Talking Pictures
TALKING PICTURES is an interview series in which filmmaker and film journalist Christian Genzel talks to the people behind some of his favorite movies. From cult movie directors to character actors, from seasoned veterans to brilliant newcomers, from celebrated artists to filmmakers who haven't received the recognition they deserve - these folks have made some great movies and have lots of fascinating stories to tell.
- Update frequency
- every 44 days
- Episodes
- 39
- Years Active
- 2016 - 2025
#43 – “I wrote the screenplay with no expectations”: Mike Rich on FINDING FORRESTER
For today’s episode, I’ve had the immense pleasure of talking to screenwriter Mike Rich about his very first film, FINDING FORRESTER. Directed by Gus Van Sant, the film came out in the year 2000 and …
#41 – “Roger Corman Said I Was More Radical”: Composer/Music Producer Mike Curb on THE WILD ANGELS and Other Biker & Counterculture Films
Today’s guest is Mike Curb, best known as the head of the independent record label Curb Records, which started out in 1964 as Sidewalk Records and is still going strong in 2025. Over the years, Curb …
#40 – “He Would Have Been So Happy About This Notoriety”: Ed Wood Heir Bob Blackburn on the PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE Director’s Legacy
Today’s guest is Bob Blackburn – he’s the son of the famous sportscaster by the same name, Bob Blackburn, who was the play-by-play voice of the Seattle SuperSonics of the NBA and was inducted into th…
#39 – “I Still Don’t Feel the Code Has Been Cracked on How to Adapt These Things”: Screenwriter Dave Callaham on DOOM
Today’s guest is screenwriter Dave Callaham, and our conversation revolves around one of his early screenwriting assignments: the adaptation of the influential video game DOOM by id Software, turned …
#38 – “I Started Becoming Very Irresponsible”: Director Enda McCallion Explains How He Got Fired from DOOM (and What He’s Up to Now)
Today’s guest is Irish filmmaker Enda McCallion, and our interview was prompted by his involvement in the 2005 horror film DOOM starring The Rock, an adaptation of the influential video game by id So…
#37 – “You’re Never Going to Meet Up with Expectations”: Director/Writer Tony Giglio on His Video Game Adaptation DOOM: ANNIHILATION
Today’s guest is filmmaker Tony Giglio, and our conversation revolves around his 2019 film DOOM: ANNIHILATION which he wrote and directed. Unlike the 2005 DOOM movie starring The Rock, this newer ada…
#36: “Nobody Said: Wow, We’re Doing Something Revolutionary Here”: Ron Bonk on his Early Found-Footage Film STRAWBERRY ESTATES
Today’s guest is Ron Bonk, best known as the owner of the New York-based underground production and distribution company SRS Cinema. Ron started out as a filmmaker in the shot-on-video world of the 1…
#35: “It’s Good to Be Ahead of Your Time, But Not a Decade”: Director Dean Alioto on Pioneering Found Footage Film UFO ABDUCTION
Today’s guest is Dean Alioto, writer and director of the groundbreaking found footage horror film UFO ABDUCTION, which also became known as THE MCPHERSON TAPE. The film tells the story of a family wh…
#34: “It’s very easy for me to scare myself”: Director Ted Nicolaou on THE ST. FRANCISVILLE EXPERIMENT
Today’s guest is Ted Nicolaou, best known for his many collaborations with producer Charles Band, including the popular SUBSPECIES series. Ted started out as a sound recordist on Tobe Hooper’s cult c…
#33: “We Didn’t Think Anyone Would Watch 1½ Hours of Crappy Video of Running Around in the Woods”: Stefan Avalos on Found Footage Precursor THE LAST BROADCAST
Today’s guest is Stefan Avalos, who was once profiled by Wired magazine as “one of the twenty five people helping to reinvent entertainment”. Together with Lance Weiler, he wrote, produced, directed …
#32: “In 1999, There’s a Lot of Things People Don’t Know About”: Brian Leslie on Producing the BLAIR WITCH Follow-up THE BLACK DOOR
Today’s guest is Brian Leslie, producer of the found footage horror film THE BLACK DOOR, which came out in 2001 on the heels of the success of the genre-defining THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT. THE BLACK DO…
#31: “I Don’t Need Cute” – Director Carl Schultz on THE ADVENTURES OF YOUNG INDIANA JONES
Today’s guest is director Carl Schultz, and our conversation revolves around his work on the TV series THE YOUNG INDIANA JONES CHRONICLES, or THE ADVENTURES OF YOUNG INDIANA JONES, as it’s later been…
#30: “It Made Me Read THE TRIAL by Franz Kafka”: Actor Sean Patrick Flanery on THE ADVENTURES OF YOUNG INDIANA JONES
Today’s guest is actor Sean Patrick Flanery, and our conversation revolves around his work on the TV series THE YOUNG INDIANA JONES CHRONICLES, later re-titled as THE ADVENTURES OF YOUNG INDIANA JONE…
#29: “We Need the Indiana Jones Character”, Says Novelist Max McCoy
Just like in our last episode, today’s guest is not a filmmaker but a novelist. In our last episode, I spoke to Rob MacGregor who wrote several Indiana Jones novels at the beginning of the Nineties –…
#28: Mythology and Spirituality: Rob MacGregor on his Indiana Jones Novels
Today’s guest is not a filmmaker – but his best-known work is closely connected to one of the most popular movie series of all time. It is novelist Rob MacGregor, who wrote the novelization of Steven…
#27: “Nothing Would Ever Top the Ark of the Covenant”: Screenwriter Menno Meyjes on INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE
Today’s guest is screenwriter and director Menno Meyjes, best known for his collaboration with Steven Spielberg in the 80’s. Menno was born in the Netherlands but moved to the United States in 1972 t…
#26: CRITTERS, CREEPERS & Other Impossible Projects: A Conversation with Producer Barry Opper
Today’s guest is Barry Opper, best known as the producer of the CRITTERS series, the tongue-in-cheek sci-fi horror series about furry little creatures from outer space creating havoc here on Earth. B…
Talking Pictures #25: Aaron Lipstadt, Director of ANDROID
Today’s guest is Aaron Lipstadt, best known from the mid-80’s onwards as a director on popular TV shows like MIAMI VICE, QUANTUM LEAP, LAW & ORDER, CROSSING JORDAN, THE 4400, BOSCH or ELEMENTARY. As …
Talking Pictures #22: Nicholas Meyer, Writer of THE SEVEN PER-CENT SOLUTION
Today’s guest is the amazing writer and director Nicholas Meyer. While Meyer is probably best known as the writer and director of the beloved sci-fi sequels STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN and STAR T…
Talking Pictures #20: Allan Warnick, Supporting Actor in CHINATOWN
This is the second part of our CHINATOWN series where we discuss the making of Roman Polanski’s 1974 masterpiece, and today’s guest is character actor Allan Warnick. CHINATOWN is Allan’s best-known r…