Halloween might be over but the (genuinely) scary stories that Benas brings from Lithuania are just beginning. So although we might be late to the pumpkin carving, the goods are still here as we tackle Robin Hardys landmark horror movie The Wi

#39 - Kicking off a franchise - Mission Impossible 3 (2006) - J.J.Abrams

Oct 5th, 2022 1h 18m

We’re exploding back on the scene with our most explosive debut where half the narrative revolves around explosions as explosions try to outdo other explosions in J. J. Abrams explosive debut Mission Impossible Three (2006). Its hard to imagi

#38 - Could AI direct? (Hangout ep)

May 27th, 2022 1h 30m

We asked the ultimate question. Could AI direct? But literally though, could it actually direct? How would it work? Would it spit out garbage? Could it be creative? Direct actors? Squash producers? Work with a budget? Make something good? If y

#37 - Writing through directing - Mollys Game (2017) - Aaron Sorkin

Mar 21st, 2022 1h 15m

If you would have invented YNFYF, you would have invented YNFYF. But you didn’t. Thankfully we did, and if you can handle the truth of the witty quips and constant repetition we’re bringing this ep, then you’ll discover the truth of Aaron Sorki

#36 - Nerve wracking cinema - Daddy Longlegs (2009) - The Safdie Brothers

Jun 28th, 2021 1h 27m

GRAB YOUR UNCUT GEMS as we’ve gone to the underbelly of New York in search of The Safdie Brothers and their debut film, Daddy LongLegs (2009). The film follows a father looking after his two kids, which, if you think sounds like an anomaly in t

#35 - What is a directors cut? (Hangout ep)

May 25th, 2021 1h 29m

What does a debut film podcast talk about, when it’s not debut films? In and amongst the wealth of first films we cover, we’re going to occasionally pepper in what we’re referring to as ‘hangout eps’ (name pending…) extra eps that are around di

#34 - McServed - Super Size Me (2004) - Morgan Spurlock

Apr 11th, 2021 1h 21m

NEW EP! We’ve gone and Super Sized this weeks podcast ep for you as we delve into the 2004 documentary Super Size Me directed by Morgan Spurlock.It turns out all you need is a Big Mac and a camera to bring down the big corps, plus the digestiv

#33 - Finding humanity in the dark - The Lives of Others (2006) - Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck

Mar 8th, 2021 1h 9m

Join us as we do what we do every episode, which is explore the lives of others, except this time we really are exploring the actual film, The Lives of Others (2006) directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck. This is an exceptional debut tha

#32 - Andrew Patterson - The Vast of Night (2019)

Feb 18th, 2021 1h 15m

Join us in an epic journey back to 1950’s America, where we gave each other nicknames like Benas-whooping-y’all and Louis-loose-lips-Lunts, repeated the phrase ‘baking biscuits’ about a thousand times, and tried to figure out what the hell that

#31 - Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris - Little Miss Sunshine (2006)

Jan 20th, 2021 1h 8m

We’ve started 2021 strong with a blinding ray of indie film goodness, so strong we could barely see each other as we recorded this very episode, in the form of Little Miss Sunshine (2006) directed by Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris. The hist

#30 - Special Episode - Is Die Hard a Christmas film?

Dec 25th, 2020 1h 1m

A CHRISTMAS SPECIAL FOR YOU ALL 🎄🎅 Even though 2020 has swung one final time in an attempt to take away all tradition, we swing back to instil some normality by asking the age old question “Is Die Hard a Christmas film?” Directed by John McTi

#29 - Tyler Nilson & Michael Schwartz - Peanut Butter Falcon (2019)

Dec 22nd, 2020 49m 7s

NEW EP 🥜 on Peanut Butter Falcon (2019), a genuine, heartfelt debut by Tyler Nilson & Michael Schwartz, starring the sensation that is Zack Gottsagen. The film follows Zack as he runs away from his care home to achieve his dream of becoming a

#28 - Spike Jonze - Being John Malkovich (1999)

Dec 16th, 2020 1h 6m

We headed back to 1999 and dived inside Spike Jonze’s head, who dived inside Charlie Kaufman’s head, who dived inside John Malkovich’s head, to bring you our episode on Spikes Jonze’s directorial debut, Being John Malkovich. A peculiar but high

#27 - Spyder Dobrofsky - Spiral (2019) (Interview)

Dec 6th, 2020 1h 28m

INTERVIEW ALERT 🚨 Beneath the glitzy summer blockbusters where Superheroes showdown and streaming networks serving up 10 episodes to beam into your eyeballs in one night, is a whole world of low budget, do-it-yourself, balls to the wall filmma

#26 - Ariel Schulman & Henry Joost - Catfish (2010)

Nov 5th, 2020 57m 36s

Before Catfish: The TV show which Nev presents, unveiling Catfishes all over the states, he was in fact Catfished himself, documented by directors Ariel Schulman (his brother) and Henry Joost in Catfish: The Movie (2010). In the film, Nev is in

#25 - David Fincher - Alien 3 (1992)

Oct 18th, 2020 1h 24m

Come on a journey with us back to July, when we were experiencing a heatwave so strong Benas may have actually passed out during recording, the background noise courtesy of a passing train that had seemingly little explanation, and a cat (Nessi

#24 - Harry Wootliff - Only You (2018)

Sep 1st, 2020 1h 4m

Are things always as they appear? You might take one glance at Only You (2018) on Netflix and assume this is a cheesy romance film where the guy gets the girl at last minute in the airport. In fact, Benas did and we had to strap him to a chair

#23 - Sam Hargrave - Extraction (2020)

Jul 26th, 2020 1h 8m

What if we told you that Chris Evans isn’t the real Captain America? And that whenever you see Cap throwing himself into some insane situation, you’re actually seeing our friend Sam Hargrave don the helmet and shield, as he is in fact Caps stun

#22 - Bruce Robinson - Withnail and I (1987)

Jul 7th, 2020 52m 50s

What creates a cult classic film? Some say its being ripped apart to shreds by critics on release. Others say it’s a notoriously bad theatrical run never recouping the budget. Bruce Robinson says it’s out of work actors and an appetite for lots

#21 - J.D. Dillard - Sleight (2016)

Jun 24th, 2020 1h 16m

In a few short years, J D Dillard has gone from being a receptionist at Bad Robot (J. J. Abrams production company) to having 2 features under his belt, and is (possibly) on his way to developing a Star Wars project. You may not know who J D D

#20 - Andrew Adamson & Vicky Jensen - Shrek (2001)

Jun 7th, 2020 1h 2m

SOME-BODY once told us to get making some waffles and rewatch Shrek. We’re so glad we did, as the amount of adult jokes in this film that flew over our heads as kids makes it worth a rewatch almost 20 years later.On the surface, Shrek really s

#19 - Gareth Edwards - Monsters (2010)

May 21st, 2020 1h 9m

When it comes to special effects, you need hundreds of specialist people to create them, right? Well, if you’re Gareth Edwards, all you need is your bedroom and a laptop from 2009. In one of the most inspiring “budget to magic on screen” ratios

#18 - Tommy Wiseau - The Room (2003)

Apr 5th, 2020 1h

Have you ever thrown your hands up in the air and just shouted “YOU’RE TEARING ME APART LISA!” No? Then fear not, because Tommy Wiseau has you covered, and also has a whole host of other bizarre and hilarious things covered in his directorial d

#17 - Special Episode - A Decade of Filmmaking

Mar 1st, 2020 1h 52m

“Wait, you’re giving us the usual first films, but then throwing in a few one one-off special episodes every now and then, about topics you feel you can add some value to and have a good chat about for our listening pleasure?” Uh, yeah. That is

#16 - Sam Mendes - American Beauty (1999)

Feb 13th, 2020 1h 13m

American Beauty is one of those films every always agrees is “pretty damn good”. You’d be hard pushed to find someone who doesn’t like it, and isn’t wowed by the fact this DEBUT FILM won Best Picture and Best Director at the Oscars. Imagine tha