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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.

Ep1202: Dracula (2026) - Live Roundtable Review

Ep1202: Dracula (2026) - Live Roundtable Review

Count Dracula has survived such formidable filmmaking foes as Francis Ford Coppola, Dario Argento, and David Eggers. But will he shrink in fear at the might of...Luc Besson?

Jacob Landry-Jones is the latest to don the cape and fangs in this umpteenth retelling of the debonair undead Drac. Could this be the definitive version--or a slightly different rehash with goofier looking makeup effects?

Join us as we hang garlic and debate whether or not it's time to stake all future adaptations of Bram Stoker's classic novel!

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Ep1203: Love, Hope & Chair-ity An Interview with BY DESIGN Writer/Director Amanda Kramer

Ep1203: Love, Hope & Chair-ity An Interview with BY DESIGN Writer/Director Amanda Kramer

Ep1201: Send Help (2026) - Live Roundtable Review

Ep1201: Send Help (2026) - Live Roundtable Review