Sci-Fi July wraps up with Return of the Jedi (1983), the final installment of the original Star Wars trilogy—directed by Richard Marquand, guided by George Lucas, and packed with new creatures, recycled plot beats, and merchandising gold. Joining Mike to explore the film's legacy and limitations are Jamie Benning (Filmumentaries) and Stephen Scarlata (Best Movies Never Made), along with special guest Jim Bloom, associate producer on Empire and Jedi.From Jabba's palace to yet another Death Star, Jedi tries to close the saga with spectacle and sentiment—but not without creative compromises. We dig into the behind-the-scenes drama, the tonal whiplash between Ewoks and existential stakes, and how Jedi served as both a climax and a commercial pivot point for the franchise. Was it a fitting finale or just a soft landing pad for action figures? Strap into your speeder bike, it's going to be a bumpy ride.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-projection-booth-podcast--5513239/support.
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2:43:04
Special Report: Hearts of Darkness (1991)
Mike speaks with co-director Fax Bahr and archivist James Mockoski about the stunning new 4K restoration of Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse (1991), the definitive behind-the-scenes documentary chronicling the infamously turbulent production of Apocalypse Now. What began as a Vietnam War epic in the Philippines became one of the most harrowing shoots in cinematic history—captured on 16mm by Eleanor Coppola and transformed into a raw, revelatory portrait by Bahr and co-director George Hickenlooper. Bahr discusses the collaborative assembly of Eleanor’s intimate footage, audio diaries, and newly recorded interviews with stars like Martin Sheen and Dennis Hopper.Meanwhile, Mockoski details how American Zoetrope restored the film from the original elements for the first time, regrading in 4K, restoring the original 2.39:1 aspect ratio, and remixing the sound in 5.1. With the full blessing of Francis Ford Coppola, this restoration brings fresh clarity and depth to a film that remains a blistering, essential look at artistic obsession, collapse, and endurance.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-projection-booth-podcast--5513239/support.
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20:47
Episode 754: Upstream Color (2013)
Sci-Fi July dives deep into the sublime with Upstream Color (2013), Shane Carruth’s mesmerizing meditation on identity, connection, and control. Co-hosts Ben Buckingham and Jim Laczkowski join Mike to untangle the film’s elliptical narrative, which follows a woman who is drugged, robbed, and psychically linked to a pig as part of a surreal cycle of manipulation and rebirth. A bold, enigmatic follow-up to Primer, Carruth’s film is an audiovisual trance, blurring the line between organism and environment, memory and self. We explore the film’s layered metaphors, sound design, and experimental structure — and maybe, just maybe, crack its code.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-projection-booth-podcast--5513239/support.
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1:37:17
Special Report: Shari & Lamb Chop (2025)
Mike talks with director Lisa D’Apolito about her 2025 documentary Shari & Lamb Chop, an affectionate and revealing portrait of Shari Lewis, the groundbreaking performer, writer, and puppeteer behind the beloved sock puppet Lamb Chop. D’Apolito—best known for Love, Gilda—crafts another tender exploration of a complex, trailblazing woman who was far more than a children’s entertainer.Drawing from never-before-seen footage and interviews with everyone from Shari’s daughter Mallory Lewis to celebrities like David Copperfield, the film revisits the rise, fall, and resurgence of a TV icon who balanced charm and discipline, softness and ambition. We discuss Lewis’s unlikely path through the male-dominated worlds of television and puppetry, the lasting cultural imprint of Lamb Chop, and the evolution of the project itself—from personal archives to a full-scale production with the support of TIME Studios and White Horse Pictures.Whether you grew up with Lamb Chop’s Play-Along or are just discovering the powerhouse behind the puppet, this conversation offers a moving and joyful look at a singular career in entertainment.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-projection-booth-podcast--5513239/support.
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Episode 753: Battle Beyond the Stars (1980)
Sci-Fi July rolls on with Battle Beyond the Stars (1980), Roger Corman’s ambitious space opera directed by Jimmy T. Murakami and written by a pre-Lone Star John Sayles. This wild interstellar remix of The Seven Samurai stars Richard Thomas as Shad, a naive farm boy turned cosmic recruiter who must assemble a team of eccentric mercenaries to defend his planet from the tyrannical Sador—played with ruthless relish by John Saxon.Mike is joined by Father Malone and Chris Stachiw to dig into the film’s unforgettable cast of characters, James Horner’s rousing score (which sounds suspiciously like his work for Star Trek II), and the early visual effects work of James Cameron. Special guest Allan Holzman, the film’s editor (and future director of Forbidden World), offers behind-the-scenes insights from the golden age of Corman’s New World Pictures. Low-budget spectacle, recycled spaceship sets, and alien oddballs abound in this scrappy cult favorite.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-projection-booth-podcast--5513239/support.
The Projection Booth has been recognized as a premier film podcast by The Washington Post, The A.V. Club, IndieWire, Entertainment Weekly, and Filmmaker Magazine. With over 700 episodes to date and an ever-growing fan base, The Projection Booth features discussions of films from a wide variety of genres with in-depth critical analysis while regularly attracting special guest talent eager to discuss their past gems.Visit http://www.projectionboothpodcast.comBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-projection-booth-podcast--5513239/support.
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