My New YouTube Series: Sean at the Movies Director Interviews

I am not a YouTuber. I don't have the stats to call myself that and I may never. But, I do now have a YouTube channel. Sean at the Movies is now on YouTube. It features an archive of audio reviews that I did as part of my day job several years ago and has recently been revamped to become the home of my interviews with film directors as well as the occasional actor and fellow critics.

I love talking with film directors, under the strict caveat that I watch and like their movie before I do the interview. I've had to break that rule once and it's odd to me. I don't understand on one hand how you interview a director for a movie you haven't seen, it's a strange experience. On the other hand, I will never understand how anyone could not like a movie and still interview the director as if they liked the movie or were capable of being indifferent to their opinion. That's just wrong to me.

So, my channel is dedicated to interview with directors whose movies I have seen and enjoyed. One of the interviews I have conducted recently, which you can see embedded above, is an interview with director Daphne Baiwir, the director of a new documentary called King on Screen. The documentary talks with directors of feature films made from the books of legendary author Stephen King. People like director Frank Darabont, direct or The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile appear in the doc and tell incredible stories about Stephen King and their adaptations of his work. King on Screen recently played at Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas.

Another recent interview I conducted was with the director of another Fantastic Fest favorite. Kyra Gardner is the director of Living with Chucky, a documentary chronicling the incredibly unique lineage of the Child's Play film and television franchise. Kyra is the daughter of Tony Gardner who has worked on the Chucky puppet in two of the five canonical Child's Play/Chucky movies. The documentary takes us behind the scenes on the franchise with director Don Mancuso and stars Brad Dourif and his daughter Fiona Dourif, who have been the public face of Chucky in movies and now on TV. It's a wonderful documentary that gives this horror franchise a wholesome spin as behind the scenes is truly a family affair.

I've also been able to use my new YouTube outlet as a place to house my interviews with directors that are some of my favorites from the past. This one, above, is a conversation with the brilliant Gillian Horvat about her 2021 masterpiece of dark comedy and horror, I Blame Society. It's one of my favorite movies and one of my favorite interviews, one that was homeless after my previous online outlet changed hands.

Another of my favorite recent director interviews centered on the recent thriller Fall. The story of two daredevil women who climb the tallest non-operational television tower in America and end up getting stuck at the top with no way down. Director Scott Mann generously takes us behind the scenes on this queasy thriller with a terrific premise and a whole lot of fear of heights scares. He also shares a wonderfully kind shout out to actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan who was kind enough to take on a supporting role in Fall and help promote the film.

But, if I am going to be honest, my favorite interview on the channel so far was with director Bret Morgen. Morgen directed the brand new documentary Moonage Daydream, one of my favorite movies of 2022. The documentary is the first documentary to receive cooperation from the David Bowie estate as well as access to Bowie's remarkable archive of unpublished projects from concert films to experimental movies that Bowie filmed over the years with plans for his own avant garde big screen adventure. Moonage Daydream is a MUST SEE.

Recently, I have also added to the channel trailer premieres and scene reveals. So, when Disney and 20th Century Films released a new clip from the much anticipated movie, Amsterdam starring Christian Bale, Margot Robbie and John David Washington, under the direction of David O. Russell, I was eager to post the clip and share it with everyone.

You can subscribe to my new YouTube Channel, Sean at the Movies by clicking here. And find my archive of more than 20 years and nearly 2000 movie reviews at SeanattheMovies.blogspot.com. Follow me on Twitter at PodcastSean. Follow the archive blog on Twitter at SeanattheMovies. Listen to me talk about movies on the Everyone's a Critic Movie Review Podcast on your favorite podcast listening app. Consider subscribing to my work here on Vocal. You can also support my work by making a monthly pledge or a one time tip. Thanks!