Episodes

The Cinematic Schematic returns in part six of our ongoing Three Films That Got You Through the 2020 Pandemic interview series with entertainment writer, filmmaker, and host of the Hardcourt Hunnies podcast, Shea Vassar. We speak with Vassar about how the pandemic impacted her work as a freelance entertainment writer focused on native stories and her coverage of international film festivals like Sundance. We’ll wrap up the conversation by talking about the three films that helped her get through...

In the fifth part of The Cinematic Schematic‘s ongoing Three Films That Got You Through the 2020 Pandemic interview series, we sit down with Adam Chitwood, the managing editor at Collider, co-host of The Collider Podcast, and member of the Oklahoma Film Critics Circle. We speak with Chitwood about how he landed the Collider gig while working from Tulsa, Oklahoma, and the ways the pandemic impacted their coverage of the movies in 2020. The conversation wraps up with Chitwood’s three films that go...

The Cinematic Schematic continues our special Three Films That Got You Through the 2020 Pandemic interview series with part four of this ten-episode run. In this episode, I speak with film studies educator, Oklahoma Film Critics Circle member, and Ward 2 city councilperson in Oklahoma City, James Cooper. I talk with Cooper about the importance of media literacy in the current climate and how the pandemic impacted how he taught his classes and interacted with his students. When talking with Coope...

In the third entry of our ongoing Three Films That Got You Through the 2020 Pandemic interview series, The Cinematic Schematic welcomes two of the GoodTrash Media co-founders, Arthur Gordon and returning guest Dalton Stuart, to the show to talk about how the pandemic impacted the production of their podcast, The GoodTrash Genrecast. They’ll discuss how the challenging year had them rethink their programming before getting into the three films that got each of them through last year. For a chance...

The Cinematic Schematic continues our special Three Films That Got You Through the 2020 Pandemic interview series. In part two of this ten-episode interview series, we speak with Native filmmaker, artist, and podcaster, Sterlin Harjo. We’ll talk with Harjo about how the shutdown of Hollywood impacted his creative process and TV pilot production before hearing about the three films that helped him get through 2020. Special Guest Sterlin Harjo Filmmaker, Artist and Podcaster Credits include Mekko,...

The Cinematic Schematic interupts your normally scheduled film conversation-centric programming with a special look at the first batch of episodes of the Marvel Cinematic Universe‘s (MCU) first Disney+ TV mini-series, WandaVision. To provide this review, episode breakdown, and Marvel Easter egg hunt, we are rejoined by Lauren Weingart AKA Video Peach. In our discussion, we’ll talk about what it’s like to reconnect with the MCU after receiving no new releases in 2020(the first in ten years) befor...

Today marks the beginning of a new special interview series for The Cinematic Schematic – Three Films That Got You Through the 2020 Pandemic. In this limited ten-episode interview series, we will speak with a wide variety of colleagues, professionals, and artists working in the film industry, largely in our backyard of Oklahoma. We’ll talk with each guest about how the pandemic has impacted their line of work before talking about the three movies that helped them get through it all. In our inaug...

Welcome back to The Cinematic Schematic, the official podcast of The Cinematropolis.com. Today I’m reviewing Emerald Fennell’s directorial debut, Promising Young Woman. DISCLAIMER: Potentially triggering topics including rape and sexual assault are a central part of the plot and themes of Promising Young Woman. If you are sensitive to these subjects, this review and the film may not be for you. Reader and listener discretion is advised. According to IMDB Promising Young Woman is described as “A ...

The Cinematic Schematic podcast returns for our final episode of 2020. This week we’ll review the long-delayed sequel to 2017’s smash hit, Wonder Woman, and the latest continuation of the DCEU, Wonder Woman 1984. We’re rejoined by recurring guest co-host, Freaky AF and You People writer/director, Laron Chapman, and Geek Girl Features writer Chelsea Ratterman, to provide a spoiler-free review of the film before having an in-depth spoiler discussion. In 2017, writer/director Patty Jenkins made her...

Merry Christmas and happy holidays, dear listeners! The Cinematic Schematic podcast is here with a special bonus episode reviewing Disney Pixar’s new movie releasing directly on Disney+ on Christmas Day, Soul. To meet the special occasion, we are joined by my 2020 COVID-pandemic partner in crime, the Video Peach, Lauren Weingart. Tune in to hear our reactions and analysis of one of this year’s biggest holiday releases, being released exclusively via Disney’s streaming platform. Longtime fans of ...

The Cinematic Schematic podcast is back this week to review one of 2020’s most highly anticipated films, Tenet, AKA “the film that will save cinema.” We’re rejoined by guest co-hosts Jacob and Zachary Burns, co-founders of Planet Thunder Productions and The Cinematropolis, to give our initial spoiler-free reviews before diving into the film’s details to determine whether or not it was worth the wait. Tune in! The new film from The Dark Knight and Inception writer/director Christopher Nolan has h...

Welcome to The Cinematic Schematic, the official podcast of The Cinematropolis.com. Today, we’re introducing a new, shorter-form film review format. As detailed in our recent podcast announcement, this post is one of many changes being made to the podcast in order to give you, the listener, episodes more frequently. According to IMDB “1930’s Hollywood is reevaluated through the eyes of scathing social critic and alcoholic screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz as he races to finish the screenplay of ...

After being away on a several month-long hiatus in 2020, I have a special announcement to make. The Cinematic Schematic podcast is back! If you’ve been a longtime listener or The Cinematropolis reader, you’ve probably noticed things have been quiet here the last several months. There are a few reasons for this silence: The challenges presented to the film industry in 2020 due to the pandemic. A shift in the priorities in my personal/professional life with various projects. Content creation burno...

To celebrate today’s release of Planet Thunder Productions’ new film, Shifter, writer/director Jacob Leighton Burns and Zachary Burns rejoin The Cinematic Schematic to discuss a few of their favorite time travel films before we each make the case for the greatest time travel movie ever made. Before picking our favorites, we lay down the rules and criteria of what qualifies as a time travel film in this discussion. The movie must feature a person, consciousness, or object that travels through tim...

Imagine a world where the mind is the scene of the crime inspired by the works of Stanley Kubrick, Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner, The Matrix, and James Bond films that captures the best elements of an Oceans Eleven heist. On July 16, 2010, moviegoers were introduced to Inception, writer/director Christopher’s Nolan’s massive critical and box office hit that propelled him from a talented auteur to one of the most powerful voices working in the film industry today. With the hype and media buzz of th...

After 10 days of films streamed at the 2020 deadCenter Film Festival for the event’s 20th anniversary, The Cinematropolis concludes our special coverage with a festival recap discussion between our entire festival team, Jo Light, Daniel Bokemper, Christopher Shultz, and myself. Tune in to the full discussion on today’s episode of The Cinematic Schematic! Each of us discusses our favorite feature films, short films, documentaries, and virtual experience at this year’s festival. To close out the f...

Special Guest Lance McDaniel Executive Director, deadCenter Director of Send Me Wings In this special interview on The Cinematic Schematic podcast, we talk with deadCenter’s executive director, Lance McDaniel, about how he is sending his tenure in the role out with a bang at deadCenter 2020. We start by discussing how his role has (or has not) changed in the shift to a largely virtual event and the opportunities it provides before getting his perspective on how the festival’s 20th year is a fitt...

LISTEN TO THE FULL INTERVIEW BY PUSHING PLAY ABOVE! Special Guest Stephen Tyler Director of Technology, deadCenter Founder of Mostly Harmless Media In this special interview on The Cinematic Schematic podcast, we talk with deadCenter’s director of technology, Stephen Tyler, about how deadCenter 2020 pivoted to a virtual film festival following the COVID-19 pandemic. We start by discussing how he stepped into his role and how the shift to a new approach to screening movies has changed the way att...

Special Guest Charles Elmore Director/Producer of “The Chest“ In this special interview on The Cinematic Schematic podcast, we talk with “The Chest” director/producer Charles Elmore about how he and his writer Tony DeLesDernier found just the right comedic tone for their Hitchcock-inspired short film. Elmore also discusses how he came to cast Danielle Evon Ploeger and Emmy-nominated actors Dylan Baker and Becky Ann Baker. Our own Daniel Bokemper wrote “The Chest,” “is outstanding across both (Ok...

Special Guest Sev DeMy Writer/Director/ Producer of {Black Title Here} In this special interview on The Cinematic Schematic podcast, we talk with Black Title Here writer/director/producer Sev DeMy about how he approached creating his short film as a TV show pilot, creating a comedic take on the life of a production assistant (PA) and why they went about using on-screen texts to create unique punchlines or emotional impacts. Tune in to hear the full deadCenter 2020 interview! The official deadCen...

LISTEN TO THE FULL INTERVIEW BY PUSHING PLAY ABOVE! Special Guest Cheryl Horner McDonough Director of Parkland Rising On February 14, 2018, a shooter opened fire on the students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High, killing 17 people. This tragedy shook the nation and inspired an entire generation of teenage activism that led to the March for Our Lives. What were the human stories behind the devastation and movement? Director Cheryl Horner McDonough answers those questions with her new documentary p...

LISTEN TO THE FULL INTERVIEW BY PUSHING PLAY ABOVE! It’s been four years since Planet Thunder Productions, writer/director Jacob Leighton Burns and producer Zachary Burns won deadCenter’s Best Oklahoma Narrative Feature Film in 2016. After next taking home the first-place prize from the 48-hour Film Project in 2016 with Let the Bodies Hit the Floor followed by their 2017 documentary about New View Oklahoma, Fleeting Light, many in the Oklahoma film community began wondering what their next genre...

After more than a year and a half of fundraising, pre-production, filming and, post-production VFX, The Cinematropolis co-founders Jacob Leighton Burns and Zachary Burns are premiering their new time-travel body horror film, Shifter, at the Cinequest Film and Creativity Festival in San Jose, California on Friday, March 6th. In part four of our ongoing Shifter Audio Diary series, found exclusively on The Cinematic Schematic podcast, we catch up with Jacob and Zachary about phase 2 of filming, app...

After a long hiatus, The Cinematic Schematic returns for a special episode to give listeners, cinephiles and people hoping to be impressive at this Sunday night’s 92nd Academy Awards watch parties everything they need to build a semi-accurate-ish Oscar ballot. Tune in to the conversation to prepare yourself for the Oscars 2020! Laron Chapman and I are back for our annual tradition of making the Oscar predictions that will either make your ballots shine or go down in a blaze of glory. Following l...