Welcome to Below the Line, a film industry podcast where we talk about making movies from the crew perspective. My name is Skid: I'm a former Assistant Director and your host. For the show, I invite my production friends - both old and new - to tell stories from their time on set. Each episode is organized around a specific film, television series or some other theme relevant to working in Hollywood. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts, or peruse the list below: you might learn something new about one of your favorites.
Thoughts about a specific episode or comments about the podcast? I welcome your feedback: skid@belowtheline.biz
Episodes
Thursday Jan 06, 2022
Season 10 - Ep 1 - Planet of the Apes
Thursday Jan 06, 2022
Thursday Jan 06, 2022
I was the DGA Trainee on Tim Burton’s "Planet of the Apes" (2001), and I’m joined today by some fellow crew members with stories to share: Douglas Noe (Ape Makeup), Kevin Haney (Ape Makeup), Steve Thorp (Electric), and Ryan Miningham (Production Office) reminisce with me about our days together on set.
Thursday Dec 23, 2021
Season 9 - Ep 14 - 8-Bit Christmas
Thursday Dec 23, 2021
Thursday Dec 23, 2021
"8-Bit Christmas", currently streaming on HBO Max, is a holiday nostalgia tale reminiscent of "A Christmas Story" but set in the 80s and trading its Red Ryder air rifle for a Nintendo Entertainment System. My guest today is Avery Plewes, the film’s Costume Designer. Happy Holidays!
Thursday Dec 16, 2021
Season 9 - Ep 13 - The Matrix - Visual Effects
Thursday Dec 16, 2021
Thursday Dec 16, 2021
"The Matrix", the 1999 sci-fi classic written and directed by the Wachowski siblings, is rightfully praised for its groundbreaking visual effects. My guest today is Diana Giorgiutti, Digital Effects Producer for all three films in the original trilogy.
Thursday Dec 09, 2021
Season 9 - Ep 12 - Tick, Tick . . . Boom!
Thursday Dec 09, 2021
Thursday Dec 09, 2021
Lin-Manuel Miranda’s directorial debut, “Tick, Tick . . . Boom!”, both features and reflects upon the creative works of Jonathan Larson, best known as the creator of the Broadway musical, Rent. My guests today are the film's editors, Andy Weisblum and Myron Kerstein, who discuss the challenges of shepherding this ambitious adaptation from script to screen.
Thursday Dec 02, 2021
Season 9 - Ep 11 - Women Below the Line
Thursday Dec 02, 2021
Thursday Dec 02, 2021
My guests today - Melanie Ragone, Melissa Beaupre, and Nicole Higgins - are women who work in below the line film crew specialties typically dominated by men. We discuss the challenges and rewards of being film industry pioneers, and what attracted them to these careers in the first place.
Thursday Nov 25, 2021
Season 9 - Ep 10 - The Chronicles of Narnia
Thursday Nov 25, 2021
Thursday Nov 25, 2021
The 21st Century has seen three film adaptations of C.S. Lewis’s Narnia books: “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” (2005), “Prince Caspian” (2008) and “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader” (2010). Howard Berger, my guest today, supervised the prosthetic makeup for all three films, and he won an Oscar for his work on the first. In addition to discussing this effort, our conversation places Howard’s work within the context of his storied career.
Thursday Nov 18, 2021
Season 9 - Ep 9 - The Harder They Fall
Thursday Nov 18, 2021
Thursday Nov 18, 2021
In “The Harder They Fall”, currently streaming on Netflix, Jonathan Majors and Idris Elba are opposing outlaws, leading their respective gangs into a classic Old West showdown through a series of expectation-defying twists. Film Editor Tom Eagles speaks with me about the journey from page to screen for this stylish western, the first feature-length film from Director Jeymes Samuel (aka The Bullitts).
Thursday Nov 11, 2021
Season 9 - Ep 8 - Combat Camera, Revisited
Thursday Nov 11, 2021
Thursday Nov 11, 2021
Today is Veterans Day, and, to honor the occasion, I’ve once again invited a panel of Combat Camera veterans to talk about their time in uniform. My guests - Jim Stayton, J.R. Cole, and Fred Johnson - reminisce with stories covering nearly 50 years of Combat Camera history . . . and still find time to laugh about the foibles of a certain L.T. for whom they once worked. Oh, and remember in 2008 when Air Force One flew over NYC at low altitude? We’ve got the inside scoop on that.
Thursday Nov 04, 2021
Season 9 - Ep 7 - Last Night in Soho
Thursday Nov 04, 2021
Thursday Nov 04, 2021
Edgar Wright’s latest film, “Last Night in Soho” (starring Thomasin McKenzie and Anya Taylor-Joy), is one of his most ambitious projects to date. My guest today is Re-Recording Mixer and Supervising Sound Editor Julian Slater, whose collaboration with Edgar Wright spans six films. Spoiler Alert: Soho is best enjoyed in the theater, and you’ll definitely want to see it there before joining us on this episode of the podcast.
Thursday Oct 28, 2021
Season 9 - Ep 6 - Man of the House
Thursday Oct 28, 2021
Thursday Oct 28, 2021
“Man of the House”, the 2005 action-comedy starring Tommy Lee Jones as a Texas Ranger, is not well reviewed. It is, however, a film I worked on, as a consultant for a company called Big Crowds. Our mission was to fill a football stadium with background fans . . . or at least make it look that way on camera. My guests today — Alexa Sheehan, Ken Twohy, and Damon Chang — were members of my team.
Thursday Oct 21, 2021
Season 9 - Ep 5 - L.A. Confidential
Thursday Oct 21, 2021
Thursday Oct 21, 2021
“L.A. Confidential”, the 1997 film starring Kevin Spacey, Russell Crowe, and Guy Pearce, is an exceptional adaptation of James Ellroy’s novel about police and crime in 1950s Los Angeles. It was directed by Curtis Hanson, and my guests today are members of his assistant director team: Jim Goldthwait (Key 2nd AD), Heather Kritzer (2nd 2nd AD), and Kevin Koster (DGA Trainee). This was a challenging but rewarding film project for everyone involved, and we’ve got the stories.
Thursday Oct 14, 2021
Season 9 - Ep 4 - Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Thursday Oct 14, 2021
Thursday Oct 14, 2021
I was a DGA Trainee on the fourth season of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”, and I’m joined today by some of my crew mates: Todd McIntosh (Makeup Supervisor), Athena Alexander (Key 2nd AD), and Douglas Noe (Makeup Artist). We share stories from the set of this iconic Joss Whedon/Sarah Michelle Gellar series . . . and have a fun time catching up.
Thursday Oct 07, 2021
Season 9 - Ep 3 - American Horror Stories
Thursday Oct 07, 2021
Thursday Oct 07, 2021
Today we’re talking about “American Horror Stories”, the weekly anthology show helmed by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk, itself a spin-off of their long running series, “American Horror Story” (now in its 10th season). My guest is the Production Designer, Eve McCarney, who talks about the challenges of building a new world every week while remaining true to the aesthetic of the original show.
Thursday Sep 30, 2021
Season 9 - Ep 2 - IATSE Contract Negotiations
Thursday Sep 30, 2021
Thursday Sep 30, 2021
Contract negotiations between the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) are at a challenging juncture. My guests — Mike Loomer (Local 44), Dave Tuttman (Local 600), and Michael Taylor (Local 728) — discuss the union’s concerns and the possibility of a strike.
Thursday Sep 23, 2021
Season 9 - Ep 1 - Below the Line at the Emmys
Thursday Sep 23, 2021
Thursday Sep 23, 2021
Today we’re discussing the 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards, and my Emmy-nominated guests — Amy Duddleston (“Mare of Easttown”), Geoff O’Brien (“Framing Britney Spears”), Alexandra Fehrman (“The Boys”) and Rich Weingart (“The Boys”) — share stories from this year’s ceremonies.
Thursday Sep 02, 2021
Season 8 - Ep 14 - The Social Dilemma
Thursday Sep 02, 2021
Thursday Sep 02, 2021
Today we’re talking about “The Social Dilemma”, a documentary about the manipulative and dangerous aspects of our online social activity currently streaming on Netflix. My guests are the Emmy-nominated cinematographers, John Behrens and Jonathan Pope, who split oversight of the documentary and narrative portions of the film but share responsibility for the cohesive look and feel.
Thursday Aug 26, 2021
Season 8 - Ep 13 - The Boys
Thursday Aug 26, 2021
Thursday Aug 26, 2021
Today we’re talking about “The Boys”, the audacious and dark superhero series currently streaming on Amazon Prime. My guest is Alexandra Fehrman, Sound Mixer for both seasons and recent Emmy nominee for her work on the Season 2 finale.
Thursday Aug 19, 2021
Season 8 - Ep 12 - Loki
Thursday Aug 19, 2021
Thursday Aug 19, 2021
2021’s “Loki”, with all six episodes currently streaming on Disney+, is a surprisingly enjoyable expansion of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. My guest today, Douglas Noe, both led the makeup department for the series and was the personal makeup artist for Tom Hiddleston, the continuation of a relationship that began with 2012’s “The Avengers”.
Thursday Aug 12, 2021
Season 8 - Ep 11 - Framing Britney Spears
Thursday Aug 12, 2021
Thursday Aug 12, 2021
“Framing Britney Spears”, the New York Times investigative documentary released in February 2021, explores the conservatorship that Britney Spears has been living under since 2008, specifically within the larger context of her career and celebrity. My guests today - Geoff O’Brien and Pierre Takal - are the editors of the film.
Thursday Aug 05, 2021
Season 8 - Ep 10 - Below the Line: The Book
Thursday Aug 05, 2021
Thursday Aug 05, 2021
Today my guests are a pair of Industry veterans - JR Helton ("Below the Line", the book) and Mike Taylor ("Confessions of a Hollywood Juicer", the blog) - who talk about the code of silence that surrounds most film productions and why they decided to break it.
Thursday Jul 29, 2021
Season 8 - Ep 9 - Just Like Heaven
Thursday Jul 29, 2021
Thursday Jul 29, 2021
I was the 2nd 2nd Assistant Director on Just Like Heaven, the 2005 Mark Waters feature starring Reese Witherspoon and Mark Ruffalo. My guests today are two other members of our AD team: Key 2nd AD Eric Pot and Production Assistant Taylor Phillips. We laugh about the challenges of filming in San Francisco and the extensive stage work involved once we returned to Los Angeles.
Thursday Jul 22, 2021
Season 8 - Ep 8 - Legacies
Thursday Jul 22, 2021
Thursday Jul 22, 2021
Today we're talking about Legacies, which recently concluded its third season on The CW Network. My guests are the Co-Department Heads for Creature Effects, Mark Villalobos and Heather Mages, and we're joined by the Assistant Stunt Coordinator, Jeremy Conner. Bring on the monster talk!
Thursday Jul 15, 2021
Season 8 - Ep 7 - Mare of Easttown
Thursday Jul 15, 2021
Thursday Jul 15, 2021
Mare of Easttown, the 2021 HBO series starring Kate Winslet, is a nuanced interplay of murder mystery and community drama. My guest is the Film Editor, Amy E. Duddleston, whose work on the series was recognized with two Emmy nominations earlier this week.
Thursday Jul 08, 2021
Season 8 - Ep 6 - Into the Wild
Thursday Jul 08, 2021
Thursday Jul 08, 2021
Today I’m discussing Into the Wild (the 2007 biopic directed by Sean Penn and starring Emile Hirsch) with the film’s Production Designer, Derek Hill. Derek also shared a lot of photos: after listening to the podcast, listen to Derek’s narrated slide show on our YouTube channel or Facebook page.
Thursday Jul 01, 2021
Season 8 - Ep 5 - Digital Tools for Film Production
Thursday Jul 01, 2021
Thursday Jul 01, 2021
Film production is undergoing a digital revolution, and the pandemic has only accelerated it. My guests today — Michael R. Williams (Think Crew), Sam Patton (Castifi), and Alex LoVerde (SyncOnSet) — represent three companies at the forefront of this effort. We talk about the challenges on set for which digitization is the solution, and how the integration of digital tools will propel film production into the future.