Noah Ballard, Author at The Playlist

‘The Rock’ At 25 & The Legacy Of Alcatraz Movies

June 28, 2021 3:01 pm

So says every warden on today's podcast, Alcatraz was the most secure prison ever constructed. Film directors, of course, took that as a challenge and gave us movies about prisoners with dreams too big for the...

An Ode To Movie Theaters In Movies [Be Reel Podcast]

Chance Solem-Pfeifer and Noah Ballard

May 30, 2021 11:02 am

News, Podcasts

Hollywood is a self-reflexive industry, and filmmakers a self-reflexive bunch. Case in point, if Be Reel were to undertake “Movies About Making Movies” as a podcast category, it would include more titles than ...

Kasi Lemmons: The Power of Myth, History, And Black Love [Be Reel Podcast]

Chance Solem-Pfeifer and Noah Ballard

February 24, 2021 2:09 pm

Podcasts

Kasi Lemmons is the rare filmmaker as comfortable in dreamworlds as histories. This week, Be Reel celebrates the groundbreaking director’s 60th trip around the sun by discussing three of Lemmons’ best-known fi...

Alan J. Pakula: A Master Director (And Derailer) Of American Mysteries [Be Reel Podcast]

Chance Solem-Pfeifer and Noah Ballard

February 2, 2021 3:28 pm

News, Podcasts

Though he made his best films in an era when auteurism was redefining American cinema, Alan J. Pakula never quite landed (or sought) the name recognition of peers like Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, or...

The Essential Dolly Parton Films [Be Reel Podcast]

Chance Solem-Pfeifer and Noah Ballard

January 19, 2021 1:38 pm

News, Podcasts

Dolly Parton is a true American icon. For her 75th birthday, Be Reel revisits the country superstar and EGOT nominee’s three most significant film roles in “9 to 5” (1980), “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas...

Remember John Le Carré: The Film Adaptations Of A Master Spy Novelist [Be Reel Podcast]

Chance Solem-Pfeifer and Noah Ballard

January 5, 2021 2:55 pm

News, Podcasts

On December 12, a man called David Cornwell passed away in the English countryside. He was 89 and worked under the alias John Le Carré, a pen name that added a mysterious and sophisticated aura to 60 years of ...

How Does ‘Mank’ Compare To Other Tall Tales Of Hollywood Screenwriting? [Be Reel Podcast]

Chance Solem-Pfeifer and Noah Ballard

December 9, 2020 1:12 pm

News, Podcasts

When it comes to films about screenwriters, the challenge seems to be creating a movie that is not only itself an entertaining, self-contained experience but also one that illuminates the creative process that...

Bruce Lee At 80: The Dragon’s Unmatched Films, Influence & Afterlives [Be Reel Podcast]

Chance Solem-Pfeifer and Noah Ballard

November 25, 2020 1:40 pm

News, Podcasts

Ahead of Bruce Lee’s (would-be) 80th birthday, Be Reel marvels at the spinning kicks, inimitable shrieks, and star wattage of the global icon. LISTEN: Alison Brie Talks ‘Happiest Season,’ ‘Promising Young ...

A Very Tim Curry Halloween [Be Reel Podcast]

Chance Solem-Pfeifer and Noah Ballard

October 30, 2020 2:54 pm

News, Podcasts

It’s Halloween week, and nobody embodies the committed costuming and eerie camp of the holiday quite like Tim Curry. This week on Be Reel, we celebrate and reappraise the British legend’s iconic games...

Mark Webber On Directing ‘The Place Of No Words,’ Jim Jarmusch’s Stewardship & More [Podcast]

Chance Solem-Pfeifer and Noah Ballard

October 21, 2020 2:38 pm

Interviews, News, Podcasts

You may clock Mark Webber as the talent, the creep, or the kid from cult favorites like “Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World,” “Green Room” or “Broken Flowers.” What you might not know is that the well-traveled ch...

Author Noah Ballard