#indie-film

#indie-film

Cooper Raiff returns to the podcast (first time was Ep. 128) to discuss his latest project, the eight-episode, independently-made, decades-spanning series Hal & Harper. He picks up right where we left off in the first interview, five years ago, taking us through the process of getting Cha Cha Real Smooth made, and how that green light helped him avoid compromising Hal & Harper.

Good Boy is a novel concept in the haunted-house genre - it's told entirely from the point of view of a dog, and it's got a surprisingly moving twist in its tail, sorry, tale. Co-written and directed by Ben Leonberg, who is also star pup Indy's owner in real life, it tells the story of Todd (Shane Jensen), a man suffering with an unnamed serious illness, who takes his dog to live with him in his late grandfather's old house in the country.

Writer/director James Sweeney's "Twinless" took the 2025 Sundance Film Festival by storm. This mordant delight - about two young men who befriend one another in a support group for people who've lost a twin - whipped the Eccles theater into a frenzy with its cuttingly dark laughs and unexpected plot twists. Sweeney's second feature, in which he stars opposite Dylan O'Brien who plays twins Rocky and Roman, also made headlines when sex scenes involving the two actors were leaked online by social media users

In just its second year in existence, The Popcorn List - a survey of acclaimed ( but still undistributed) feature films that debuted at major or regional film festivals over the past year and come highly recommended by festival programmers - is already taking a big step forward. Next month, the creators of the list will host various pop up screening events, both at theaters and virtually, to show off the very same films they've been championing. The Pop Up Series includes eight films from the 2025 list - seven from first-time feature directors, six directed by women, three documentaries, and five fiction features - and will not only provide a space for eager audiences to see this stellar films, but will also offer a unique model for both promotion and profit.

Sydney Sweeney portrays Penny Jo Poplin in Americana, a waitress dreaming of Nashville, against the backdrop of her ascent from HBO star to movie icon.

Kayci Lacob’s debut feature, 'Everything to Me,' is a self-distributed film reflecting on the complexity of growing up in Silicon Valley during the tech boom.

In the fictional world of a vertical drama, a romantic breakup can be your entire life. "There's nothing else for you to move on from. There's no future for you anymore. Everything's ruined," Mattox explains.

"A lot of these states are getting these credit programs. Some people call it a race to the bottom, and I get that. But I'm from here and I'm telling you we have a chance to make really something cool."

Hollywood's upcoming summer lineup showcases a mixture of sequels and original works, emphasizing the ease of franchising when the content feels fresh, amidst a sea of remakes.

Lily McInerny reveals her reserved childhood led her to storytelling through acting, which evolved from a love of fantasy and influences from her family.