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Talkhouse

Michael Polish is a prolific and acclaimed American film director, writer, and producer. His breakout feature debut, Twin Falls Idaho (1998), was acclaimed by Roger Ebert as “one of the best films of the year” for its striking originality and emotional depth. From this start, Michael continued to collaborate with his brother, Mark, crafting an eclectic mix of visionary films. His works include Northfork (2003), a visually poetic tale starring Nick Nolte and James Woods, and The Astronaut Farmer, a studio production with Billy Bob Thornton and Virginia Madsen. His 2013 adaptation of Jack Kerouac’s Big Sur was praised by The New York Times for “cracking the code” of adapting a novel for the screen. Michael’s passion for independent storytelling also led to the creation of the 10-episode series Bring on the Dancing Horses, a bold modern Western about a hit woman’s journey for justice. Most recently, Michael directed Alarum, an action-packed thriller starring Sylvester Stallone, Scott Eastwood, and Willa Fitzgerald, about two spies on the run. Michael has also authored books, including The Declaration of Independent Filmmaking, and is a respected photographer and advocate for independent film. (Photo courtesy of Lionsgate.)

Michael Polish

Film

The Chemistry of Connection

Nick Dawson talks with filmmakers, musicians and comedians whose work he loves, avoiding the mundane, predictable questions they&#8217;ve heard numerous times and instead asking substantive, thoughtful questions that get to the heart of who they are.

Nobody’s Ever Asked Me That

Podcast

Nobody’s Ever Asked Me That: Vera Drew

Writer-director Dan Levy Dagerman, along with his wife, writer-actress-producer Selina Ringel, made the new romantic comedy <a href="https://www.ymhmovie.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">You, Me &amp; Her</a>, which is out now in theaters. Their previous movie, Single Mother By Choice, documented Selina’s real-life pregnancy during the COVID-19 pandemic and was acquired by HBO Max. After earning an MFA in Directing from AFI Conservatory, Dan co-founded Two Hands Productions with Selina, also an AFI grad. He also founded High Concept Entertainment, a production company at the intersection of cannabis and entertainment, pioneering content marketing and distribution strategies that reflect the evolving demands of digital-age audiences.

Dan Levy Dagerman

Love, Laughter and a Little Chaos: Making You, Me & Her as a Husband-Wife Filmmaking Duo

Lily Lady is an artist from New York City. Lily&#8217;s journalism can be found in Office and Dirty Magazine and their feature film, <a href="https://www.factorytwentyfive.com/sams-world" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sam&#8217;s World</a>, is available digitally on Tubi, Amazon Prime and more platforms via Factory 25. Lily’s full length poetry collections are quickie (2022), NDA (2024) and Blood Brother (2026). (Photo by Max Lakner.)

Lily Lady

Dennis Cooper Will Not Direct the Next Marvel Movie

Alice Lowe’s sophomore directorial feature, <a href="https://geni.us/TIMESTALKER_Movie" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Timestalker</a>, which she wrote, directed and stars in, is out now through Level 33 Entertainment. She made her screenwriting debut with Sightseers (2012), directed by Ben Wheatley, in which she also starred. Prevenge (2016) was Alice&#8217;s directorial feature debut; she wrote, starred in and directed it while heavily pregnant. The film opened Venice Critics’ Week and screened at Toronto, LFF, Sitges, Rotterdam, SXSW and AFI before going on general release in the U.K. and U.S. to critical and audience acclaim. Alice&#8217;s other work includes three series of her sketch show Alice&#8217;s Wunderland for BBC Radio 4, several short films, and TV and film appearances such as Garth Marenghi&#8217;s Darkplace, Paddington, Hot Fuzz and Horrible Histories. More recently she has starred in BAFTA-nominated U.K. indie The Ghoul, Adult Life Skills and Locke. (Photo by Simon Webb.)

Alice Lowe

Three Great Things: Alice Lowe

Max Rissman’s debut feature, the supernatural romance <a href="https://www.uponwakingfilm.com/home" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Upon Waking</a>, is out February 14. Ever since he was four years old, when he forced his parents to watch and subsequently act out The Wizard of Oz with him nightly, he has been captivated by the power of stories to transform the mundane into the magical. After attending college at Washington University in St. Louis and completing New York University’s MFA program in filmmaking, he followed the yellow brick road to Los Angeles, where he has been creating stories about characters coming of age and embarking on journeys of self-discovery. His web series Root for the Villain was an official selection of the 2018 Austin Film Festival, and his feature screenplay Hit Me Harder was featured on the 2020 GLAAD List.

Max Rissman

Sometimes You Can Jump From a 10-Story Building and Land in a Thimble

Your favorite musicians, filmmakers, and other creative minds one-on-one. No moderator, no script, no typical questions. The Talkhouse Podcast offers unique insights into creative work from all genres and generations. <a href="https://pod.link/Talkhouse" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Subscribe now</a>, and explore more illuminating shows on the <a href="https://talkhouse.com/category/podcast" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Talkhouse Podcast Network.</a>

Talkhouse Podcast

Matt Walsh is a two-time Emmy-nominated actor from HBO’s award-winning comedy series Veep. He can currently be seen in the comedy Unplugging, which he produced, co-wrote and stars in opposite Eva Longoria. He is one of the UCB 4, the founding members of the famed national improv-sketch comedy theatre Upright Citizens Brigade. In addition to his film and TV work, Walsh is a charitable founder with his wife Morgan of Gender Nation, which puts LGBTQ-affirming books in elementary schools around the country, and also organizes the Turkey Bird Classic, an annual golf charity tournament which benefits Defy Ventures, an organization helping formerly incarcerated people “transform their hustle,” teaching them life skills, providing education and mentorship that gives them a second chance. Walsh currently resides in Los Angeles with his wife Morgan Walsh and their three children.

Matt Walsh

Academy Award-nominated actor Haley Joel Osment has been one of Hollywood’s most versatile performers over the last 25 years. Ranging from dark, dramatic roles to off-the-wall comedic performances across film, television, and the stage, Osment has proven time and again why he is one of show business&#8217; treasures. His latest film is Bad Therapy, also starring Alicia Silverstone, Rob Corddry and Michaela Watkins, which is now available on VOD. Other recent projects include the Hulu science fiction comedy Future Man, Seth Rogen&#8217;s Amazon series The Boys, the true crime thriller Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile starring Zac Efron as Ted Bundy, and Bridey Elliot’s comedy drama Clara’s Ghost. Osment’s other recent television appearances have included Silicon Valley, for which he received rave reviews as VR entrepreneur Keenan Feldspar, and a special episode of The X-Files in which he played a chilling dual role.

Haley Joel Osment

Haley Joel Osment Talks with Matt Walsh on the Talkhouse Podcast

Jerry Lieblich is a playwright, and the founder and lead artist of Third Ear Theater Co. Their plays include Mahinerator (The Tank), The Barbarians (La Mama), D Deb Debbie Deborah (Clubbed Thumb), Tongue Depressor (The Public Theatre/Brooklyn College), Nostalgia is a Mild Form of Grief (developed with Playwrights Horizons, Vineyard Theater, Page 73), Ghost Stories (Cloud City), Your Hair Looked Great (Abrons Arts Center), A Discourse on the Method… (Ensemble Studio Theatre), and Everything for Dawn (Experiments in Opera). Their poetry has appeared in Foglifter, Second Factory, TAB, Grist, SOLAR, Pomona Valley Review, Cold Mountain Review, and Works and Days. Their poetry collection otherwise, without was a finalist for The National Poetry Series.
(Photo Credit: Lizzie Fox)

Jerry Lieblich

How Can This Moment Be As Alive As Possible?

Michaela Watkins can currently be seen playing the title character in the comedy drama Suze, out now in theaters. She was recently seen in the movies Paint, with Owen Wilson, Nicole Holofcener’s You Hurt My Feelings, starring Julia-Louis Dreyfus, and in the mini series Tiny Beautiful Things, opposite Kathryn Hahn, and The Dropout, starring Amanda Seyfried. She famously played the lead role in Hulu’s Casual and her other TV credits include The Unicorn, Catastrophe, Search Party, Get Shorty, Wet Hot American Summer, Transparent, Veep, Enlightened, Modern Family, Children&#8217;s Hospital, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Key and Peele, The Kroll Show and Drunk History. Her indie film credits include Lake Bell&#8217;s In a World; Joey Soloway’s Afternoon Delight; Brigsby Bear, opposite Kyle Mooney and Greg Kinnear; Brittany Runs a Marathon with Jillian Bell; The Way Back, opposite Ben Affleck; and Wanderlust, opposite Jennifer Aniston and Paul Rudd. (Photo by Catie Laffoon.)

Michaela Watkins

Three Great Things: Michaela Watkins

Tzvi is a writer director from NYC. His debut feature film, Killer of Men, made on a $10,000 budget, premiered at the Woodstock Film Festival, which Eric Kohn hailed as &#8220;one of the best debuts of 2024&#8221; and Oscar-nominated director Ramin Bahrani said &#8220;Tzvi has created the definition of low-budget auteur cinema.&#8221; Filmmaker magazine called it &#8220;an eerily austere serial killer drama, with a (possible) science fiction twist.&#8221; In his free time, Tzvi writes short fiction, essays on cinema, and runs the monthly screening series Film Underground, focused on democratizing cinema. He can be found on Instagram <a href="http://instagram.com/tzvi_shadowplayfilms" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@tzvi_shadowplayfilms</a>.

Tzvi

Time Stop

Julia Marchese is a filmmaker, actor, podcaster, cinephile and film programmer living in Hollywood, California. Her first film was the award-winning documentary Out of Print, about the importance of revival cinema and 35 mm exhibition to culture, and she is currently the co-host of the popular horror podcast Horror Movie Survival Guide. She recently crowdfunded on <a href="https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/i-know-what-you-need-a-stephen-king-adaptation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">IndieGoGo</a> for her forthcoming Dollar Baby short film I Know What You Need, based on Stephen King&#8217;s story of the same name from Night Shift. You can find her on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @juliacmarchese.

Julia Marchese

My Semester at Shermer High School

Gabby Kono-Abdy produced and costars in the romantic drama <a href="https://www.lionsgate.com/movies/wish-you-were-here" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Wish You Were Here</a>, the directorial debut of Julia Stiles starring Mena Massoud, Isabelle Fuhrman and Kelsey Grammer, which is out now through Lionsgate. She is a bicoastal actress who has appeared in series such as Law &amp; Order: SVU, iCarly and Big Time Rush and has roles in such movies as Nighthawks, opposite Chace Crawford, and Agent Game, starring Mel Gibson and Dermot Mulroney. Gabby was the star and lead producer of Baker’s Dozen, a romantic comedic mini-series that premiered on Amazon Prime, and currently is working on several other producing projects with Universal, Lionsgate, and several independent production companies. Gabby recently publicly launched her production company, Little Fishy Films, which has optioned the rights to several bestselling novels and scripts, where various projects are currently in development. Gabby’s mission is to unearth the amazing books and authors who are currently flying under the radar. (Photo by Emma Silke.)