This Movie's About You

Yes we have James Stewart on This Movie’s About You. And no, it’s not some kind of digital wizardry that has taken known Jame Stewart clips and cleverly rearranged them so it sounds like we’re having an actual conversation. That’s a different James Stewart. This is the real, still very much with us, highly active in the Canadian film industry, king of 3-D technology, James Stewart. I’ve known James for many upon many years, so having him as a guest on the show is a no brainer. What did make it a tough go was getting James at the right time when he wasn’t busy working on his film, FOXED!, making a living by providing his clients with the best 3-D technology has to offer, and giving TED talks. The movie’s he choses aren’t 3-D - but they rightfully should be.

Richard Rotter - filmmaker and Burning Man enthusiast. This is one of those interviews where the interviewee is more on the ball than Louis and me…or rather, than me. It’s the Burning Man thing. Sure we’re here to talk about Richard's career, his inspirations and his chosen double bill, but I couldn’t get past his love of the Burning Man festival (event?). Even Louis has to pry me away from my obsession in order to let Richard do his thing. But listen carefully. As Louis, who is admittedly Hangry (angry due to hunger), brings us back on track - Richard reveals a keen sense of managing…that is, he shows great skill in directing Louis and I away from our obsessions and our hangriness and into a very thoughtful (and I think amusing) interview.

Let’s just start this brief intro by letting you know that at the end of this interview, Joel Thomas Hynes picks up his acoustic guitar and plays not one, but two songs. The songs are as captivating as you might imagine a Joel Thomas Hynes performance to be, but I assure that the journey to that point is equally fascinating. Hynes gives us a frank and honest interview. I doubt he could do it any other way. This one is electric. From talking about his books, his family, his work, his acting and even his ego. Oh yeah, and he also has picked two movies as his favourite double bill. This one is unplugged yet still manages to be electric. http://joelthomashynes.com/

I know plenty of people who think of themselves as steak connoisseurs, but I know only one person who actually is a steak connoisseur. Rob Firing knows his steaks - he also knows the literary world in both capacities as an author and an agent. Rob’s latest book, Steak Revolution, is a beautiful, photographed (most of the pics are Rob’s), hard cover cook book celebrating the fine art of cooking steak. So, it’s of little surprise, at least to me, that one of Rob’s movie choices is an independent gem about the culinary arts. His second film (and I’m purposefully leaving out the titles in hopes you’ll be curious enough to listen in) is a wonderful French thriller, of sorts, that dates back to when Rob was in his early teens dropping in on the UofT student film screenings. The films lead us seamlessly through a conversation about restaurant etiquette, high-school cliques, being different, and really good steaks. I suggest you listen to this one during lunch.