FOLLOWING FILMS - Podcast, Movies, Music, and More

  Welcome back to the Following Films Podcast. Today’s guest has captured the internet's heart by proving that being a parent doesn't mean you have to look like a suburban dad. Known to millions as the "Punk Rock Girl Dad," Sid Broderius has gone viral for his videos introducing his young daughter, Lorelai, to the high-energy world of The Riverboat Gamblers, Ramones, Against Me!, and The Clash. Based in Spokane, Washington, Sid has been a staple of the local music scene for two decades and currently plays in the band The Emergency Exit. Whether he is letting Lorelai explore his guitar collection or spinning classic punk vinyl, his philosophy is rooted in sharing his deepest passions to foster genuine family bonding through music and subculture. With a following of over 32,000 on Instagram and shout-outs from bands like Bowling for Soup, Sid is showing the world that the next generation of music fans starts at home. We’re going to talk about his viral journey, his life...

Film history is often a story of compromise, but sometimes, the original vision finally wins. This October, audiences will have the rare opportunity to witness one of the most provocative and visually stunning films of the twentieth century exactly as its creator intended. Warner Bros. is releasing the first-ever 4K restoration of Ken Russell’s 1971 classic, The Devils, marking a historic moment for cinema lovers everywhere. For over five decades, this legendary masterpiece has existed primarily in truncated forms, with key sequences excised by censors to the heartbreak of its director. This new restoration, however, is a revelation. Assembled directly from the original camera negative, the 4K version presents Russell's definitive vision by using a private edit he constructed in 2004 as its blueprint. The restoration also extends to the film's sound, which has been meticulously remastered from the original English 35mm magnetic film to ensure Peter Maxwell Davies’ celebrated sc...

Film enthusiasts and physical media collectors have a massive reason to celebrate this summer. As part of their landmark 20th Anniversary celebrations, Visions Home Video has announced the highly anticipated release of James Gunn’s directorial debut, Slither, on a special limited edition 4K UHD and Blu-ray Steelbook combo. Arriving on June 1st, this release marks the first time the gooey, hilarious, and terrifying masterpiece has been available in 4K resolution. Slither is, quite simply, one of the most entertaining horror comedies ever put to film. It manages a perfect tonal tightrope walk, delivering genuine "creature feature" chills alongside a razor-sharp wit that has become James Gunn’s signature. In a year filled with blockbuster sequels, this boutique restoration feels like one of 2024’s most exciting releases. It is a reminder of a time when high-concept practical effects and character-driven horror reigned supreme. The film stars the ever-charismatic Nathan Fillion a...

 NEON has solidified its reputation as a powerhouse for independent cinema by securing the U.S. rights to Jeff Nichols’ upcoming Southern gothic horror film, King Snake. This acquisition marks a significant reunion for Nichols and NEON, further cementing the studio’s commitment to visionary directors who favor atmospheric, character-driven storytelling. Starring Margaret Qualley, Michael Shannon, and Drew Starkey, the project is already generating substantial buzz as principal photography commences this month in Arkansas. The film is being fully financed by FilmNation Entertainment, with Nichols producing alongside his longtime collaborators Brian Kavanaugh-Jones and Sarah Green under their Tri-State Pictures banner. The narrative of King Snake leans into the eerie, shadow-drenched traditions of the Southern gothic genre. It centers on a young couple, played by Qualley and Starkey, who find themselves the inheritors of an Arkansas farm that is far from a pastoral retreat. As they n...

The sleek, matte-black silhouette of the modified Gazelle helicopter cuts through the hazy Los Angeles skyline like a predatory insect, a visual metaphor for the encroaching surveillance state that feels even more pointed today than it did in 1983. John Badham’s Blue Thunder is a remarkable piece of high-octane populist filmmaking, a relic of an era when practical effects and stunt flying carried a weight and physical presence that digital wizardry simply cannot replicate. It is a film of grit, sweat, and kerosene, grounded by a weary, soulful performance from Roy Scheider that elevates what could have been a standard police procedural into a haunting meditation on the erosion of privacy and the terrifying potential of militarized domestic policing. Revisiting the film in an age of drones and ubiquitous data collection reveals a prophetic edge that is genuinely unsettling. The titular aircraft is not just a weapon; it is a mobile panopticon, capable of "looking into a bedroom wind...

It is a strange thing to watch a movie from 1998 and feel like you are looking at a lost artifact from 1984. Paul W.S. Anderson’s Soldier is a film that arrived at the wrong time, perhaps even on the wrong planet, but it carries the DNA of a very specific, very muscular era of science fiction. It feels like a cousin to the grit of The Terminator or the blue-collar exhaustion of Aliens. It lacks the slick, digital sheen that would soon define the turn of the century, opting instead for massive, practical sets, heavy pyrotechnics, and a lead performance that is almost entirely silent. It is a movie built on the back of Kurt Russell’s squint, and in the late nineties, that wasn’t quite enough for a cynical audience. But looking at it today, it feels like a masterpiece of minimalist storytelling tucked inside a maximalist action shell. The connection to 1984 isn’t just about the vibe; it is literal. David Webb Peoples wrote the screenplay, and he is the same man who co-wrote Blade Runner. ...

The release of Adventure Calls! Karl May at CCC marks a significant milestone for North American fans of European cult cinema. For decades, the massive popularity of Karl May in Germany was something of a mystery to American audiences, but this collection from the Masters of Cinema series finally provides a definitive look at the lavish, globe-trotting spectacles produced by Artur Brauner. These films represent a bridge between the classic Hollywood adventures of the fifties and the more gritty, violent landscapes of the Spaghetti Western, offering a brand of escapism that is as visually stunning as it is historically fascinating. Karl May was a man who famously wrote about worlds he had never visited, yet his ability to capture the spirit of adventure made him a literary titan. Brauner’s CCC Film took that literary spirit and translated it into a cinematic language that dominated European box offices throughout the sixties. Old Shatterhand and Winnetou and Shatterhand in the Valley of...

When it comes to the golden age of the drive-in, few experiences could match the sheer, unadulterated joy of the double feature. It was a time when narrative logic took a backseat to high-concept monsters and the kind of atmospheric grime that only a low-budget production could provide. VCI Entertainment has tapped directly into that nostalgia with their Creepy Double Feature line, and their latest Blu-ray pairing brings together two titans of 1963 psychotronic cinema: The Crawling Hand and The Slime People. This disc is a celebration of a very specific era in independent filmmaking—a moment where the atomic dread of the fifties began to melt into the weird, pop-infused sensibilities of the early sixties. On one hand, you have the localized, noir-tinged horror of a space-borne limb terrorizing a California boarding house; on the other, a sprawling, fog-drenched vision of a subterranean invasion that turns Los Angeles into a claustrophobic wasteland. While these films were birthed from ...

  Today, we are diving into a project that kicked off this year’s Dallas International Film Festival as the opening night selection. It’s a film that uses the backdrop of competitive youth basketball to explore much larger themes of family, grief, and the weight of expectations. Joining me today is writer and producer Todd M. Friedman to discuss his new film, Last Shot. Starring Jaime Pressly and Michael Rapaport, the story follows a young basketball prodigy navigating life after a significant loss. What makes this project particularly compelling is how it leans into a grounded, realistic drama—a narrative depth that stems from Todd’s own experiences on the sidelines and the unique decision to cast his son, Dylan Friedman, in the lead role. We’re going to talk about the transition from personal experience to the page, the collaborative process of indie filmmaking, and what it’s like to premiere a project of this scale.