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Welcome to Kicking the Seat!

Ian Simmons launched Kicking the Seat in 2009, one week after seeing Nora Ephron’s Julie & Julia. His wife proposed blogging as a healthier outlet for his anger than red-faced, twenty-minute tirades (Ian is no longer allowed to drive home from the movies).

The Kicking the Seat Podcast followed three years later and, despite its “undiscovered gem” status, Ian thoroughly enjoys hosting film critic discussions, creating themed shows, and interviewing such luminaries as Gaspar NoéRachel BrosnahanAmy Seimetz, and Richard Dreyfuss.

Ian is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association. He also has a family, a day job, and conflicted feelings about referring to himself in the third person.

Ep385: Late Screening: Hedley!

The Kicking the Seat Podcast and Cole Rush of ColeTries.com and The Quill to Live "pardner" up for another edition of "Late Screening", in which they take on Mel Brooks' landmark 1974 comedy, Blazing Saddles! This heartfelt and hilarious farce about a black sheriff sent to disrupt a small Old West town offers a bold and hopeful commentary on race relations that still holds up today.

But what does our Millennial Correspondent make of the cavalcade of slurs, obscure references, and that oh-so-bizarre Third Act surprise? And could Mel Brooks make this film in our hyper-sensitive times? If not, is that a bad thing? Listen in and find out!

Episode 385 says the sheriff is near!

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Ep386: Just Say Noé!

Ep384: There's Something About GREEN BOOK