Watch With Jen™

Overhated podcaster, pal, & horror movie buff Scott Weinberg returns to the pod for a special bonus Halloween episode, devoted to a trio of terrific "Funny Scary" movies for you to enjoy: TREMORS, THE 'BURBS, & YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN.

Originally Posted on Patreon (10/30/26) here: https://www.patreon.com/FilmIntuition/posts/173866465

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The author of the Alaska Wild and Scottish Bookshop mysteries, Paige Shelton, returns to the podcast ahead of the release of her brand-new mystery thriller set right here in AZ, where we both live, called THE BONE WOMAN. To celebrate, we dug into three of the best classic western genre staples: THE SEARCHERS, THE GOOD, THE BAD, & THE UGLY, and BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID, and covered everything from the iconic movie stars to the pacing to the desert to the music and beyond.

Originally Posted on Patreon (10/25/26) here: https://www.patreon.com/FilmIntuition/posts/173367110

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What a thrill to have New York Times bestselling author Brynne Weaver of BUTCHER & BLACKBIRD on the pod. Offering listeners a deeper dive into her fascinating background in forensic archeology, neuroscience, & Alzheimer's research, as well as her writing process, Brynne & I also delve into three science fiction horror movies featuring phenomenally tough women in ALIEN, 28 DAYS LATER, & THE DESCENT.

Official Bio: #1 NYT bestselling author Brynne Weaver has been writing since early childhood. As a teenager, she completed several full-length novels by hand. In 2021, she published her first fantasy romance, The Diviner, and launched her bestselling "neon romantasy" paranormal dark romcom Shadow Realm trilogy with A Shadow In The Reaping. Brynne then co-wrote two standalone novels, Black Sheep and Marrow, before publishing the smash hit Butcher & Blackbird in 2023. Wrapping up the Ruinous Love Trilogy in 2025, Brynne then launched the dark romcom x thriller Seasons of Carnage series with the instant NYT bestseller, Tourist Season. Known as the “Queen of Dark Romcom,” Brynne Weaver aspires to write female-focused stories about resilient characters navigating the darker edges of love.

Originally Posted on Patreon (10/18/26) here: https://www.patreon.com/FilmIntuition/posts/watch-with-jen-172725671

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SLEEPY HOLLOW series co-creator, screenwriter, & the co-host of Podcast Like It's the 2000s, Phillip Iscove joined me for this thoughtfully incisive, laugh-filled, ' 90s-kid-nostalgic episode devoted to the three film pairings of formerly married superstars Tom Cruise & Nicole Kidman. Beginning with Tony Scott's DAYS OF THUNDER, we dive into the wilds of Ron Howard's FAR & AWAY, and wrap it up with their strongest picture together, Stanley Kubrick's EYES WIDE SHUT. This hilariously breezy chat flew right by, & I know you'll dig it. (See Video Clips from this Episode on Jen's official YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@FilmIntuition)

Originally Posted on Patreon (10/12/26) here: https://www.patreon.com/FilmIntuition/posts/watch-with-jen-172167102

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As the old adage goes, friendships that begin with Midnight Run quickly move on to The Twilight Zone. It was such a joy to bring my Midnight Run-Through pod guest Alan Sepinwall back to Watch With Jen to chat about his brilliantly engrossing, brand-new, page-turning biography of Rod Serling, hitting shelves next week. I read & loved my advance copy of Sepinwall's great book. And as you'll quickly deduce, I had a ball covering all things Rod Serling and The Twilight Zone with him in this engaging episode, which found us zeroing in on three of the show's classic alien invasion episodes in particular, including "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street," "The Invaders," and "To Serve Man."

Bio: One of the country's most influential and respected TV critics, Alan Sepinwall has worked for Rolling Stone & The Star-Ledger, a New Jersey newspaper. His writing has also appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Ringer, and many others. He is the author or co-author of eight books about the medium, including NY Times bestsellers TV (The Book) and The Sopranos Sessions. He currently runs the TV criticism website https://WhatsAlanWatching.com. His newest book, Serling, a biography of Twilight Zone creator Rod Serling, is available for pre-order and will be released on October 13.

Originally Posted on Patreon (10/7/26) here: https://www.patreon.com/FilmIntuition/posts/171704675

When it rains, it pours! I spent most of September recording terrific episodes & now I have enough banked that you'll receive a few extra tricks & treats this month from Watch With Jen. Today, that means I'm introducing you to the delightful playwright & screenwriter Megan Mostyn-Brown (partner of another pal & recurring guest, Mr. Jordan Harper). Megan's bold, briskly paced debut coming-of-age horror novel "The Need" is now available in stores, & in this wide-ranging conversation, we covered screenwriting, the creative process, dealing with big personalities, childhood bullies, our mutual genetic diseases, & the films RUNNING ON EMPTY, LET THE RIGHT ONE IN, & BONES AND ALL that inspired her book.

Originally Posted on Patreon (10/2/26) here: https://www.patreon.com/FilmIntuition/posts/171265713

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It's always a pleasure & honor to have one of our most knowledgeable & inventive guests, the great Karina Longworth, back on the podcast. The brains & voice behind her critically beloved film history podcast, You Must Remember This, Karina joined me to discuss the brand-new season of the long-running series called The Bisexuals.

Covering not only her behind-the-scenes process and her recent studies in film restoration, but also several classic movie icons, in this engaging episode, we chat about Tallulah Bankhead in Alfred Hitchcock's LIFEBOAT, Montgomery Clift in William Wyler's THE HEIRESS, & Rock Hudson in Douglas Sirk's WRITTEN ON THE WIND.

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Brilliant screenwriters, hilarious storytellers, & insightful cinephiles Larry Karaszewski (ED WOOD & THE PEOPLE VS. LARRY FLYNT) & Dan Waters (HEATHERS & BATMAN RETURNS) return for their 3rd appearance on Watch With Jen. Choosing a genre purely for entertainment & curiosity's sake, rather than one they're especially devoted to, in this briskly paced, raucous, laugh-filled conversation, Larry & Dan are our 2 flight attendants leading us on a mostly chronological journey of earthquakes, fires, rollercoasters, swarms, avalanches, icebergs, & more in over 20 disaster movies from the 1970s. Filled with as many spoilers as there are old movie stars packed into the Hollywood phone-book-sized casts from these movies, where no character was safe, this engaging feature-length episode is another instant Karaszewski-Waters classic.

Note: Having survived an epic weeks-long marathon viewing everything from the A-list and B-list of the decade, we lived through a disaster movie experience of our own, so this episode cover features our photos arranged like the cast headshots on the posters from AIRPORT, EARTHQUAKE, THE TOWERING INFERNO, THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE, & more. Trust us, we're the Gene Hackman, Paul Newman, & Helen Hayes of this adventure & we'll lead you to safety.

Originally Posted on Patreon (9/14/26) here: https://www.patreon.com/FilmIntuition/posts/169527065

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Award-winning cultural historian Isaac Butler returns to the podcast to discuss screen censorship, the arts battles of the '80s & '90s with the rise of the religious right, Citizen Ruth, South Park: Bigger, Longer, Uncut, The People vs. Larry Flynt, & his outstanding new book The Perfect Moment: God, Sex, Art, and the Birth of America's Culture Wars.

Originally Posted on Patreon (9/9/26) here: https://www.patreon.com/FilmIntuition/posts/169059023

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Boston-based WBUR and Spliced Personality Substack film critic Sean Burns returns to the podcast to help celebrate the centennial of the beloved iconic character actor (& subject of the Blondie song "I Want That Man") Mr. Harry Dean Stanton. Offering you a nice overview of some of his most famous films, including PARIS, TEXAS and REPO MAN, plus conversations about STRAIGHT TIME, CISCO PIKE, PRETTY IN PINK, THE STRAIGHT STORY, & more, fans will delight in this entertaining episode.

Originally Posted on Patreon (8/31/26) here: https://www.patreon.com/FilmIntuition/posts/168229398

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"Just say, 'Dance, monkey, dance!'" My honorary kid brother from Oz, One Heat Minute Productions' podcaster Blake Howard, returns to the show this week to chat about two of our favorite filmmakers & actors in director Sidney Lumet's SERPICO with Al Pacino, and John Frankenheimer's FRENCH CONNECTION II, starring Gene Hackman.

Join us for a tightrope walk down the thin blue line, that's one of a darker shade, with these films that show us the corruption, moral flexibility, power jockeying, and ethical gray area in late '60s, early '70s policing. So dress like a PINK PANTHER villain with a gold fish ring, put on your favorite hibiscus shirt, and travel to New York City and Marseilles for a look at these films that are often underdiscussed today.

Note: This episode is dedicated to my very own childhood "Paco," a Marine turned police officer whose story I shared, who had his own SERPICO experience over 35 years ago, with a very different ending. RIP Paco; I loved your darkly funny curse-happy stories & wish the world had been gentler on you.

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Originally Posted on Patreon (8/12/26) here: https://www.patreon.com/FilmIntuition/posts/watch-with-jen-166492599

Sheila O'Malley is one of our greatest film writers, historians, & critics of screen acting. Her essays & reviews on The Sheila Variations blog & Roger Ebert's site are always must-reads, & I've been incredibly fortunate to have had her on the pod a few times to discuss some of cinema history's best & brightest performers. This time, she's back to share her thoughts on the vulnerable, intelligent, & understated character actor Dana Andrews, who to Sheila's mind is the recipient of many "10-second Oscars," wherein the smallest choices he makes in a scene or given line-read change the temperature of a film for good. In this warm, wonderful chat, we cover Andrews in LAURA, FALLEN ANGEL, DAISY KENYON, WHERE THE SIDEWALK ENDS, THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES, BALL OF FIRE, & more.

Guest Bio: Sheila O’Malley has been writing for https://Rogerebert.com since 2013. Her work has also appeared in The New York Times, The L.A. Times, Sight & Sound, and other outlets, including Film Comment, for which she had a biweekly column called Present Tense. She has written numerous booklet essays and video essays for Criterion Collection releases. She is the author of The Art and Making of Frankenstein, a book detailing the making of Guillermo Del Toro’s Frankenstein. Sheila is a member of the New York Film Critics’ Circle and the National Society of Film Critics.

Originally Posted on Patreon (8/4/26) here: https://www.patreon.com/FilmIntuition/posts/165775594

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You're in for a treat this week! Queue up Watch With Jen's long-overdue reunion of covering iconic action superstars with my dear friends (& frequent guests) Jed Ayres, Jordan Harper, & Priscilla Page. In '24, we gathered to dig deep into Jean-Claude Van Damme's life & career. And in '25, Jordan & Priscilla logged in for a celebration of all things Jackie Chan.

This time, we're going back to our Gen X & Millennial childhoods watching Arnold Schwarzenegger save the day. From PUMPING IRON to T2 & beyond, we compare/contrast Arnold with his fellow Planet Hollywood investors & action megastars Bruce Willis & Sylvester Stallone, discuss what it is that sets him apart as a mischievous, charismatic presence with a surprisingly light touch, and walk you through some of his biggest films.

Although we reference many other performances & pictures along the way, in this feature-length conversation, we set our sights on PUMPING IRON, CONAN THE BARBARIAN, COMMANDO, PREDATOR, TOTAL RECALL, & T2: JUDGEMENT DAY.

Full of nostalgia, laughs, stories, and clever insights, we hope you'll enjoy this conversation as much as we did. And make sure you're subscribed to Watch With Jen; we can't wait to get the band back together again to cover another action legend for you soon!

Originally Posted on Patreon (7/28/26) here: https://www.patreon.com/FilmIntuition/posts/watch-with-jen-165083130

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Delightful Mary Higgins Clark award-winning mystery writer Lina Chern drops by the podcast once again for a perfectly summery, vacation-and-sunscreen-season-worthy tour of Island Movies, such as SEND HELP, SHUTTER ISLAND, FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL, KING KONG, CAST AWAY, SIX DAYS SEVEN NIGHTS, & beyond.

Lina's Bio: "Hi. I'm Lina. My debut novel Play the Fool won the 2024 Mary Higgins Clark Award and was a 2024 Lefty and Anthony Award nominee. A sequel, Tricks of Fortune, is expected in 2025. Other work has appeared in The Marlboro Review, The Bellingham Review, Rhino, The Collagist, and Black Fox Literary Magazine. I have also written trivia questions, word puzzles for a TV game show, paranormal romances, dialogue for your favorite comic book characters, award-winning movie reviews, and poems that have been published and read by up to dozens of people." (c/o https://LinaChern.com)

Originally Posted on Patreon (7/22/26) here: https://www.patreon.com/FilmIntuition/posts/164555257

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Encyclopedic cinephile, writer, and pal Jed Ayres joins us once again to discuss the action-horror subgenre Games of Death. Taking us on a journey from THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME, we touch on some of the biggest, rarest, & best films in the genre before exploring THE HUNGER GAMES, READY OR NOT, & SELF-RELIANCE.

Originally Posted on Patreon (7/15/26) here: https://www.patreon.com/FilmIntuition/posts/163902834

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Earlier this year, I had a blast revisiting five of my favorite Joan Cusack performances for https://RogerEbert.com's Women Writers Week celebration. My friend, the prolific https://MovieMom.com critic Nell Minow, who also writes and edits for Ebert's site, was my editor for the article, and it seemed like the perfect opportunity to bring her back to Watch With Jen to explore a handful of our favorite Cusack roles that I wasn't able to cover in the piece. Touching on almost her entire filmography in this briskly energetic conversation, we pay close attention to WORKING GIRL, TOY STORY 2 (& 5), SCHOOL OF ROCK, MY BLUE HEAVEN, ADDAMS FAMILY VALUES, and several others.

Originally Posted on Patreon (7/8/26) here: https://www.patreon.com/FilmIntuition/posts/163253169

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This week, film scholar and author Mike Miley returns to the podcast to discuss one of his favorite directors, Jonathan Demme. Intriguingly, Mike opted to focus on Demme's earliest movies before his most successful era of SILENCE OF THE LAMBS and PHILADELPHIA. Although we touch on the unsung filmmaker's entire career, in this fast-paced, well-researched conversation, Mike and I cover Demme's background, recurring themes, collaborators (especially David Byrne), contemporaries, and those he influenced (most notably Paul Thomas Anderson), plus the films STOP MAKING SENSE, SOMETHING WILD, and MARRIED TO THE MOB. One of my favorite episodes of the season so far and perfect for the Fourth of July weekend given what Demme chooses to celebrate onscreen in America; it's also a must for cinephiles with access to the Criterion Channel, given that this month there's a spotlight on the filmmaker's work.

Mike's Bio: Mike Miley is the author of David Lynch's American Dreamscape: Music, Literature, Cinema and Truth and Consequences: Game Shows in Fiction and Film. His writing on film has appeared in The Atlantic, Bright Lights Film Journal, Reactor, The Smart Set, and elsewhere. His next book, A Guide to Reading (and Finishing) David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest, will be published next year. He's currently working on an oral history about an 80s cult classic.

Originally Posted on Patreon (7/1/26) here: https://www.patreon.com/FilmIntuition/posts/162635425

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My good friend, Black List Senior Vice President Kate Hagen, returns to Watch With Jen for this throwback summer celebration of 1996 films written, directed, and starring women. A diverse cross-section of independent and commercial offerings that we highlight throughout the hour, Kate and I discuss WALKING & TALKING, A VERY BRADY SEQUEL, HARRIET THE SPY, THE TRUTH ABOUT CATS & DOGS, plus one of the summer's biggest headline getters, STRIPTEASE with Demi Moore, who made history that year as the highest paid studio actress of all-time. While the film itself isn't great, Moore's success paved the way for women such as Julia Roberts and Reese Witherspoon to earn paychecks closer to those of their male counterparts. Shouting out other films that year that you need to see (like I SHOT ANDY WARHOL, which releases in two months from Criterion), Kate also walks us through the summers of '76, '86, '06, and '26 to let us know the way opportunities have changed.

Note: I never know whether or not to include my pod series MIDNIGHT RUN THROUGH in my official show count, but if you take a look at the total number of pods I've uploaded since the show's beginning in 2020, this marks the 300th offering from Watch With Jen! Thanks for listening.

Originally Posted on Patreon (6/25/26) here: https://www.patreon.com/FilmIntuition/posts/162054436

It was a joy to bring on a fellow Arizona critic & film scholar, the brilliant & funny Barbara VanDenburgh, to discuss the masterful Arizona-raised filmmaker Steven Spielberg. Barbara's favorite director and her greatest area of film knowledge; it's wild to realize that we haven't done an official Spielberg episode of the pod before this one. I know you'll love it! Covering the filmmaker's life, career, major themes, techniques, collaborators, and more, we touch on most of his pictures in this fast-paced conversation, and pay special attention to three of his summer releases, JAWS, JURASSIC PARK, and A.I. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE.

Guest Bio: Barbara VanDenburgh is a longtime arts and entertainment journalist, a film critic, and a member of the Phoenix Critics Circle. She is also the founder and host of the First Draft Book Club, a popular, long-running book club that discusses recently published works of literary fiction at Changing Hands Bookstore in Phoenix. She is the former books editor of USA Today and currently manages programming and communications for The Sidney Poitier New American Film School at Arizona State University.

Originally Posted on Patreon (6/16/26) here: https://www.patreon.com/FilmIntuition/posts/161259047

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The brilliant and soulful Roxana Hadadi returns with this episode devoted to one of her current favorite actors, the great Riz Ahmed. Similar to past conversations focused on terrific character actors like Tom Wilkinson and Edward Norton, this week, we explore Ahmed's filmography at large, discuss his evolution as an actor, and what sets him apart in the films THE RELUCTANT FUNDAMENTALIST, NIGHTCRAWLER, and SOUND OF METAL.

Guest Bio: A TV critic with Vulture, who also writes about film & pop culture, Roxana was previously the film editor & a critic with Pajiba, & her reviews, essays, recaps, and other writing have also been published by The AV Club, Polygon, http://RogerEbert.com, The L.A. Times, Crooked Marquee, The Playlist, Fox Digital, The Criterion Collection, GQ, & Inverse.

Originally Posted on Patreon (6/7/26) here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/160446279

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