Maltin on Movies

This long-married, theater-trained couple has been writing and producing popular television shows for some time, including Madam Secretary, Gray's Anatomy, and Fire Country, but their newest creation is in a class by itself: A Small Light tells the story of Miep Gries, the remarkable young woman who hid Anne Frank and her family for two years during World War II. This emotionally charged eight-part series is a must-see, and you can find it on NatGeo, Disney+ and Hulu. Leonard and Jessie appreciated the chance to discuss it with Joan and Tony, who spent years researching and filming this exceptional show.

While he may be best known for his role on the hit show The Walking Dead, Chad L. Coleman has made indelible impression on many TV series, including It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, I Hate my Teenage Daughter, and Superman and Lois, to name just a few. His presence in the groundbreaking show The Wire still inspires him—and us. Leonard and Jessie were amazed at the breadth of his life experiences, which have surely contributed to his rich performances on stage and screen. His latest film is another unique endeavor, The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster. The film will be exclusively in Theaters on June 9th, and on Digital and on Demand on June 23rd.

John Badham directed Saturday Night Fever and even after decades of other good work (WarGames, Whose Life Is It Anyway, et al) that remains his calling card. But he and John Travolta had an uncomfortable standoff during production at 2 a.m. in freezing weather on the Verrazano Narrows Bridge in NYC, as he recounts in his lively book I'll Be in My Trailer—which is available for the first time as an audiobook. He's been drawing on his vast experience while teaching at Chapman University in Orange, California for the past 19 years. Leonard and Jessie learned useful "life lessons" from John during our hour-long conversation.

While retaining his leading-man looks, Josh Duhamel has branched out into writing and directing, having just piloted the ultra-raunchy comedy Buddy Games: Spring Awakening, which hits theaters today and VOD on June 2. (He also costars in the film.) But it doesn't take long to learn that he has an old-fashioned work ethic. It helped to earn him a daytime Emmy twenty-some years ago for All My Children and it stood him in good stead on the recent Disney TV series The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers. Leonard and Jessie talked to Josh about working with Michael Bay, turning to a fellow school parent for advice before making his first comedy, and much, much more.

Tom Sito is a master animator and a walking encyclopedia of animation—not only for his credentials, which range from Who Framed Roger Rabbit to Scooby-Doo—but for seeking out pioneers and masters of the art form and telling their stories. He's a teacher, a scholar, a union leader, an author and also a terrific guy who used to drop in to Leonard's animation class at the New School for Social Research in NYC back in the 1970s! Jessie marvels at the longevity of their friendship, which shows no sign of ceasing anytime soon. Tom's books include Drawing the Line: The Untold Story of the Animation Unions from Bosko to Bart Simpson, Moving Innovation, A history of Computer Animation, and Eat, Drink, Animate: An Animator's Cookbook.

He directed the new theatrical release Big George Foreman: The Miraculous Story of the Once and Future Heavyweight Champion of the World. But George Tillman, Jr. is as much a film enthusiast as he is a filmmaker. It was seeing Michael Schultz's Cooley High and Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver that set him on his career path, which began with Soul Food and Men of Honor. Now he is in a position to give other talented young black filmmakers a helping hand—and he does just that, as a prolific producer of films and television. Leonard and Jessie thoroughly enjoyed talking movies with someone who is so clearly passionate about what they do.

It's hard to believe that forty years have gone by since John Pizzarelli recorded his first record album (on vinyl). He has a delightful new collection drawn from movies and Broadway shows called Stage & Screen (Palmetto Records). It reaffirms our opinion that he is the most engaging jazz musician and entertainer working today. A guitar virtuoso, he learned his craft from his Dad, the late Bucky Pizzarelli, and carries with him great memories of music legends he met while growing up. John believes that good music should be entertaining, too; Leonard and Jessie heartily agree.

One of the architects of improv comedy at Second City in Chicago, Paul Sand is still going strong at the age of 93, having just written and directed a play called The Pilot Crashes the Party (info at www.onstage411.com/Pilot) and stealing scenes in the indie film Loren and Rose starring Jacqueline Bisset. He studied in Paris with the great mime Marcel Marceau and landed one of his best movie roles (in 1972's The Hot Rock) because the director was so impressed with his Tony Award thank-you speech! Leonard and Jessie were charmed by a man who has always marched to his own drummer.

Yes, Greg Laemmle is related to Carl, the movie pioneer and founder of Universal Pictures. But he is—more to the point—the third generation owner of Los Angeles's celebrated Laemmle Theaters chain. The history of this business and how it narrowly survived the pandemic is the subject of Raphael Sbarge's documentary Only in Theaters, which is still making the rounds of film festivals. (Leonard appears in it as an interviewee.) When it comes to running a movie theater, there is very little that Greg doesn't know and he speaks with the easy authority of a veteran. Leonard and Jessie are among his many loyal customers.

Scott Caan didn't intend to follow his late father James into show business; he was much more interested in sports, then hip-hop. It was working in the theater that finally got his juices flowing. In addition to the successful TV series Alert: Missing Persons Unit, he stars in a dynamic new movie, One Day as a Lion, which he also wrote and produced. It is now playing in select theaters and available on VOD. From the opening scene it's clear that he has a formidable presence, as well as fundamental acting talent. Is some of that due to good genes? Leonard and Jessie suggest that you watch the film and decide for yourselves.

Her first acting gig was on a soap opera. Kyra Sedgwick went onto costar with Tom Cruise in Born on the Fourth of July and amass an impressive list of credits before landing the starring role in The Closer, which earned her an Emmy award and a kazillion fans. In the midst of this she also raised two children with her husband, Kevin Bacon. She has most recently turned her hand to directing, first on TV (with episodes of Ray Donovan and Grace and Frankie, among others) and now a feature film called Space Oddity that opens today in select theaters and is also available on VOD. Leonard and Jessie enjoyed reviewing highlights of career and hearing interesting stories about everyone from Gena Rowlands to Paul Newman.

Before Yellowjackets introduced her to a new flock of fans, longtime admirers Leonard and Jessie sat down with Melanie Lynskey in 2017 to talk about her enduring career, which was jump-started when director Peter Jackson cast her and an equally unknown Kate Winslet in his exceptional film Heavenly Creatures. Seen by millions of viewers on the network comedy Two and a Half Men, she has never forsaken her indie roots, and we discussed her latest Sundance sleeper I Don't Feel at Home In This World Anymore. And yes, Melanie is as nice as she is talented.

This week we wind the clock back seven years to a 2016 episode featuring the talented Bryan Cranston, who had completed his unforgettable five-year run as Walter White on Breaking Bad and was on to conquer new roles on stage and film. (This was long before his current Showtime series Your Honor was even in the planning stage.) Articulate and enthusiastic, he provides keen insights into the life of a working actor.

Bruce has taken his lifelong love of movies and turned it into a career. He responsible for the repertory programming at New York's Film Forum and its special presentations: he has staged tributes to gimmick-master William Castle, silent film star Harold Lloyd and many others. He also runs Rialto Pictures, which circulates often-forgotten foreign-language films and brings them back to vivid life with beautiful prints and newly-translated subtitles. In other words, he's a hero. Leonard and Jessie are longtime admirers and look forward to his annual trivia games at the TCM Classic Film Festival.

At one time she was known as the daughter of two top movie stars, Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh…but she quickly made a name for herself as the durable heroine of Halloween and star of such hit movies as Trading Places, A Fish Called Wanda, and True Lies. Now, after forty-five years in front of the camera she is an Academy Award nominee for Best Supporting Actress for her disarming and delightful performance in Everything Everywhere All at Once… and she is genuinely thrilled by the honor. She wears many hats, all of them well: actress, activist, author, and entrepreneur. Leonard recently interviewed her onstage at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival and their easy rapport extended to this lively and candid conversation with him and Jessie.

Bob Gazzale is President and CEO of the American Film Institute. He is also one of the kindest men in Hollywood, as both Leonard and Jessie can attest. He oversees the AFI Conservatory, repeatedly ranked as the number-one film school in America…AFI Fest, a Fall gathering of the best and brightest new films from around the globe…the AFI Life Achievement Award, a classy show that sets a high bar for others to emulate…and the AFI Awards, a juried chronicle of outstanding films and television shows that culminates in a star-studded luncheon in January. We asked Bob to relate his "origin story" and he obliged. You'll like what you hear.

Ben Model is a talented pianist who travels the world accompanying silent movies…but that's just the tip of the iceberg. He's a good guy who wears many hats: historian, proselytizer, promoter, preservationist, teacher, and distributor, to name just a few. He blew Leonard and Jessie's minds when he unveiled his research about variable running times for silent films and proved how Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton and others used the hand-cranking of the camera to their benefit. See for yourself at https://www.silentfilmmusic.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Undercranking-lecture1.jpg You can learn more about Ben and his activities at www.silentfilmmusic.com.

If you only think of Clint Howard as Ron Howard's kid brother, it's time to reassess. He and his older sibling recently wrote a joint autobiography called The Boys which explains their loving relationship and points to their actor-parents as lifelong role models. Early on, Clint embraced his destiny as a young-ish character actor; right now he's appearing with Nicolas Cage in The Old Way, a Western playing in selected theaters and available on VOD. It's Cage's first Western but not Clint's. There's almost nothing he hasn't done in his sixty-one years in show business, from the original Star Trek to The Cat in the Hat (one of many Ron Howard movies in which he appears.) He still lives in the San Fernando Valley not far from Leonard and Jessie, because he's just folks—like his parents.

He's got a new horror movie now playing on Digital and VOD called What's Wrong with the Kids, but chances are you know Zach Gilford better for his work on television, from his memorable role in Friday Night Lights to the current season of Criminal Minds where he got to play opposite his real-life wife, Kiele Sanchez. He has a positive outlook and that is just one reason he's always working: recent series include L.A.'s Finest, The Midnight Club, Midnight Mass, Good Girls, and The Family. He's also co-hosting a podcast about Friday Night Lights with his pal Mae Whitman. Leonard and Jessie are admirers and feel certain he will continue to be a "working actor" for many years to come.

Keith Scott joins us from Down Under to talk about his lifelong fascination with Cartoon Voices, which is also the name of his new two-volume book about that subject, published by BearManor Media. Keith has spent decades ferreting out information, much of it from meeting the performers he writes about. Along the way, he became a stand-up comic and voice actor himself. You'll hear some of his remarkable impressions over the course of our conversation and understand why the late, great June Foray (the original voice of Rocky the Flying Squirrel) was happy to work alongside him when he provided the voice of Bullwinkle J. Moose in The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle (2000). Leonard and Jessie never tire of talking to Keith, an old friend whose appearance on this podcast is long overdue.

Michael Barker and Tom Bernard are marking 30 years of running Sony Pictures Classics, but we moviegoers are the ones who ought to be celebrating. Thanks to their good taste and savvy salesmanship, films as diverse as The Fog of War, Blue Jasmine, and Frozen River have made their way into American theaters. They have championed such filmmakers as Pedro Almodóvar, Guillermo del Toro, Agnieszka Holland, and Susanne Bier, to name just a few. And they still believe that audiences want to see good films on a theater screen. Leonard and Jessie have known the illustrious pair for many years but never engaged them in an interview until now. They have a lot to say—and a lot to be proud of…including a new boxed set of Blu-ray discs including The Devil's Backbone, Run Lola Run and their all-time biggest hit, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon.

Screenwriters seldom get the attention they deserve, which is just one reason Leonard and Jessie were happy to talk to David Magee, who wrote (or co-wrote) Finding Neverland, Life of Pi, Mary Poppins Returns, and the new Tom Hanks movie A Man Called Otto, among others. He also scripted the upcoming live-action remake of The Little Mermaid. Clearly, he's good at what he does, but the tale of how he became a screenwriter is perhaps the best story of all and is, to the best of our knowledge, unique. Tune in and hear it for yourself.

He's the living definition of a "working actor," a versatile Brit whom you may recognize from The Vikings or Homeland who has so often played American (on series like Law & Order) that some fans are shocked to discover his heritage. His parents are actors and he followed his dad (who still appears on England's Coronation Street) into the family business. His films include Priest, Wings of the Dove, My Policeman, and now The Apology (opening today in theaters and on VOD, opposite Anna Gunn). Leonard and Jessie are longtime fans and enjoyed discussing the highs and lows of an actor's life.

Elegance Bratton is a name and a filmmaker to reckon with. His first feature film, The Inspection, is now playing in theaters and On Demand, and it tells his own life story: being ejected from his home at 16 because his mother could not accept that he was gay and winding up in the U.S. Marine Corps during the "don't ask, don't tell" era. He is an imposing and impressive man, as Leonard learned at the Coronado Island Film Festival last month where Bratton wowed the audience. Leonard and Jessie came away with the same feeling after our probing and candid conversation.

With the extraordinary success of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever it's a perfect time to revisit our 2018 conversation with its director, Ryan Coogler. From college grad student to director of Creed and Black Panther in a short span of time, Ryan Coogler has kept his feet on the ground. He relies on his wife Zinzi Evans and former USC classmates who form the core of his working team. From his debut feature, Fruitvale Station, through his latest box-office smash, he has found ways to make each film personal to his own experience. Leonard and Jessie are unabashed boosters of this talented filmmaker and loved having a quiet, intimate conversation with him.

With Black Panther: Wakanda Forever bringing people back to movie theaters, it's a perfect time to revisit our conversation with Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige from 2017. Kevin rules the Marvel Cinematic Universe—but wears his crown lightly. A real movie lover and comic fan, he can hold his own with the fanboys while simultaneously juggling multimillion dollar productions. He attended USC because that's where his cinematic heroes went to school and remains loyal to his alma mater, visiting Leonard's class on a regular basis. Jessie and Leonard don't have to prod him to talk about any of these things--it's his passion. That's what makes him perfect for the job.With Black Panther: Wakanda Forever bringing people back to movie theaters, it's a perfect time to revisit our conversation with Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige from 2017. Kevin rules the Marvel Cinematic Universe—but wears his crown lightly. A real movie lover and comic fan, he can hold his own with the fanboys while simultaneously juggling multimillion dollar productions. He attended USC because that's where his cinematic heroes went to school and remains loyal to his alma mater, visiting Leonard's class on a regular basis. Jessie and Leonard don't have to prod him to talk about any of these things--it's his passion. That's what makes him perfect for the job.

The Brit who created Peaky Blinders has a new series beginning this weekend on EPIX called Rogue Heroes. Steven Knight is a talented and prolific writer (and sometime director) whose credits include Eastern Promises, Dirty Pretty Things, and the remarkable Locke (with frequent collaborator Tom Hardy), to cite just a few credits. Oh—and he was also one of the creators of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. He draws on his working-class background to breathe life into everything he tackles, and we are the beneficiaries. Leonard and Jessie loved getting to chat with someone they have admired so long.

Women are making waves in the world of comedy, on both sides of the camera. Jillian Bell (Brittany Runs a Marathon) costars with Natalie Morales (Language Lessons) in the new indie release I'm Totally Fine, which debuts today in theaters, on VOD and digital. The costars form a mutual admiration society but also have praise for their collaborators over the years they've toiled in the TV, movie, and music video arena. Bell is a graduate of The Groundlings in L.A. and Morales has lived here long enough to have seen Buster Keaton films at the venerable Silent Movie Theater on Fairfax Avenue. Those are all the credentials necessary to turn Leonard and Jessie into a rooting section.

How many people can say their childhood dreams came true? Tony Baxter can. He fell in love with Disneyland as a boy (building a perfect replica of Sleeping Beauty's castle) and wound up as an Imagineer, creating world-famous attractions for "the happiest place on earth." From Thunder Mountain to Star Tours, he has left his fingerprints in so many places, beginning in Anaheim and culminating in his favorite, Disneyland Paris. Leonard and Jessie have counted Tony as a friend for many years but this is the first time they've recorded his thoughts and memories

In the age of zoom, Jessie and I have grudgingly become accustomed to interviewing our guests remotely. Up until the pandemic lockdown we insisted on recording these talks in person. Never were we happier about that decision than when Angela Lansbury welcomed us into her home on the West Side of Los Angeles in November of 2018. She was 93 but quite honestly she seemed ageless to us. We were thrilled that she was willing to review her life and career with us that day… and to our delight, she was also pleased with the result.

Laura Dern grew up in show business, the daughter of Diane Ladd and Bruce Dern. She has long since carved a niche all her own, with two Oscar nominations under her belt and a lifetime of colorful experiences. From indie films to Jurassic Park, she has great stories to tell and shares them with Leonard and Jessie. Since we spoke to her in 2017 her career has continued to flourish, with a return to Jurassic World and an Academy Award for her blistering performance in Noah Baumbach's Marriage Story.

We've all been watching Bruce Davison for years—tending to his pet rats in Willard in the early 70s, earning an Oscar nomination for Longtime Companion in 1989, defying the X-Men as a Senator in 2000, and making his mark in an endless variety of roles on stage, television and movies—most recently as the villainous senator on Ozark. It turns out he is also a world-class raconteur. Leonard and Jessie were held in rapt attention as he imitated Burt Lancaster, Henry Fonda and a host of others while spinning a series of unforgettable anecdotes. Don't miss this encore episode from 2017!

We're reaching back six years to repeat a great conversation with Ed Begley, Jr., one of the most familiar faces in television and movies. He has great stories to match his incredible career, from Best in Show to Ghostbusters and beyond. He tells Leonard and Jessie how he came to be directed by Jack Nicholson, and reveals how Christopher Guest steers his actors through their improvised comedy scenes. This episode was recorded before our prolific guest joined the cast of Better Call Saul and Young Sheldon.

In celebration of this weekend's D23 convention in Anaheim, California, we're happy to revisit this episode from August of 2018: Floyd Norman is an official Disney Legend, and so much more: Walt Disney's first full-time African-American animator, a contributor to such films as Sleeping Beauty and The Jungle Book, a disciple of Disney's legendary Nine Old Men, and a story man on such Pixar features as Toy Story 2 and Monsters Inc. What's more, as Leonard and Jessie have learned, he's a naturally funny man, a great storyteller, and a sweetheart of a guy with an irreverent sense of humor. He's even the subject of a first-class documentary called Floyd Norman: An Animated Life. Tune in for some great anecdotes and first-hand memories of Walt Disney. Recorded live at That's from Disneyland, courtesy of its creators Richard and Nicky Kraft

Andreas was 10 or 11 when he saw Walt Disney's The Jungle Book and it changed his life. As a boy in Germany he dreamed of working for the studio that captured his imagination so completely… and he made that dream come true. A master animator, he brought King Triton to life in The Little Mermaid, Scar in The Lion King, and Jafar in Aladdin, to name just a few. He never surrendered his pencil, choosing to burnish his skills rather than adapt to computer technology. For most of the last decade he's been working on an animated film of his own called Moushka. Andreas is that rare artist who has carved his own path and been rewarded for his dedication (and talent). Leonard and Jessie are longtime friends and fans.

Meet four of the creative folks responsible for the animated Netflix hit Love, Death & Robots! In their alternate lives, creator and executive producer Tim Miller directed the big-screen Deadpool and Jennifer Yuh Nelson directed Kung Fu Panda 2 and 3… but this attention-grabbing anthology of animated short subjects has got their juices flowing. The same holds true for supervising sound editors Brad North and Craig Henighan, who treat each episode of the show like a feature film and call on years of experience creating unusual soundscapes. Leonard and Jessie can't imagine all the work that goes into crafting every installment of this wildly imaginative show.

"Gaslit" is one of the best miniseries of the past year, and it has been rewarded with Emmy nominations for Kazu Hiro, the gifted Japanese-born makeup artist who transformed Sean Penn into former Attorney General John Mitchell… cinematographer Larkin Seiple, whose credits include this year's indie darling Everything Everywhere All at Once…sound rerecording mixers John W. Cook II and Ben Wilkins, who articulate why creating authentic sound effects make a crucial difference to the film as a whole and their expert audio colleagues Stefani Feldman and Kevin Buchholz, Leonard and Jessie value this opportunity to go behind the scenes and talk to such creative collaborators.

Rick Carter's credits as production designer are staggering: Jurassic Park, Forrest Gump, A.I., Amistad, Cast Away, Star Wars: The Force Awakens and the two that won him Oscars, Avatar and Lincoln, to name just a few. Yet he remains open-minded and recently mentored eight local artists for an amazing installation at the El Segundo Museum of Art, or eSMOA. That's where Leonard and Jessie sat down with him to discuss his extraordinary career and the exceptional films he's helped bring to life.

Show business was always Martin Short's destination. When he was a boy he wrote TV Guide listings for the variety show he envisioned for himself. Most of his dreams have come true, from television to Hollywood to Broadway. He's just completed season 2 of Only Murders in the Building for Hulu, costarring his pal Steve Martin and Selena Gomez. If it looks like the stars are having a good time working together, it's because they are. Both Leonard and Jessie were nervous talking to someone they admire so very much. Their guest was unfailingly thoughtful and good-natured. How could he be otherwise? He's Martin Short!

Lots of baby boomers read comic books, but only one pursued his love of comics so far that he wound up buying the screen rights to Batman. It took ten years for Michael Uslan to get that first movie made, with Tim Burton behind the camera and Michael Keaton in front, but it was a game-changer for Hollywood. Michael has told his life story in a book, The Boy Who Loved Batman, and now it's going to be a Broadway show! During the recording of this conversation Jessie realized that Michael and Leonard must have inhabited the same space at one time years ago. Listen in and you'll learn the answer.

If you're casting an unconventional character and you need someone the audience will relate to—no matter how strange his story—you might want to call on Paul Walter Hauser. Clint Eastwood did for the leading role in his movie Richard Jewell, Craig Gillespie did for I, Tonya, and Dennis Lehane did for the current Apple+ series Black Bird. (Spike Lee has used him twice—in Blackklansman and Da 5 Bloods.) Jessie has been a fan since the TV series Kingdom, and Leonard is still catching up with this gifted performer's work.

Annette O'Toole's first professional job was dancing with Danny Kaye on his network TV show… and she hasn't stopped performing since. She's about to film the fifth season of the Netflix series Virgin River and is brimming with enthusiasm for it. Her credits include six years as Ma Kent on Smallville, an Emmy nomination for playing Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy in The Kennedys of Massachusetts, and an Oscar nomination for the song "A Smile at the End of the Rainbow" from Christopher Guest's A Mighty Wind (which she wrote with her husband Michael McKean). Leonard and Jessie love talking to people like Annette who love what they do—and are so very good at it.

Dennis Lehane is the best-selling author of Boston-based crime novels that have translated well to film (Mystic River, Gone Baby Gone). His first experience with television was on The Wire, a great show that helped inform his new six-part series called Black Birds, which debuts Friday, July 8 on Apple+. It's an incredibly gripping drama and Lehane is happy to talk about it with Leonard and Jessie. You'll learn about the importance of casting not just the leading roles (Taron Egerton, Paul Walter Hauser, Ray Liotta) but every person who appears on camera.

Leonard and Jessie are unapologetic proselytizers for the new theatrical feature Marcel the Shell With Shoes On. This disarming feature is an outgrowth of a short Fleischer-Camp created with his partner, actor/comedian/filmmaker Jenny Slate that went viral back in 2010 when that was uncommon. Dean explains how he and Jenny dealt with that phenomenon and tried to protect their precious character, who emerges triumphant in this charming and surprisingly emotional film. If you'd like to hear our 2017 conversation with Jenny, just click HERE. https://maltinonmovies.libsyn.com/jenny-slate

Hi everyone… Jessie and I recently helped our beloved Richard Sherman celebrate his 94th birthday. He is a living legend and a bona fide Disney Legend who with his brother Bob wrote songs we all know and love from Mary Poppins, The Jungle Book, and Disneyland, to name just a few of his many credits. We spoke to him in 2016 and thought it would be fun to play that episode again. His passion for music and life is inspiring, and we feel very lucky to know him

How is it that Kiwi native Rose McIver is so talented, so versatile, and still so nice? Popular most recently for her appearances on IZombie and the current Ghosts on CBS, she has also worked with Peter Jackson on The Lovely Bones and a host of other TV shows (like Masters of Sex) and films—going all the way back to Jane Campion's The Piano--sometimes playing American (flawlessly) and other times letting her natural voice be heard. In any event, she's fun to listen to.

With a starring role in the current VOD release All My Puny Tomorrows Alison Pill has a showcase worthy of her abundant talent. That's no secret to fans who have followed her since her days as a child actress… including many of today's leading filmmakers, who have cast her in such notable films as Milk, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Snowpiercer, and Hail, Caesar!, to name just a few. And she recently completed a two-year run in Star Trek: Picard. Small wonder that Leonard and Jessie found her to be a smart and engaging conversationalist.

Our guest grew up as a privileged son of Hollywood royalty. George Stevens Sr. made such classic movies as Gunga Din, Shane, and Giant, and in time invited his son to join his filmmaking team. But George Stevens Jr. went on to forge his own formidable career in Washington D.C. as founder of the American Film Institute and co-creator of the Kennedy Center Honors. His newly published autobiography My Place in the Sun is filled with great stories from both worlds, some of which he was kind enough to share with Leonard and Jessie.

In his earliest screen appearances (remember Quest for Fire?) Ron Perlman was buried under a ton of makeup and prosthetics. That's also how he became the Emmy-winning star of television's Beauty and the Beast. Since then he's shown his versatility, especially in his collaborations with the gifted filmmaker Guillermo del Toro like Hellboy and the forthcoming Pinocchio. His new film The Last Victim, casts him as a weary sheriff in the modern-day West. As Leonard and Jessie quickly discovered, Ron has the soul of a poet and the heart of a movie buff. Wait till you hear him singing the praises of Gary Cooper!

Gustav Hoegen is one of those creative artists whose work is seen by millions of people but whose name and face remains little-known. He is a creature designer who specializes in audio-animatronics. You've seen his imaginative designs come to life in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Prometheus, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, all of the recent Star Wars features and now in Hatching, which is now playing in theaters everywhere. Leonard and Jessie were happy to get a peek behind the scenes of contemporary visual effects with a modern master as our guide.