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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.

Ep699: Resilient Realities: An Interview with DEMONIC Star Carly Pope

Ep699: Resilient Realities: An Interview with DEMONIC Star Carly Pope

Ian talks with actress Carly Pope (Popular, 24) about her role in Neill Blomkamp's latest film, Demonic!

The writer/director of District 9 and Elysium tiptoes into horror with a techno-spiritual thriller about a woman named Carly who receives a strange invitation to visit her estranged, comatose mother. A cutting-edge medical research facility has created a virtual reality portal through which the two can communicate--and which may also contain a malevolent presence eager to visit our world.

Pope talks about collaborating with Blomkamp on an indie film during a global pandemic; acting in a virtual environment; and getting into the mindset of a character experiencing bizarre, escalating traumas.

Show Links:

Ep700: Page2Screen: STAND BY ME

Ep700: Page2Screen: STAND BY ME

Ep698: HABIT-Forming with Janell Shirtcliff

Ep698: HABIT-Forming with Janell Shirtcliff