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Is this taking me too long? This taking me too, long, isn't it? How long SHOULD it take me write this damn thing? How long did it take you? THEY did it in half the time I've spent already, and I'm not even finished. ...who among us has asked ourselves these questions, or ones like them, when working on a project? We have. Constantly. So...how do you handle the constant pressure of time? Josh and Ira talk about what's worked and not-worked for them. Also, Josh recommends Star Trek: The Next Generation on Paramount+ and Ira recommends Last Chance U: Basketball on Netflix.

Don't turn away from love, Sailor... Lynch enters the 90s with a roar. Filmmakers like Tarantino, Stone and others were pushing the boundaries of sex, violence and excess, and Lynch was no exception. He was fresh off the heels of a hit in Blue Velvet. What was David going to do next. Turns out: an adaptation. Wild At Heart is a raucous, chaotic, messy circus of a film based on a novel of the same name. But is it any good? Does it have anything to say? We discuss!

The creative world is REPLETE with those who would tell you they're an expert on something, but in fact have no idea what they're really talking about. So, when it comes to advice on succeeding in things that we've never done before, how do we know whose advice to listen to??? What actually makes someone an "EXPERT?" We talk about how you can figure out who to trust. Plus, Josh recommends Shrek which is currently on Peacock, and Ira recommends Grand Designs which is streaming on the UK's Channel 4 as well as select seasons on AppleTV, Prime, and Netflix.

There is trouble 'til the robins come... David Lynch rebounds from the disaster that was Dune with something much more akin to his debut film Eraserhead. It's weird, it's moody, and it's intensely personal. Kyle Maclachlan and Laura Dern star in a film that's part Hitchcock, part Normal Rockwell, and part nightmare. It's a return to form for Lynch. THIS is the filmmaker we know and love. It's beautiful to see, and we break it down this week!

What makes a character irredeemable? What are actions that cross the line, can't be undone, and take them a step too far for the audience to ever forgive them? It's a super important question! If we as a storyteller cross a line we didn't know was there, we can lose our reader or viewer. We discuss what one can and cannot come back from; there's a super effective, super simple formula, actually. Plus, Josh recommends I'm Thinking of Ending Things which is streaming on Netflix, and Ira recommends Batman: The Animated Series which is streaming on HBO Max.

The spice must flow. David Lynch bites off his first big-budget studio film, and boy howdy is it a BITE. He's tackling one of the biggest, densest Sci-Fi tentpoles out there: Frank Herbert's Dune. Quite the departure from his smaller, arthouse-y fare. So, how does he do? We watch and discuss!

Thinking about going indie? This is the podcast for you. What are the pros and the cons to eschewing the "system?" There are some GENUINE advantages to being your own studio, publisher or distribution network. There are also some disadvantages. How much you enjoy going indie very much depends on how you navigate those pros and cons, and how much you know yourself and what you like. We discuss our own experiences and lessons learned being independent AND traditional creatives. Also, Josh recommends the WWE (recorded back before the announcement that Vince McMahon was returning, btw), and Ira recommends 1979's classic Phantasm and the 2008 Get Smart with Steve Carrel and Anne Hathaway.

I am not an animal!!! The David Lynch Deep Dive continues with his second feature film, an historical biopic centered around John Merrick, a young man in 19th Century England with striking birth and genetic defects that made him treated as a freakshow, whether in the circus or in a hospital. It's a surprisingly conventional, normal, straightforward film. Very much not what we associate with David Lynch. So . . . how effective IS it? We discuss.

It's probably the first thing people ask of an artist: where do your ideas come from? What kinds of things strike the inspiration chord and makes you want to create? And when inspiration does come, how do you foster it into an actual piece of art? We discuss our own personal answers to this common question this week on the Cutting Room Floor! Also, Josh recommends Entergalactic on Netflix, and Ira recommends Everything Everywhere All At Once which is currently available to rent.

In heaven everything is fine. This week, we're watching David Lynch's first film. It took him the better part of a decade to make. It's surrealist and avante garde in the way only Lynch can pull off, and it's probably his most personal, most intimate film. He kinda lets his nightmares and fears literally play out for us to see, feverish and confusing. We try to untangle it all. What works? What doesn't? We discuss!

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?

2022. The first full post-pandemic year. It was also a major year for us here on the podcast in many ways: adjusting to society's "new normal," successes and failures in filmmaking and publishing, and our first forays beyond the AFI's Top 100 list in terms of the project this podcast is trying to tackle. So, how did we do? What will we think of when we look back on the year that was 2022? In this week's episode, we discuss.

You'll shoot your eye out! Of all the Christmas movies out there that play on "americana," this one might take the cake. Even the font on the movie poster evokes Norman Rockwell. It's set during the late 30s/early 40s, and centers around Ralphy, who--like ALL kids at that age--desperately wants the perfect Christmas gift. Does he get it? We watch and find out.

Creating anything takes work. Butt in chair. Words on page. Paint on canvas. It's work, and usually in an unrecognized, anonymous silence for years at a time. So, how do we stay motivated to keep working? Especially when it's hard? We talk about the tips, tricks and tools that we use ourselves. Also, Josh (again) recommends Entergalactic which is currently on Netflix, and Ira recommends 1899 which is also on Netflix.

Next on Film School, we're doing a deep dive on David Lynch and watching his full feature filmography. BUT FIRST...because we've fallen behind on our recordings, we're going to use the next couple weeks to "bank" some episodes to get ourselves back on track releasing each week. Here's the plan: Our Christmas films will debut as planned on December 12th and December 19th. THEN David Lynch's Deep Dive will launch after the new year with Eraserhead. So...we'll see you in a couple weeks for the first of our Christmas movies, and then after the holidays, we'll kick off the Deep Dive on David Lynch. See you then :)

The second album. The follow-up book. The sequel film. After all the lessons we've learned from the first project, after all that growth, effort and excitement . . . WHY IS THE SECOND PROJECT SO HARD??? And followup question: what can we do about it? Josh and Ira have both been through the famed "sophomore slump." They discuss what they've learned. Also, Josh recommends The Mist which is currently on Netflix, and Ira recommends The Omen which is playing on Prime.

You cannot run from this -- it will follow you. Happy Halloween everybody! We conclude Spooky Season 2022 with a bang. We're watching the film that made Blumhouse and (in addition to Blair Witch) inspired an entire generation of found-footage horror films: Paranormal Activity. The movie is almost fifteen years old now. How does it hold up???

Are you responsible for finding your own audience? And how much of your storytelling is a collaboration between you and your audience? This week, we dive into the realm of who we’re writing for and how it impacts our art. Also, Josh recommends Summit of the Gods which is on Netflix, and Ira recommends the Basil Rathbone Sherlock Holmes films, several of which are on Amazon Prime right now.

Why won't he die? Jamie Lee Curtis is back in danger! Michael Meyers just can't seem to be stopped, even when she's supposedly safe in the hospital. It's one of the only sequels we can think of that literally starts AT THE END of the first movie and picks up from there. John Carpenter, man . . . he's on another level. We watch and discuss!

We call it "finishing energy." It's the effort it takes to push something all the way to the end. Usually, it's far more than we ever imagined. So, how do we muster "finishing energy?" When resistance is at its peak because we're *so* *close* to finishing, how do we suck it up and move forward? Josh and Ira discuss what's worked for them! Also, Josh recommends The Professional and Collateral, and Ira recommends 1984 and Valkyrie.