Paul Schrader

The legendary screenwriter & director Paul Schrader (Hardcore, Light Sleeper) is on this episode to discuss his new film, First Reformed. The film, which opens in NYC and LA on Friday, May 18th, stars Ethan Hawke, Amanda Seyfried & Cedric Kyles (aka Cedric the Entertainer) and is being distributed by A24. Reverend Ernst Toller (Hawke) is a solitary, middle-aged parish pastor at a small Dutch Reform church in upstate New York on the cusp of celebrating its 250th anniversary. Once a stop on the Underground Railroad, the church is now a tourist attraction catering to a dwindling congregation, eclipsed by its nearby parent church, Abundant Life, with its state-of-the-art facilities and 5,000-strong flock. When a pregnant parishioner (Seyfried) asks Reverend Toller to counsel her husband, a radical environmentalist, the clergyman finds himself plunged into his own tormented past, and equally despairing future, until he finds redemption in an act of grandiose violence.

Then Baltimore-based filmmaker Matt Porterfield (Putty Hill, I Used to Be Darker) makes his first appearance on the podcast. His new film, Sollers Point, was shot entirely in the Baltimore county titular neighborhood and stars McCaul Lombardi, Zazie Beetz, Jim Belushi, Lynne Cohen & Marin Ireland. Keith (Lombardi) is a 24-year-old drug dealer who is newly released from prison and living with his father (Belushi) under house arrest in Baltimore. He struggles to re-establish himself in a community scarred by unemployment, neglect and segregation. The film is opened this past week in Baltimore and opens in NYC and LA on Friday, May 18th thanks to Oscilloscope Laboratories.

Filmwax Radio is presented by Rooftop Films. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram. The podcast is also available on iTunes, Stitcher & Youtube.

This is a roundtable discussion on the subject of filmmaker Paul Schrader. Among the 4 film nerds are yours truly, host Adam Schartoff, filmmaker Jeremy Workman, host of the popular podcast Wrong Reel, James Hancock, and podcast savant Chico Leo.

Aside from being the founder of the movie trailer company, Wheelhouse Creative, Workman is a filmmaker in his own right. His latest documentary, The World Before Your Feet, has its premiere this week at SxSW.

Most of Paul Schrader’s films are easy to stream/download. A quick look on Amazon/Amazon Prime brought up the following SVOD options: Adam Resurrected, Light Sleeper, Hardcore, American Gigolo, Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters, Blue Collar, Affliction, Auto Focus, Cat People, The Canyons, and more. On iTunes you can stream Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Light Sleeper, The Canyons, American Gigolo, Cat People, Affliction, Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters, Blue Collar, Auto Focus, and more.

Filmwax Radio is presented by Rooftop Films. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram. The podcast is also available on iTunes, Stitcher & Youtube.