Supporting Characters

Aug 28 2022 69 ep. 128 mins 950

Supporting Characters Podcast artwork

Host Bill Ackerman talks to writers, bloggers, podcasters, fanzine publishers, programmers, preservationists and more about their creative endeavors and today’s film culture.

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Episode 68: Imogen Sara Smith

Aug 28 2022 101 mins

Bill speaks to author and film historian Imogen Sara Smith about her various endeavors, from writing books like BUSTER KEATON: THE PERSISTENCE OF COMEDY and IN LONELY PLACES: FILM NOIR BEYOND THE CITY to contributing audio commentaries, booklet essays and on-camera interviews to home video releases from The Criterion Collection, Kino Lorber, Eureka!, Imprint, Flicker Alley, Arrow a

Bonus Episode - Travis Crawford

Aug 27 2022 8 mins

Bill remembers his friend, writer/film programmer Travis Crawford.

Episode 67: Katie Rife

Jul 17 2022 107 mins

Bill talks to writer/editor/podcaster/programmer Katie Rife about her many endeavors, from co-founding Everything Is Terrible, inventing puns for Mr. Skin and presenting films at Facets Night School to writing/podcasting for The A.V. Club, programming for The Music Box Theatre and freelancing for outlets like Rolling Stone, Vulture and Roger Ebert.com. Topics include: Mike McPadden

Episode 66: Elena Lazic

Jul 05 2022 166 mins

Bill speaks to Animus Magazine founder/editor and film critic Elena Lazic. Topics include: Stéphane Delorme, PETRA, having a responsibility to cinema, The Prince Charles Cinema, STRAW DOGS, filmmaker intentionality, Another Gaze, The Relentless Picnic, the Oscars, Cahiers du Cinéma, the solitary nature of writing, TITANE, Reverse Shot, Vincent D'Onofrio and developing critical fa

Episode 65: Brad Stevens

Jun 07 2022 121 mins

Bill speaks to author and film critic Brad Stevens about his film cultural endeavors, from contributing to publications like The Dark Side, Sight & Sound and Video Watchdog to writing books like MONTE HELLMAN: HIS LIFE AND FILMS and ABEL FERRARA: A MORAL VISION. Topics include: Auteurism, Robin Wood, BBC’s “The Great American Picture Show” season, alternate versions of films,

Episode 64: Anna Bogutskaya

May 10 2022 202 mins

Bill speaks to film programmer, broadcaster, writer, podcaster and festival director Anna Bogutskaya about her many endeavors in film culture, from co-founding The Final Girls collective and programming for BFI Southbank to serving as director of Underwire Festival, producing podcasts and recording Blu-Ray audio commentaries. Topics include: THE WIZARD OF OZ and tiny philistines, T

Episode 63: Kim Newman

Apr 11 2022 73 mins

Bill speaks to novelist and film critic/historian Kim Newman about some of his many endeavors. Topics include: NIGHTMARE MOVIES, originality in horror, SOMETHING MORE THAN NIGHT, audio commentaries, Carlos Clarens’ ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF THE HORROR FILM, gatekeepers, toxic fandom, LET’S SCARE JESSICA TO DEATH and how a unique series of quirks in the British education system hel

Episode 62: Michael J. Weldon

Mar 06 2022 163 mins

Bill speaks to author and magazine publisher/editor Michael J. Weldon about his many endeavors, from drumming with Cleveland proto-punk act Mirrors and reviewing movies for Cle, to Psychotronic, his photocopied, hand-written fanzine that lead to books like the influential PSYCHOTRONIC ENCYCLOPEDIA OF FILM, the long-running PSYCHOTRONIC VIDEO magazine, calendars, film festivals and

Episode 61: Chris Poggiali

Dec 04 2020 243 mins

Bill talks to writer and film historian Chris Poggiali about his many endeavors in film culture, from co-creating the Temple Of Schlock fanzine and founding the long-running blog of the same name, to contributing to various magazines and video releases, distributing BLACK SAMURAI and working on books with Grady Hendrix, Michael Gingold and Sam Sherman. Topics include: Jack Starrett

Episode 60: Justin Decloux

Oct 25 2020 164 mins

Bill speaks to filmmaker, author, podcaster, film programmer and home video label founder Justin Decloux about his many endeavors in film culture, including the Laser Blast Film Society, The Important Cinema Club podcast, the Gold Ninja Video label, the feature films TEDDY BOMB and IMPOSSIBLE HORROR and the book RADIOACTIVE DREAMS: THE CINEMA OF ALBERT PYUN. Topics include: Will S