Filmmakers get into filmmaking for one reason. In short, they love movies. Specifically, they love this medium of storytelling. They love the reaction and emotion films generate in us. They love to study a director’s technique or the way writers get themselves out of the corner they wrote themselves into. They love to make an audience laugh, cry or think. They love how a vast landscape looks on screen or the way a beam of light cuts across their actor’s face. Perhaps I’m speaking just for myself, but those reasons are why I am a filmmaker.
One of the best perks of the work is talking about movies with other filmmakers and really diving into all aspects of the craft and business. Over the years, I’ve been enlightened by some of the perspectives that my friends and colleagues have offered in conversation. And I hope I’ve been able to contribute in kind. Which is why I created this new podcast.
The Rear View is a chance for filmmakers to take a glance back at film history while driving forward into the future of cinema and television. Each episode, or reel as we’ll be calling them, I sit down with a filmmaker – be it writer, director, cinematographer, visual effect artists or composer – to discuss a film that influenced them in their craft. Or one they simply can’t talk about enough. Whether they liked the film or not, there is always something to learn about it.
In Reel 101 (below), I talk with documentary filmmaker and journalist Zach Weissmueller about the 1989 film Sex, Lies and Videotape. The debut feature by Steven Soderbergh that put the Sundance Film Festival on the map and sparked the 1990s era of independent film.
One note of caution, this is a “spoiler-alert” free zone. While we won’t set out to intentionally ruin a plot, we’d be doing a disservice by not talking openly about the film with the how and why things happen. (I could have a whole show on how declaring “spoiler-alert” has ruined conversations and my life in general – and I’ll have to do that at some point.)
So please, give a listen and subscribe. You can find the show free on iTunes and on Soundcloud where you can add your comments to the discussion. If you prefer to use Stitcher, then do it! Please also follow the show on and use #TheRearViewList to add a film that you think deserves a look back on.
And because we are a brand new show, please share the links and forgive any bumps we may have on this road. Thanks!
If you’re driving forward on your film, always be sure to check The Rear View.
