Welcome to The B-Side! Here we talk about movie stars! Not the movies that made them famous or kept them famous, but the ones that they made in between.
Today we talk about the great Debra Winger! Our B-Sides include Legal Eagles, Betrayed, The Sheltering Sky, and Forget Paris. Our guest is the inestimable Murtada Elfadl, Culture Writer, Critic, and Film Curator.
We discuss Winger’s stratospheric rise to stardom, her indescribable performance in Terms of Endearment, and her (unfair?) reputation for being “difficult.” There’s also plenty of discussion about Rosanna Arquette’s documentary Searching for Debra Winger, a film in which Arquette speaks with many famous actresses about aging in Hollywood. The motivation of the piece was partly motivated by Winger’s exodus from the business for over half a decade in the mid-1990s.
There’s also conversation about Shirley MacLaine's 1984 Oscars speech, Tom Berenger being deeply proud of Betrayed and his performance in the film, and all those NBA players that appear in Forget Paris. Janet Maslin and Roger Ebert’s superb reviews of Betrayed are mentioned, as is Debra’s perfect laugh.
Finally, we touch on when Raquel Welch sued MGM and won for being fired from Cannery Row (Winger replaced her in the role), Winger’s dropping out of A League of Their Own after Madonna was cast, Melanie Griffith and William Hurt being director Bernardo Bertolucci’s first choices for the leads in The Sheltering Sky, and Debra Winger’s infamous Watch What Happens Live episode.
Be sure to give us a follow on Bluesky at @tfsbside.bsky.social. Enjoy!
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1:59:34
Ep. 159 – The Coen Brothers (feat. Stephen Sajdak)
Welcome to The B-Side! Here we talk about movie directors! Not the movies that made them famous or kept them famous, but the ones that they made in between.
Today we talk about two American icons: Joel and Ethan Coen. Our guest is an icon all his own: Stephen Sajdak from the We Hate Movies podcast!
We discuss the B-Sides The Hudsucker Proxy, The Man Who Wasn't There, Intolerable Cruelty, and Burn After Reading. There’s also time given to their remake The Ladykillers.
We make many references to Adam Nayman’s well-researched and well-considered book The Coen Brothers This Book Really Ties the Films Together, explore the critical success the filmmakers had with Fargo, and how they filmed The Man Who Wasn't There in color and then printed it to black-and-white film.
Other topics include the Coen Brothers’ film Hail Caesar! and their childhood fascination with biblical epics like Quo Vadis, their amazing commentary on The Man Who Wasn’t There disc, Spielberg’s advice to George Clooney on how to become a movie star, or that time Clooney recalled being bewildered that Quentin Tarantino thought the two of them looked alike while they were promoting From Dusk Till Dawn.
Finally, Tracy Zooms In comes up (obviously), the new Barry Levinson gangster picture The Alto Knights, and the James Gandolfini holiday picture Surviving Christmas.
Be sure to give us a follow on social at @tfsbside.bsky.social.
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1:56:27
Ep. 158 – Powell and Pressburger (feat. Katie Walsh)
Welcome to The B-Side! Here we talk about movie directors! Not the movies that made them famous or kept them famous, but the ones that they made in between.
Today we talk about two legends: Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger! Our B-Sides include I Know Where I’m Going!, The Small Back Room, Gone to Earth, and The Elusive Pimpernel. Our guest is the legend Katie Walsh, podcaster and film critic at the Tribune News Service & LA Times.
We talk about her lovely experiences watching Powell & Pressburger restoration prints on the big screen, the extent of moviegoing etiquette (put that phone down please!), and the Frank Marshall creature feature Arachnophobia.
Also discussed is Powell’s infamous (and masterful) opus Peeping Tom, the duo’s later work (Oh... Rosalinda!!, The Battle of the River Plate), Powell’s autobiography, and the career of Jennifer Jones.
Be sure to give us a follow on social at @tfsbside.bsky.social.
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1:53:22
Ep. 157 – In Conversation with: Amy Irving & Peter Riegert
Welcome to The B-Side! Here we talk to movie stars! About a movie that people love and the hidden gems they've also made!
We were lucky enough to speak with Amy Irving and Peter Riegert, on the occasion of the Criterion release of Joan Micklin Silver’s Crossing Delancey. We discuss the legacy of the film nearly forty years later. With Irving we touch on Honeysuckle Rose, Carried Away, and her new music album. With Riegert we talk about Chilly Scenes of Winter (also directed by Micklin Silver), the feature he directed, King of the Corner, and the eclectic rangle of characters he’s played over the years.
Additionally, we mention Steven Soderbergh’s oeuvre (they were both in Traffic!), the actor’s directorial debuts Riegert starred in (Infinity and Jerry & Tom specifically), and how they’ve both grown as performers over time.
Be sure to give us a follow on social at @TFSBSide. Also enter our giveaways, get access to our private Slack channel, and support new episodes by becoming a Patreon contributor.
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1:15:47
Ep. 156 – 2025 Oscars Special (feat. This Had Oscar Buzz)
Welcome to The B-Side, from The Film Stage. Here we usually talk about movie stars and not the movies that made them famous or kept them famous, but the ones they made in between. Today, however, we talk about Oscar movies (!), or better yet, movies that remind us of Oscar movies!
Conor and I welcome back the lovely Joe Reid (co-host of This Had Oscar Buzz, creator of Cinematrix, and Vulture's Movies Fantasy League) & Chris Feil (co-host of This Had Oscar Buzz and writer of a series of great pieces of Oscar history for Vanity Fair). Today, we each choose a movie adjacent to a current Best Picture Oscar nominee.
The movies include Seconds, The Name of the Rose, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and The Wolverine. Also discussed is filmmaker Bill Morrison’s nomination for his incredible short film Incident, Jean-Jacques Annaud’s 1981 film Quest for Fire, and our recent This Had Oscar Buzz guest appearance talking about The Devil’s Own.
Additionally, there’s conversation about Rob McElhenney’s Hot Ones episode (in which he discusses the trauma of being cut out of The Devil’s Own as a young actor!), the “Hellfire” sequence in Hunchback, and how exactly The Wolverine counts as a B-Side.
Be sure to give us a follow on Bluesky at @tfsbside.bsky.social. Enjoy!
Welcome to The B-Side, a podcast for The Film Stage! Here we talk about movie stars and directors. Not the movies that made them famous, or kept them famous, but the ones they made in between. From box office fiascos, to interesting curios, and hidden gems, we examine the also-rans of Hollywood and beyond.
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