Also in this week's episode: Filmmaker Nathalie Musteata joins us to discuss her short film Two People Exchanging Saliva, which is currently nominated for Best Live Action Feature Film. And we close out with a new segment, Playhouse People, featuring members of our community and their relationship to our historic movie theater.

It's a tense and at times quite frightening horror movie, but the version that came out in theaters two decades ago wasn't as bold as Goldsman originally intended it. At the Playhouse, we screened the "alternate cut" of the movie, the writer's preferred version. In a post-COVID world, I Am Legend resonates on a whole new level that deepens the material and makes it well worth a revisit -- especially this month, as Halloween season takes hold.  Goldsman spoke about the unique backstory of the project, his feelings about Will Smith, and the rather unique way they originally intended to release the movie.

Killer has enjoyed an especially long-lasting relationship with Haynes, whose work has evolved from the boundary-pushing early work of Poison and Safe to the postmodern melodramas Far From Heaven and Carol. Vachon also teaches filmmaking at Stony Brook University, and some of her recent students joined us in the audience for our discussion. The conversation preceded a screening of Velvet Goldmine, Haynes' daring glam rock musical from 1998. It's one of many ways that these two women have supported adventurous work that pushes art of cinema and storytelling into uncharted territory. Shortly after this conversation, Killer Films' new romcom Materialists opened theatrically to great success. Two months later, the company premiered a new film, Late Fame, at the Venice Film Festival. As they continue the important work of producing original movies, they show no signs of letting up.

Plus:  If you enjoy raunchy romantic comedies, you'll love the latest effort from director Michael Covino. The filmmaker stars alongside his writing partner Kyle Marvin, Dakota Johnson, and Adria Arjona as two couples whose boundaries are tested by open relationships. Covino and producer Emily Korteweg explain how they managed to make an original comedy and why we don't see more of them these days.

Actors capable of such exacting performances are, in their own way, first-rate storytellers. That's especially true for Turturro, who has directed five films, including one of the best musicals of the 21st century -- the boundary-pushing blue collar dramedy Romance and Cigarettes, screened at the Playhouse for its 20th anniversary this past month. The occasioned marked the first 35MM screening at the theater. Before the event, Turturro sat down with the Playhouse to talk through the unique nature of his talent on both sides of the camera, as well as his evolving relationship to fame. 

But his work isn't your traditional big-budget spectacle: Gilroy writes smart, substantial morality plays that just so happen to require the occasional special effects. Or...sometimes, a lot of special effects. Andor, which wrapped up its two-season run on Disney+ this year, epitomizes Gilroy's talent: It's technically another entry in the Star Wars universe, but it's deeper and more thematically ambitious than anything in the nearly 50-year history of that franchise. This conversation with Gilroy took place in June, a month before he was nominated for an Emmy for outstanding drama series.

He wasn't alone, either: Producer Gale Anne Hurd, another Corman alumna, joined forces with Cameron to stitch together the $6 million dollar production. Hurd visit the Playhouse to revisit The Terminator and think through its resonance more than 40 years down the line as a timeless work of art, one heck of a warning sign...and let's face, a really cool action movie too.  

Together, Martin and Francesca represent two very different generations of audiences: one reared on the New York City repertory scene of the 1960s, and the other forged in the vernacular of Gen Z. In an extensive conversation with Playhouse artistic director Eric Kohn, they bridge that gap through charming, and at times even emotional, observations about their relationship.