PULP FICTION, INGLORIOUS BASTERDS and ONCE UPON A TIME... IN HOLLYWOOD.In our conversation, we discuss Will's creative duties as an Assist…

What a treat to welcome on the show Academy Award-nominated Production Designer Guy Hendrix Dyas, whose credits include INCEPTION, INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL and the sci-fi PASSENGERS(starring Jennifer Lawrence) among others!In our conversation, we discuss Guy's early beginning working as an Illustrator in Hollywood, his exp…

We had a blast sitting down with award-winning cinematographer Julio Macat, whose credits include HOME ALONE, HOME ALONE 2: LOST IN NEW YORK and WEDDING CRASHERS among many others.In our conversation we talk about Julio's first experience as a feature cinematographer shooting HOME ALONE, shooting the stunts and creating comedy through framing; his …

What a pleasure to welcome on the show Academy Award-winning producer Irwin Winkler, who has been producing Martin Scorsese films for the last 40 years, and whose credits include GOODFELLAS, the ROCKY franchise and the gangster epic THE IRISHMAN.In our conversation, we discuss the challenges of making the original ROCKY as a low-budget film, Irwin'…

*UPDATE: Sam Hargrave's directorial debut EXTRACTION (previously titled 'DHAKA') is now Netflix's most watched film ever!So excited to sit down with Director and Stunt Coordinator Sam Hargrave, whose credits include CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR, EXTRACTION, and AVENGERS: ENDGAME!In our conversation, we discuss Sam's beginnings as a stuntman in Hollyw…

What an honor to share this conversation with legendary sound design legend Gary Rydstrom, who has been collaborating to create the soundscape of Steven Spielberg films for over 25 years and whose credits include JURASSIC PARK, TOY STORY and STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS among many others.In our conversation, we discuss Gary's creative relationship …

UPDATE: John won the Academy Award for Best Editing shortly after this conversation! Congratulations!It was a treat to share this conversation with Oscar-winning editor and composer John Ottman, whose credits include films like THE USUAL SUSPECTS, SUPERMAN RETURNS and BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY, for which John received his first Oscar for Best Editing.In ou…

What an honor to sit down and chat with award-winning editor Eddie Hamilton, whose credits include KINGSMAN, every MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE film (from 2015's 'Rogue Nation' to 2023's eight episode), and the upcoming TOP GUN: MAVERICK, to be released November 2021.In our conversation we talk about Eddie's passion and understanding for the art of editing,…

It was amazing to sit down and chat with Writer/Director/Producer James Vanderbilt, whose credits include Sony's THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, WHITE HOUSE DOWN and David Fincher's masterpiece ZODIAC.In our conversation we talk about James' early success selling his first script just days away from graduating at USC, his relationship with pitching films t…

We are honored to get on the phone and chat with legendary Disney artist Floyd Norman, whose credits as an animator and story artist include TOY STORY 2 and original Disney classics like 101 DALMATIANS and THE JUNGLE BOOK.In our conversation, we discuss a wide range of topics - from Floyd's early beginnings at the Walt Disney studio in 1956, his wo…

What a treat it was to sit down with Academy-award nominated Sound Designer/Mixer Julian Slater, who has created the soundscape for all of director Edgar Wright’s movies - including SHAUN OF THE DEAD, BABY DRIVER and the upcoming LAST NIGHT IN SOHO.In our conversation, Julian lays out the elements of what makes for great Sound Design, what was it l…

We were so lucky to sit down with award-winning composer Joe Kraemer, whose credits include JACK REACHER, COMRADE DETECTIVE and MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - ROGUE NATION.In our conversation, we cover a wide range of topics - from Joe's early experience scoring his first feature film at age 15, the creative influence that the work of John Williams had on h…

With the highly-anticipated release of MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - FALLOUT, here's Part 2 of our conversation with the film's Stunt Coordinator and 2nd Unit Director, Wade Eastwood.In our conversation, we discuss earlier projects in his career (like doubling for James Bond himself in THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH), his view on the stunt industry today, as well…

A conversation years in the making, we sit down to chat with the sweet and talented Elísabet Ronaldsdóttir whose credits include JOHN WICK, DEADPOOL 2 and Marvel's newest SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS.In our conversation, we cover a wide range of projects - including assembling long action takes for JOHN WICK and ATOMIC BLONDE, Elísabet…

It was a treat to sit down with Oscar-nominated set decorator Alessandra Querzola, whose credits include GANGS OF NEW YORK, SKYFALL and BLADE RUNNER 2049.In our conversation, we cover a wide range of topics - among them: how her early times as a student in Venice shaped her artistic sensibility, her introduction into the Bond franchise, and the cha…

It was a treat to sit down with Academy-award winning sound mixer Kevin O'Connell, whose incredible record story brought him his first Oscar in 2017 after 20 nominations.In our conversation, Kevin shares wonderful anecdotes from productions and discusses his creative process mixing films like TOP GUN, PEARL HARBOUR and SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING among …