Eli sits down with friend of the podcast Russell Goldman (013. Zack Snyder's Justice League; 058. Sundance 2023 Dispatch) to discuss the making of his upcoming feature debut, Sender, starring Britt Lower, Rhea Seehorn, Jamie Lee Curtis, Anna Baryshnikov, and David Dastmalchian. Russell tells Eli about overcoming obstacles during production, the movie’s journey at festivals, and the creative collaborators Russell worked with to bring Sender to life. Visit sendermovie.com to learn more about the film and find festival screenings near you before its Dark Sky Films release in Spring 2027!

Place a Smirk order in our FREE patreon, discord server, and our socials @ www.deepcutpod.com

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

06:31 The Journey to making Sender

12:30 Assembling the team

23:04 Overcoming obstacles on set

28:39 Sender’s relationship to evolving technology

40:53 How audiences may encounter Sender

44:06 Closing

Following his interview with Mary Stephen at the 50th Hong Kong International Film Festival, Wilson has invited the storied director to return to Deep Cut to discuss her new hybrid documentary feature and her work editing the films of Éric Rohmer. As Palimpsest: Story of a Name garners praise around the international film festival circuit for its sensitive, witty exploration of her family’s history, Stephen dives into a different side of her personal history with the French auteur. Listen in as we ask Stephen’s thoughts on Rohmer’s process with actors on set, the authority Stephen had over the edit, and how parents tell–– or, don’t tell–– stories to their children.

Tells us about your family history in our FREE patreon, discord server, and our socials @ www.deepcutpod.com

Timestamps

00:00 Intro

03:51 Melvil Poupad: Hot or Not

05:21 Rohmer’s personal and professional life

08:42 Working as a Rohmer collaborator

11:10 A Summer's Tale preproduction

13:02 The Rohmerian Type of Woman

14:40 Blocking and editing in A Summer's Tale

21:06 Creative input as an editor

25:10 Mary’s sense of time

27:52 An Autumn’s Tale

35:55 The themes of Palimpsest

38:19 The Ending of Palimpsest

45:29 Mary's Relationship with her father

51:11 Mary as a director

54:34 Advice for younger filmmakers and personal deep cut

Fall in love with three beautiful podcast hosts; fumble the bag with all three. To prepare for our upcoming interview with director Mary Stephen, we study her work editing Éric Rohmer’s A Summer’s Tale. Almost five years following our initial series on the French auteur, have our thoughts changed on his calm naturalism? We compare his work to more recent Deep Cut director Hong Sang-soo, discuss the structure of his scenes, and wonder about how Stephen helped sculpt time in this film. Most importantly: do we really find that pouty French twink hot?

Spend your summer break in our FREE patreon, discord server, and our socials @ www.deepcutpod.com

Timestamps:

00:00:00 Intro

00:06:00 A Summer Tale context

00:10:38 General reactions

00:20:02 Film structure and opening

00:24:47 Gaspard’s conundrum

00:30:48 Margot

00:36:08 What is the film trying to say?

00:38:15 Naturalism and conversations

00:44:05 The passage of time

00:46:15 The audience’s trust

00:50:17 Hong v Rohmer, closing tangents

Eli flies in from his foray into his favorite film fest, the 64th installation of the New York Film Festival. It’s a year full of delicate, considerate, humanistic films: Sandra Wollner’s Everytime, Ira Sachs’ The Man I Love, Jordan Firstman’s Club Kid, and Mike Leigh’s Tender Loving Care. Ben and Wilson share their thoughts on two more films in the lineup, Hong Sang-soo’s The Day She Returns, and William Greaves’ Once Upon a Time in Harlem. Also, just for the heck of it, hear what Wilson thinks about Kore-eda Hirokazu’s latest, Look Back.

Join the club, kid: find our FREE patreon, discord server, and our socials @ www.deepcutpod.com

Keep walking in our FREE patreon, discord server, and our socials @ www.deepcutpod.com

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

06:40 Everytime (2026) dir. Sandra Wollner

13:05 The Man I Love (2026) dir. Ira Sachs

23:17 Club Kid (2026) dir. Jordan Firstman

27:31 Tender Loving Care (2026) dir. Mike Leigh

32:37 For The Moon (2026) dir. Eric Baudelaire

38:44 The Day She Returns (2026) dir. Hong Sang-soo

44:07 Once Upon a Time in Harlem (2026) dir. William Greaves, David Greaves

47:25 Look Back (2026) dir. Hirokazu Kore-eda

50:59: Upcoming festival coverage

Before Paul Verhoeven was Hollywood’s pervert-auteur of choice, he was making massive hits in Dutch cinema like this episode’s focus, Katie Tippel. Ben’s main question for this episode: what is Paul Verhoeven’s worldview? To answer, the Deep Cut trio explores the economic and sexual exploitation of Tippel’s world, the surprisingly modern-feeling period filmmaking, and lots of nudity.

Links:

Adam Nayman on Katie Tippel

Ben’s review of Mahjong

Jump rope double dutch style in our FREE patreon, discord server, and our socials @ www.deepcutpod.com

Timestamps:

00:00:00 Intro

00:03:51 Summary, context, and general reactions

00:19:08 Verhoeven's worldview

00:33:43 Prostitution and sexuality

00:48:47 Historical films and the feeling of modernity

01:04:00 Exploitation?

Sex, violence, and metanarrative critiques of the audience! Our series on the films of Dutch auteur Paul Verhoeven begins with several bangs in 1992's Basic Instinct. After getting to know the thrilling perv, Wilson gets grossed out by Michael Douglas, Ben gets enthralled by Sharon Stone, and Eli gets confused about the ending. What big ideas lie beneath this spectacular erotic thriller? Listen on…

Interrogate us in our FREE patreon, discord server, and our socials @ www.deepcutpod.com

Timestamps:

00:00:00 Intro

00:01:50 Introducing Paul Verhoeven

00:10:00 Moral complexity

00:17:08 Context on Verhoeven

00:27:15 Introducing Basic Instinct

00:33:00 Nick as the protagonist; Michael Douglas as an actor

00:41:25 The interrogation scene

00:52:30 The end of the movie

01:02:29 Car chases and murder

01:06:15 Themes and big ideas

01:14:30 Closing thoughts

Following his conversation with Film at Lincoln Center programmer Maddie Whittle, Eli returns from watching the series she programmed, Scary Movies XIV, to tell Ben and Wilson about fright, fear, thrill, chill… you get it. Stay tuned for Eli’s thoughts on new films Buddy (dir. Casper Kelly) and Something Real (dir. Evar Anvelt) and revival screenings of Cam (dir. Daniel Goldhaber), Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (dir. John McNaughton), and Wendigo (dir. Larry Fessenden), plus exclusive insights from directors during their Q&A sessions.

Links:

The full slate of films at Scary Movies XIV

Scare us in our FREE patreon, discord server, and our socials @ www.deepcutpod.com

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

01:42 Festival intro

09:30 General horror discussion

12:13 Buddy (2026) dir. Casper Kelly

17:00 Something Real (2026) dir. Evar Anvelt

21:09 Revivals

21:34 Cam (2018) dir. Daniel Goldhaber

34:31 Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986) dir. John McNaughton

42:56 Wendigo (2001) dir. Larry Fessenden

50:31 Wrap-up

Eli sits down with programmer Madeline Whittle to chat about this year’s edition of SCARY MOVIES, which showcases the latest offerings in horror from all around the world. Maddie talks about her relationship with horror films, the process of selecting films for SCARY MOVIES XIV, and previews some of the offerings at the festival! SCARY MOVIES XIV will run from August 12 - 20 at New York City’s Film at Lincoln Center.

Links:

Film at Lincoln Center: Scary Movies XIV

Maddie’s Twitter

Spook us in our FREE patreon, discord server, and our socials @ www.deepcutpod.com

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

00:45 Maddie’s relationship with horror films and the festival

05:54 Programming the Scary Movies festival

09:25 Festival highlights

15:27 Why do we watch scary movies?

19:12 Maddie’s Deep Cut Pick