C. Thomas Howell

When your film career starts out with E.T. the Extra Terrestrial and The Outsiders people expect big things to follow. C. Thomas Howell has made good on this promise by working steadily ever since those early 1980s milestones—and promoting literacy through screenings of the S.E. Hinton classic. He has scores of film and television credits, but Leonard and Jessie are most impressed with his work ethic. The quality that Steven Spielberg and Francis Ford Coppola noticed so long ago still fires his work, most recently in the features One Mile: Chapter One and One Mile: Chapter Two, both now available on digital.

You know his face and have felt his presence. Israeli-born Oded Fehr studied acting at the Old Vic in London and first made a vivid impression on movie audiences in The Mummy andThe Mummy Returns. Since then he has dodged stereotype casting, agreeing to play a terrorist in the TV series Sleeper Cell because it was a three-dimensional character. He then forged a new path in Star Trek: Discovery and Starfleet Academy. He is a charming, well-spoken man who belies the villainous image that gave him his first opportunities on screen. You can see his latest feature film, Grizzly Night, on Video on Demand.  

It's been a long time since Patty McCormack became a sensation—and a star—playing the title role in The Bad Seed on Broadway and then in Hollywood, but it's still a calling card. Her talent has taken her from soap operas to sitcoms and The Sopranos. She's onscreen again in Stop Time, happy to be working but content to live outside the spotlight. Leonard and Jessie got to know her when she found rewarding work at a local bookstore and were happy to get reacquainted for this week's podcast.

Jobeth Williams is part of our communal moviegoing experience. She's in such milestone films as Kramer vs. Kramer, Poltergeist, and The Big Chill and has scores of television shows and miniseries under her belt, including Adam and The Day After. She costars in the recently released Not Without Hope, now available on VOD. She spent many years involved with the Screen Actors Guild Foundation and has earned an emeritus title for her willingness to give back to her fellow performers. Jessie knows and loves her best for her appearance in Jungle 2 Jungle, which was directed by her husband, John Pasquin.

To untold millions of people she will always be bright-eyed Jane Banks in the original Mary Poppins (1964). The real-life Karen Dotrice is the mother of three who grew up in a show-business family. Her father Roy was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company and her godfather was Charles Laughton! Luckily for us, Karen cherishes the memory of making Poppins and has especially fond recollections of Walt Disney, who lavished personal attention on her and her family while they were in Los Angeles. Jessie and Leonard were tickled pink to engage in conversation with a woman they've known and admired for years. (Karen even attended Jessie's bat mitzvah!) This interview first aired in 2022.

With a terrific new movie called Song Sung Blue opening on Christmas day, writer-director Craig Brewer adds another bull's-eye to his filmography, which includes Hustle and Flow, the remake of Footloose, and Eddie Murphy's Dolemite is My Name. Although completely self-taught, he had a great mentor in the late John Singleton and an ability to glean the best lessons to be derived from reading all the film-related books he could while punching a clock at Barnes and Noble.

Bryan Fuller has written, produced and directed more TV series than we can count—including popular shows like Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Discovery, as well as cult-audience favorites Dead Like Me and Pushing Daisies. Now he's unveiling his debut theatrical feature as writer and director, Dust Bunny, starring Mads Mikkelsen (with whom he made the Hannibal TV series) and it will not disappoint his loyal followers. Leonard and Jessie enjoyed listening to such an eloquent filmmaker also who also happens to be an articulate film buff. DUST BUNNY will be In Theaters December 12, 2025.

Can it really be nine years since Leonard and Jessie sat down with Mel Brooks? He's still going strong at age 99 and we wish him another happy hundred years. In the meantime, enjoy this intimate conversation with one of the funniest men who ever walked the earth. 

One of the mainstays of Disney+ and the Disney Channel is a delightfully funny show called Big City Greens. Like all great cartoons, it's not just for kids. It's bright and funny, and once you hear the two brothers who created it you'll know why. Chris (who also voices the main character, Cricket) and Shane draw on their own experiences as country boys who moved to the city to make good—and they have done just that. Their heartfelt ambition and positivity are an inspiration to fans like Leonard and Jessie.  

Patrick Stump is no stranger to success. He's been the lead singer for Fall Out Boy for 24 years and just completed their latest tour. He's done voice acting and scored a number of film and television shows, but in our household he reigns supreme as the writer and performer of the theme song for Spidey and his amazing Friends on Disney Jr. He truly loves both the film and music world and happily chats about both in our conversation.