This bonus episode from our sister podcast, Animation Invasion, features composer Dominic Lewis. Dom studied at London's Royal Academy of Music, and has worked with Hans Zimmer and Henry Jackman. His animated work includes Big Hero 6, Wreck-It-Ralph, and How to Train Your Dragon. He scored 3 seasons of Amazon’s Man in the High Castle, and soundtracks for Rough Night, Fist Fight, and Money Monster. He contributed music to Captain America: Winter Soldier, and X-Men: First Class. He’s currently composing for Disney’s XD’s DuckTales, and working on the upcoming feature film Peter Rabbit.

This episode is a rebroadcast of our August 2016 conversation with Stranger Things star, David Harbour. Netflix’s massive breakout hit returns this week with Stranger Things season 2. David reprises his role as Sheriff Jim Hopper, the reluctant, brash, mess of a hero who mandates that mornings are for “coffee and contemplation”, and that difficult situations call for punching. His performance in season one earned him an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. The cast won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series.

We're joined this episode by Eli Craig, writer/director of Tucker & Dale Versus Evil, and Little Evil, an offbeat comedy about love, family, and The Antichrist, which just recently debuted on Netflix. Little Evil stars Adam Scott as Gary, a newlywed struggling to acclimate to the role of stepfather to his disturbingly bizarre step-son, Lucas. Even as his therapy sessions with other step-dads assure him that all step-children are a little evil, increasingly odd situations revolving around the boy drive Gary to believe Lucas might actually be the spawn of Satan. The film also stars Evangeline Lily, Bridget Everett, Donald Faison, Chris D’Elia, Kyle Bornheimer, Clancy Brown, and Sally Field. We talk with Eli about the long journey of Little Evil, from big budget Universal picture trapped for years in development hell, to a breakneck production for Netflix. He explains the challenges genre mash-up films face when finding distributors and audiences. And we discuss how he assembled a great cast of comedic talent on a small budget.

Our guest is Tyler L. Cook, a film and television editor whose current work includes the AMC hit series, Preacher, and the new breakout Netflix series, GLOW. Preacher just premiered its second season. It’s based on the cult classic Vertigo comics series. The show follows Jesse Custer, a small-town preacher with a criminal past, who realizes God is absent from Heaven and sets out to find Him. On a wildly different end of the television spectrum is GLOW, which stands for the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling. The series, set vividly in the mid 1980’s, follows a group of floundering actresses and an acerbic filmmaker as they try to create a televised women’s wrestling program. Part comedy, part drama, GLOW features an incredible ensemble cast led by Alison Brie and Marc Maron. We talk with Tyler about how he got the jobs on Preacher and Glow, and the challenges of balancing the tones of these inventive, unconventional shows. We discuss the day-to-day life of a television editor, his gear and software, and a whole lot more.

Our guest this episode is Matthew Jensen, director of photography for the worldwide hit film, Wonder Woman. As of this recording, Wonder Woman is sitting atop the US film charts for the second week in a row, with over $200 million at the domestic box office, and over $435 million worldwide. Directed by Patty Jenkins, the film has been enthusiastically received by fans and critics alike, with standout performances from Gal Gadot and Chris Pine. It's beautifully shot, with a very distinct visual identity that sets it apart, particularly from other super hero films. And that comes from the work of Matthew Jensen. We talk with Matthew about how he was brought on board for Wonder Woman by Patty Jenkins, the production's challenges and technical choices, and what it was like shooting their strikingly charismatic leads. He shares the advice from a college mentor that lead him to focus his entire career towards the goal of becoming a DP, and the path from humble beginnings to a worldwide smash.

We talk with Ildy Modrovich, co-showrunner, writer, and executive producer of Lucifer, which is about to wrap it’s second season on Fox. The show is based on the Vertigo comics series which spun out of the pages of Sandman. The TV series follows Lucifer Morningstar, the literal devil, having abandoned hell to live in modern day Los Angeles to run a bar called Lux. The show departs from the source material’s high fantasy mythology by grounding it as a police procedural, with the fallen angel assisting LA detectives - in his own unique, self-absorbed way - while combating supernatural conflicts and balancing a dysfunctional family of earth-bound celestials. We talk with Ildy about the themes, production process, and character evolutions on the show. Fans should enjoy our discussion of its humor, fantastic cast, and how much fun it is to create. We also discuss Ildy’s career path from musician to writer to producer.

Host Adron Buske talks with pop-culture icon, actor Ernie Hudson. Film fans know him from his role as Winston Zeddmore in Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters II, and also as Sergeant Albrecht from the 1994 cult classic The Crow. Ernie has an enormous body of work in film, television, and also animation voiceover, and he's been very busy working across 3 different current television series - Grace & Frankie (Netflix), Graves (FX), and APB (Fox). APB is a police drama with a high-tech twist, produced by Len Wiseman. It follows a billionaire engineer who, after witnessing a violent crime, takes charge of a troubled Chicago police department and reboots it as a technically innovative force for 21st century challenges. APB stars Justin Kirk, Natalie Martinez, and Ernie as the skeptical police captain Ned Conrad. Adron and Ernie talk about his long history as an actor and how he keeps the work rewarding. They discuss being a steadily working professional whose name carries the weight of a beloved franchise. And Ernie talks about the fun of moving between different shows filled with fresh faces, and legendary veterans.

We talk with American Ninja Warrior breakout star Jessie Graff. Jessie is a Hollywood stuntwoman, with an amazing body of work in film and television, including Supergirl, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., X-Men First Class, Iron Man 2, and many more. But while most stunt people are hidden faces behind the scenes, Jessie has become a very popular public persona through the television competition American Ninja Warrior. Through several seasons of amazing athletic feats, Jessie has broken barriers as the first female athlete to advance to the city finals, and the first to make it to Stage 2 of the national finals. She stands among the sport's most elite competitors.

Michael Wylie is the production designer for the Marvel television series Legion, airing Wednesday evenings on FX. His production design resume also includes such fan favorites as Marvel’s Agent Carter, Masters of Sex, Grimm, Californication, Pushing Daisies, and The Tick. Legion follows a troubled young man, a diagnosed schizophrenic, who may in fact possess incredible telepathic and telekinetic powers. The show stars Dan Stevens, Aubrey Plaza, and Rachel Keller. It’s a remarkable series with a non-linear story, incredible design and music, and stellar performances. It’s by turns fascinating, disturbing, and intriguing, and it will keep you glued to the screen and constantly questioning reality.

We talk with Emmy-winning choreographer and comedienne Kathryn Burns. Kathryn has contributed dance numbers and movement direction to five seasons of Key & Peele, to the hit Netflix series Wet Hot American Summer, and to tons of productions with the Upright Citizens Brigade. She worked on Children’s Hospital and Another Period, and danced in a “Weird Al” Yankovic video. She also choreographed the Grammy-winning international megahit music video “Happy” by Pharrell Williams. Kathryn is currently working on the critically acclaimed CW series, Crazy Ex Girlfriend. It’s a comedy punctuated by impressive musical sequences that heighten the absurdity but also showcase an immensely talented cast and crew. And, as a show flying below the radar of mass audiences, Crazy Ex Girlfriend manages to be one of the most hilariously raunchy, explicit, subversive shows on network television. There’s nothing else out there like it. The series has won a number of awards, including a Golden Globe and a couple of Emmys - one of which went to Kathryn, for her choreography routines.

We talk with actor David Harbour, who plays fan-favorite Sheriff Jim Hopper in Netflix's breakout original series Stranger Things. David discusses how he became attached to Stranger Things, and his reaction to its surprising success and intense fan adoration. We talk about the differences between acting for stage and screen, and the sudden spotlight after years of character work. And we realize just exactly which type of adventurer Sheriff Hopper would be in a Dungeons & Dragons campaign party.

We talk with Lawrence Grey, producer of Lights Out, an indie horror thriller from first-time feature film director David Sandberg. Lights Out began as an independent short film, created by Sandberg in his native Sweden. The super creepy 3-minute horror short caught fire online. Lawrence discovered it, decided to collaborate with Sandberg to bring it to the big screen, and enlisted help from James Wan, the director of horror mega-hits Saw, Insidious, and the Conjuring films, as well as international blockbuster Furious 7. They also assembled a talented cast, including Teresa Palmer, Billy Burke, and Maria Bello. Lights Out was produced for just $5 million dollars, but last weekend it opened with a stellar $21.6 million at the box office. With great reviews and word of mouth, it’s estimated for a $50 million domestic run, which is huge business for a little horror film. We talk about this remarkable Hollywood story, from YouTube short by an unknown director, to a silver screen success. And we discuss putting together a dream-team of professionals from big budget blockbusters who saw something special in this unique premise. Lights Out is in theaters and thrilling audiences now.

Adron talks with John Ottman, composer and film editor on the upcoming X-Men: Apocalypse from director Bryan Singer. John was also the composer on the recently released Shane Black film, The Nice Guys. They discuss the challenges of doing double duty on a huge project like X-Men, his long history working with Bryan Singer, the tools John uses to compose music, and why he does not conduct the orchestras performing his scores.

Adron talks with screenwriter and award-winning comic creator Brandon Easton. Brandon was a staff writer on the second season of Marvel’s Agent Carter on ABC. He’s also written for animated TV shows Thundercats and Transformers: Rescue Bots. His biographical comic Andre The Giant: Closer To Heaven was a 2015 critical darling, and IDW Comics just released his Transformers: Deviations one-shot. IDW also recently announced that Brandon will be the writer on their upcoming M.A.S.K. series, rebooting the beloved Hasbro 1980s toy and cartoon franchise. We explore Brandon’s journey from school teacher to professional screenwriter, navigating the turbulent world of Hollywood staffing season, and working on life-long beloved properties.