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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.

Ep722: My Kinda Fiction w/ ROY'S WORLD Director Rob Christopher

Ep722: My Kinda Fiction w/ ROY'S WORLD Director Rob Christopher

Ian Simmons

Ian talks with director Rob Christopher, whose new documentary Roy’s World: Barry Gifford’s Chicago will have its Windy City premiere this Saturday at the Chicago Critics Film Festival!

Roy’s World follows the early life of writer Barry Gifford, whose prose and poetry have been influential for decades, inspiring films such as Wild At Heart and Lost Highway (in collaboration with David Lynch). Gifford spent his formative years in Chicago, and through montage, pristine vintage footage, and animation, Christopher paints vivid pictures of how the "tough" city forged a bold, literary heart.

Rob Christopher talks about the film's unconventional genesis; his collaboration with friend/colleague/Chicago indie-film magnate Michael Glover Smith; how he landed a trio of brilliant narrators in Lili Taylor, Willem Dafoe, and Matt Dillon; and what Gifford's work means to him, personally.

You'll also learn more about Saturday's very special screening, which will be a full-blown event within the Chicago Critics Film Festival!

Show Links:

ETERNALS Round Table Review

ETERNALS Round Table Review
Ep721: The Michael Dante Way

Ep721: The Michael Dante Way