SCREEN WATCHING EPISODE 27

BONUS INTERVIEW: Episode 27 - GREGORY MAGNE, Dir: PERFUMES

LISTEN TO THE EXCLUSIVE INERVIEW HERE

In cinemas nationally from July 1 (Sydney, July 29) is PERFUMES, a charming French drama starring the wonderful Emmanuelle Devos as a perfumer, a ‘nose’, whose ability to create world-class fragrances was second to none until her diva behaviour derailed her career; and Gregory Montel as a driver-for-hire who may just be the influence she needs to return to the top. 

PERFUMES is written and directed by Grégory Magne, who has delivered an intelligent, sophisticated delight with only his second feature.

 

Simon was lucky enough to chat with Gregory from his home in Paris about what inspired this exploration of the perfumer's world and working with the legend that is Mademoiselle Devos...  

SCREEN WATCHING EPISODE 26

There's an all-new, all-entertaining SCREEN WATCHING podcast!

(A quick note...to appease our Apple overlords, I'm adjusting the episode numbers to reflect the iTunes list so, with apologies to numbers 22 thru 25, we leap from the terrific Episode 21 to the even better EPISODE 26)

LISTEN TO EPISODE 26 HERE

In The Heights reached no great heights at the U.S. box office and Dan and Simon ponder why that be so. Dan waxes lyrical on that ol' reliable, Bosch, plus we travel to Brazil, Iran and Iceland to review the latest big and small screen delights. Simon celebrates the 4K Blu-ray release of the Indiana Jones franchise by offering up his five favourite Indy moments. And we welcome to the Screen Watching family the great Joe Pantoliano, chatting about all things 'Joey Pants'...

REVIEWS (06:06)
In The Heights (in cinemas now); Bosch (Amazon Prime Video); Three Summers (in cinemas now); Tehran (Apple TV+); Katla (Netflix)

INTERVIEW (31:06)
JOE PANTOLIANO  (Star, From The Vine) Joe Pantoliano has made a career out of stealing scenes, sometimes entire movies, with his work in Risky Business, Running Scared, Midnight Run, The Sopranos, Bad Boys, The Boys and Memento. Simon spoke to fellow small-dog owner Joe (you'll hear them, in the background) about the sweetness of his new film, why legacy and heritage are more important than ever, and his favourite memory from working with Anne Ramsey and Robert Davi in The Goonies ...

The SCREEN WATCHING MIDDLE BIT (46:06)
The Middle Bit gives itself over to all things Indiana jones. With the 4K Disc release of all four Indiana Jones films, and #5 currently shooting in The U.K., Simon ponders - WHAT ARE HIS FIVE FAVOURITE MOMENTS FROM THE INDIANA JONES FRANCHISE?

WHAT'S ON THIS WEEK (56:34)
New stuff from Ryan Reynolds, Bill Nighy, Pixar and Sue Perkins; the birthday of a Ghostbuster; and, we learn something weird about legendary director David Lean. PLUS LOTS MORE!

SCREEN WATCHING EPISODE 21

What do you need to know about this week's podcast? Well, it includes reviews of movies with fast cars, documentaries with sharks, TV shows about sleeping with movie stars, and Rose Byrne getting Physical. Tell me you don't want to press play on that! I double dare you.

REVIEWS (01:41)

Fast and Frious 9 (In cinemas now); Physical (AppleTV+); Starstruck (ABC TV iView / BBC3 / HBO Max; From the Vine (In cinemas now); Blindspotting (Starz / Stan); Valerie Taylor: Playing With Sharks (In cinemas now).

INTERVIEW (26:02)

Physical is the latest series from creator and showrunner Annie Weisman, whose run of hits have include Almost family, Desperate Housewives, Suburgatory, About a Boy and The Path. Annie spoke with Screen Watching about capturing the early ‘80s women’s movement, working with our Rose, and the iconic TV character who provided unlikely inspiration...

The SCREEN WATCHING MIDDLE BIT (36:42)

It's 2021 - should you watch the Lethal Weapon movies?

WHAT'S ON THIS WEEK (46:39)

A new Julie Delpy film; Journey Beyond Fear plays the Darwin Deckchair Cinema; and which classic sitcom married couple were born on the same day!

SCREEN WATCHING EPISODE 20

LISTEN TO EPISODE 20 HERE

As Sydney shivers under the onset of the new Ice Age, a weekend of Screen Watching beckons. This week, Disney rework the image of yet another popular villain in LOKI; pop-author Stephen King teams up with some high-falutin’ friends for LISEY’S STORY; sexy Spaniards woo each other in FOODIE LOVE; and the double-cardiganed Dan revisits the show that set the standard for 'Prestige TV'. Plus, we’ve got horses, sharks and Christopher Walken. Throw another log on the fire and let’s start Screen Watching!

REVIEWS ( ): Loki (on Disney+); Percy (in cinemas now); Republic of Sarah (on Stan); Lisey’s Story (on AppleTV+); Foodie Love (on SBS On Demand and HBO Max)

The SCREEN WATCHING MIDDLE BIT ( ): The term ‘Prestige TV’ gets bandied about a lot in the modern television era. Think ER, The Sopranos, Mad Men, Breaking Bad...the list goes on. But Mr. TV Dan Barrett thinks he has pinpointed the very moment in small-screen history when American TV truly became prestigious…

THE WEEK AHEAD ( ): The new Australian drama Eden debuts on Stan; where to watch UEFA 2021 and the Australian Olympic Swimming Trials; new big screen pics from Toni Collette and Katrina Bowden.

PLUS…Anniversary sessions of The Silence of The Lambs; retro screenings of classics from John Waters, William Castle and Jean-Luc Godard; plus, Happy Birthday to the actress who reminds Jerry of Lois Lane.

MEET THE FILMMAKERS: A SCREEN WATCHING BONUS EPISODE

MEET THE FILMMAKERS:
ANDREW LEVITAS, Director: MINAMATA
BETH ELISE HAWK, Director: BREAKING BREAD
Simon sits down with two filmmakers whose work share a strong social conscience, in this bonus episode of Screen Watching.

LISTEN HERE

(02:07) ANDREW LEVITAS: Andrew Levitas has many strings to his bow. As a sculptor and artist, his works have been shown at such prestigious American galleries as Phillips de Pury in Manhattan; as a photographer, he is known for his landmark 2004 work 'Metalwork Experiment'; his musical collaborator, and wife of seven years, is Welsh classical singer Katherine Jenkins. His latest hyphen add-on is 'filmmaker', as director of the stirring true story, Minamata, which features an inspired central performance by Johnny Depp as photojournalist Eugene W. Smith. Towards the end of his career, Smith visited the Japanese fishing village of the title to capture images of the population, poisoned by the dumping of mercury in the local waterways. His time in Japan led to one of the most acclaimed, and heartbreaking, photographic images of the century, 'Tomoko Uemura in her Bath'. In Smith, Levitas has not only captured a fading creative force rediscovering his true purpose, but also framed the cameraman as a conduit to condemn the exploitation of poorer communities. From his family home in Los Angeles, Levitas spoke with SCREEN WATCHING about finding inspiration in the undervalued legacy of Eugene Smith, working with Depp to craft the character, and what the fim needs to impart upon the audience to be truly successful.
MINAMATA, co-starring Hiroyuki Sanada, Minami and Bill Nighy, is in Australian cinemas from June 3 through Rialto Distribution.

(19:13) BETH ELISE HAWK: Beth Elise Hawk's Breaking Bread is special cinema - charming, powerful and full of exotic dishes, it follows Arab and Jewish chefs collaborating at the A-Sham Arabic Food Festival in Haifa, Israel. Founded by Dr. Nof Atamna-Ismaeel, the first Muslim Arab to win Israel’s MasterChef, the festival invites Arab and Jewish chefs to celebrate their cultures and the food of their region free from political and religious boundaries. In chatting with Screen Watching, Hawk talks about the vision for a united Middle East, brought together by the unifying power of food.
BREAKING BREAD is in Australian cinemas from June 3 via Hi Gloss Entertainment.