Shot/Reverse Shot

114. Obsession

Matt and Ed are obsessed with the idea of Obsession this week, an interest which takes the form of a discussion of films about obsession, how directors' obsessions can manifest in their work, and the ways in which cinema is uniquely suited to exploring the topic. They also talk about the failure of Pan, unnerving audience responses to films, and pitch a Hans Gruber-centric prequel to Die Hard.

00:00:00 - 00:18:50 - Intro & News

00:18:51 - 00:52:35 - Discussion of Obsession in cinema

00:52:36 - 00:56:19 - SRS Recommends & Outro

113. Junun/High Concept

This week's episode is a sort of double A-side in which the first half is largely given over to a discussion of Paul Thomas Anderson's new documentary Junun, and what its release via the streaming service MUBI could mean for future idiosyncratic releases from major filmmakers (or major works from idiosyncratic filmmakers). The second half concerns the idea of High Concept filmmaking, and the many permutations of that term, from '80s blockbusters to indie films with interesting, easily sellable back stories.

Matt and Ed also find time to express cautious optimism (Ed is cautious, Matt is optimistic) about the trailer for the Coen Brothers' Hail Caesar!, explain why Rope is one of their least favourite Hitchcock films, and pay brief tribute to Chantal Akerman, who passed away this week.

00:00:00 - 00:11:04 - Intro & discussion of the week's news.

00:11:05 - 00:18:52 - Discussion of Paul Thomas Anderson's Junun.

00:18:53 - 00:54:36 - Discussion of High Concept filmmaking.

00:54:37 - 00:59:58 - SRS Recommends & Outro

112. Bette Davis

In their latest Artist Profile, Matt and Ed take a look at the life and career of Bette Davis, one of the most indomitable women ever to grace the silver screen. In addition to discussing her work in films both good and bad, they talk about her status as a camp and feminist icon, her legendary feud with Joan Crawford, and the many milestones she established during a truly spectacular career.

Show Notes

00:00:00 - 00:02:24 - Intro

00:02:25 - 00:40:13 - Matt and Ed discuss the life and career of Bette Davis.

00:40:14 - 00:41:13 - Outro

- Here is a link to our episode of War Machine vs. War Horse, in which we try to find new ways to praise Traffic and any way to understand The Counselor. Thanks once again to Michael Denniston for having us!

- Here is the complete interview that Bette Davis gave to Entertainment Tonight in which she discusses her problems making Wicked Stepmother.

- Correction: Ed incorrectly says that Larry Cohen directed Maniac Cop. While Mr. Cohen wrote and produced that film, it was William Lustig who directed it.

111. Autumn/Winter 2015 Preview

After an unscheduled week off, Matt and Ed are back with a vengeance to talk about all the exciting and/or interesting films scheduled to come out between now and the end of the year. In addition to discussing whether or not they're anticipating the likes of The Martian, Crimson Peak, The Revenant and Spectre, they talk about the Emmys, franchises that Ridley Scott could revisit instead of the Alien/Prometheus universe, and whether all movie biopics are built upon the idea that "behind every great man is a great woman in a terrible supporting role."

Show Notes

00:00:00 - 00:08:56 - Intro & Discussion of the week's news.

00:08:57 - 00:55:32 - Matt and Ed talk about the films and TV shows which are going to be hitting screens in the next few months.

00:55:33 - 01:00:20 - SRS Recommends & Outro.

110. Peak TV

Back in March of 2012, Matt and Ed discussed the state of television for the fourth episode of this podcast. Back then, they thought that people seemed pretty excited about working in TV, and that streaming might catch on. A little over three years later, they return to the subject to assess their mild predictions and consider the era of so-called "Peak TV", a term coined after FX President John Landgraf talked at the TCA tour about how there is too much good TV. 

They consider the meaning of that sentiment, as well the connection between the fertility of the American alt comedy scene and the current boom for American television comedy, which is going through a remarkably varied and fertile period.

Never ones to stay on topic, they also pitch a Rango/Django Crossover, muse on how unlistenable the Goldeneye score is, and try to expand into the area of audience participation.

Show Notes

00:00:00 - 00:11:58 - Intro & Discussion of the week's news

00:11:59 - 00:59:30 - Discussion of the notion of "Peak TV" and what has changed in television since 2012.

00:59:31 - 01:04:07 - SRS Recommends & Outro

109. Star Wars

In the wake of Force Friday, which saw thousands of people going bonkers for toys for a film which isn't even out for three months, Matt and Ed take stock of Star Wars as a long-running franchise, a cultural monolith, and as significant part of their own personal development as film fans. 

Along the way, Matt discusses the justly forgotten Matthew Weiner movie Are You Here, Ed describes one of the most enjoyably crazy Star Wars Expanded Universe stories (it involves Jabba's Palace and disembodied brains!), and they workshop an ending to the pending Michael Winterbottom-directed Roger Ebert/Russ Meyer movie. They also pay tribute to Wes Craven, talk about how good Idris Elba would be as James Bond, and drop some deep Simpsons references throughout. It's a packed episode, all told.

Show Notes

00:00:00 - 00:19:20 - Intro & discussion of the week's news.

00:19:21 - 00:54:29 - Discussion of Star Wars.

00:54:30 - 00:58:52 - SRS Recommends & Outro

108. Evolution

This week's episode finds Matt & Ed discussing evolution. Not the actual scientific theory, but the ways in which artists change over the course of their careers, and how changes in an artist's style or genre impact their relationship with their audience. They also take the opportunity to talk about how their own tastes have changed, Matt coins the most baffling campaign slogan ever, and Ed has some choice words for Peter Bogdanovich.

Show Notes

00:00:00 - 00:18:08 - Intro and discussion of this week's news.

00:18:19 - 00:52:45 - Matt and Ed discuss how artists evolve over the course of a career, and how their own tastes have changed over time.

00:52:46 - 00:57:02 - SRS Recommends and Outro

- Here is a link to the interview with Quentin Tarantino discussed in the News segment.

- The Paul Haggis film Ed was thinking of was Third Person.

107. Jerry Bruckheimer

For their seventh artist profile, Matt and Ed step a little bit out of their comfort zone by discussing someone who a) isn't an actor or director and b) hasn't made all that much work that they actually like. The person is question is Jerry Bruckheimer, the uber-producer who came to prominence in the 1980s with films like Flashdance, Top Gun and the Beverly Hills Cop series, and who has remained one of the most successful producers in Hollywood for three decades.

As part of the discussion they talk about Bruckheimer's tendency to forge strong working relationships with filmmakers which end the instant a film fails, his working relationship with the late Don Simpson, and try to discover the truth of what really happened on the Titanic.

Show Notes

00:00:00 - 00:01:15 - Intro
00:01:16 - 00:49:02 - Profile of Jerry Bruckheimer
00:49:03 - 00:50:34 - Outro

106. True Detective: Season Two

To mark the end of season two of HBO's anthology series True Detective, which generated as much discussion online as the first season did, albeit for very different reasons, Matt and Ed decided to dig into how one of last year's most acclaimed shows became one of this year's most derided. 

In addition to figuring out just what went wrong with season two, they discuss the glut of Disney and Star Wars news that came out of the D23 expo this weekend, the possible return of Deadwood, and whether or not Vince Vaughn has become the white Eddie Murphy.

Show Notes

00:00:00 - 00:21:20 - Intro & discussion of the week's news.

00:21:21 - 00:54:33 - Matt & Ed discuss the second season of True Detective

00:54:34 - 00:58:41 - SRS Recommends & Outro

You can find our episode about the first season of True Detective here. Please bear in mind that episode has some audio issues because we hadn't got a quality set-up at that point (and as opposed to the minor audio issues this week, which were due to us recording during a massive bloody thunderstorm.)

105. Ed's Birthday, 2015

In what will hopefully become a tradition for the show, this week dispenses with having a set theme in order to celebrate one of the hosts' birthday. In this instance, the host in question is Ed.

There's still talk of what's been going on in film and television this week - including discussion about the fallout from Josh Trank's tweet disowning Fantastic Four and Jon Stewart's departure from The Daily Show - but the core of the episode is an amorphous discussion between Matt and Ed about ambitious sequels, indie directors taking on big franchise movies, and what Francis Ford Coppola's Twitter feed would look like in 1979.

Show Notes

00:00:00 - 00:26:30 - Intro & discussion of this week's news.

00:26:31 - 00:50:50 - Ed's Special Birthday Discussion

00:50:51 - 00:56:33 - SRS Recommends & Outro

104. Disney

Marking the culmination of a long-running project for Matt, who has spent much of the last year watching most of Disney's animated movies, this episode focuses on the animated movies of Disney. In addition to that, Matt and Ed talk about Ian McShane going Game of Thrones, pitch a Disney take on the gunpowder plot, and the ways in which Disney's corporate elements make it surprisingly willing to take big risks.

Show Notes

00:00:00 - 00:12:23 - Intro & Discussion of the week's news.

00:12:24 - 00:19:00 - The debut of our new feature: Bullshit Lists.

00:19:01 - 00:51:23 - Matt & Ed discuss the films and impact of Disney

00:51:24 - 00:56:18 -  SRS Recommends & Outro

103. Eddie Murphy

As promised back in the Burt Lancaster episode, Matt and Ed follow-up quickly with an episode of one of the most electrifying and frustrating actors in film history, Eddie Murphy. In addition to discussing his origins as a standup and on Saturday Night Live, they talk about his meteoric rise in the 1980s, his absolute nadir in the mid-'00s, and the reason behind his anticlimactic return to SNL earlier this year.

Show Notes

0:00:00 - 0:00:46 - Intro

0:00:47 - 0:55:45 - Profile of Eddie Murphy

0:55:46 - 0:56:44 - Outro

This episode was recorded several months ago, which is why we make no reference to recent news stories such as the Lafayette cinema shooting. Our thoughts are with the victims and their families.

102. Special Effects

Spurred on by the Star Wars panel at Comic-Con, where J.J. Abrams and others placed a strong emphasis on the film's use of practical effects, Matt and Ed decided to discuss the history and current state of special effects in cinema. Amongst talk of how CGI affects audiences and why it can harm actors' performances, they talk about the trailers shown at Comic-Con for films they probably won't see, whether the Emmys mean anything, and get sidetracked by Arrested Development, because they're only human.

Show Notes

0:00:00 - 0:24:30 - Intro & discussion of the week's news and Comic-Con.

0:24:31 - 0:52:39 - Discussion of Special Effects in cinema.

0:52:40 - 0:58:02 - SRS Recommends & Outro.

- The WETA Effect video that serves as the jumping off point for this week's episode can be seen here.

- Ed incorrectly states that the podcast is available one Radio FM, which is not a thing. He actually meant Player FM, which is a thing, and is an Android podcasting app on top of being a thing.

101. Burt Lancaster

After a few weeks away from it, this week finds Matt and Ed returning to their ongoing series of artist profiles with an episode dedicated to a firm favourite, actor/producer Burt Lancaster. In addition to discussing the best and worst of Mr. Lancaster's career, they talk about his physicality, his knack for playing complex and morally ambiguous characters, and his willingness to take risks. 

They also come up with the ultimate Michael J. Fox film, and pay tribute to the excellent film website The Dissolve, which unexpectedly ceased publication this week.

Show Notes

0:00:00 - 0:05:53 - Intro & discussion of The Dissolve closing.

0:05:54 - 0:47:55 - Profile of Burt Lancaster.

0:47:56 - 0:49:34 - Outro

Week Off Minisode

We aren't able to provide a full episode this week as we had initially planned due to a scheduling conflict. However, since we've been away for a few weeks and there are stories that Matt and Ed want to talk about, we have prepared this minisode for your delectation.

In this short, sharp chat, they talk about the continuing success of Jurassic World, which continues to eat records like an Indominus Rex chomping on people, the news that Ava DuVernay has passed on directing Black Panther for Marvel, and the announcement that Paul Thomas Anderson is going to write a live-action version of Pinocchio for Robert Downey, Jr. That last story in particular leads to a lot of befuddlement.

Episode 100!

In this Very Special Episode, Matt and Ed convene in the same bloody room for once to celebrate the 100th episode of Shot/Reverse Shot! To mark the occasion, they took questions from listeners via Twitter, Facebook, and in person and endeavored to answer as many of them as possible. With such a broad brief, the episode encompasses everything from their favourite cinemas, snacks, scores, and actors, to in-depth discussions of Hollywood's odd unwillingness to cast gay men in leading roles and the slow death of "serious" cinema for mainstream audiences. They also finally reveal the fate of one-time SRS host Joe Gastineau.

Thanks to all those who submitted questions for this episode, as well as to all of you who have listened to the show over the last three and a half years. We really appreciate it and look forward to doing more episodes in the years to come.

Show Notes

00:00 - 01:57 - Intro & discussion of the momentous occasion.

01:58 - 1:26:21 - Matt and Ed answer your questions (assuming that you asked some)!

1:26:22 - 1:29:11 - Thanks & Outro

99. Jurassic World

Much like everyone else on Earth, Matt and Ed went to see Jurassic World this weekend and they had a lot of thoughts about it. After talking about the death of Christopher Lee, they delve into their feelings about the first Jurassic Park, the deficiencies in Jurassic World's script, and why they on balance like the film even if they have massive problems with it.

Show Notes:

00:00-15:54 - Intro & discussion of the week's news.

15:55-57:10 - Matt and Ed discuss Jurassic World.

57:11-1:01:58 - Shot/Reverse Shot Recommends & Outro.

The essay by Stephanie Wittels-Wach that Matt mentions can be found here and it is a beautiful, heartbreaking read.

98. Jaws at 40

On June 20th, 1975, Jaws was unleashed upon American audiences for the first time, in the process changing how people viewed the ocean, and how studios viewed the summer, forever. To mark this momentous occasion, Matt and Ed sit down to talk about the influence that the film has had, the ways in which it feels both part of the New Hollywood movement and separate from it, and how it relates to the work of Henrik Ibsen. And, of course, why they both really love it.

They also ponder whether a remake of Big Trouble in Little China is a good idea (and whether the greatest danger posed to it is a rewrite that makes Jack Burton anything other than a buffoon), and the true meaning of a Wookie life debt. 

Show Notes

- The Mark Kermode article on Jaws mentioned in the episode can be found here.

- Roger Ebert's original review can be found here, and his Great Movies feature on it is also well worth a read.

- The snippet of Spielberg heard at the start of the episode is taken from this fascinating video in which he, along with character actor Joe Spinelli, watch the 1976 Oscar nominations.

97. Doc/Fest 2015, Or, Matt and Ed Can't Handle The Truth!

This Friday sees the start of Sheffield Doc/Fest, one of the biggest and best documentary festivals in the world and a favourite of this show. Unfortunately, for the first time in years, neither Matt or Ed are able to tend this year due to other commitments and the Atlantic Ocean, respectively. To commiserate, they talk about what they love about Doc/Fest, then use that as an opportunity to talk about different strains of documentary filmmaking, such as activist docs like Blackfish and rock docs like Made of Stone, and the ways in which Netflix has altered the landscape for documentary distribution. They also introduce a new feature, whereby they recommend a different film or television related thing that they feel would enrich your lives.

And, as with last week, they are still taking questions for the 100th episode, so please submit them via Twitter, Facebook, or email (best to use ed.mightyfineblog@hotmail.co.uk) before June 13th. If you want to go the extra mile, then please submit them as an audio file (you can record them as voice memos on most phones) and we'll play them as part of the episode.

96. Mad Men

Historians will no doubt mark May 17, 2015 as the day the sixties died, as it was on that day that AMC's Mad Men ended its stellar seven season run. Matt and Ed felt that they had to mark the passing of a great show by discussing its phenomenal writing, directing and acting, as well as its significance as a key text in the ongoing American television renaissance. They also find time to talk about their individual disappointment about Tomorrowland and Pitch Perfect 2, and their shared sadness over the end of David Letterman's tenure as a late night host.

They also announce how you - yes, you! - can be a part of the 100th episode of Shot/Reverse Shot. Please submit any questions you have about the show, about film or television, or just about anything to the show's Twitter or Facebook page by June 13th and Matt and Ed will answer them on air. If you want to be extra fancy, record your questions as an audio file, email them to ed.mightyfineblog@hotmail.co.uk, and we'll edit them into the episode itself. Ask Us Anything!