The Playlist Podcast Network

Director Jordan Downey and stars Deborah Ann Woll and Jeffrey Donovan join The Discourse Podcast to discuss their new Shudder horror film, “The Cycle,” a dark, twisted mystery that begins as a grim detective thriller before becoming something far stranger, wilder, and more horrifying.
Downey discusses his love of old-school horror, the influences of “The Thing,” “Se7en,” and “The Silence Of The Lambs,” and his commitment to gloriously disgusting practical creature effects. He explains why he wanted to rival some of the genre’s most legendary sequences, how audience feedback convinced him to spend more time developing the characters, and the challenges of bringing such an ambitious production to life.
Woll and Donovan join us in separate conversations to discuss collaborating with Downey, building their characters, and the leap of faith required when so much of a film depends on elaborate practical effects that haven't yet been created.
Plus, Downey reveals his ideas for expanding “The Cycle” into potential prequels, sequels, and even a television series, along with his dream of reviving the “Critters” franchise. Woll discusses giving Karen Page a satisfying sendoff in “Daredevil: Born Again,” while Donovan reveals whether he's gotten the call to return for “Sicario 3.”
“The Cycle” premieres October 23 on Shudder.
Read more at ThePlaylist.net and subscribe to The Discourse Podcast for more filmmaker and actor interviews.

sdsdsdHow do you turn one of the most beloved fighting games of all time into a movie without losing everything that makes it gloriously ridiculous?
On this episode of The Discourse Podcast, director Kitao Sakurai (“The Eric Andre Show,” “Bad Trip”) joins us to discuss his gonzo approach to “Street Fighter,” assembling a cast that includes Jason Momoa, Andrew Koji, Noah Centineo, Callina Liang, David Dastmalchian, 50 Cent, Eric André, Cody Rhodes, Roman Reigns, and Orville Peck.
Sakurai explains why he wanted to make something that felt like “exactly what Hollywood isn’t doing,” how professional wrestlers, rappers, and comedians became essential to his vision, and why he refused to make another video game adaptation embarrassed by its source material.
He also gets into the surprisingly kinky psychology behind Dastmalchian’s M. Bison, the film’s hand-drawn anime flashbacks, the challenge of staging inventive fight sequences, and why historical accuracy goes out the window when your movie features a green guy who shoots electricity.
“We’re really trying to honor it, but also have fun with it,” Sakurai says. And judging by his approach, he means it.
“Street Fighter” hits theaters October 16.
Listen to The Discourse Podcast on Spotify and wherever you get your podcasts.

Mackenzie Davis joins The Playlist’s Bingeworthy Podcast to talk about Netflix’s new creature-feature series “Below,” working opposite Josh Hartnett in Newfoundland, and why the show’s mix of horror, family drama, and dark comedy appealed to her.
She also looks back at “Terminator: Dark Fate,” which she still thinks got a “bad rap,” recalls the near-religious atmosphere of working with Denis Villeneuve and Roger Deakins on “Blade Runner 2049,” and explains why she’s now on a mission to prove she’s funny.
“Below” premieres October 8 on Netflix.

Giovanni Ribisi joins The Playlist’s Bingeworthy Podcast to discuss MGM+’s “American Hostage,” the true story of Tony Kiritsis, working opposite Jon Hamm, and his increasingly serious work as a cinematographer.
Ribisi explains how he approached playing Kiritsis, the Indianapolis man who held mortgage broker Richard “Dick” Hall hostage for 63 hours with a sawed-off shotgun wired to his neck, and why he resisted reducing him to a madman. He also talks about shooting intense phone conversations with Hamm in real time and learning just days before production that Gus Van Sant was making “Dead Man’s Wire,” another Tony Kiritsis project starring Bill Skarsgård, Al Pacino, and Colman Domingo.
The conversation also covers Ribisi’s cinematography work on “Strange Darling,” his collaboration with Panavision engineers on vintage VistaVision cameras, Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another,” and why he believes audiences can still see and feel the difference between film and digital cinematography.

Andrew Garfield joins The Playlist’s The Discourse Podcast to discuss Paul Greengrass’ “The Uprising,” the historical epic’s contemporary political urgency, and why he sees the film as a “soul cry” for a world where “everything is terribly wrong.” He also breaks down Greengrass’ immersive filmmaking style and reveals the advice Matt Damon gave him before production.
Garfield also talks about his still-unformed idea for a “weird” return as Spider-Man, playing OpenAI CEO Sam Altman in Luca Guadagnino’s “Artificial,” and wrapping “Wild Things” opposite Jude Law as Siegfried & Roy. “The Uprising” opens in theaters September 10.