American Star (2024) with Gonzalo López-Gallego & José David Montero

Hello! Welcome to another edition of the exclusive audio commentary podcast hosted by me, David Hughes.  This episode is a bit different: ever mindful of the plight of the environment, it’s actually a recycled episode of the politics podcast Podcasting in Praxis with David, Jamie, Alasdair, Rob and James working out some issues with Alex Garland’s 2024 movie Civil War. The film was too much of a mess for me to coalesce many of my own thoughts about it – other than “Jesse Plemons good” – and although I read many reviews, I felt that only the Podcasting is Praxis team fully articulated my manifold problems with Garland’s film. So I reached out to them and asked if I could recycle their no-holds-barred critique for a very special guest episode of Rogue Commentary. Regular listeners will know that you can usually cue up our commentaries with the film, but since the Podcasting is Praxis discussion was not an audio commentary in the traditional sense, there’s absolutely no need to subject yourself to the film again. Massive thanks to David, Jamie, Alasdair, Rob and James for permission to re-use their content for my own nefarious purposes. If you like their style, do subscribe to the Podcasting is Praxis on whichever podcasting platform floats your boat. We’ll be back to the usual format next time, but in the meantime – enjoy! Comments? Feedback? Suggestions? Email David *at * Rogue-Commentary *dot* com or send us a ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠tweet⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. We have lots of exciting episodes in the works, so if you like what you hear – or just the idea – please subscribe, and remember to rate us wherever you hear this podcast – it'll really help us to keep going. Oh, and follow us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠X⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and/or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to stay up-to-date on our forthcoming releases. Thanks for listening! A ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Synchronicity⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ production, conceived and presented by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠David Hughes⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Produced by Sam Ibrahim. Music by Olli Oja. All content © 2024 Synchronicity II Ltd. All rights reserved.

Hello! Welcome to another edition of the exclusive audio commentary podcast hosted by me, David Hughes.  This episode is really personal for me, not only because Rupert Wainwright has been a good friend of mine for 25 years, but because Stigmata is the reason we met. While working on Divine Rites: The Story of Stigmata, a documentary about the film and the phenomenon, I wrote and pitched to Rupert a pilot script designed to be a spin-off of the film, using the Congregation of the Causes of Saints as a kind of X-Files show in which our hero would travel the world investigating mysteries and miracles. Although we didn’t end up making the show, Rupert liked the script enough to give me a shot at writing a film for him, based on his own idea, which we almost got to make with Matthew McConaughey about 20 years ago, and we’ve been working on projects together ever since – and more importantly, we’ve enjoyed an enduring friendship which has outlasted our Dante-esque trudges through Development Hell. Revisiting Stigmata for its 25th anniversary, I was delighted to discover that the film really holds up, which is a testament both to Rupert’s skill as a director and the casting of some very talented and committed actors, including Patricia Arquette, Gabriel Byrne, Jonathan Pryce and our mutual friend Rade Serbedzija. Massive thanks to Rupert for lending his time and his memories to our 40th episode. Comments? Feedback? Suggestions? Email David *at * Rogue-Commentary *dot* com or send us a ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠tweet⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. We have lots of exciting episodes in the works, so if you like what you hear – or just the idea – please subscribe, and remember to rate us wherever you hear this podcast – it'll really help us to keep going. Oh, and follow us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠X⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and/or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to stay up-to-date on our forthcoming releases. Thanks for listening! A ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Synchronicity⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ production, conceived and presented by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠David Hughes⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Produced by Sam Ibrahim. Music by Olli Oja. All content © 2024 Synchronicity II Ltd. All rights reserved.

Hello! Welcome to another edition of the exclusive audio commentary podcast hosted by David Hughes.  For this episode, I’m joined by Damien Lewis, author of the non-fiction book The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, the first third of which is now a major motion picture directed by Guy Ritchie. I read – no, devoured the book before I saw the film, but if I hadn’t, it wouldn’t have mattered how many ‘based on a true story’ captions came up before the film started, I wouldn’t have believed a word of it – the story was just too deliciously outrageous to be true. But it is. Surely no human could possibly be as larger-than-life as Anders Lassen? Surely Operation Pitchfork, the truth about which was only declassified in 2016, couldn’t possibly have happened? It was like something out of James Bond, except Churchill was behind it, with both M and Ian Fleming in the room. It took me a minute to vibe with the Commando comic/boys’ own adventure tone of the film, but once I’d tuned in to its wavelength, I had what can only be described as an outrageously good time with the film, and I’m sure, if you’re listening, you did too. Thanks to Damien’s page-burner – a page-turner where you turn the pages so fast they risk igniting – I already knew the background of the story, but I still wanted to dig deeper, and although time constraints meant Damien couldn’t go the full two-hour film commentary, much less what would have been a reductive and redundant scene-by-scene breakdown, he did give us 90 minutes of gold, smuggled out not of Fernando Po or even Lisbon – that’ll make sense when you listen to the commentary – but from his study in Dorset, where he’s working on a new book, based – if you can believe this – on an even more unbelievable yet true story from the Second World War. Enormous thanks to Damien, of course, but also Sophie Ransom and Poppy Delingpole for helping to set it up. Comments? Feedback? Suggestions? Email David *at * Rogue-Commentary *dot* com or send us a ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠tweet⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. We have lots of exciting episodes in the works, so if you like what you hear – or just the idea – please subscribe, and remember to rate us wherever you hear this podcast – it'll really help us to keep going. Oh, and follow us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and/or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to stay up-to-date on our forthcoming releases. Thanks for listening! A ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Synchronicity⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ production, conceived and presented by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠David Hughes⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Produced by Sam Ibrahim. Music by Olli Oja. All content © 2024 Synchronicity II Ltd. All rights reserved.

Hello! Welcome to another edition of the exclusive audio commentary podcast hosted by me, David Hughes.  For this episode, we’re joined by Swiss director Peter Luisi for a fascinating discussion about his new film The Last Screenwriter, the first film scripted entirely by A.I. – specifically ChatGPT4.0 Now, before you grab your pitchforks and burning torches and lay siege to Rogue Commentary HQ, hear me out: I’m staunchly, even militantly anti-A.I. in the arts. But when I heard that London’s beloved Prince Charles Cinema had called off what was to be the world premiere of The Last Screenwriter because of blowback it receive online, I was disheartened, because it seemed that Peter’s film was a genuine attempt to engage with the question of A.I. in film specifically, and that we desperately needed to have the kind of conversation the film should have, and would have, provoked. Instead, by shelving the screening, conversation as shut down. As I said in my subsequent piece for Time Out, I don’t think the screening would have been cancelled if the film was being presented as an experimental film by a known quantity such as a Michael Winterbottom, a Steven Soderbergh or Mike Figgis. While not exactly a household name in his native Switzerland, Peter co-wrote his country’s excellent Oscar entry for 2007, Vitus, and is the writer, director and producer of last year’s Bonjour Switzerland, the 8th most successful Swiss film of all time, and the biggest-grossing film in Switzerland since the advent of streaming. The Last Screenwriter is now available online, for free, at lastscreenwriter.com and there’s no need to have seen it before listening to Peter’s commentary, but whether or not you’ve seen the film – and I would urge you to give it a watch – I think you’ll find Peter’s commentary as fascinating as I did. Thanks Peter! Comments? Feedback? Suggestions? Email David *at * Rogue-Commentary *dot* com or send us a ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠tweet⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. We have lots of exciting episodes in the works, so if you like what you hear – or just the idea – please subscribe, and remember to rate us wherever you hear this podcast – it'll really help us to keep going. Oh, and follow us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and/or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to stay up-to-date on our forthcoming releases. Thanks for listening! A ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Synchronicity⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ production, conceived and presented by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠David Hughes⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Produced by Sam Ibrahim. Music by Olli Oja. All content © 2024 Synchronicity II Ltd. All rights reserved.

Hello! Welcome to another edition of the exclusive audio commentary podcast hosted by David Hughes.  For this episode, I’m delighted to be joined by director Alberto Corredor for a peek under the hood of his terrific 2023 horror movie BAGHEAD. When I first saw the film, reviewing it for Time Out, it had a very late embargo, which normally means you can expect the worst. But even though I didn’t go in with low expectations – because I like to give every film a fair shot – I was still mightily impressed, not only by Freya Allen’s terrifically spiky performance, but also by the way Corredor understood what audiences wanted, and was determined to give it to them, without ever condescending to them with a knowing wink. Now that I’ve seen the 2017 short on which Baghead was based, I’m also impressed by how far the screenwriters went to build on not only the idea at the heart of the short, but also deeper themes of grief, inherited trauma and determinism. Massive thanks are due to Alberto for jumping on board, but also to Studio Canal, especially Mubanga Mweemba, for connecting us. Comments? Feedback? Suggestions? Email David *at * Rogue-Commentary *dot* com or send us a ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠tweet⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. We have lots of exciting episodes in the works, so if you like what you hear – or just the idea – please subscribe, and remember to rate us wherever you hear this podcast – it'll really help us to keep going. Oh, and follow us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and/or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to stay up-to-date on our forthcoming releases. Thanks for listening! A ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Synchronicity⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ production, conceived and presented by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠David Hughes⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Produced by Sam Ibrahim. Music by Olli Oja. All content © 2024 Synchronicity II Ltd. All rights reserved.

Hello! Welcome to another edition of the exclusive audio commentary podcast hosted by me, David Hughes.  For this episode, I’m thrilled to welcome Jen Johans, award-winning writer, film critics, essayist and historian, and host of the excellent Watch With Jen podcast. Now, that has really good guests, but Jen must be short for Jenerous because she always gives her guests more of the floor than she uses herself, so I thought it’d be perfect to invite her to record a solo commentary, and choose any film she wanted, and I’m super excited she chose Norman Jewison's timeless 1987 romantic comedy-drama Moonstruck, starring Cher and Olympia Dukakis – both of whom won Oscars for their performances – Nicolas Cage and Danny Aiello, from an Oscar-winning original screenplay by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright John Patrick Shanley. I’m a huge fan of Moonstruck, and I’m really excited to bring you this exclusive audio commentary, which I’m sure you’re going to love. Even though, as we all know, "love don’t make things nice. It ruins everything. It breaks your heart. It makes things a mess.” Comments? Feedback? Suggestions? Email David *at * Rogue-Commentary *dot* com or send us a ⁠⁠⁠⁠tweet⁠⁠⁠⁠. We have lots of exciting episodes in the works, so if you like what you hear – or just the idea – please subscribe, and remember to rate us wherever you hear this podcast – it'll really help us to keep going. Oh, and follow us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠ and/or ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠ to stay up-to-date on our forthcoming releases. Thanks for listening! A ⁠⁠⁠⁠Synchronicity⁠⁠⁠⁠ production, conceived and presented by ⁠⁠⁠⁠David Hughes⁠⁠⁠⁠. Produced by Sam Ibrahim. Music by Olli Oja. All content © 2024 Synchronicity II Ltd. All rights reserved.

Hello! Welcome to another edition of the exclusive audio commentary podcast hosted by me, ⁠⁠⁠David Hughes.⁠⁠⁠ For this episode, I’m delighted to welcome Gonzalo López-Gallego and José David Montero, director and cinematographer respectively of the terrific neo-noir American Star, in which Ian McShane plays an ex-soldier-turned-hitman who travels to Fuertaventura, one of the Canary Islands, to do a job, and finds himself on a journey into his soul. As I’m sure you’ve noticed by now, we’re doing a second episode covering the splendid neo-noir American Star, in which Ian McShane plays an ex-soldier-turned-hitman who travels to Fuertaventura, one of the Canary Islands, to do a job, and finds himself on a journey into his soul. This time, our guest is screenwriter Nacho Faerna, and not just because he wasn’t able to make the first recording we did for this film, but also because he really gave birth to the story, and I thought his insights into the development of the film could offer a broader inspiration for aspiring screenwriters. Comments? Feedback? Suggestions? Email David *at * Rogue-Commentary *dot* com or send us a ⁠⁠⁠tweet⁠⁠⁠. We have lots of exciting episodes in the works, so if you like what you hear – or just the idea – please subscribe, and remember to rate us wherever you hear this podcast – it'll really help us to keep going. Oh, and follow us on ⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠ and/or ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠ to stay up-to-date on our forthcoming releases. Thanks for listening! A ⁠⁠⁠Synchronicity⁠⁠⁠ production. Conceived, written and presented by ⁠⁠⁠David Hughes⁠⁠⁠. Produced by Sam Ibrahim. Music by Olli Oja. All content © 2024 Synchronicity II Ltd. All rights reserved.

Hello! Welcome to another edition of the exclusive audio commentary podcast hosted by me, ⁠⁠David Hughes.⁠⁠ For this episode, I’m delighted to welcome Gonzalo López-Gallego and José David Montero, director and cinematographer respectively of the terrific neo-noir American Star, in which Ian McShane plays an ex-soldier-turned-hitman who travels to Fuertaventura, one of the Canary Islands, to do a job, and finds himself on a journey into his soul. It’s an elegiac, ruminative and surprisingly affecting film, with a captivating performance by McShane. He’s so good, in fact, so mesmerizing, that you almost miss the incredible work Nora Arnezeder is doing. For me, this was the film many critics thought they were watching when they raved about David Fincher’s The Killer, another film that deals a hitman’s ennui. Can you imagine how diminished American Star would be if it was slathered in voiceover, or if Ian McShane’s character played The Smiths on an endless loop? I really appreciate Gonzalo and José-David coming on to talk about one of my favourite films of the year so far, but I also have to thank screenwriter Nacho Faerna, who put us in touch. He wasn’t able to make the recording, but don’t worry – we’re going to record a separate Rogue Commentary with Nacho that will uncover all the screenwriting secrets of the film’s development, including how it was inspired by a conversation much like the one Wilson has with Max in American Star. Keep an eye out for that episode, which will be dropping soon. Comments? Feedback? Suggestions? Email David *at * Rogue-Commentary *dot* com or send us a ⁠⁠tweet⁠⁠. We have lots of exciting episodes in the works, so if you like what you hear – or just the idea – please subscribe, and remember to rate us wherever you hear this podcast – it'll really help us to keep going. Oh, and follow us on ⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠ and/or ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ to stay up-to-date on our forthcoming releases. Thanks for listening! A ⁠⁠Synchronicity⁠⁠ production. Conceived, written and presented by ⁠⁠David Hughes⁠⁠. Produced by Sam Ibrahim. Music by Olli Oja. All content © 2024 Synchronicity II Ltd. All rights reserved.

Hello! Welcome to another edition of the exclusive audio commentary podcast hosted by me, ⁠David Hughes.⁠ For this episode, I’m delighted to welcome Lee Roy Kunz, co-writer, co-director and star of the impressive horror movie Deliver Us (2023), which – as you know, because you wouldn’t listen to an audio commentary without seeing the film first – concerns a priest sent to investigate a nun who believes that the immaculately-conceived twins she is carrying are destined to be the messiah and the antichrist. Filmed during the pandemic, mostly in Estonia, it’s an extraordinarily accomplished film, with a scope and production value that belies its low budget, and I particularly wanted to ask Lee Roy to give tips on how to stretch a budget as far as it can go. Despite the fact that his ten-month-old son had kept him up most of the previous night, Lee Roy was generous with his time and gracious and open with his answers to my questions, and I’m really grateful for him for guesting on the pod. Comments? Feedback? Suggestions? Email David *at * Rogue-Commentary *dot* com or send us a ⁠tweet⁠. We have lots of exciting episodes in the works, so if you like what you hear – or just the idea – please subscribe, and remember to rate us wherever you hear this podcast – it'll really help us to keep going. Oh, and follow us on ⁠Twitter⁠ and/or ⁠Instagram⁠ to stay up-to-date on our forthcoming releases. Thanks for listening! A ⁠Synchronicity⁠ production. Conceived, written and presented by ⁠David Hughes⁠. Produced by Sam Ibrahim. Music by Olli Oja. All content © 2024 Synchronicity II Ltd. All rights reserved.

Hello, and welcome to the latest edition of the exclusive audio commentary podcast hosted by me, ⁠David Hughes.⁠  This is a bittersweet episode; basically an edited and extended version of the audio commentary I recorded with director David Leland eighteen months before his death on Christmas Eve at the age of 82. The commentary was ostensibly for his 1990 drama The Big Man, starring Liam Neeson, Billy Connolly, Ian Bannen, Joanne Whalley – then Joanne Whalley-Kilmer – Hugh Grant and Peter Mullan, but David was so generous with his time we ended up talking about other films, including Mona Lisa, Personal Services, and Wish You Were Here, with sidebars about Harvey Weinstein, Ennio Morricone, Jeremy Irons, Pierce Brosnan and Tennesse Williams. It doesn’t really cue up with the film, but if you haven’t seen The Big Man, I urge you to check out Plumeria Pictures’ extras-packed Blu-ray, available from PlumeriaPics.co.uk I feel so privileged to have been able to meet David to discuss his incredible body of work, and hope you enjoy this look back at a brilliant career. Comments? Feedback? Suggestions? Email David *at * Rogue-Commentary *dot* com or send us a ⁠tweet⁠. We have lots of exciting episodes in the works, so if you like what you hear – or just the idea – please subscribe, and remember to rate us wherever you hear this podcast – it'll really help us to keep going. Oh, and follow us on ⁠Twitter⁠ and/or ⁠Instagram⁠ to stay up-to-date on our forthcoming releases. Thanks for listening! A ⁠Synchronicity⁠ production. Conceived, written and presented by ⁠David Hughes⁠. Produced by Sam Ibrahim. Music by Olli Oja. All content © 2024 Synchronicity II Ltd. All rights reserved.