Damn Dirty Geeks

� The Damn Dirty Geeks recently spent another fantastic evening discussing independent horror and genre film movies with another prominent woman filmmaker, Staci Layne Wilson, also joined by one of her frequently cast actors, Curt Lambert. Growing up in LA and the entertainment industry, and forging a career as a journalist for several entertainment-related publications, Staci now imbues her short and feature films that blend diverse elements from burlesque entertainment to pulp horror elements into Staci's unique narrative style. In this episode, we delve into Staci's biographical background, her early influences and her growing resume of films as a producer, writer and director including VALENTINE DAYZ, PSYCHO THERAPY, FETISH FACTORY, THE FIANCÉ, NOT WITH MY DAUGHTER, KEEPSAKES, and SELF-PORTRAITS. If you're a new viewer of Staci's films, her writing and directorial styles explore elements you enjoy from directors including Dario Argento (SUSPIRIA, TENEBRE, INFERNO) and Brian De Palma (SCARFACE, DRESSED TO

The Damn Dirty Geeks are back for Year Two of our podcast as we celebrate our second anniversary of the show, and we're starting off on the wild side! A quick change of recent recording plans resulted in our second Damn Dirty Geeks Wild Card episode that dives straight into THE TWILIGHT ZONE with a dizzying collage of discussion topics. We launch into a study of GALAXY QUEST -- is it the best STAR TREK movie to date? -- then question the streaming service delivery of the new series STAR TREK: DISCOVERY starring our friend Doug Jones. We're psyched to see Doug in the TREK universe, but question if PPV is the right move by CBS to start a new mission. Then we take a very goofy detour across the galaxy to revisit Maz Kanata’s house band as seen in THE FORCE AWAKENS. An equally abrupt transition sparks up a lively debate about the GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY makeover for the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror attraction at Disney's California Adventure park in Anaheim. This theme park ride discussion transports us into a l

As October and Halloween approach, the Damn Dirty Geeks revisit the horror genre with an energized episode featuring indie filmmaker Izzy Lee, discussing her body of work and the long overdue growth of female directors and talent in the genre. Lee's dark, evocative films including INNSMOUTH, POSTPARTUM and A FAVOR deliver the director's signature touch of short, sharp shocks that challenge viewers in the best tradition of taboo, provocative horror tales of Clive Barker. Lee's INNSMOUTH also ventures into the nightmarish landscape of H.P. Lovecraft's horror realm but with a distinctive feminine perspective that adds new layers of interpretation of and impact from the author's original view of physical horror. The DDG gladly explore Lee's work as another welcome female voice in the horror genre which -- despite other strong women directors including Ana Lily Amirpour, Jennifer Kent, Maude Michaud, the Soska Sisters and others -- remains woefully short on representing a fair and realistic ratio of women writers

The Damn Dirty Geeks continue our roll discussing great entertainment moments with experts in their craft, thanks to popular character actor Jim Beaver. Jim prolific career is filled with memorable characters that made lasting impacts on the films and series in which he appeared. Our visit with Jim Beaver has yielded one of our best, breeziest,  most engaging episodes yet. It's likely that most listeners will know Jim Beaver's work from three projects: as the gruff but lovable Ellsworth in HBO's hit western drama DEADWOOD; his one-shot guest appearance turned recurring character Bobby Singer in SUPERNATURAL; and his co-starring role in Guillermo del Toro's gothic romance CRIMSON PEAK. Fans also enjoy Jim's work in the series JUSTIFIED and his role as Lawson in BETTER CALL SAUL, a crossover character Jim first played in BREAKING BAD. A terrific storyteller, Jim regaled the DDG with stories of his experience filming DEADWOOD and the mysteries of character development he explored playing Ellsworth as his charact

This episode combines two of the DDG's favorite things: the genre character sculptures of artist Mike Hill and our combined love for werewolves in the movies! Mike Hill is an English artist and sculptor who is literally a monster maker. His life-size figures of movie characters including Lon Chaney as The Wolf Man, Boris Karloff as the Frankenstein creature and many more have been featured displays on horror conventions and are prized collectibles by genre devotees including Guillermo del Toro. The painstaking attention to detail and character Mike puts into his life-size figures brilliantly capture the likeness of his famous film subjects as well as those iconic movie moments that reside indelibly in the minds of monster kids like us. We discuss with Mike how he accomplishes sculpting and recreating these characters from classic films like FRANKENSTEIN, THE CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF, recently I WAS A TEENAGE WEREWOLF at Monsterpalooza, plus Mike's stunning adaptation of the classic Aurora Wolf Man model kit in l

Though a couple of our Geeks weren't available for this episode, Jack, Scott and Frank Woodward recently gathered to share our appreciation for director John Carpenter, who has created at least two classics in his varied career yet remains an unsung director by the Hollywood studio system. Thankfully, being overlooked and undervalued didn't stop Carpenter from creating some of our favorite films including HALLOWEEN, ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK, THE THING, CHRISTINE, STARMAN, BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA and THEY LIVE, among others we discuss and evaluate in this episode. We also discuss the creative crossover between Carpenter as a director and as a musician beyond the fact that he often composed original scores for his own films, in light of Woodward's recent viewing of Carpenter's live concert. While the film industry fails to appreciate John Carpenter's work, there is no doubt that the director's legacy from the 1970s to today and beyond continues to inspire artists and audiences alike. The Damn Dirty Geeks hope t

The Damn Dirty Geeks take another stab and celebrating and studying the horror film genre with our special guest, producer/director Mike Mendez. Like two of our previous podcast guests, Andrew Kasch and John Skipp, Mendez also directed a segment of the horror anthology film TALES OF HALLOWEEN released last October. Mike's segment "Friday the 31st" pits a deranged serial killer against his feminine quarry who turns the tables in a shocking twist of the typical slasher formula. Mendez also discusses BIG ASS SPIDER!, his affectionate horror/humor tribute to the big bug movies of the 1950s. We revisit films like CARRIE and THE HILLS HAVE EYES that were early influences on Mike's youth and inspired his eventual career, including a rousing discussion of James Cameron's genre-mashing sequel ALIENS. We weave all these subject threads together in a larger examination on the state of current independent horror films and filmmakers, existing and thriving outside the formulaic entries of higher-budget studio franchises o

The Damn Dirty Geeks welcome back our special guest actor Sam Witwer, who returns for Part 2 to discuss his prolific voice work throughout the STAR WARS cinematic galaxy, from his likeness and voice at the center of The Force Unleashed video game series up through THE CLONE WARS, STAR WARS REBELS and even THE FORCE AWAKENS. Sam launches us into the STAR WARS universe immediately with an awesome taste of his voice work as Palpatine (both in Chancellor and Emperor mode), which soon branches into a deeper discussion of how Sam approaches the character in his own original ways. Sam also delves into the creative side of voice acting, how he molds his sound-alike assignments to the script rather than simply imitate the actor who originated the role. While Part 2 of our episode with Sam Witwer talks at length about STAR WARS, his insights into voice acting apply to screen acting as well as the work all boils down to character building. Sam tells a fascinating story about how he built up the character and voice of th

Enjoy this exclusive podcast preview clip from Part 2 of the Damn Dirty Geeks' episode with actor Sam Witwer, discussing his voice acting work in the STAR WARS universe including video games, animated TV series and THE FORCE AWAKENS.

The Damn Dirty Geeks are back after a busy hiatus (of exciting new projects) with the first of a string of new podcast episodes! First up is our salute to two Hammer horror greats, Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing, who were united by our episode guest Ted Newsom in his superb documentary FLESH AND BLOOD: THE HAMMER HERITAGE OF HORROR. In this hour, Ted regails us and DDG listeners with tales of bringing Lee and Cushing together professionally for the final time as narrators of Newsom’s Hammer documentary, as Cushing passed away only three months after the duo recorded their parts in early 1994. Longtime friends, Peter and Christopher were delighted to spend this time together — as you can see from Ted’s photos of the pair during their narration recording sessions. Ted describes his own amazement at reunited Lee and Cushing for his documentary, watching another chapter of Hammer horror history in the making — and just in time. Beyond this work, Newsom speaks of the affectionate bond between Peter and Christo

The Damn Dirty Geeks continue our ongoing discussion about the STAR WARS cinematic universe with our official review episode on THE FORCE AWAKENS. While we recorded this episode last December just after THE FORCE AWAKENS blasted into theaters for a billion-dollar box office run, we delayed publishing it to give as many STAR WARS fans and DDG listeners to see the film. The wait is over, and the Geeks' lightsabers are clashing in full-force now! Frank, Jack, Scott, Trish and Frank dive deep into THE FORCE AWAKENS for all its strengths and potential weaknesses in jumpstarting the feature franchise again. We reach a consensus about liking the film, but engage in lively debate about how the contributions of director J.J. Abrams and writers Michael Arndt and Lawrence Kasdan shaped the story of Episode VII and the next two films ahead. Many of our main plot predictions from our previous STAR WARS podcasts came true in THE FORCE AWAKENS, though the film yielded many surprises as well, for better and occasionally wors

The Damn Dirty Geeks have scored another fantastic two-part podcast episode with our special guest, actor Sam Witwer, talking about his film and TV series roles in THE MIST, THE WALKING DEAD and BEING HUMAN. Joining Frank, Jack, Frank, Scott and Trish, Sam Witwer opens this Part 1 episode with the unlikely, fortuitous story of how he became the first actor cast in Frank Darabont's feature adaptation of THE MIST, Stephen King's Lovecraftian sci-fi horror novella. This discussion twists into a study of notorious film endings and interpretations, including THE MIST along with BLADE RUNNER and NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. Sam also shares several inside stories about his work and the making of SyFy's hit series BEING HUMAN, in which he stars as Aidan Waite, a 2000-year-old vampire who struggles to exist in the modern human world with his werewolf and ghostly roommates. Blending lighter moments of comedy with dark, emotional scenes of human drama -- even for an undead vampire -- Sam relates his acting process in devel

In Part 2 of our podcast, the Damn Dirty Geeks pick up right where we left off discussing JAWS with director/special effects master Greg Nicotero for a second hour of fun jokes and inside stories. Greg and the DDG talk about the JAWS-inspired home movies made when we were younger, using everything from fiberglass wall-mounted sharks to Fisher Price toys, rubber sharks, piles of leaves and stop-motion action figures. Greg also shares his own geek origin story, being inspired by Universal classic monsters, TV shows like LOST IN SPACE and LAND OF THE LOST, and especially miniature-mashing disaster movies like THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE and THE TOWERING INFERNO. But it was the mechanical sharks in JAWS that began Greg’s obsession to learn how such movie creatures were made, reading film magazines that turned a hobby into an eventual career. Fate intervened when local Pittsburgh filmmaker George Romero began production on his zombie sequel DAWN OF THE DEAD in 1978 that Greg finally connected with his destiny… via Greg

Recorded in late 2015 but unleashed now, saddle up for this rollicking fun podcast episode taking aim at WESTWORLD, Michael Crichton's 1973 futurist thriller, with side trips to discuss what the Damn Dirty Geeks love about 1970s cinema. The first of our "wild card" podcasts, we had no set guest and no specific topic points to discuss in this episode. Frank, Frank and Scott had just gone to a wonderful screening of Crichton's classic sci-fi/western presented by Taylor White and Creature Features at The Theater at Ace Hotel in Downtown LA, and recorded this episode the following night to capture our enthusiasm for the unique stylings of 1970s American films. While being a superb representation of cinematic tastes in 1973, WESTWORLD also proved highly influential on science fiction/action films to come amid the burgeoning computer boom in the decade. You'll find strong WESTWORLD influences upon content and visual style in James Cameron's THE TERMINATOR released eleven years later. References to Yul Brynner's rel

Year Two of the Damn Dirty Geeks podcast starts off big with our first podcast guest of 2016, director/executive producer/makeup effects creator Greg Nicotero, who joins the DDG for two hours discussing one of our favorite films, Steven Spielberg's thriller JAWS. In Part 1 of our evening with Greg Nicotero, he shares how seeing JAWS in 1975 prompted many nightmares as well as his earliest aspirations to learn how such movie creatures were made. Greg also unspools his tale of how his family kept a fiberglass shark on their wall -- a rarity for a Pittsburgh boy who grew up fascinated by the challenge and process of recreating the beast from JAWS.  The DDG also discuss with Greg the crucial differences between Peter Benchley's best-selling novel and Spielberg's more streamlined, simple and terrifying film adaptation that scared audiences right out of the ocean.Greg gives his own insights into how learning from directors like Spielberg, George Romero and John Frankenheimer aided his own approach to directing epis

The Damn Dirty Geeks finally wrap up our pre-THE FORCE AWAKENS conversation about all things STAR WARS before J.J. Abrams' film opens in theaters on December 18th! Frank Woodward joins Jack, Scott and Frank D after Part 1 and 2 of our STAR WARS debates and discussion as we count down the final seven days until we see Episode 7. First we catch up Woodward from where the other three Geeks left off in Part 2, getting his input on the Star Wars Holiday Special, where the Prequel Trilogy films went wrong in laying a shaky foundation for the superior Original Trilogy films, and our superb Chewbacca impersonations. We also explore the dark times in STAR WARS history after RETURN OF THE JEDI left theaters in 1983, including the Ewok TV adventures, and multiple home video and soundtrack editions with no new theatrical films. Finally the long wait ended with the release of the Special Editions of the Original Trilogy, which we propose were largely test runs for Lucas to make THE PHANTOM MENACE for the Digital Cinema ag

The Damn Dirty Geeks revisit one of our favorite topics and TV shows, THE WALKING DEAD in our first wildcard episode linking up several hot topics. This time, both Franks, Scott and Jack address the recent Season 6 cliffhanger episode that put Glenn's life in the hands of zombie-horde fate, and how this trend of keeping audiences in suspense over mid-season breaks has changed modern television. Our TWD discussion evolves into a rousing debate about this era of binge watching TV series like GAME OF THRONES, SHERLOCK and HOUSE OF CARDS. We examine how this television trend crashes headlong into the internet era, which can reveal TV story spoilers nearly-live as they appear on the screen -- if the fan rumor mill doesn't spoil them before episodes air. The fun continues as we compare and contrast THE WALKING DEAD to the George Romero DEAD universe of films and their collective impact on zombie mythology in pop culture. We also enter a Hasslein Loop linking TWD to PLANET OF THE APES, JAWS, THE OMEGA MAN, SOYLENT G

With SPECTRE now in theaters, actor and voice artist Daran Norris -- an uber 007 fan himself -- recently joined the Damn Dirty Geeks to share our mutual fascination and fandom of James Bond films and fiction from Ian Fleming's first novel up to the 24th  film. Looking ahead to SPECTRE, Daran and the DDG examine how different actors taking on the role of Bond, from Connery through Craig, have exploited different sides of 007 and how Bond has changed with them.  Some serious discussion about the evolution of the Bond film franchise also ensues, how they adapted or drifted away from Fleming's novels over the decades, but we also have plenty of fun ranking our favorite films, villains and Bond theme songs too. You'll likely recognize Daran from his 400 films, video game, and television roles including Cliff McCormack in VERONICA MARS, the voices of Cosmo, Jorgen Von Strangle, and Mr. Turner in THE FAIRLY ODD PARENTS, Knock Out in TRANSFORMERS PRIME, and Spottswoode in TEAM AMERICA: WORLD POLICE. Your mission is t

The scaring season is finally here as directors John Skipp and Andrew Kasch join the Damn Dirty Geeks to share our ghost stories and fond trick or treat memories about Halloween, all of which inspired their segment in the new anthology film TALES OF HALLOWEEN. John and Andrew share their differing experiences growing up enjoying the Halloween season in their youth as we explore the evolution of this holiday from innocent neighborhood fun to a massive industry, allowing even casual home haunters to purchase elaborate animatronic monsters and digitally presented haunt environments. We also visit the current trend of theme parks like Universal Studios and Knotts creating annual Halloween haunt events that translate into trick-or-treating for adults. Andrew and John collaborated as co-directors on "This Means War," their hilarious and horrifying segment of the new holiday anthology film TALES OF HALLOWEEN, now available on all major VOD outlets. Their story pits a classic Halloween yard decorator (previous DDG po

You'll lose your heads listening to the Damn Dirty Geeks' podcast visit from actor Graham Skipper as we talk about his lead role in RE-ANIMATOR THE MUSICAL and a few upcoming, highly anticipated horror films. How does an actor follow up a benchmark performance in horror cinema? By singing his guts out and spraying the front rows of a theater audience with blood and guts, of course! Graham regales the DDG with his inside tales of performing as Dr. Herbert West in RE-ANIMATOR THE MUSICAL live on stage in both LA and Las Vegas. The original film's director Stuart Gordon adapted his work in 2011, adding music and lyrics by Mark Nutter to add another layer of horror insanity to this Lovecraft-inspired tale of terror. Graham also discusses his lead role in our own Frank Woodward's comedy short BALLOON, now available on YouTube and Vimeo, along with Graham's latest starring roles in Joe Begos' THE MIND'S EYE, and the upcoming horror anthology film TALES OF HALLOWEEN. Spend an hour with this very talented, funny and