logo
episode-header-image
Dec 2020
1h 14m

Episode 223: Alan Ball and Viggo Mortens...

Edith Bowman
About this episode
Christmas continues to come early on Soundtracking, as once again we have two guests for you instead of one.

First up, a bit of a legend in our mind, given that he scripted both American Beauty and Six Feet Under. Alan Ball has now written and directed a little gem of a movie in the shape of Uncle Frank, which you can watch on Amazon Prime. Starting Paul Bettany and Sophia Lillas, Uncle Frank tells the story of a gay man forced to confront his past on a road trip with his niece, and has all the wit and nuance of Alan's previous stellar work.

Then, perhaps even more impressively on a certain level, Edith is joined by Viggo Mortensen, who not only wrote and directed, but also starred in, and composed the score for, Falling - his first film behind the camera. A long time in the making, Falling sees Lance Henriksen play the homophobic Willis, who is forced to move in with his gay son when he starts to exhibit signs of dementia. Falling has a cinematic release, but you can also watch it at home. Head to modernfilms.com/falling to find out how.
Up next
Aug 18
535: Mark Hamill On The Life Of Chuck & Star Wars
We promised you a bonus, so here it is, as Mark Hamill joins Edith to discuss his role in The Life Of Chuck, and reminisce about Star Wars. Enjoy! 
23m 15s
Aug 18
534: Tom Hiddleston & Chiwetel Ejiofor Talk The Life Of Chuck
Our latest guests on Soundtracking are Tom Hiddleston and Chiwetel Ejiofor, who join us ahead of the release of the quite wonderful The Life Of Chuck. Based on a short story by Stephen King, it tells the story of 'everyman' Chuck Krantz, charting his life in reverse order, chroni ... Show More
20m 33s
Aug 15
533: Michael Pearce On The Music Of Echo Valley
From a waiting room at a railway station, Edith is joined by Michael Pearce. Michael is the director of the Apple TV + film, Echo Valley. Starring Julianne Moore and Sydney Sweeney, Echo Falls tells the story of a mother who comes to the aid of her daughter when she turns up in s ... Show More
37m 10s
Recommended Episodes
Feb 2021
Viggo Mortensen
Viggo Mortensen (Green Book, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Captain Fantastic) is an Oscar-nominated actor, writer and director. Viggo joins the Armchair Expert to discuss why it took him so long to finally direct a movie, his ability to revert back to speaking Spanish based on w ... Show More
1h 18m
Jun 2020
On a Zoom Call with Woody Allen
Woody Allen's new book, Apropos of Nothing, starts with a portrait of his father, a tough-guy World War One Navy veteran and onetime gunman in a firing squad. It's the first of a series of surprising, fascinating stories from a life that went from working-class Jewish Brooklyn in ... Show More
43m 7s
Mar 2021
Falling with Director Viggo Mortensen and Matt Ross (Ep. 288)
Director Viggo Mortensen discusses his new film, Falling, with fellow director Matt Ross in a spoiler-filled virtual Q&A. The film follows John, a gay man who lives with his partner and their adopted daughter in Southern California. When he is visited by his aging conservative fa ... Show More
52m 15s
Dec 2021
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang with Shane Black
As the writer of movies like Lethal Weapon, The Nice Guys, The Long Kiss Goodnight and Iron Man 3, Shane Black is a true screenwriting auteur, known for his scripts' pulse-racing action, quippy dialogue and genre-skewing surprises. At the heart of his stories are usually two odd- ... Show More
1h 18m
Dec 2018
Emilio Estevez Is Making Great Films, Doesn't Do Breakfast Club Reunions
By the time Emilio Estevez was 23, he'd starred in The Outsiders, Repo Man, The Breakfast Club, and St. Elmo’s Fire. As the son of Martin Sheen, he was Hollywood royalty, and as a member of the "brat pack" group of early-80s stars, he was a hot commodity. But he started turning d ... Show More
36m 50s
Aug 2023
Sean Astin | Viggo Mortensen
Sean Astin new nothing about 'Lord Of The Rings' when he accepted the role of Samwise Gamgee, and thought he was taking a role in 'The Phantom Tollbooth' (Originally aired November 8th, 2017). Viggo Mortensen, star and director of the film "Falling," once suffered a bout of verti ... Show More
20m 57s
Dec 2022
Moonstruck
The TMI gang pay tribute to one of Heigl’s favorite movies as the Cher-led romantic black comedy turns 35! You’ll learn about the rough-and-tumble Bronx playwright who penned the script, the genesis of the infamous “Snap out of it!” line, the fistfight that nearly broke out as th ... Show More
58m 31s
Aug 2020
Moonlight with Barry Jenkins
Adapted from an unpublished play by Tarell Alvin McCraney, Barry Jenkins’ Moonlight was a mesmerising three-part journey through the young adult life of Chiron, a boy grappling with his identity and sexuality, played by three different actors representing different stages of his ... Show More
1h 7m
Dec 2023
Julianne Moore - 'May December'
One of the most admired actresses of our or any time reflects on how a nomadic childhood led her to acting; the most important roles of her career, ranging from 'The Big Lebowski' to 'Far from Heaven' to 'Still Alice'; and her special relationship with filmmaker Todd Haynes, whic ... Show More
1h 7m
Sep 2023
The Great Escape (1963) and Rocky III (1982)
For the latest episode of the Film Stories podcast, a war movie, a boxing movie, and a few problems in the making of both. 1963's The Great Escape was a film that director John Sturges couldn't initially get off the ground, and he needed his success with The Magnificent Seven to ... Show More
56m 11s