One Perfect Pod

After the Credits makes its triumphant return as host Matthew Monagle is joined by critic Rob Hunter to discuss the new Jackie Chan movie, The Foreigner. Don't forget to support our sponsor, VideoBlocks. Download all the stock video footage your heart desires for $149/year. Start today at videoblocks.com/rejects.

Let's say you had to face off against one of horrors famous baddies. Would you rather wake up in one of Jigsaw's convoluted traps? Fall asleep to find Freddy's ugly mug staring you down? Unwrap a Christmas gift only to find Annabelle in the box? In other words, which horror villain would be the easiest to survive? Or the most fun to go up against? Scott and Geoff go over your perspectives about defining the horror genre and pick which villain they'd fight [0:00 - 31:45], and conduct a little commerce [31:45 - 35:45]. They also answer your screenwriting questions about why it's so hard to finish a screenplay [35:45 - 40:20] and about the viability of trading a blossoming career in the Austin creative scene for a spot at the bottom of a big food chain in Atlanta [40:20 - 52:00].

In part two of our special report from Fantastic Fest 2017, Neil chats with After the Credits host Matthew Monagle about Brawl in Cell Block 99, The Line, Wheelman, and more. Don't forget to support this month's sponsor, VideoBlocks. Go to videoblocks.com/rejects to get all the stock video your heart desires for only $149/year.

How do you define the horror genre? What counts? Geoff and Scott attempt to nail down the lines around the films that try to terrify [0:00 - 32:00]. They also appreciate some commerce [32:00 - 38:00] and answer your screenwriting questions about on-the-nose writing and knowing when to get out of a scene [38:00 - 65:00].

IndieWire's Film Editor Kate Erbland joins Scott to share her reporting on the sexual assault allegations against Aint It Cool founder Harry Knowles. They also consider Alamo Drafthouse CEO Tim League's responses to the revelation that he'd brought Devin Faraci back onto the payroll only a few weeks after the Birth Movies Death editor-in-chief stepped down following allegations against him last year, as well as more stories of protectionism instead of punishment for assailants at the Drafthouse. As several groups came together to talk during Fantastic Fest (see here, here, and here for a start) and online, the biggest questions circle around how the Drafthouse can make real changes in order to value a safe environment for women, how the film critic community can work to actively bring women's voices into the ranks, and whether we can keep an eye on accountability once the initial outrage has died down.

All this week, the One Perfect Pod team has been in Austin, TX at Fantastic Fest watching strange and wonderful genre films. In a series of special reports, Neil talks to the team about the best, worst, and weirdest of the fest. Up first: Chief Critic Rob Hunter.

This week from the Alan Smithee Memorial Studio, Akela Cooper joins Scott and Geoff for a conversation about going from rural Missouri to the writers' rooms of several hit shows [start - 13:45]. Then, answers to your questions about nurturing an undeveloped idea [13:45 - 20:00]; how you know a story idea is worth pursuing [20:00 - 24:25]; how much change your characters have to go through [24:25 - 29:40]; if you should tailor your writing to the 20-something assistants reading for their bosses [29:40 - 35:40]; how to make dialogue pop [35:40 - 41:05]; and if you should worry about being able to write one genre for TV and another for film [41:05 - 50:00].

This week on After the Credits, Matthew is joined by IndieWire critic Jamie Righetti to discuss Annabelle: Creation and the cinematic universe of James Wan's The Conjuring. Does the film's talented cast and handful of creative scares make up for some of its half-baked horror tropes? It depends on who you ask!

This week from the Alan Smithee Memorial Studio, Scott and Geoff cover the basics of screenwriting by answering the most frequently asked questions. Deep breath. An intro note on methodology and where to learn formatting [0:00 - 4:15] A way to rethink the questions you're asking [4:15 - 9:10] "Do I have to move to LA?" [9:10 - 11:28] "How do I get an agent/manager?" [11:28 - 18:10] "Where do I find scripts?" [18:10 - 20:45] "What screenwriting books are the 'right' ones?" [20:45 - 24:00] "How do I pitch?" [24:00 - 25:50] "Should I go to film school?" [25:50 - 31:05] "I just finished my first script. What do I do now?" [31:05 - 37:45] "How do I get an actor/actress to read my script?" [37:45 - 44:35] "How do I get a job as a TV writer's assistant?" [44:35 - 50:05] "How did you get your start?" [50:05 - 54:55] "How do you come up with your ideas?" [54:55 - 59:10] "What are agents/managers/producers looking for?" [59:10 - 61:05] "What genre should I write?" [61:05 - 61:10] "How do you impress a reader?" [61:10

This week on After the Credits, Matthew is joined by Birth.Movies.Death author Scott Wampler to discuss The Dark Tower and Stephen King's magnum opus of a book series. Scott also shares his recollections of #19HoursInBangor, an incredible publicity tour of King's hometown that included a sit-down with the man himself!

Perry and Geoff explore the pure madness of Werner Herzog's Fitzcarraldo, shot guerilla style by Thomas Mauch.

Matthew welcomes Birth.Movies.Death's Jacob Knight to talk about how expectations match with reality for Atomic Blonde, the spiritual cousin of John Wick, starring Charlize Theron.

This week from the Alan Smithee Memorial Studio, Scott and Geoff ponder a piece at GQ that outlines the new paths to stardom available to young actors who may have to redefine fame [0:00 - 21:25]. They also chat with Nerdist's resident Overwatch fanatic Dan Casey to learn what massive Comic-Con stuff thrilled him and what missed the mark[21:25 - 48:25]. Then, a little game of Who's Wrong to close things out[48:25 - 50:00].

Note: The producer of this episode would like to apologize in advance for some audio quality issues. He messed up Matthew's mic settings, especially for the first segment. It won't happen again. Matthew sits down with FSR chief Neil Miller to watch and discuss Luc Besson's fever dream, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets. Is it the second coming of The Fifth Element, or more like Jupiter Ascending? You'll have to listen and find out.

To honor the passing of a legend, Perry and Geoff look at the seminal work of George A. Romero, 1978's Dawn of the Dead, shot by Michael Gornick.

This week from the Alan Smithee Memorial Studio, Scott and Geoff offer some insights to aspiring screenwriters and directors about how to use film festival line-ups as a research tool [0:00 - 20:25], then puzzle over why studios can't take the obvious lesson from successful movies [20:25 - 32:00]. We close out with game we like to call Who's Right: Christopher Nolan vs. Netflix.

This week, Perry and Geoff talk about the perfect shots of John Wick, from directors Chad Stahelski and David Leitch, and cinematographer Jonathan Sela.

This week on After the Credits, Matthew is joined by Cinapse co-founder and critic Ed Travis to discuss War for the Planet of the Apes.

Perry and Geoff are taken to the sunken place for a discussion about Jordan Peele's thriller 'Get Out,' shot by Toby Oliver.

Nerdist's Scott Beggs joins Matthew to discuss Spider-Man: Homecoming, the first fusion offering between Sony and Marvel Studios, and Robert Downey Jr.'s singing career.