Shows
You Never Forget Your First#40 -The enduring nature of The Wicker Man (1973) - Robin HardyHalloween might be over but the (genuinely) scary stories that Benas brings from Lithuania are just beginning. So although we might be late to the pumpkin carving, the goods are still here as we tackle Robin Hardys landmark horror movie The Wicker Man (1973). Serving as the inspiration for so many movies after it, not least of which being Hot Fuzz, The Wicker Man, when you watch it from a remote house in Scotland where this podcast was recorded from, is a genuinely frightening film. The lack of so many horror elements is paradoxically why it works so well, the l...
2022-11-051h 55You Never Forget Your First#39 - Kicking off a franchise - Mission Impossible 3 (2006) - J.J.Abrams
We’re exploding back on the scene with our most explosive debut where half the narrative revolves around explosions as explosions try to outdo other explosions in J. J. Abrams explosive debut Mission Impossible Three (2006). Its hard to imagine a film this large is a debut, but it set the tone for the rest of the franchise that continues to this day. From Lost, to getting lost in Lost, to wondering what exactly actually happened in Lost, JJ made a huge jump into mainstream filmmaking with MI3 and continued the trend into Star Wars. Stay tuned for Tom...
2022-10-061h 18You Never Forget Your First#38 - Could AI direct? (Hangout ep)We asked the ultimate question. Could AI direct? But literally though, could it actually direct? How would it work? Would it spit out garbage? Could it be creative? Direct actors? Squash producers? Work with a budget? Make something good?
If you want to feel like you plugged your head into The Matrix whilst simultaneously having your brain whisked like scrambled eggs this is the episode for you. We go from the hilarious nonsensical scripts AI has pumped out to the bleeding edge of human consciousness, even throwing in an IWAAD (which is probably the most terrifying one w...
2022-05-271h 30You Never Forget Your First#37 - Writing through directing - Mollys Game (2017) - Aaron SorkinIf you would have invented YNFYF, you would have invented YNFYF. But you didn’t. Thankfully we did, and if you can handle the truth of the witty quips and constant repetition we’re bringing this ep, then you’ll discover the truth of Aaron Sorkins debut, Mollys Game (2017). We’re no stranger to writer turned directors, but this particular case was unique given Sorkin is such a strong writer. Crafting his unique dialogue in films such as Steve Jobs, Moneyball, The Social Network - also that little mini series the West Wing - no matter who he works with, hi...
2022-03-211h 15You Never Forget Your First#36 - Nerve wracking cinema - Daddy Longlegs (2009) - The Safdie BrothersGRAB YOUR UNCUT GEMS as we’ve gone to the underbelly of New York in search of The Safdie Brothers and their debut film, Daddy LongLegs (2009). The film follows a father looking after his two kids, which, if you think sounds like an anomaly in the high octane, ‘underbelly of society’ types of films the Safdies make, then you’d be mistaken. In fact the film contains the very DNA of that nervous energy, bizarre characterisations and boots on the ground type of filmmaking the Safdies are synonymous with. The main actor of Daddy Longlegs, Ronald Bronstein, is essentially ‘the third...
2021-06-281h 27You Never Forget Your First#35 - What is a directors cut? (Hangout ep)What does a debut film podcast talk about, when it’s not debut films? In and amongst the wealth of first films we cover, we’re going to occasionally pepper in what we’re referring to as ‘hangout eps’ (name pending…) extra eps that are around directing and filmmaking, spurred by questions we find interesting. This is a total experiment for us, just like when Hans Zimmer insisted on playing loud horns in Inception every 5 minutes, and look how that turned out!
You may have wondered from time to time what on earth a directors cut is (isn’t...
2021-05-251h 29You Never Forget Your First#34 - McServed - Super Size Me (2004) - Morgan SpurlockNEW EP! We’ve gone and Super Sized this weeks podcast ep for you as we delve into the 2004 documentary Super Size Me directed by Morgan Spurlock.
It turns out all you need is a Big Mac and a camera to bring down the big corps, plus the digestive system of a T-Rex to weather the health storm from all that Super Sizing. The now iconic doc was far reaching and influential, having a lasting impact on our relationship with fast food and the industry’s treatment of it. To think the budget was a mere $65,000 (probably most...
2021-04-111h 21You Never Forget Your First#33 - Finding humanity in the dark - The Lives of Others (2006) - Florian Henckel von DonnersmarckJoin us as we do what we do every episode, which is explore the lives of others, except this time we really are exploring the actual film, The Lives of Others (2006) directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck. This is an exceptional debut that feels like a fourth or fifth film from an already established filmmaker. The film takes place in 1984 East Berlin, telling the story of a Stasi officer who listens in on a writer and his lover, and becomes increasingly absorbed by their lives. Hopefully, you’ll listen in here and become increasingly absorbed yourself. In the pod. No...
2021-03-081h 09You Never Forget Your First#32 - Andrew Patterson - The Vast of Night (2019)Join us in an epic journey back to 1950’s America, where we gave each other nicknames like Benas-whooping-y’all and Louis-loose-lips-Lunts, repeated the phrase ‘baking biscuits’ about a thousand times, and tried to figure out what the hell that on-going sound is, in Andrew Pattersons debut film The Vast of Night (2019). ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀A high ambition paired with a low budget means Andrew Patterson needed to deploy all the DIY tricks in the book, (as well as make up new ones) from an inventive one shot using a go kart, to hiring unknown actors who brought a freshness to the roles (who nailed it btw) to choosing a new angle on a worn genre. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀The...
2021-02-181h 15You Never Forget Your First#31 - Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris - Little Miss Sunshine (2006)We’ve started 2021 strong with a blinding ray of indie film goodness, so strong we could barely see each other as we recorded this very episode, in the form of Little Miss Sunshine (2006) directed by Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris.
The history of how this film was conceived, written, produced, and the 5 years it spent in development hell, including firing and re-hiring writer Micheal Arndt, is anything less than a sunny experience. Throw Jonathon and Valerie in for being responsible in bringing Red Hot Chilli Peppers to the masses, essentially directing all their hit music videos you...
2021-01-201h 08You Never Forget Your First#30 - Special Episode - Is Die Hard a Christmas film?A CHRISTMAS SPECIAL FOR YOU ALL 🎄🎅 Even though 2020 has swung one final time in an attempt to take away all tradition, we swing back to instil some normality by asking the age old question “Is Die Hard a Christmas film?” Directed by John McTiernan and released in the hot summer of 1988, (despite having a Christmas themed plot) Die Hard is at the center of the yearly festive film debate. To add a spin on this well known question, two of the four members of this very podcast only just watched Die Hard for the first time. Yeah…that almost warrants a w...
2020-12-251h 01You Never Forget Your First#29 - Tyler Nilson & Michael Schwartz - Peanut Butter Falcon (2019)NEW EP 🥜 on Peanut Butter Falcon (2019), a genuine, heartfelt debut by Tyler Nilson & Michael Schwartz, starring the sensation that is Zack Gottsagen. The film follows Zack as he runs away from his care home to achieve his dream of becoming a wrestler. With great performances by Shia Labeouf and Dakota Johnson, and nuanced direction by the duo, they knock this film out of the park. We challenge you to hate this film (spoiler: you’ll love it) 🎬
2020-12-2249 minYou Never Forget Your First#28 - Spike Jonze - Being John Malkovich (1999)We headed back to 1999 and dived inside Spike Jonze’s head, who dived inside Charlie Kaufman’s head, who dived inside John Malkovich’s head, to bring you our episode on Spikes Jonze’s directorial debut, Being John Malkovich. A peculiar but highly entertaining film that can be read in so many ways, with John Malkovich putting his very name above the door. Thank god it did well.
It’s amazing to realise that Spike Jonze, despite being a household name, has only directed 4 features. His illustrious career as a music video and short film director has almost...
2020-12-161h 06You Never Forget Your First#27 - Spyder Dobrofsky - Spiral (2019) (Interview)INTERVIEW ALERT 🚨 Beneath the glitzy summer blockbusters where Superheroes showdown and streaming networks serving up 10 episodes to beam into your eyeballs in one night, is a whole world of low budget, do-it-yourself, balls to the wall filmmaking. These are films shot on next to nothing, made with a sheer passion for telling stories with a camera, and we’re happy to say we have a shining example of this in Spyder Dobrofsky’s Spiral (2019)
Dunked in the DNA of Darren Aronofsky’s PI (1998) and Christopher Nolan’s Following (1998), Spiral follows Ben, who is tricked into smoking laced weed by his...
2020-12-061h 28You Never Forget Your First#26 - Ariel Schulman & Henry Joost - Catfish (2010)Before Catfish: The TV show which Nev presents, unveiling Catfishes all over the states, he was in fact Catfished himself, documented by directors Ariel Schulman (his brother) and Henry Joost in Catfish: The Movie (2010). In the film, Nev is in contact with a family over Facebook, who him and his friends soon realise might not be who they say they are. Despite this unsettling premise, perhaps the most scary part of re-watching this decade old documentary is how much people used to use Facebook to seemingly update the world on the most evidently boring parts of their life. In...
2020-11-0557 minYou Never Forget Your First#25 - David Fincher - Alien 3 (1992)Come on a journey with us back to July, when we were experiencing a heatwave so strong Benas may have actually passed out during recording, the background noise courtesy of a passing train that had seemingly little explanation, and a cat (Nessie) that just wanted to express its cinematic opinion, and you’ve got our episode on David Fincher’s Alien 3 (1992). Thats right, this our first real life episode in months, so we felt compelled through the sweat to tackle a beast of a director with a very interesting directorial debut.
On first glance Alien 3 stand...
2020-10-181h 24You Never Forget Your First#24 - Harry Wootliff - Only You (2018)Are things always as they appear? You might take one glance at Only You (2018) on Netflix and assume this is a cheesy romance film where the guy gets the girl at last minute in the airport. In fact, Benas did and we had to strap him to a chair and run some Clockwork Orange moves on his eyes so he would watch it. But we’re getting away from the point here. Harry Wootliff’s Only You is a raw, delicately crafted debut that might have slipped you by (despite winning two BIFAs).
A curveball suggestion by Louis...
2020-09-011h 04You Never Forget Your First#23 - Sam Hargrave - Extraction (2020)What if we told you that Chris Evans isn’t the real Captain America? And that whenever you see Cap throwing himself into some insane situation, you’re actually seeing our friend Sam Hargrave don the helmet and shield, as he is in fact Caps stuntman (yes even superheroes need stunt men). Now he’s stopped throwing himself into the ring, and is instead throwing another Chris (Hemsworth) in instead, with his first film, Extraction. (2020).
The most recent film we’ve done on the pod to date, we thought we’d make our first foray into the wo...
2020-07-261h 08You Never Forget Your First#22 - Bruce Robinson - Withnail and I (1987)What creates a cult classic film? Some say its being ripped apart to shreds by critics on release. Others say it’s a notoriously bad theatrical run never recouping the budget. Bruce Robinson says it’s out of work actors and an appetite for lots of alcohol. And possibly lighter fluid.
Enter Withnail and I (1987) which follows two substance abusing unemployed actors in 1969. Almost unbelievable this is a first directorial effort, it’s also the first appearance of Richard E Grant and Paul McGann in a feature film. Based on director Bruce Robinsons own experiences in the 60’s with hi...
2020-07-0752 minYou Never Forget Your First#21 - J.D. Dillard - Sleight (2016)In a few short years, J D Dillard has gone from being a receptionist at Bad Robot (J. J. Abrams production company) to having 2 features under his belt, and is (possibly) on his way to developing a Star Wars project.
You may not know who J D Dillard is. Thats OK, because theres a whole podcast here on the man himself. A true indie filmmaker in the eyes of YNFYF, his first film, Sleight (2016), follows street magician Bo as he is left to care for his younger sister. A genre blend thats part superhero, part sci fi a...
2020-06-241h 16You Never Forget Your First#20 - Andrew Adamson & Vicky Jensen - Shrek (2001)SOME-BODY once told us to get making some waffles and rewatch Shrek. We’re so glad we did, as the amount of adult jokes in this film that flew over our heads as kids makes it worth a rewatch almost 20 years later.
On the surface, Shrek really should not have worked as a film. It (literally) shits on the classic fairytale genre, is full of (somehow not dated?) pop culture references, and at last minute had the whole of Shreks lines re-recorded with a Scottish accent. Yet directors Andrew Adamson & Vicky Jensen knew exactly what they were do...
2020-06-071h 02You Never Forget Your First#19 - Gareth Edwards - Monsters (2010)When it comes to special effects, you need hundreds of specialist people to create them, right? Well, if you’re Gareth Edwards, all you need is your bedroom and a laptop from 2009. In one of the most inspiring “budget to magic on screen” ratios we’ve seen on YNFYF, Gareth Edwards both wrote, shot and created ALL the special effects seen in his directorial debut, Monsters. This is independent filmmaking at its most essential; most of the actors were members of the public, and the film was shot on the fly in South America. Not only that, but fast forward...
2020-05-211h 09You Never Forget Your First#18 - Tommy Wiseau - The Room (2003)Have you ever thrown your hands up in the air and just shouted “YOU’RE TEARING ME APART LISA!” No? Then fear not, because Tommy Wiseau has you covered, and also has a whole host of other bizarre and hilarious things covered in his directorial debut (really his only film) The Room.
Made in 2003 for a staggering 6 million dollars, The Room has cultivated such a cult following, that it still plays in cinemas to this very day. It makes you wonder, how many other films can claim that? Only a handful of classics. But it also makes you wo...
2020-04-051h 00You Never Forget Your First#17 - Special Episode - A Decade of Filmmaking“Wait, you’re giving us the usual first films, but then throwing in a few one one-off special episodes every now and then, about topics you feel you can add some value to and have a good chat about for our listening pleasure?” Uh, yeah. That is literally what we are doing. That’s weird you know that.
So for our first special episode, we decided to shoot for the stars YNFYF style, and corner ourselves into the biggest corner you’ve ever heard by tackling the unconquerable challenge of reviewing the decade. Which was actually unc...
2020-03-011h 52You Never Forget Your First#16 - Sam Mendes - American Beauty (1999)American Beauty is one of those films every always agrees is “pretty damn good”. You’d be hard pushed to find someone who doesn’t like it, and isn’t wowed by the fact this DEBUT FILM won Best Picture and Best Director at the Oscars. Imagine that? Well, if you’re Sam Mendes, you don’t have to.
Released in 1999, American Beauty follows average middle aged guy Lester Burnham and his mid-life crisis, as it unravels to affect those around him. Not only is this film full of stand out performances, every single department is firing on all cylinder...
2020-02-131h 13You Never Forget Your First#15 - Patty Jenkins - Monster (2003)Happy New Year from YNFYF! We’re kicking off 2020 with a look back at another decade, 2003, when an unknown Patty Jenkins somehow managed to get Charlize Theron to play Aileen Wuornos, a prolific female serial killer who lived in Florida. With a virtually unrecognisable Charlize Theron in the main role, as well as a high level of craft and storytelling, this debut is moving, tough watch that cemented Patty as a force to be reckoned with. We had to wait a whole 14 years before another cinema experience from Patty, this time in the form of a superhero film called Wo...
2020-01-1255 minYou Never Forget Your First#14 - Richard Curtis - Love Actually (2003)If you thought you could escape Christmas without watching Love Actually, you’d ACTUALLY be mistaken. Because no one can get to Christmas Day without at least shedding a tear that Emma Thompson never gets given that necklace. Every. Single. Year. Merry Christmas!
You’d be forgiven for thinking that Curtis directed Four Weddings and Notting Hill, his films all feel like they’re part of the same universe. It wasn’t until Love Actually that he took the plunge, and decided to weave together ten different love stories in the lead up to Christmas. Wait, did he create...
2019-12-251h 17You Never Forget Your First#13 - Dan Gilroy - Nightcrawler (2014)Our motto is that if you want to record a podcast, you gotta do the research to sound like you know what you’re talking about. And while we’re at it, your performance review is coming up. You’ve shown some real initiative downloading our episodes, as well as having an enthusiastic attitude to our posts. But if you ever miss an episode again, make no mistake. We will terminate you.
Of course we won’t! Because we’re too busy laughing at all the self-help management talk in Dan Gilroys stand out debut film, Nightcrawler (2014). We’re also...
2019-12-081h 11You Never Forget Your First#12 - Paul Weitz - American Pie (1999)It’s been claimed by those film nerds that 1999 was one of the best years for original movies. We got given Fight Club. The Matrix. American Beauty. The Sixth Sense. Eyes Wide Shut. The Blair Witch Project. The Iron Giant. Nottinghill. Being John Malkovich. Toy Story 2. The Green Mile. Just to name a few. And then one movie came along that penetrated culture (and pies) with its outrageousness. That film is American Pie.
The directorial debut of Paul Weitz (his brother Chris Weitz is an uncredited director) saw this movie reboot and retool the teen com...
2019-11-241h 07You Never Forget Your First#11 - George A. Romero - Night of The Living Dead (1968)If you ever find yourself needing to look up synonyms for the word “zombie”, the first suggestion will in fact be “George A Romero”. Thats because our friend George virtually invented the zombie genre with his 1968 groundbreaking first film, “Night of The Living Dead”.
This first film didn’t just launch a career though, it launched an entire GENRE. Popular modern entertainment like The Walking Dead, 28 Days Later, and even everyones favourite ITV2 re-run Shaun of the Dead, all wouldn’t exist without the path George blazed. And ironically, he did it all without a single utterance of the word zombi...
2019-11-011h 17You Never Forget Your First#10 - Steve McQueen - Hunger (2008)Imagine, if only for a second, you are the worlds biggest movie star. Your accepted nickname is “King of Cool”. You do your own stunts, could have almost been a professional racing driver and your name even sounds like an expensive brand of perfume. Now forget all that, because we just realised we’re actually talking about the wrong Steve McQueen.
Thats right, we’re talking about the British director Steve McQueen, whose credits include Shame, 12 Years A Slave and Widows. And perhaps a little known gem that you may never have heard of….Hunger (2007). The film follows Ir...
2019-10-2057 minYou Never Forget Your First#9 - Martin McDonagh - In Bruges (2008)Are you looking for a delightful weekend break? May the pod crew suggest Bruges for you and your loved ones. Straight out of a fairytale, Bruges will offer idyllic views of castles, romantic streets to lose yourself in and an array of dif-YOU'RE AN ANIMATE FUCKING OBJECT.
Sorry. You’re obviously not. You’re a living, breathing, clever soul for choosing to join us in our weekend break in Bruges. Because aside from having some lovely alcoves, its the setting of Martin McDonaghs debut film, In Bruges. It follows hitmen Ray and Ken, who have to await orde...
2019-09-291h 27You Never Forget Your First#8 - Léonor Serraille - Jeune Femme (2017)Paris. As soon as someone says it, you can't help but think of romantic strolls around The Eiffel Tower, coffee in a small café and pedalling down streets on a chic bike. What if we told you to forget all that Lonely Planet stuff, and instead journey with a woman who's recently homeless, can't hold down a job or friends, and just left a cat in a graveyard.
This is just the start of Lèonor Serraille's great debut feature, Jeune Femme, and so the pod crew brushed up on their French, dressed in their chicest threads, and d...
2019-08-261h 18You Never Forget Your First#7 - Steven Spielberg - Duel (1971)Hey, remember that film Indiana Jones? Or E.T? Jurassic Park? Minority Report? Close Encounters? How about Schindlers List? Saving Private Ryan? A.I? Catch Me If You Can? Or even Jaws?
Thats great you remember all of those classics.
How about Duel? Remember that one?
Yeah we didn’t think so.
Thats right, just when you thought we’d only do a few little indie films, we’ve taken a Toretto handbrake turn and gone straight to the man who basically IS the movie industry, back to the beginning of his inc...
2019-07-231h 56You Never Forget Your First#6 - Ryan Coogler - Fruitvale Station (2013)Before ‘Wakanda Forever!’ made over a billion dollars, and before Rocky emerged out of the shadows promising this fight may actually be “my final fight kid”, Ryan Coogler wrote and directed his very first film, Fruitvale station, that premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival and won the Grand Jury Prize. It follows 22 year old Oscar Grant’s final day before being tragically shot by police on New Years Day, 2009. The pod are big fans of Coogler, and dove straight into the immensely deep level of craft and storytelling that make this excellent debut. So if you haven’t seen it, then paus...
2019-07-071h 19You Never Forget Your First#5 - Jonah Hill - Mid90's (2018)Jonah Hill has gone from screaming at McLovin in Superbad for getting a dodgy fake ID, to working alongside some of the greatest actors and directors currently working. And now, he's going all the way back to the Mid90's, to make his film, Mid90's. Despite our immense lack of skateboarding skills, the trio attempt to kickflip, grind and roll through his directorial debut, which stars mostly unknown actors cruising through 90's Los Angeles to some pretty damn good music. There's much more to it however, so plug in, blow the dust off your Tony Hawk skateboard and...
2019-06-231h 13You Never Forget Your First#4 - Jim Cummings - Thunder Road (2018)Well haven’t we got a great episode for you! We dive into a much loved film of the YNFYF community, Thunder Road (2018) by recent producer turned director Jim Cummings. Jim is somewhat of a new breed of filmmaker, tearing down the old walls of Hollywood and democratising filmmaking. We find him exceptionally motivating, as he advises you to grab your own camera, make your own film, and distribute it yourself.
We’re big fans of this film, so the excitement levels are particularly high on this episode. And whats that? A new voice? Our film f...
2019-05-141h 12You Never Forget Your First#3 - Damien Chazelle - Guy and Madeline On A Park Bench (2009)Do you feel like dancing? Because we're bobbing away to Damien Chazelles debut feature film Guy and Madeline On A Park bench. If you've ever wondered what La La Land looks like on a low-budget, look no further than this first film. Following a similar story of a guy and a girl (spoiler, Madeline) just trying to work it out to the backing of some catchy jazz tunes, Chazelles first feature solidifies his love for music and filmmaking, whilst showing just what you can do on a low budget. Listen as we break this obscure first film apart, whilst...
2019-05-0852 minYou Never Forget Your First#2 - Joseph Gordon Levitt - Don Jon (2013)Join us on our second ride, as we cut to the heart of Joseph Gordon Levitts directorial debut, Don Jon. Having been in the acting scene for a while, JGL's debut was a refreshing story about a man struggling with porn addiction. But, as we uncover, the movie is about so much more.
The usual Shorts of The Week section covers short films you should be watching - as well as a tangental conversation into whether Bad Times At The El Royale has a story or not.
Happy listening.
2019-04-3045 minYou Never Forget Your First#1 - Jordan Peele - Get Out (2017)Join us in our very first episode, where we explore one of the more recent directorial debuts of our time, Get Out (2017). Written and directed by Jordan Peele, and, unless you missed us shouting out to Jason Blumhouse multiple times, produced by Blumhouse productions. We dive into the bits and bobs of this film with varying degrees of success, but always trying our best to make sure you take away something that you might have missed at the cineplex. Such as the 'plastic' category at The Oscars (you'll understand when you listen).
We'll also be doing our...
2019-04-2359 min