‘Blow the Man Down’ with Mallory O’Meara

It's a Feeling Seen feed drop! One of Maximum Fun's newest shows is one that Switchblade Sisters fans oughta know.In this episode, host Jordan Crucchiola (a former Switchblade Sisters guest) talks with Bridget Everett, a comedian, singer, and the star of her own new HBO series, Somebody Somewhere. Her journey to the semi-autobiographical series had lots of twists and turns along the way.Bridget shares how she sees herself in the title character of 1993's Rudy -- from being underestimated to being cheered on by heroes when she needed it most. BRIDGET! BRIDGET! BRIDGET!***Subscribe to Feeling Seen!Follow Feeling Seen on Twitter, Instagram, and FacebookWith Jordan Crucchiola and Bridget Everett

Well, we did it. It’s the final episode of Switchblade Sisters. Instead of doing a traditional show, April invited Katie Walsh, Drea Clark, and producer Casey O’Brien to discuss the making of Switchblade Sisters. We listen to messages from listeners and past guests and share our stories from the history of the podcast. We laugh, we cry, and Drea says “connective thread” at least 300 times. Thank you to everyone who listened and supported us. We will miss you. The episodes will stay up forever. So if you ever need any filmmaking advice, or maybe some assurance to follow your dreams, the show will always be there.Keep up with April Wolfe on her Twitter. And give Drea Clark and Katie Walsh a follow, too.

This week we are joined by the wonderful Jo Firestone. She’s a comedian, whose writing can be seen on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. You can see her in front of the camera as Sarah Connor, the doomsday prepping band teacher on Joe Pera Talks with You. Or you can hear her on Maximum Fun’s own Dr. Gameshow. But on this episode, she is here to talk about the magnificent Mars Attacks! She and April discuss the important things, like Lisa Marie’s “Sexy Alien” character, and how Jo used to want to work at Hooters. Plus, Jo talks about how a lack of funds on a project can foster a more creative environment. And, she explains the strange experience of running into The Backstreet Boys while they were dressed as chickens on The Tonight Show.You can watch Rate The Cookie on Adult Swim now.Also, please consider financially supporting our show by becoming a Maximum Fun member at Maximumfun.org/joinIf you haven’t seen Mars Attacks! – move it!With April Wolfe and Jo Firestone.

This week we are joined by the wonderful writer, director, producer, and actor Gillian Wallace Horvat. She sits down with host Katie Walsh to discuss Gus Van Sant’s classic, To Die For. Rarely has a movie chosen by a guest better fit with their own work than with this film and Gillian’s latest, I Blame Society. Gillian begins the discussion by drawing parallels between the two movies, both about psychotic women who do not let anyone get in the way of their desires. Gillian elaborates on how gatekeepers and the invisible barriers to the film industry inspired her film. She also talks about her friendship with To Die For screenwriter Buck Henry and how they became lunch buddies. And lastly, Gillian reveals a conspiracy theory about To Die For that involves witchcraft.You can see I Blame Society on VOD February 12thPlease call in to leave your message for the finale episode: 818-962-0286Also, please consider financially supporting our show by becoming a Maximum Fun member at Maximumfun.org/joinIf you haven’t seen To Die For – move it!With Katie Walsh and Gillian Wallace Horvat.

This episode begins with a very important announcement from our host April Wolfe about the future of Switchblade Sisters. But as far as guests go, this week we are joined by the phenomenal writer and director Nora Unkel. Her latest feature, A Nightmare Wakes, explores the personal turmoil of writer Mary Shelley. This is so appropriate because the movie she chose to discuss this week is James Whale’s classic, Bride of Frankenstein. Nora begins the conversation by elaborating on how Whale’s movie directly inspired her latest film. She also talks about having to ignore what is currently popular in modern cinema in order to pursue the projects she’s most excited about. And lastly, she and April dissect the gay undertones of the film, from director James Whale’s influence to the “archetypical Queen” Dr. Pretorius.You can see A Nightmare Wakes on Shudder.Also, please consider financially supporting our show by becoming a Maximum Fun member at Maximumfun.org/joinIf you haven’t seen Bride of Frankenstein – it’s fun!With April Wolfe and Nora Unkel.

We are joined this week by the lovely Mary Holland. She is an actor and writer, who can most recently be seen in Happiest Season, a film that she co-wrote with director Clea DuVall. Mary’s on the show to talk about a movie that is nothing like Happiest Season at all, and that would be David Fincher’s mystery-thriller, The Game. Mary is an admitted fan of “games and escape rooms,” so it makes sense she gravitates towards this film. She and April go in-depth on the writing of Mary’s latest feature. She talks about how the script naturally changes when the film is cast, and how Mary Steenburgen breathed a different life into her role than was originally written. Mary also talks about her acting craft, the difficulty of shooting movies out of order, and the exhausting process of shooting “table scenes.” And lastly, she discusses the emotional “revelation scene” in Happiest Season, and how Kristen Stewart, Mackenzie Davis, and everyone involved had to really gear themselves up for shooting it.You can see Happiest Season on Hulu now.Please check out storyblocks.com/SWITCHBLADEAlso, please consider financially supporting our show by becoming a Maximum Fun member at Maximumfun.org/joinIf you haven’t seen The Game – it’s fun!With April Wolfe and Mary Holland.

This week we are joined by the amazing author and producer Mallory O’Meara. Some may know her as one of the hosts of the Maximum Fun podcast Reading Glasses. But she is here today to talk about 2020’s sea shanty bonanza, Blow the Man Down. She and April get into the nitty-gritty of the creative process and discuss why some projects take longer to correctly finish. Mallory also talks about what brought her to writing her book The Lady from the Black Lagoon about Milicent Patrick, “the only woman in history to create one of Hollywood’s classic movie monsters.” Mallory also hammers home that women are not just joining the cultural conversation after #MeToo, but have always been there, contributing to history.Listen to Reading Glasses and check out Mallory’s book The Lady from the Black LagoonPlease check out storyblocks.com/SWITCHBLADEAlso, please consider financially supporting our show by becoming a Maximum Fun member at Maximumfun.org/joinIf you haven’t seen Blow the Man Down – it’s great!With April Wolfe and Mallory O’Meara.

We are joined by the multi-hyphenate, uber-talented writer, actor, director, producer Sujata Day. You may know her best from her role as Sarah on Insecure. But she also recently wrote, directed, and starred in her debut feature Definition Please, about a former spelling bee champion who must reconcile with her family and her past. She joins Katie Walsh to discuss Brian De Palma’s severely underrated Sisters. Katie and Sujata gush over the “bonkers” quality of the film. But Sujata goes further and points to De Palma’s use of split-screens and imaginative filmmaking techniques that directly inspired her work. Sujata also discusses scrappy filmmaking (she shot her film in two weeks), utilizing Indian music, and having complete creative control over low-budget projects.Please consider financially supporting our show by becoming a Maximum Fun member at Maximumfun.org/joinIf you haven’t seen Sisters – it’s great!With Katie Walsh and Sujata Day.

This week we are joined by the incredibly talented director Natasha Kermani to talk about Kathryn Bigelow’s undersung classic, Strange Days. Katie Walsh takes over hosting duties to speak to Natasha about the disturbing prescience of this film and Bigelow’s oeuvre in general. They also chat about Natasha’s latest film, the Brea Grant penned slasher satire, Lucky. Natasha discusses creating a “Final Woman,” as opposed to the typical “Final Girl.” She elaborates on working with action and fight choreography and how she always tries to ground it in service of the story. Natasha also elaborates on the creation of the killer’s mask in Lucky, and how she wanted it to look subtle as if there were no mask at all.Please consider financially supporting our show by becoming a Maximum Fun member at Maximumfun.org/joinIf you haven’t seen Strange Days – it’s great…but hard to track down.With Katie Walsh and Natasha Kermani.

This week we are joined by a very special guest; writer, producer, and educator Tananarive Due. For those who don’t know, Tananarive recently produced the groundbreaking documentary Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror. She’s also an award-winning author of several books. And she teaches Black Horror and Afrofuturism at UCLA. This week she joins April to discuss Jordan Peele’s Us. Tananarive begins the discussion by revealing her connections to Peele, which includes several interviews with the filmmaker and writing the introduction on the Black Horror aesthetic for the annotated screenplay of Get Out. As the discussion continues, she and April thoughtfully dissect several aspects of the film. Tananarive compares her isolation of being a Black woman in a white environment to Jordan Peele’s isolation that inspired both Get Out and Us. She also examines the personalities of predators, and how they are so similar to us. And she talks about the political statement made when a director casts a dark-skinned Black woman in the leading role of a Hollywood film.You can watch Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror streaming now.Please consider financially supporting our show by becoming a Maximum Fun member at Maximumfun.org/joinIf you haven’t seen Us – c’mon, you gotta.With April Wolfe and Tananarive Due.