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When Jonathan Glazer began developing the project that became The Zone of Interest — nominated for five Oscars, including best picture and best international feature — he and producer James Wilson began to ask a series of questions that would require them to find the rationale behind making another film that depicts the events of the Holocaust.

The subject has been well-worn cinematic territory before and after Schindler’s List took best picture three decades ago — becoming the first film about the subject to win the Academy’s top prize. Both Glazer and Wilson knew that they had to do something completely different than what came before them, and Wilson tells THR the pair were less interested in depicting the extermination of European Jews than they were focused on grappling with the culture that contributed to those atrocities.

Using Martin Amis’ 2014 novel as their template — the book tells three interwoven stories surrounding the fictional commandant of Auschwitz,...

Legendary screenwriter and director Shane Black discusses some of his favorite movies with hosts Josh Olson and Joe Dante.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

The Last Boy Scout (1991)

Sweet Smell of Success (1957) – John Landis’s trailer commentary

High and Low (1963)

Hard Times (1975) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary

The Good, The Bad And The Ugly (1966) – Ernest Dickerson’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review, Glenn Erickson’s 4K Blu-ray review

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review

The Beguiled (1971) – John Landis’s trailer commentary

Bring Me The Head Of Alfredo Garcia (1974) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Kino Lorber Blu-ray review, Glenn Erickson’s Twilight Time Blu-ray review

Convoy (1978) – Dennis Cozzalio’s review

8 Heads In A Duffel Bag (1997)

Diner (1982)

The Bodyguard (1992)

12 Angry Men (1957)

Godzilla vs. Kong (2021)

Fist of Fury a.k.a. The Chinese Connection (1972) – Larry Karaszewski’s trailer commentary...

Roger Corman’s ‘sick sick sick!’ horror comedy is still a delight, and Olive’s Signature edition accompanies it with some excellent Elijah Drenner extras, including a video interview with the beloved star Dick Miller. Walter Paisley is the patron saint of underachieving artists everywhere, and this special edition has director Corman and writer Charles B. Griffith on tap to sing his praises. It is by will alone that I set my mind in motion: “Be a nose!”

A Bucket of Blood

Signature Collection Blu-ray

Olive Films

1959 / B&w / 1:85 widescreen / 66 min. / Street Date September 24, 2019 / available through the Olive Filmswebsite / 39.95 Starring: Dick Miller, Barboura Morris, Antony Carbone, Julian Burton, Ed Nelson, John Brinkley, John Herman Shaner, Judy Bamber, Myrtle Damerel, Bert Convy, Jhean Burton, Bruno Ve Soto.

Cinematography: Jacques R. Marquette

Film Editor: Anthony Carras

Art Direction: Daniel Haller

Original Music: Fred Katz

Written by Charles B. Griffith

Produced and...

Roger and Gene Corman’s first ‘The Filmgroup’ production is a slick little programmer that belies its drive-in monster movie heritage: the trim tale is no minimalist effort, but a well-developed drama sourced in the twin drives to succeed and stay young. This deluxe edition contains both the Theatrical and TV versions, plus a Tom Weaver commentary that tells the incredible true-crime tale of Corman’s impressive leading lady Susan Cabot.

The Wasp Woman

Blu-ray

Scream Factory

1959 / B&W / 1:85 widescreen / 63 min. / Street Date October 30, 2019 / 27.99

Starring: Susan Cabot, Anthony Eisley, Barboura Morris, William Roerick, Michael Mark, Lynn Cartwright, Frank Gerstle, Bruno VeSota, Roy Gordon, Carolyn Hughes, Frank Wolff, Philip Barry, Gene Corman, Roger Corman, Lani Mars (Kinta Zertuche).

Cinematography: Harry Neumann

Film Editor: Carlo Lodato

Art Direction: Daniel Haller

Original Music: Fred Katz

Written by Leo Gordon, Kinta Zertuche

Produced and Directed by Roger Corman

Roger Corman is much more than an exploitation specialist.

Roger Corman’s crew of associates must have had some pretty wild times in the 1950’s, scraping around Hollywood and Venice Beach trying to bust into the film business. Perhaps these semi-bohemians stimulated writer Charles Griffith’s cynical humor gland, for the first modern black comedy feature in a horror vein became an amazing low budget ‘sick’ accomplishment for the uniquely creative Corman.

A Bucket of Blood

DVD

Olive Films

1959 / B&W / 1:66 widescreen / 66 min. / Street Date May 29, 2018 / available through Olive Films / 14.94

Starring: Dick Miller, Barboura Morris, Antony Carbone, Julian Burton, Ed Nelson, John Brinkley, John Herman Shaner, Judy Bamber, Myrtle Damerel, Bert Convy, Jhean Burton, Bruno Ve Soto.

Cinematography: Jacques R. Marquette

Film Editor: Anthony Carras

Art Direction: Daniel Haller

Original Music: Fred Katz

Written by Charles B. Griffith

Produced and Directed by Roger Corman

When queried about his prolific output of science fiction pictures for drive-ins (1954-1960), producer-director...

NBA superstar Kevin Durant is receiving another piece of hardware to add to his awards collection - but this time it's for the athlete's selfless good deed. The Oklahoma City Thunder forward cleared a path through rush hour traffic for an ambulance heading off to an emergency call on Friday. "It was no surprise to us," Oklahoma Emergency Medical Services Authority officer Lara O'Leary tells People. "It was a small gesture, but it sure had a big impact on the medics in the ambulance." Durant, 27, put on the flashers of his silver sports car, pulled up alongside the side of...

NBA superstar Kevin Durant is receiving another piece of hardware to add to his awards collection - but this time it's for the athlete's selfless good deed. The Oklahoma City Thunder forward cleared a path through rush hour traffic for an ambulance heading off to an emergency call on Friday. "It was no surprise to us," Oklahoma Emergency Medical Services Authority officer Lara O'Leary tells People. "It was a small gesture, but it sure had a big impact on the medics in the ambulance." Durant, 27, put on the flashers of his silver sports car, pulled up alongside the side of...

Article by Jim Batts, Dana Jung, and Tom Stockman

Happy 9oth Birthday to a legend! Roger Corman has directed more than 50 low-budget drive-in classics, produced and/or distributed 450 more, and helped the careers of hundreds of young people breaking into the industry. A partial list: Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, Irvin Kershner, Monte Hellman, Peter Bogdanovich, Gail Ann Hurd, James Cameron, Jonathan Kaplan, Joe Dante, Robert Towne. Considering Corman’s own films, Jonathan Demme has stated. “Roger is arguably the greatest independent filmmaker the American film industry has seen and probably ever will see.” And he’s still going strong, currently producing the upcoming actioner Death Race 2050. We Are Movie Geeks has taken a look at Corman’s career and here are what we think are the ten best films that he has directed:

Honorable Mention. The Premature Burial

The Premature Burial (1962) is the ‘odd man out’ among the...

The Bahamas International Film Festival (Biff) has announced that Academy Award® winner and renowned global icon Sir Sidney Poitier has agreed to the naming of the prestigious Career Achievement Award at the Bahamas International Film Festival the “Sir Sidney Poitier Tribute Award.” Biff founder and executive director Leslie Vanderpool made the announcement.

“There is no person on Earth who is better suited to have the Career Achievement Award be named after him,” Vanderpool said. “Poitier is one of the finest actors for generations and is, simply put, an icon and a legend.” The American Film Institute named him among the Greatest Male Stars of All Time.

Poitier stretched his reach within the industry on film and on stage acting in productions such as "A Raisin in the Sun" (1959) and "Lysistrata." For his film role in "The Defiant Ones," Poitier was the first male actor of African descent to be nominated for a competitive Academy Award in 1958. A few years later in 1964, Poitier was the first black person to win an Academy Award for Best Actor in a riveting and memorable performance as Homer Smith in Ralph Nelson’s "Lilies of The Field."

Thirty-eight years after receiving the Best Actor award, Poitier received an honorary tribute from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in recognition of his remarkable accomplishments as an artist and as a human being. In 2009, Poitier was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United States of America’s highest civilian honor, by President Barack Obama.

A global legend, knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1968 and highly respected author, director and “actor’s actor,” with more than fifty films and television shows to his credit, Poitier has starred in some of Hollywood’s most important and biggest films and earned critics’ praise for several commanding performances. Poitier’s reputation solidified with leading roles in mainstream films: "No Way Out" (1950), "Blackboard Jungle" (1955), "The Bedford Incident" and "A Patch Of Blue" (1965). The most successful films that catapulted Poitier’s career in 1967 where, "To Sir with Love," "Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner" and "In the Heat of the Night."

Directing was not far away from his achievements having a directorial debut with the western "Buck and the Preacher" soon followed by "Uptown Saturday Night," "Let’s Do It Again," "A Piece Of The Action," "Stir Crazy," "Hanky Panky," "Fast Forward’ and ‘Ghost Dad."

From 1995 to 2003, Poitier served as a member of the board of directors of The Walt Disney Company. Proud to represent The Bahamas, Sir Sidney was the Bahamian Ambassador to Japan, a position held from 2002 to 2007, while being the Ambassador of The Bahamas to Unesco.

What makes this addition so momentous is that he is a Bahamian who believes in building future generations of filmmakers while honoring the actors and actresses who broke ground, furthermore, upholding their careers with poise. Sir Sidney possesses a true love and appreciation for the people of The Bahamas.

One of the Bahamas International Film Festival’s missions is to ensure youth in The Bahamas have the opportunity to remember Sir Sidney while celebrating the achievements of others within the film industry.

“Leslie Vanderpool’s efforts have been extraordinary in making it possible for The Bahamas to have not only a film festival, but to also attract some of the great film artists and filmmakers from around the world. People like Johnny Depp, Nicolas Cage, Laurence Fishburne, Danny Glover, Alan Arkin, Sir Sean Connery, Sophie Okonedo, Lee Daniels, Lenny Kravitz and my own daughter Sydney Tamiia Poitier, who have found, to their great surprise, that the Bahamas is moving swiftly toward a bona fide motion picture community--all of which have been structured by the imaginative young Bahamians who have committed themselves to The Bahamas having a film community of its own,” Poitier said.

Adding to his many achievements, Poitier has published four best sellers "This Life," "The Measure of A Man," "Life Beyond Measure: Letters to my Great-Grand Daughter" and "Montaro Caine." Additionally, he has many talents having recorded an album with the composer Fred Katz called ‘Poitier Meets Plato’ reciting passages from Plato’s writings.

Family is most important for Sir Sidney, He and his wife Joanna Shimkus, a Canadian-born former actress of Lithuanian and Irish descent have two daughters Anika and Sydney Tamiia Poitier. Poitier has four daughters Beverly, Pamela, Sherri and Gina from a previous marriage. In addition to his six daughters, Poitier has eight grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Leslie Vanderpool and Sydney T. Poitier will be instrumental in overseeing the granting of the Sir Sidney Poitier Tribute Awards.

Highly individual American drummer, bandleader and jazz visionary who toured with Lena Horne in the 1950s

A hundred years into its evolution, jazz incorporates ethnic and European classical instruments, drum machines and DJs spinning decks. A half-century or so ago, hardware habits were more cut and dried. A jazz big band had trumpets, trombones, saxes and a rhythm section. A small band had a rhythm section, a sax and trumpet, with maybe a guitar or a vibraphone. One that featured a (very quiet) guitarist, a flute or clarinet, a cellist, and a drummer who preferred mallets to sticks seemed like a strange beast in the jazz forest.

But the groups of the American drummer Chico Hamilton, who has died aged 92, did feature such instrumentation and, contrary to the jazz orthodoxies of the 1950s, they were for a time runaway successes. Hamilton led West Coast bands in that decade that came...

Article by Jim Batts, Dana Jung, and Tom Stockman

Celebrated producer and director Roger Corman will be in St. Louis this weekend to help kick off the Vincentennial Vincent Price Film Festival. We Are Movie Geeks has decided to take a look at the directing career of the man known as .King of the B.s’, a Hollywood legend who.s discovered so much talent and gave so many future directors and actors their starts, that he has to be considered a one-man movie industry. Since we just posted the Top Ten Best of Vincent Price last week and included three of the eight Corman/Price collaborations in that list, we decided to leave off the films he made with Price this week and focus on other films that he directed. Roger Corman will be at the Hi-Pointe Theater at 1005 McCausland Ave. in St. Louis on Saturday May 21 to speak...