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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 Noé, Rachel Brosnahan, Amy 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.

Ep637: The Slowdown: Puppet Show and ALPHAVILLE

Ep637: The Slowdown: Puppet Show and ALPHAVILLE

Ian Simmons

Ian and Sujewa welcome RogerEbert.com's Editor at Large, Matt Zoller Seitz, for a look at two dystopian-future epics: Jean-Luc Godard's Alphaville and Matt's very own, in-progress puppet film, Space Rabbit (produced by Sujewa)!

In Godard's 1965 neo-noir masterpiece, a government agent's search for a missing scientist leads him to a planet ruled by order and governed by an omniscient supercomputer. Seitz's movie centers on a hard-boiled lion detective's plot to liberate a world run by a fascist squirrel.

In this far-reaching and...ahem...animated conversation, the guys talk about the origins of both films; the influences that inspired each; and the ways in which Alphaville's sensibilities and style have echoed through generations of film and pop culture. There's also a fun detour into the movies of Terrence Malick, and Matt's ambitious plans for finishing and releasing Space Rabbit!

Time Stamps:

Intro: 0:00 - 0:40

Space Rabbit Discussion: 0:40 - 25:18

Alphaville Discussion: 25:18 - 45:57

Sojourn in Malick Land: 45:57 - 55:42

Return to Alphaville: 55:42 - 1:15:21

Outro: 1:15:21 - 1:17:24

Show Links:

  • Watch the Alphaville Trailer: https://bit.ly/3pvz62K

  • Watch a 7-minute interrogation scene from Space Rabbit: https://vimeo.com/206130317

  • Check out the original Space Rabbit video pitch for Indiegogo: https://vimeo.com/206127149

  • Read Matt's criticism and pop culture commentary at RogerEbert.com, Vulture, and Matt’s online bookstore.

  • Watch the teaser trailer for Sujewa’s upcoming film, The Secret Society for Slow Romance.

  • Keep up with all of Sujewa's projects.

  • Subscribe to, like, and comment on the Kicking the Seat YouTube channel!

Ep638: Spain's World: An Interview with BAD ATTITUDE Director Susan Stern

Ep638: Spain's World: An Interview with BAD ATTITUDE Director Susan Stern
Ep636: Page2Screen: THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS

Ep636: Page2Screen: THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS