The Formative Films Project

Belfast, Maine with Lukas Fryer

Manniac and Wisemanite Lukas Fryer returns to the pod to discuss Frederick Wiseman's 1999 documentary, Belfast, Maine. Featured in this episode: - Kenny Nixon on Belfas

2001: A Space Odyssey with Lincoln Sevier

One half of the Bozeman Film Club brain trust Lincoln Sevier joins the pod to discuss his admiration for 2001: A Space Odyssey and how the film differs from and complemen

Galaxy Quest with Victor Flores

It's a Montana State beat reunion! First-time guest Victor Flores joins the pod to talk about long-time favorite, Galaxy Quest, as well as a galaxy far, far away. Featur

The Sound of Music with Antonette Gichohu

Born-again cinephile Antonette Gichohu brings some chaotic good energy back to the pod as we revisit one of her all-time favorites — The Sound of Music from 1965. Featur

Mirror with Oscar Pavlove

Returning to the pod this week is Oscar Pavlove, who wanted to discuss his all-time favorite film, Mirror, directed by Russian master Andrei Tarkovsky.

Jaws with Graham Cannon

Returning to the pod this week is my movie theatergoing partner-in-crime Graham Cannon, who selected Steven Spielberg's blockbuster Jaws from 1975. Featured in this epis

Coming to America with Marco Marquez

Two-time opening interviewee Marco Marquez returns to the pod to discuss the 1988 film, Coming to America. Featured in this episode: Will Smith Oscar speech ⁠You've G

Emma. (2020) with Jillian Leiby

First-time guest Jillian Leiby joins the show to discuss Autumn de Wilde's debut feature, Emma., from 2020. Featured in this episode: LA Times feature on Autumn de Wild

Sinners with Terrell Henderson

This week I welcome longtime friend Terrell Henderson back on the pod to talk about Ryan Coogler's 2025 film, Sinners. Featured in this episode: Guy in the Chair Reacts

C'mon C'mon with EJ Paras

The Formative Films Project is BACK for season two, starting with Mike Mills' 2021 film, C'mon C'mon, starring Joaquin Phoenix, Gaby Hoffmann and Woody Norman. Featured

Auteur Corner: Paul Schrader, Paul Thomas Anderson, Alfonso Cuarón, Bong Joon-ho

After all this buildup — months of interviews, editing, a trailer, and 19 previous episodes — we’ve made it to the season finale of The Formative Films Project. And what

Auteur Corner: David Lynch and Darren Aronofsky

A name that kept popping up throughout my conversations was David Lynch, the enigmatic, reclusive auteur whose films have been known to confuse and captivate. Because of

Auteur Corner: Wes Anderson and Quentin Tarantino

As we’ve discussed throughout this series, filmmaking is a collaborative medium. We all tend to look toward the director as the captain of the ship and a key reason why a

Some Good (And Very Bad) Fellas (Part 2)

Last episode we talked about some (at least mostly) heroic figures in this “Dudes Rock Cinema” sub-genre, featuring leading men executing their jobs to save the town, tho

Some Good (And Very Bad) Fellas (Part 1)

I somewhat recently discovered the existence of a sub-genre of films called “Dudes Rock Cinema,” which basically equates to '80s, '90s, and '00s action and crime films, l

Playing Against Type

There’s an interesting prism through which we view comedians and/or comedic actors. At times, it feels like they aren’t viewed as “real actors” with range or that comedy

Reflecting on the Past (Part 2)

Sticking with last episode’s theme, we’ll continue looking at period pieces and films that utilize and examine history. Three of the films in this episode detail historic

Reflecting on the Past (Part 1)

One of the benefits of filmmaking is that directors are able to reconstruct and re-examine history through biopics and period pieces. That’s why we’ll next look back to t

Our Greatest Fears and Thrills (Part 2)

Building off last episode's exploration of genre filmmaking — specifically in the thriller/horror realm — we'll next examine beloved science fiction classics from the lik

Our Greatest Fears and Thrills (Part 1)

One of the biggest disappointments about not watching movies in theaters during the pandemic was missing out on that communal experience — a chance to laugh, cry, and/or