Dissecting Michael Mann's Heat on the One Heat Minute Podcast

Michael Mann is one of my favorite directors, if not the top choice. His films provide more depth with each repeat viewing, especially his best work. Mann's 1995 crime epic Heat is one of the best examples of a movie that appears simpler on the surface. It's about a lot more than cops and robbers chasing each other around Los Angeles. Its characters offer more than you'd expect, including the supporting players well beyond Robert De Niro's Neil McCauley and Al Pacino's Vincent Hanna. This is one of many reasons why I've enjoyed Blake Howard's podcast project One Heat Minute. Howard and his guests closely explore Heat, one minute at a time.

I was lucky enough to join Blake for Episode #129 of One Heat Minute. We covered Eady's (Amy Brenneman) realization that perhaps Neil isn't the right guy. The gorgeous nighttime shots of the hills of Los Angeles provide the perfect backdrop to her attempts to escape from Neil. Blake and I talked about Neil's real intentions in this relationship and how perhaps we shouldn't root for his success. It was a treat to play a small role in this awesome project. Blake's guests have included NY Times film critic Manohla Dargis, Heat cinematographer Dante Spinotti, author Jordan Harper, and many other film experts. You should definitely check out this podcast, which is inching closer to completion.

Other Podcast Appearances

Back in January, I also joined Todd Liebenow on The Forgotten Filmcast to talk about the silly movie 1990: The Bronx Warriors. Led by the tall and strangely wooden Trash (Mark Gregory) a group of outlaws try to stay alive in a post-apocalyptic version of The Bronx. This low-budget film has some fun moments, including the over-the-top antics of Vic Morrow as Hammer. It was fun to talk with Todd once again about lesser-known movies that are worth checking out for curiosity if nothing else.

Finally, I spoke with author Brian Jay Jones on The Tomorrow Society Podcast about his biographies of Jim Henson and George Lucas. Brian's exhaustive books offer interesting portraits of both men that played such a huge role in television and movies. My podcast focuses on theme parks but sometimes veers towards movies with connections to the parks. Brian and I had fun chatting about Star Wars in particular given some of Lucas' controversial choices to keep changing his films. You can learn more about The Tomorrow Society Podcast and listen to all the interviews through Apple Podcasts.