Full Cast And Crew

Proudly independent and ad-free since 2018, the Full Cast and Crew Podcast stands out in a crowded field by focussing on emotional reactions to films as much as it shares the entertaining anecdotes behind their making and seeks to place movie in context with our shared experiences as filmgoers coming of age in the 70's and 80's and beyond.

257. 'One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest' Part 1: Commitment 11/19/2025

257. 'One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest' Part 1: Commitment Leaving behind one iconic adaptation of a popular novel in 'The Exorcist' and picking up another with this introductory episode about 'One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest', Milos Forman and Bo Goldman's film based on Ken Kesey's counter-culture classic novel. In this episode, I cover some of the film's journey from page to screen and from father to son(s). Casting, pre-production delays, and some context for the film in 1975. 'One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest' is one of only three films to ever win "The Big 5" Academy Awards: Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Screenplay. Listen to the episode to find the surprising other two films. This episode can be consumed prior to a re-watch of the film, and the subsequent two episodes will each cover about half of the film after you watch the film armed with all the behind-the-scenes details from this one. /episode/index/show/fullcastandcrew/id/39082685

256. 'The Exorcist' Part 4: Absolution 11/14/2025

256. 'The Exorcist' Part 4: Absolution Finishing up my four-part exploration of The Exorcist, this episode considers the film's exorcism scenes, its ambiguous ending, and lasting legacy. My newfound appreciation for the towering achievement represented by this film is perhaps news only to me, but totally genuine nonetheless. /episode/index/show/fullcastandcrew/id/39016995

255. 'The Exorcist' Part 3: Film, Faith & Foreboding 11/10/2025

255. 'The Exorcist' Part 3: Film, Faith & Foreboding In Part 3 of my multi-part deep dive re-exploration of William Friedkin's 1973 masterpiece 'The Exorcist' I take a detailed look at the filmmaking in the first half of the movie. Considering the Northern Iraq sequence, the Georgetown sequences, Father Karras in NYC, and the Medical sequences featuring Regan up to and including the hypnotism scene. The absolute mastery of camera movement choices and the spare use of score shows how the film eschews (I always wanted to use that word) "horror" film cliches. Mentioned in this episode: /episode/index/show/fullcastandcrew/id/38984635

254. 'The Exorcist' Part 2: Rewatch 11/07/2025

254. 'The Exorcist' Part 2: Rewatch The 2nd episode in a series of episodes about 'The Exorcist' is inspired by my rewatch of the film. My original plan: to meticulously dissect each of three sections of the film in three subsequent episodes. My new plan? To get this episode filled with my enthusiastic and emotional reactions out to you ASAP. And to follow with two subsequent episodes if the interest (and downloads) are there. The best way to listen to the four-part Exorcist episodes: Listen to Part 1: Origins BEFORE re-watching or watching the film. Listen to Part 2: The Rewatch AFTER re-watching or watching the film. Listen to Parts 3 and 4 as commentary tracks WHILE watching the film again after all the above. /episode/index/show/fullcastandcrew/id/38941160

253. 'The Exorcist' Part 1: Origins 11/04/2025

253. 'The Exorcist' Part 1: Origins In this first of a multi-part exploration of William Friedkin's ground-breaking and massively successful adaptation of William Peter Blatty's best-selling novel 'The Exorcist': Friedkin & DP Owen Roizman coming off 'The French Connection' and into 'The Exorcist' Casting travails involving Jack Nicholson, Paul Newman, Jane Fonda, Anne Bancroft, and Audrey Hepburn. Jason Miller and Ellen Burstyn willing themselves into their roles. Studio pushback on the film's prequel, set in Iraq, and Friedkin's demand that they film there despite political upheaval and a lack of an Iraqi film industry. The search for a girl to pay Regan; over 1,000 seen, hundreds screen-tested, before Linda Blair walked into the film production's offices. Special Effects approaches courtesy of Dick Smith and Rick Baker. Soundtrack troubles with Bernard Hermann and Lalo Schiffrin and the saving grace of Mike Oldfield's 'Tubular Bells'. This episode features Friedkin, Blatty, Roizman, and Ellen Bursytn in their own words. Other Friedkin Full Cast & Crew Episodes: The best way to consume these 'The Exorcist' episodes is: Listen to this episode before watching/re-watching. Listen to episode 2 The Rewatch after watching/re-watching. Listen to episodes 3 and 4. /episode/index/show/fullcastandcrew/id/38901435

252. 'Back To The Future' (Part 2) 10/31/2025

252. 'Back To The Future' (Part 2) Here's the 2nd and final episode of my 'Back to the Future' revisit, enjoy! /episode/index/show/fullcastandcrew/id/38852695

251. 'Back to the Future' (Part 1) 10/23/2025

251. 'Back to the Future' (Part 1) It's the 40th Anniversary of 'Back to the Future' and I read a review of Michael J. Fox's brief new memoir about the making of the film, and about his life before, during, and just after the film's release. This sent me to finally watch 2023's 'Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie', a brilliant documentary from noted director Davis Guggenheim (An Inconveniant Truth, It Might Get Loud, Waiting for Superman) that defies the Streamerification of documentary filmmaking that I've long decried on the podcast (see my episode on Brother's Keeper). This episode covers a lot of what I really loved about those two primary sources of information about Michael J. Fox's life and battle with Parkinson's Disease, a battle he's fought privately and publicly. The Michael J. Fox Foundation has to date raised more than 2 billion dollars for Parkinson's research and in 2022 spent more than the US Government did on research seeking a cure for the disease. 'Back to the Future' has an incredible story of near-disaster followed by infinitesimal chance of salvage represented by the casting of Fox, and finally, worldwide pop-cultural magnitude of the highest and most enduring order. This episode serves as an introduction to this superlative example of Hollywood moviemaking at its best and a tribute to the incredible, extraordinary and everyday life of its star. /episode/index/show/fullcastandcrew/id/38750230

250. 'Tropic Thunder' 10/16/2025

250. 'Tropic Thunder' Like a thunderbolt from another dimension, a dimension where $90 million-dollar comedies with top-tier talent and a first-class, Oscar-winning cinematographer combine with an expensive location shoot in Hawaii (standing in for Viet Nam) to gross $200 million dollars and spawn at least two Pantheon-level comedy characters in Tom Cruise's Les Grossman and Robert Downey, Jr's Kirk Lazarus-as-Staff-Sergeant-Lincoln-Osiris. I woefully failed to mention in the episode that Downey's transformation into Lazarus-as-Osiris was done by none other than the legend Rick Baker. To say they don't make 'em like this anymore is a sad truth. We have truly lost as a film-going society when big time stars gather to be in a movie this funny and big-screen watchable. I suppose the big screen's loss is HBO's gain, however. And soda: Ben Stiller has a new line of sodas and they're very good. You should try one! /episode/index/show/fullcastandcrew/id/38598570

249. Diane Keaton in 'Annie Hall' 10/14/2025

249. Diane Keaton in 'Annie Hall' Diane Keaton died over the weekend at the age of 79, and it's been fascinating to read her various obituaries and memories of her being shared. Also interesting to contemplate what a singular presence she was for more than 50 years on stage and screen. 'Annie Hall' won Diane Keaton her only Academy Award, although she was also nominated for 'Reds', 'Marvin's Room' and 'Something's Gotta Give', which shows you the range she had as an actor. Revisiting here was a pleasure and reminded me of what we've lost as a movie-going culture of late. Smart, funny comedies that don't talk down to an audience but also play as mass entertainments seem in such short supply, as do superlative onscreen personalities like Diane Keaton. This quickie episode isn't mean to be expansive or complete..just an excuse to watch one of her most famous roles in a film named after her character and drawn from her real-life romance with Woody Allen some years before the film was made. /episode/index/show/fullcastandcrew/id/38571345

248. 'Drugstore Cowboy' (1989) 10/09/2025

248. 'Drugstore Cowboy' (1989) Gus Van Sant's 2nd feature, starring Matt Dillon, Kelly Lynch, James Le Gros, Heather Graham, William S. Burroughs, James Remar, and Max Perlich. /episode/index/show/fullcastandcrew/id/38518205

247. 'Jeremiah Johnson' (1972) 09/30/2025

247. 'Jeremiah Johnson' (1972) Continuing the Redford Appreciation Episodes with a revisit of Sydney Pollack and Robert Redford's 1972 deceptively revisionist Western, 'Jeremiah Johnson'. Shaped by Redford and Pollack from an apparently off-the-wall John Milius screenplay, and only shot on location in the Utah wilderness through Redford's intervention with the studio, 'Jeremiah Johnson' is, I think, secretly one of everybody's favorite comfort watches. /episode/index/show/fullcastandcrew/id/38402320

246. Robert Redford & 'All Is Lost' (2013) 09/24/2025

246. Robert Redford & 'All Is Lost' (2013) JC Chandor's 2nd feature film after 'Margin Call' was 2013's sailing-catastrophe film 'All Is Lost', and it's a unique film in that it has virtually no dialogue and a single cast member in Robert Redford, who delivers a tour-de-force of non-verbal acting filled with pathos, regret, and rueful recognition of one's own self-delusions. As we continue to contemplate Redford after his death last week, it feels right and necessary to devote a few episodes to some Redford films that might be slightly off the well-worn pathways of The Sting and Butch & Sundance. Listen to /episode/index/show/fullcastandcrew/id/38342895

245. Robert Redford is Dead at 89 09/16/2025

245. Robert Redford is Dead at 89 I'm joined by Charles Fleming, LA-based writer, author and returning FCAC guest to talk about todays news of the death of Robert Redford. We discuss Redford's extraordinary career and difference-making life, including his environmental activism and the Sundance Film Festival and Institute. Redford was born in Santa Monica and after a peripatetic youth marked by extreme religious pressure, hooliganism, college expulsion, found himself in New York City planning to be a set designer. He stumbled into acting and paid his dues in the emerging TV world of the 50's before breaking out as a film star in the 1970's. His interesting combination of extraordinary good looks and inner turmoil lent his characters a similarity even as he was never just playing himself. His is one of the more interesting acting careers to contemplate, and Charles I try and do justice to the decency and morality with which Redford seemed to conduct his life and his work. /episode/index/show/fullcastandcrew/id/38245390

244. Empathy and Revisiting 'Brother's Keeper' (1992) 09/16/2025

244. Empathy and Revisiting 'Brother's Keeper' (1992) Recent events have gotten me thinking about Roger Ebert's quote about movies being empathy machines, bringing us closer to people we might think we have nothing in common with. When I first saw the Berlinger/Sinofsky documentary 'Brother's Keeper' I was overwhelmed with empathy and heartbreak and humor and feeling for these odd-duck brothers and their ramshackle farm existence and the small town in Upstate New York that became roiled by a murder trial when one brother was accused of killing another by smothering. And so, not having seen the film in many decades, I wanted to revisit it, to see if it retained its power and ability to create empathy. In this episode I start with a brief prologue talking about first encountering the film. Then I pause and rewatch the film and come back on the mic to share my thoughts on seeing the movie anew. 'Brother's Keeper' is one of the first films I would mention to anyone who wanted to know what movies of any genre I held closest to my life as a moviegoer. If you've seen it, you'll know what I mean. If this podcast episode is the first you're hearing of it, I hope you'll give it a watch, and let me know what you think! /episode/index/show/fullcastandcrew/id/38232385

243. 'Making Monsters' With KNB FX Founder Howard Berger and co-author Marshall Julius 09/09/2025

243. 'Making Monsters' With KNB FX Founder Howard Berger and co-author Marshall Julius Howard Berger and Marshall Julius have a brilliant new book out called 'Making Monsters: Inside Stories From The Creators of Hollywood's Most Iconic Creatures'. It's an indispensable oral history and visually spectacular compendium of Hollywood history and personal reflections from the industry's pre-eminent special make-up effects artisans, and actors and directors who appreciate the work of these specialized craftspeople. Howard is a co-founder of legendary Hollywood special make-up effects and creature design company KNB EFX Group, a company with more than 800 film and television credits that's been in the business of making movie magic for almost 40 years. Marshall Julius is a writer and reviewer who describes himself as a veteran nerd with a boundless enthusiasm for everything you love and a collector of plastic things. Marshall is the author of 'Action! The Action Movie A-Z', 'Vintage Geek', and, with Howard Berger, 'Masters of Makeup Effects'. Our conversation covered the changes facing the industry, the particulars of putting together such a labor-of-love book (their second collaboration), and, of course, some great inside stories from the making of some of your favorite films. Here's Follow About /episode/index/show/fullcastandcrew/id/38114750

242. 'Videodrome' (1983) 09/03/2025

242. 'Videodrome' (1983) David Cronenberg's 'Videodrome' remains a shockingly prescient vision of the world we're living in now: technology overlords using computerized developments for their own nefarious means...except in the case of 1983 Toronto, personal enrichment isn't the end game: elimination of the freaks and geeks is. Featuring a tour-de-force performance from James Woods and an impressive commitment to allowing viewers to experience the unfolding story as it happens to Woods' Max Renn, the film also has a hauntingly simple and utterly perfect score by frequent Cronenberg collaborator Howard Shore. /episode/index/show/fullcastandcrew/id/38066525

241. Just Kids 08/24/2025

241. Just Kids I recently learned of the senseless death of a friend from elementary school—someone I hadn’t seen in over forty years. His name was Joe Kane. The news reached across all that time and unexpectedly unlocked a reservoir of childhood emotions I didn’t even know I was still carrying. Letting those feelings out left me feeling connected to Joe's spirit and to the memory of his kindness, a quality that many have remembered and commented on after hearing this tragic news. And in that connection, I came to a better, if bittersweet, understanding of this period in my own life, of the odd and destabilizing duality of growing up in an alcoholic household and how the magical resilience and essential fragility of childhood continues to co-exist within us, bringing us together and apart and together again, if we're lucky. A lot of this episode draws from comments on which I've made public. This episode is an expanded version of an essay I wrote in my newsletter about Joe's death. You can read it if you'd like. Here's And here's the for Joe's funeral expenses and to benefit the Beth-El Center /episode/index/show/fullcastandcrew/id/37932985

240. 'A Civil Action' (1998) 08/12/2025

240. 'A Civil Action' (1998) Here's the next episode in a little courtroom-drama jag I've been on; it's about the second of screenwriter Steven Zaillian's three directorial efforts, 'A Civil Action', from Zaillian's adaptation of the best-selling Jonathan Harr nonfiction book of the same name. Like 'The Rainmaker', 'A Civil Action' provides a large roster of fantastic actors opportunities to deliver amazing portrayals that rely as much on non-verbal communication as they do the words written by Zaillian. IMO this makes Zaillian an impressive director, because what writer would willingly NOT want to hear more of his own words coming from the actors mouths. /episode/index/show/fullcastandcrew/id/37768350

239. Dead & Company 60th Anniversary Shows, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, CA 08/05/2025

239. Dead & Company 60th Anniversary Shows, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, CA Dead & Company's 60th Anniversary three-show stand is an opportunity to talk about about the living history that the band's music represents, the ongoing and still-vital multi-generational pull of the concerts, which drew about 175,000 people, and the fascinating real-time challenge represented by sitting in with the band. Using Sturgill Simpson and Trey Anastasio as examples of how players find a space for their instrument to occupy in the band's sonic tapestry, I dive into the sink-or-swim weirdness of entering this telepathic onstage space and speculate on what could be next for the band and the songs. You can watch the . , where I jot down musings, recommendations, and random thoughts. Check out of the Dead & Co Golden Gate and other shows. Vertex Effects is fantastic. This is the Wendy Melvoin one referenced in the episode. Other favorite are the Michael Thompson, Darryl Stuermer, Tim May, Ray Parker, Jr, Dean Parks, and Eddie Martinez. /episode/index/show/fullcastandcrew/id/37673850

238. John Grisham's The Rainmaker 08/02/2025

238. John Grisham's The Rainmaker In 1996, Francis Ford Coppola needed the money. He was coming off a run of films that included The Godfather Part III, Bram Stoker's Dracula, and Jack. His critical and box office results were at a career nadir. So he agreed to direct an adaptation of the John Grisham bestseller 'The Rainmaker' for Paramount. He wouldn't direct another film for 10 years. And he'd make only four more, including the epic disaster 'Megalopolis'. Curious then that 'The Rainmaker' is a superlative example of a courtroom thriller, a big-business-versus-the-little-guy movie that features fantastic performances from a large cast of total pros; a film that deserves to be considered among Coppola's best, and maybe a film whose constraints brought out the best in a filmmaker not know for personal or professional restraint. /episode/index/show/fullcastandcrew/id/37644425

237. '2010 The Year We Make Contact' 07/01/2025

237. '2010 The Year We Make Contact' Well, it's come to this. Was it curiosity? Was is discovery? A sense of completism? Oxygen deprivation? Whatever it was, I've now watched '2010: The Year We Make Contact' and I leave it for you to decide whether I'm any better for it. /episode/index/show/fullcastandcrew/id/37231850

236. '2001: A Space Odyssey', Part 4 06/26/2025

236. '2001: A Space Odyssey', Part 4 We've come to the end...or is it the beginning? This is part 4 of my series of episodes about the emotional and intellectual contact Stanley Kubrick made between movie-goers and his epic science-fiction film of 1968. Here's . if you haven't; it's free and filled with random recommendations based on what I'm reading, watching and listening to on a given week. Some of it podcast-adjacent and some totally unrelated. /episode/index/show/fullcastandcrew/id/37157405

235. '2001: A Space Odyssey', Part 3 06/24/2025

235. '2001: A Space Odyssey', Part 3 In Part 3, I geek out into how incredible and evocative the HAL sequences are in this film; what an amazing sense of character and personality Kubrick creates through the use of Doug Rain's iconic, best-in-class voiceover and the varying cutaways to HAL's electronic eye in scenes featuring the computer. Be sure to check out my other episodes covering the other sections of 2001. Next up: THE STAR GATE sequence in Jupiter And Beyond The Infinite. /episode/index/show/fullcastandcrew/id/37127895

234. '2001: A Space Odyssey', Part 2 06/19/2025

234. '2001: A Space Odyssey', Part 2 In part 2 of my four-part series on 2001, I am going through the TMA-1 (Tycho Magnetic Anomaly One) sequence in which Dr. Haywood Floyd of "The Council" visits the International Space Station, diverts some Russian scientist attentions, presents a specious, US Governmental coverup of the Clavius discovery to a group of cowed committee members, and then embarks to Clavius base on the Moon to visit the Monolith. This sequence famously uses Johann Strauss' 'The Blue Danube' as well as additional modern pieces by Ligeti. Here's the Tom, we kid because we love! . It's full of recommendations and podcast-adjacent ephemera. Also it's a place to hear from you! /episode/index/show/fullcastandcrew/id/37065700

233. '2001: A Space Odyssey', Part 1 06/16/2025

233. '2001: A Space Odyssey', Part 1 The first of my four-part series on Stanley Kubrick's '2001: A Space Odyssey' covers some introductory approach notes and the first sequence in the film: 'The Dawn Of Man'. In these episodes I want to avoid a nerdy technical discussion about how the filmmakers did what they did in this extraordinary, still-vital film masterpiece and instead focus on the remarkable ability of the film to inspire thoughts and feelings in its viewers. For a bibliography of resources consulted in the research of these episodes, check out for links to materials you might find of interest. /episode/index/show/fullcastandcrew/id/37015275

232. 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre' & 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre II' 06/04/2025

232. 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre' & 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre II' I'd never seen Texas Chainsaw Massacre before this episode. I had also never seen Texas Chainsaw Massacre II. Regrets, I have a few. And this apparent chainsaw-sized hole in my film-going life is at the heart the Brad Caleb Kane Experiment In Terror that are our Cannon Fodder series of episodes. Find out what happened in this chaotic mess of an episode. /episode/index/show/fullcastandcrew/id/36838640

231. Cannon Fodder: '52 Pickup' (1986) 05/30/2025

231. Cannon Fodder: '52 Pickup' (1986) Cannon Fodder continues! John Frankenheimer finds himself directing for Cannon Films with Roy Scheider starring in Elmore Leonard's own adaptation of his 1974 novel 52 Pickup. Watch before it leaves this weekend. Watch the excellent Cannon Films/Golan Globus unauthorized documentary Watch , the Larry Cohen documentary, featuring Martin Scorcese. Listen to Subscribe to my newsletter, , it contains recommendations for movies, music, tv shows, books, and musings on popular culture and the events of the given day. It's free. Listen to the first , with my special guest, Brad Kane. /episode/index/show/fullcastandcrew/id/36775205

230. Cannon Fodder: Charles Bronson in '10 to Midnight' (1983) 05/23/2025

230. Cannon Fodder: Charles Bronson in '10 to Midnight' (1983) In this week's episode it's the debut of 'Cannon Fodder', a recurring series of episodes where I watch a curated selection of films made by schlockmeisters Golan/Globus in the 1980's for their Cannon Film Group, one of the most entertaining production shingles you'll ever hear or see. In Brad's view, he is a man of the people's cinema and I am a high-minded, opinionated cinephile. Duly diagnosed, I agreed to expand my horizons under Brad's careful tutelage. The result is either an epic argument or filled with surprises...or both. Here's a about the "Go-Go Boys" as they're known. Here's some Watch Here's the /episode/index/show/fullcastandcrew/id/36679785

229. 'The Big Picture' (1989) 05/07/2025

229. 'The Big Picture' (1989) Long before 'Waiting For Guffman', Christopher Guest directed 'The Big Picture', a heartfelt, hilariously incisive movie about making movies. The film was greenlit during British film executive David Puttnam's brief tenure running Columbia Pictures. Co-written by Guest's 'Spinal Tap' co-star Michael McKean, who also turns in an unexpectedly warm and heartfelt performance, 'The Big Picture' is worthy of rediscovery for its impressively spot-on send-up of both Los Angeles and the studio executives who populate the business. The film stars Kevin Bacon, McKean, J.T. Walsh, Emily Longstreth, an uncredited Martin Short, Fran Drescher, Jennifer Jason Leigh. You can watch the film I've launched a newsletter that contains recommendations for movies, tv shows, books, podcasts, and music and you can subscribe and check out last week's issue Or here: /episode/index/show/fullcastandcrew/id/36462290

228. 'Sinners' 04/30/2025

228. 'Sinners' Ryan Coogler's original film 'Sinners' defied the so-called conventional wisdom of Hollywood and dropped only 6% week-to-week in its box office performance. It was also the subject of a fascinating online discourse about how the film's box office performance was written about in industry media. In this episode I recount the online controversy surrounding some of the reporting on the film and give you my own take on having seen the film. Enjoy! The McKinsey Report mentioned in the podcast: /episode/index/show/fullcastandcrew/id/36364960

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