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.

Ep724: IndieSeen: IRMA VEP

Ep724: IndieSeen: IRMA VEP

Ian Simmons

Ian and Sujewa look at Olivier Assayas' wonderfully weird movie-about-indie-movies, Irma Vep!

This electric 1996 dramedy stars Maggie Cheung as a Hong Kong actress arriving in France to film a remake of a 1916 silent film serial about jewel thieves and hypnosis. Between an off-the-rails and over-schedule production; a director on the verge of a nervous breakdown; and back-stabbing crew politics, it's no wonder Maggie's grip on reality becomes as tenuous as her director's grasp of the script.

Ian and Sujewa dig into the many layers on which Assayas' witty and fast-moving screenplay works; the tensions between Hollywood blockbusters and world cinema at large; and Ian's skepticism at the recently announced Irma Vep TV series in development at HBO!

Plus: Sujewa shares some big announcements and bigger ambitions for 2022 regarding his recently completed film, The Secret Society for Slow Romance!

Show Links

  • Watch the Irma Vep trailer.

  • Watch the Secret Society for Slow Romance trailer.

  • Watch a clip from Slow Romance.

  • Learn more about Slow Romance at the film's website.

  • Keep up with all of Sujewa's projects.

  • Watch Irma Vep on The Criterion Channel or buy the Blu-ray from criterion.com.

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

Ep725: Hammerland: FRANKENSTEIN AND THE MONSTER FROM HELL

Ep725: Hammerland: FRANKENSTEIN AND THE MONSTER FROM HELL
Ep723: There's No Stalgia Like Nostalgia: SWEET SWEETBACK'S BAADASSSSS SONG

Ep723: There's No Stalgia Like Nostalgia: SWEET SWEETBACK'S BAADASSSSS SONG