Maltin On Movies

Howard: The Howard Ashman Story is a moving documentary by Don Hahn about the incredible man who set the Disney studio on a new course with The Little Mermaid, Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast. Now available on Disney+, this documentary inspired us to craft an unusual episode of our podcast. We spoke to producer-director Don Hahn, Howard’s longtime life partner Bill Lauch, his sister Sarah Gillespie, the voice of Belle (Paige O’Hara), director John Musker, and Howard’s musical collaborator Alan Menken to offer you an intimate portrait of the gifted man whose life was cut short by AIDS

Millions of people around the globe have experienced the creativity of Julie Taymor in her groundbreaking stage production of Disney’s The Lion King. Her films include the Beatles homage Across the Universe, Frida, and Titus. Now she’s tackled the life and times of Gloria Steinem in The Glorias. She fell in love with theater as a girl growing up in the suburbs of Boston and traveled the world, soaking up different cultures and theatrical techniques using masks and puppetry, which she’s drawn on ever since. Leonard and Jessie avoid current events on this podcast, but listeners should know that Julie Taymor’s conversation is politically charged.  

Whether you know him best from Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket (just reissued in Ultra-High-Definition) or such memorable films as Birdy, Orphans, Short Cuts, or The Dark Knight Rises or if you just discovered him on Stranger Things, Matthew Modine is a talented and versatile actor who’s been working steadily since the 1980s. What’s more, he grew up in the rarefied setting of drive-in movie theaters, which his father managed. Charming, articulate and easy to talk to, Matthew proved to be a wonderful conversationalist for Leonard and Jessie to engage with. Be sure to check out the Full Metal Jacket Diary in the Apple iPad App Store! https://apps.apple.com/us/app/full-metal-jacket-diary/id527085659

Jay Baruchel first caught Jessie’s eye in Almost Famous, which led to him being cast in  Judd Apatow’s short-lived but well-loved TV series Undeclared. That put him in the same orbit as Seth Rogen, Jason Segel, Evan Goldberg and other young talents he’s worked with ever since. He made an impression in such movies as Clint Eastwood’s Million Dollar Baby, which contributed to his ultimate goal: becoming a filmmaker himself. He wrote, directed and stars in Goon: Last of the Enforcers and its sequel. His latest endeavor, Random Acts of Violence is now streaming online. A lifelong movie buff and hockey fanatic, like so many Canadians; he’s also great fun to talk to, as you will hear.

He’s been a familiar face on TV and in movies for decades—Jessie first saw him in Rush Hour—but lately Tzi Ma has come into his own playing fathers in Lulu Wang’s The Farewell, Alan Yang’s Tigertail and Niki Caro’s epic new production of Disney’s Mulan, which debuts today on Disney+. In fact, he grew up on Staten Island and fell in love with the theater, as he tells Leonard and Jessie in a fascinating review of his life and career. This charming man will reach an even bigger audience in the upcoming CW reboot of Kung Fu—where once again he’ll play a father to a female protagonist.

What if you loved classic movies and were given the chance to physically re-create Old Hollywood? That’s what happened when producer Ryan Murphy hired Matthew Flood Ferguson as the production designer of his Netflix miniseries Hollywood… and now he’s an Emmy nominee. Leonard and Jessie learn what kind of challenges and decisions Matthew faced while trying to set the stage for a saga set in the golden age of Tinseltown.

A talented Filipino transgender filmmaker, Isabel Sandoval has already won acclaim in her native country and at festivals around the globe. Her new film, Lingua Franca, will reach an even wider audience as Ava DuVernay’s Array Releasing is presenting it on Netflix. As actor, writer, director, and editor she is leading a quiet revolution—yet her movie is not part of a crusade. It’s an honest, persuasive story about a hard-working immigrant set in New York’s Brighton Beach neighborhood. Leonard and Jessie responded to it, just as they did its unpretentious creator. We’ll be covering more Array releases in the weeks and months ahead.  @isabelvsandoval

If you’re an animation buff, you should know Jerry Beck…and it’s probable that you do. He is a valued resource—online at www.cartoonresearch.com and www.animationscoop.com, in classrooms at major universities, and in the content of 15 books, about everything from Looney Tunes to Spongebob Squarepants. He and Leonard met decades ago at Leonard’s animation class in Manhattan and have been close friends ever since. (Jessie has known him her entire life!) Join us for an animated conversation about a subject near and dear to all of us.

A likable actor who has built a resumé with and without his brother James’ participation, Dave Franco has now made his debut as a writer-director with The Rental, starring his wife Alison Brie and Dan Stevens. Franco’s career has blossomed steadily over the past decade as he’s appeared in everything from The Lego Movie and Warm Bodies to The Disaster Artist and If Beale Street Could Talk. He’s brimming with enthusiasm and, as you’ll hear, fun to talk to.  

Mark Evanier has not only attended every single San Diego Comic-con since its inception, he’s been a vital part of that famous gathering (which is on sabbatical this year)—moderating panels with pals like MAD cartoonist Sergio Aragones, interviewing icons like Ray Bradbury, and more. Mark’s writing career has taken him from comic books to sitcoms and beyond (if you don’t have his book Jack Kirby: King of Comics, you should). Leonard and Jessie are longtime friends and know what a great raconteur he is—as this episode will confirm.

One of our favorite actresses, Emily Mortimer is currently starring in The Relic, a horror film now playing on VOD and theaters. Add this to a roster of movies and TV shows where she’s always a standout—from Mary Poppins Returns to The Newsroom, Dear Frankie, Lars and the Real Girl, City Island, Lovely & Amazing, her own HBO series Doll and Em, and two for her favorite director, Martin Scorsese: Shutter Island and Hugo. She has stories to share about all of them, as well as her glittery upbringing as the daughter of celebrated author and playwright John Mortimer. (p.s. her daughter enjoys hearing Emily’s voice in the English-language version of Miyazaki’s Howl’s Moving Castle. So do we.)  

You hear his striking, Emmy Award-winning music every time you watch Succession. He’s Nicholas Britell and he’s one of the brightest lights in the world of contemporary film and television scoring. His collaboration with filmmaker Barry Jenkins has yielded two Oscar nominations to date—for Moonlight and If Beale Street Could Talk. A New Yorker through and through, he remains disarmingly unpretentious and was happy to chat with Leonard and Jessie about the music he provided for Whiplash (which he also co-produced), The Big Short and Natalie Portman’s directorial debut, Eve, among others. He’s still got a big career ahead of him.   

If best-selling author and filmmaker Stephen Chbosky weren’t quarantined he’d be shooting the movie version of the Broadway musical Dear Evan Hansen—which we can’t wait to see. Meanwhile, his beautiful film Wonder is a Maltin Movie Club recommendation. Leonard and Jessie welcome him back to the podcast to discuss his wide-ranging career, starting with The Perks of Being a Wallflower, and his mentor, screenwriter Stewart Stern, who wrote Rebel Without a Cause and inspired Stephen from the moment they met.  

This year marks the 40th anniversary of Leonard’s book Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons, and we’re going to celebrate by doing a multi-episode deep dive into all things animation. In part one, Jessie asks her dad how he got hooked on cartoons in the first place and how he met so many people who helped invent the medium we all love.

In this special episode Jessie interviews her father in honor of Leonard Maltin Day in Los Angeles (April 24). He recalls some of his favorite interviews and experiences and answers questions submitted by listeners: who is his favorite actor, actress, director, and what films does he recommend during the current quarantine. You can also view a video of this conversation on Leonard and Jessie’s YouTube channel.

Will Friedwald is one of the world’s foremost authorities on jazz and pop music. He’s also a quick-witted wordsmith with a fondness for puns. His biography of Nat “King” Cole (Straighten Up and Fly Right) is due this summer, and a revised, expanded edition of Sinatra: The Song is You is one of Leonard’s all-time favorite books on music. What’s more, he and Will have known each other for decades. Jessie says that when they get going, it’s like being at the United Nations without a translator—but great fun all the same.  

Actor, comedian, writer, producer and podcaster extraordinaire, Paul Scheer is definitely on a roll. Showtime’s Black Monday is offering him the meatiest acting role he’s ever tackled, alongside his fine work on Veep, Curb Your Enthusiasm and Fresh off the Boat. And he’s still watching and talking about movies on his Unspooled podcast with Amy Nicholson. Whether you know him best from The League, Human Giant, or NTSF:SD:SUV::, you’ll enjoy hearing him tell Leonard and Jessie about his career in comedy.  

Julie Hagerty’s first film was Airplane! and believe it or not, that was forty years ago! She’s been working ever since, most recently as Scarlett Johansson’s mother in Marriage Story. Her roots are in the theater but she has made her mark in such first-class comedies as Albert Brooks’s Lost in America, Noises Off, and What About Bob? She also provides the voice of Lois’s sister Carol on Family Guy. Leonard and Jessie delighted in getting to know this endearing actress and learning about her journey from teenage model to movie stardom.

Three-time Oscar winner John Dykstra may go down in history as the man who devised the Light Saber for Star Wars, but that’s just one achievement in a lengthy career in visual effects. In fact, he helped usher in the modern era of fx and has adapted to digital sleight-of-hand…but he misses the scrappy days when he built actual models and then blew them up! His credits range from Spider-man and Stuart Little to Quentin Tarantino’s last four films. Best of all, from Leonard and Jessie’s point of view, he has retained his youthful enthusiasm and is exceptionally articulate about his work. 

With films ranging from The Shawshank Redemption to Starship Troopers and recent TV appearances on The Mandalorian, Emergence, Billions, and The Crown (as LBJ), Clancy Brown is the living definition of a “working actor.” He’s also been the voice of Mr. Krabs on Spongebob Squarepants for more than twenty years! Leonard and Jessie have been after him for many months to appear on the podcast and finally found a day he wasn’t on a soundstage; it was well worth the wait.