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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.

Ep659: A Rainy Day at The Oscars

Ep659: A Rainy Day at The Oscars

Ian and Pat continue their unofficial "Adventures in Cancellation" series with a look back at the 93rd Academy Awards and a review of Woody Allen's 2019 film, A Rainy Day in New York!

The guys talk plummeting audience numbers and ascendant wokeness; Tyler Perry's message of unity, and Twitter's ugly reaction to Anthony Hopkins' win; and why the once venerated telecast has shrunk to little more than a gold-plated COVID bubble.

Then they get into the latest (released) Allen film, which stars Timothée Chalamet and Elle Fanning as college kids whose day trip to the Big Apple becomes a descent into the madness of celebrity culture, old flames, and high-society revelations.

The movie-review segment is bookended by thoughts on the controversies surrounding Allen and fellow accused-and-canceled comic Louis C.K., and the dangers of extra-judicial media trials.

So, yes, please enjoy what very may well be the final episode of the Kicking the Seat Podcast!

Timestamps:

  • 93rd Oscars Discussion: 0:00 - 18:40

  • Some Thoughts on Woody Allen: 18:41 - 29:17

  • A Rainy Day in New York Review: 29:18 - 51:17

  • Louis C.K. Revisited (Why Not?): 51:18 - 58:09

  • Outro: 58:10 - 101:33

Show Links:

Ep660: My Kind of TOM: An Interview with Filmmaker JER SKLAR

Ep660: My Kind of TOM: An Interview with Filmmaker JER SKLAR

Ep658: Hammerland: DRACULA: PRINCE OF DARKNESS (1966)

Ep658: Hammerland: DRACULA: PRINCE OF DARKNESS (1966)