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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.

Ep572: Skate-Bit Revolution

Ep572: Skate-Bit Revolution

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Ian interviews director Ludvig Gür and producer Ralph D'Amato about their wild new documentary, Pretending I’m A Superman: The Tony Hawk Video Game Story! In 1999, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater became an monster hit, spawning numerous sequels and helping to resurrect skateboarding in mainstream culture. The film catches up with Hawk and his daredevil friends, as well as the Neversoft creative team, to look at what this unexpected success meant to gamers, boarders, and the world at large.

From the movie's surprising origins, to the impact the game had on the filmmakers, to the proliferation of video game-inspired documentaries, Ian and his guests dig into a doc that both exalts and explains the Pro Skater pop phenomenon.

Note: In an early question, Ian mistakenly uses the phrase "video game culture", when he meant to say "skateboarding culture". Pretending I’m A Superman is now available On Demand via all major platforms.

Also, Ian reviews the movie; invites you to watch the video version of the interview; and tells you about Varèse Sarabande’s Deluxe Edition double-LP of The Running Man soundtrack!

Episode 572 is gleams the cube!

Show Guide:

Intro Music: 0:00 - 0:14

Intro: 0:14 - 4:23

Pretending I’m A Superman Trailer: 4:23- 6:09

Pretending I’m A Superman Discussion: 6:09 - 29:42

Outro Music: 29:42 - 29:57

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Ep573: World of Human Wreckage

Ep573: World of Human Wreckage

Ep571: Late Screening: Do Your Homework in the Dark

Ep571: Late Screening: Do Your Homework in the Dark