profile pic ian.jpg

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.

Ep690: Rebirth at MIDNIGHT: An Interview with Filmmaker Randall Emmett

Ep690: Rebirth at MIDNIGHT: An Interview with Filmmaker Randall Emmett

Ian Simmons

How does someone leap from producing movies with Martin Scorsese to making their own movies?

Find out as Ian talks with first-time feature director Randall Emmett about his new thriller, Midnight in the Switchgrass!

When a Pensacola cop's investigation into a deranged serial killer intersects with a routine FBI human trafficking case, two agencies must race against the clock (while also combating bureaucracy and difficult personalities) to prevent the murderer from striking again.

Megan Fox, Emile Hirsch, Lukas Haas, and Bruce Willis star in a drama that's unlike many other films in this subgenre.

Emmett's decades-spanning producing credits include movies as wide-ranging as The Irishman, Boss Level, Silence, and the 2006 Wicker Man remake with Nicolas Cage. In this brief but very enlightening interview, he talks about the catalyst that pushed him out from behind the producer's desk and into the director's chair; the challenges of shooting his first movie during a pandemic; and why he hopes his film will give voice to the voiceless. Emmett also offers a glimpse into his next project.

Midnight in the Switchgrass opens in select theatres and On Demand this Friday, July 23rd.

Show Links:

  • Watch the Midnight in the Switchgrass trailer.

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

Ep691: The Claim Game: An Interview with SETTLERS Writer/Director Wyatt Rockefeller

Ep691: The Claim Game: An Interview with SETTLERS Writer/Director Wyatt Rockefeller
Ep689: The Slowdown: MEDICINE FOR MELANCHOLY

Ep689: The Slowdown: MEDICINE FOR MELANCHOLY