The Film Stage Presents

Welcome to The B-Side! Here we talk about movie stars! Not the movies that made them famous or kept them famous, but the ones that they made in between. 

Today we discuss New Jersey legend James Gandolfini! Our B-Sides include: The Mexican, Romance & Cigarettes, Cinema Verite, and The Drop. Our guest literally wrote the book on Gandolfini! Jason Bailey, author of Gandolfini Jim, Tony, and the Life of a Legend. He also co-hosts the podcast “Guide for the Film Fanatic” on the One Heat Minute Productions network. I was honored to chat about The Adventures of Robin Hood on the pod not too long ago!

We discuss Gandolfini’s early years as a character actor, his fun times on the set of the holiday debacle Surviving Christmas, and the chemistry of friendship that Gandolfini and Julia Roberts build in the underrated The Mexican. 

Jason dishes on the process of writing his great book, we all lament the next act of great Gandolfini performances we did not get, and I remember some iconic episodes from The Sopranos. We discuss his playful energy and singular legacy, and what could have been. There’s also a chat about Jason’s upcoming book YIPPEE KI-YAY "Die Hard,” Bruce Willis, and the Reinvention of the Action Movie.

After a fraught journey to the big screen at the hands of corporate overlords, Coyote Vs. ACME has finally seen the light of day. Despite the C-suite mishigas the film is proving to be a well-earned success. It’s a funny, charming, and uniquely sobering look at the things we buy and use, and the companies we get used by. Rooted as much in the world of Chuck Jones as The Verdict or A Civil Action, the cartoon courtroom antics are built on the bones of a legal thriller, and the resulting observations bear an uncomfortable resemblance to the reality of our relationship with almost every corporation in 2026.

To unpack this, I spoke with Joe Galbo, a social media specialist for a U.S. safety regulatory agency. Over the past decade, Galbo has made it his mission to raise awareness of unsafe products in wry and off-beat ways one meme at a time. We discuss the irony of how the film’s fraught distribution is reflected in its script, and frankly enhances its message. We also get into how the film captures an ever-present dread in the face of AI and the “enshittification” of just about everything we buy and use. We marvel at how unflinching the film is in delivering these sentiments, and why the Looney Tunes are the perfect vessel to raise awareness.

Be sure to follow Joe @josephgalbo.bsky.social, and for any info on unsafe products (or how to report them) visit saferproducts.gov.

Coyote Vs. ACME is now in theaters.

Welcome to The B-Side! Here we talk about movie directors! And sometimes we get to talk to movie directors about their own B-Sides!

Today, with his new film Just Play Dead now in theaters and available on VOD/Digital, we spoke with the great Martin Campbell about his long, accomplished career. Along with Just Play Dead, we focus on his early films Criminal Law, Cast a Deadly Spell, and Beyond Borders.

The perennially underrated filmmaker tells us how he gets movies like Just Play Dead made these days, why he still wants to make an outright comedy, why his Green Lantern film didn’t work (spoiler alert: it was the script being written “by committee" and eleventh-hour budget cuts), and the freedom that comes with smaller budgets on independent productions. There are also brief discussions about GoldenEye (a final budget of just $58 million!), his cult classic No Escape, and why he doesn’t like the actual making of his movies but he loves the editing.

Welcome to The B-Side, from The Film Stage. Here we talk about movie stars and not the movies that made them famous or kept them famous, but the ones they made in between. In a revisited episode as Mutiny arrives, Dan Mecca, Conor O'Donnell, and Jordan Raup discuss The B-Sides of Jason Statham’s career.

Welcome to The B-Side, from The Film Stage. Here we talk about movie stars and not the movies that made them famous or kept them famous, but the ones they made in between. Today, in a revisited episode, we explore the career of a B-Side prince: Matt Damon. From his Oscar-laden breakout film Good Will Hunting to the upcoming Ford v Ferrari, the Boston-born filmmaker has made many hit movies, and twice as many that were underseen. And don’t get us started on all of the cameos!

Our Damon-focused episode explores Gerry, The Brothers Grimm, Hereafter and The Great Wall. We discuss the career of Terry Gilliam and his many troubles making Grimm. We dive into the tragic inspiration behind Gerry as well as Gus Van Sant and Matt Damon’s desire to experiment with long camera shots. We gauge how accurate podcast producer Conor O’Donnell’s review of The Great Wall was from a couple of years back.