The Film Stage Presents

Last month brought suitable mourning for Robert Duvall and Frederick Wiseman, whose legacies are so enshrined that the lengthy obituaries published by major outlets could have—likely were—written years ago. But immediately after came a quieter announcement that hit me hardest: Tom Noonan, the actor best-known for his collaborations with Michael Mann and Charlie Kaufman, and a filmmaker who made formally elegant and emotionally lacerating features based on his own plays. (As discussed in my 2021 interview with him.) While his passing may, to various film institutions, not seem so notable as Duvall or Wiseman, I noticed that the online reaction was essentially as instant and admiring. It’s perhaps impossible to experience a Noonan performance, with that tall frame and mellifluous voice, and come away feeling like you’d seen any other actor.

My friend, the critic Keith Uhlich, had known Noonan closely, working with him in both theater and cinema. I considered here and now the proper time to reminisce on Noonan’s work, and a unique opportunity to Keith tell intimate stories of him as both an artist and friend.

Music courtesy of Lex Walton: “Love Theme from an Unreleased Film” from the album Giving It Up.

Welcome back. After a brief hiatus, I am so happy to bring you episode 19 of this podcast project. Few subjects make a better benchmark than Werner Herzog, who quite literally needs no introduction and to whom I will accordingly not grant such.

He is presenting his new film, Ghost Elephants, a documentary concerning South African naturalist Steve Boyse and his quest for a near-mythical species of elephant. (Our own appreciative review, from the film's Venice premiere, can be found here.) Those who’ve seen Herzog’s previous documentaries will be familiar with certain of its formal traits, but this is less a work about obsession, or pain, or even failure than many of those. As he brings up in our interview, it poses an interesting question: how does one live with success?

On our call we were joined by his producer, Ariel Leon Isacovitch. There is a belief that to win friends and influence people, it can be useful to refer to people by their first name. I forgot to change my Zoom display name from Jordan Raup, this website’s editor in chief, which is why Isacovitch—surely someone who has found success—kindly calls me such. Lest you be distracted amidst a conversation with one of cinema’s truest legends.

Welcome to The B-Side! Here we talk about movie stars! Not the movies that made them famous or kept them famous, but the ones that they made in between. 

Today we celebrate one of our great Welshmen: Anthony Hopkins! Our B-Sides include When Eight Bells Toll, Juggernaut, Spotswood, and Instinct.

Our guest is the great Brian Raftery, whose new book Hannibal Lecter: A Life “traces the many lives and crimes of Hannibal Lecter: his disturbing debut in Thomas Harris’s 1981 novel Red Dragon; his rise to infamy in beloved films like Michael Mann’s Manhunter and Jonathan Demme’s Academy Award–winning The Silence of the Lambs; and his unexpected comeback in the cult-hit TV series Hannibal.” 

We discuss Hopkins’ iconic voice, his tumultuous early years and struggle to become a leading man. There’s his honest and interesting autobiography, his incredible range, his Wales-connection to the great Richard Burton, and his incredibly practical outlook to the acting profession.

Brian, Conor, and I go long on the actors that have played Hannibal, the movie Freejack, Hopkins’ directorial efforts August and Slipstream, and that time Hopkins played a working man’s James Bond named Phil (When Eight Bells Toll). There’s love paid to Bill Forsyth, Jodie Foster, Kate Burton, and The Edge.

Welcome to The B-Side! Here we talk about movie stars! Not the movies that made them famous or kept them famous, but the ones that they made in between. And sometimes we’re lucky enough to talk to the movie stars about their B-Sides.

The great Sam Rockwell joins us today to chat about his new film, Gore Verbinski's Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die, as well as B-Sides like Lawn Dogs, Safe Men, Snow Angels, and The Winning Season. We marvel at the range Rockwell has, the sheer amount of films he’s made (big and small alike), and the line reads from the Martin McDonagh comedy Seven Psychopaths.

Welcome to The B-Side! Here we talk about movie stars! Not the movies that made them famous or kept them famous, but the ones that they made in between. 

Today we celebrate Canadian greatness. We celebrate Rachel McAdams! Our B-Sides include The Lucky Ones, The Time Traveller's Wife, Passion, and Every Thing Will Be Fine. We also spend some time on The Hot Chick, and do a couple of Rachel McAdams-inspired quizzes at the top of the episode. It’s fun!

We talk about her new Sam Raimi movie Send Help. We reflect on McAdams’ stratospheric rise to stardom within the first few years (and films) of her career, that time she dated Ryan Gosling, and her many accents over the years. We also shout-out the sheer amount of great filmmakers she’s worked with over the years: Wes Craven, Ira Sachs, Woody Allen, Terrence Malick, Brian De Palma, Cameron Crowe, Antoine Fuqua, Tom McCarthy, Wim Wenders, Mark Osborne (animated), Sam Raimi, and Kelly Fremon Craig. That’s incredible!

There’s the limited amount of press she has done over the years (though this podcast episode is lovely, about her and her dear friend) and the fact that the hit movies she’s starred in throughout her career are mostly not made for movie theaters anymore. We speak to her comedy chops and her constant alignment with the directors she works with. She’s a pro! And finally, we show some appropriate respect to the Michael Sucsy-directed romance The Vow. The woman loves a movie wherein time is manipulated!