Watch With Jen™

It’s Jen x2! In easily the most stressful week of an incredibly fraught fall, I know we could all benefit from a little extra kindness and positivity, which just so happen to be two of the qualities most filmgoers associate with actor Paul Rudd. Chatting with Vulture's delightful TV critic Jen Chaney, who literally wrote the book on writer-director Amy Heckerling's masterful 1995 romcom CLUELESS, the two of us spent a breezy hour celebrating some of Rudd's most iconic & intriguing roles, including the films CLUELESS, WET HOT AMERICAN SUMMER, ANCHORMAN: THE LEGEND OF RON BURGUNDY, I LOVE YOU MAN, OUR IDIOT BROTHER, & ANT-MAN, in particular. Touching on everything from his ability to play both broad & more character-based comedy to his work on the small screen as well as his loyalty to the friends he collaborates with repeatedly (sometimes in tiny indies with next to no budget), I hope this episode gives you a mini-escape from election week stress, especially because Jen tells so many stories that are sure to make you smile.Guest Bio: Jen Chaney is a TV critic and writer for Vulture and New York magazine. She's also the author of the book AS IF: THE COMPLETE ORAL HISTORY OF CLUELESS. She previously worked at The Washington Post and has contributed to the New York Times, Vanity Fair, and other publications. Originally Posted on Patreon (11/3/24) here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/115288406Theme Music: Solo Acoustic Guitar by Jason Shaw, Free Music Archive Shop Watch With Jen logo Merchandise in Logo Designer Kate Gabrielle's Threadless Shop Donate to the Pod via Ko-fi

Author Stephanie Wrobel takes a break from the busy book tour for her acclaimed, addictive new mystery novel THE HITCHCOCK HOTEL to talk about writing, what it takes to navigate multi-character arc narratives, & lessons in suspense from the Master of Suspense, Alfred Hitchcock. In addition to covering her exciting mystery, we discuss three of the biggest Hitchcockian sources of inspiration for the work via the films PSYCHO, ROPE, REBECCA, & much more. Bio: Stephanie Wrobel is an international and USA Today bestselling author. Her debut, DARLING ROSE GOLD, has sold rights in twenty-one countries and was a finalist for the Edgar Award for Best First Novel & her latest novel is the wonderful THE HITCHCOCK HOTEL. Theme Music: Solo Acoustic Guitar by Jason Shaw, Free Music Archive Shop Watch With Jen logo Merchandise in Logo Designer Kate Gabrielle's Threadless Shop Donate to the Pod via Ko-fi Originally Posted on Patreon (10/24/24) here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/114580335

We don't cover TV very often on Watch With Jen so you know that when my guests & I dedicate an entire episode to a television series, it's something we wholeheartedly recommend you seek out. (In fact, THE AMERICANS, COLUMBO, TERRIERS, HALT & CATCH FIRE, MR. INBETWEEN, & SUCCESSION are among the few exceptions to this film-centric show in over 200 podcast installments.)As the opposite of a true crime buff who usually avoids serial killer stories in entertainment (except ZODIAC), this season, my good buddies, actor-producer Rob Belushi & the prolific podcaster Blake Howard challenged me to watch & discuss Netflix's critically lauded series MINDHUNTER, produced by David Fincher. Although I warned them at the beginning of the experiment that if I started having nightmares, they'd get a phone call no matter what time it was, I soon found myself fully hooked on the marvelous series about the start of the FBI criminal profiling unit, starring Jonathan Groff, Holt McCallany, & Anna Torv.Coming together to hash everything out in this surprisingly rollicking, enlightening, & story-filled analytical chat, we investigate MINDHUNTER, bond over our affection for McCallany as Bill Tench (as well as the rest of the amazing cast), enjoy Rob's impressions, share some experiences from my life that scare the boys, & more. While unfortunately, we can't deliver the third season of the show so many of you want, we hope you'll consider this appreciation of MINDHUNTER the next best thing to tide you over.Originally Posted on Patreon (10/14/24) here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/114006176Theme Music: Solo Acoustic Guitar by Jason Shaw, Free Music ArchiveShop Watch With Jen logo Merchandise in Logo Designer Kate Gabrielle's Threadless ShopDonate to the Pod via Ko-fi

One of my most soulful & philosophical guests, my good friend, Vulture TV critic Roxana Hadadi returns to Watch With Jen to discuss character actor Edward Norton's career. Paying particular attention to his '90s & early aught heyday, in this thoughtful conversation, we discuss his films & performances in PRIMAL FEAR, AMERICAN HISTORY X, FIGHT CLUB, 25TH HOUR, KINGDOM OF HEAVEN, & more. Along the way, we share our connections to & memories of some of these generation &/or decade-defining works.Roxana's Bio:A TV critic with Vulture, who also writes about film & pop culture, previously Roxana was the film editor & a critic with Pajiba, & her reviews, essays, recaps, and other writing have also been published by The AV Club, Polygon, RogerEbert.com, The L.A. Times, Crooked Marquee, The Playlist, Fox Digital, The Criterion Collection, GQ, & Inverse. Originally Posted on Patreon (10/8/24) here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/113547920Theme Music: Solo Acoustic Guitar by Jason Shaw, Free Music Archive Shop Watch With Jen logo Merchandise in Logo Designer Kate Gabrielle's Threadless Shop Donate to the Pod via Ko-fi