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The Wim Wenders Cheat Sheet

Want to become an instant expert in our filmmaker of the month without committing yourself to an entire filmography? Then you need the Hell Is For Hyphenates Cheat Sheet: we program you a double feature that will not only make for a great evening's viewing, but will bring you suitably up-to-speed before our next episode landsâ€¦

WINGS OF DESIRE (1987) and BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB (1999)

For a filmmaker with so many poetic, poignant films in his canon, Wim Wenders hit his apotheosis with the wistful Wings of Desire, in which angels plaintively and invisibly observe humanity, moving imperceptibly through private and public spaces, overhearing thoughts and watching private moments. It's one of those true modern classic, a film you want to swim in forever. But Wenders isn't just a master dramatist; he's also an accomplished documentarian. His best-known documentary is easily Buena Vista Social Club, the film that exploded into cinemas at the turn of the century and ensured that no subsequent story of Cuba would fail to be accompanied by the group's iconic â€œChan Chanâ€. But Wenders applies the same gentle touch to Buena Vista that he did to Wings, observing the musicians like one of his trenchcoated angels observing the citizens of Berlin. These films are a world apart, stylistically and geographically, but together will give you a good primer on what makes Wenders such an exciting and beloved filmmaker.

Substitutions: If you can't get or have already seen Wings of Desire, seek out Paris, Texas (1984). Widely considered the other filmography-defining in the Wenders canon, the film is the stark and beautiful culmination of the director's preoccupation with the narrative and character propulsions afforded by the conceit of a road trip. If you can't get or have already seen Buena Vista Social Club, get your hands on The Salt of the Earth (2014). For a director who loves observing the observers, this may as well have been a film about himself. Brazilian photographer SebastiÃ£o Salgado is the subject, and along with Salgado's son Juliano, Wenders tells a captivating, eminently rewatchable story about a man who has spent his life chronicling the extraordinary world of humanity and nature.

The Hidden Gem: Want to see something off the beaten path, a title rarely mentioned when people talk about the films of Wim Wenders? Then you should track down A Trick of the Light (1995). Few filmographies are as peppered with as many hidden gems as this one, so it was difficult to settle on just one. But Trick, also known as Brothers Skladanowsky, is one of the more delightfully idiosyncratic documentaries, blending real footage with staged recreations in a way that never fails to surprise and delight. Many countries have a folkloric â€œwe actually invented cinema firstâ€ history, and this story of the German brothers who were narrowly beaten to the moving image finish line by France's LumiÃ¨res is one every cinephile needs to see.

The next episode of Hell Is For Hyphenates, featuring Scott Derrickson talking the films of Wim Wenders, will be released on 31 October 2018.

Our Next Hyphenate Scott Derrickson

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Director, writer, and Hi4H October 2018 guest host Scott Derrickson

We've been fans of Scott Derrickson's work for over a decade now. It was 2005's The Exorcism of Emily Rose that put him on the map, the creeping slow-burn horror film that merged the courtroom drama with the exorcism sub-genre in all the right ways.

Since then, Scott has gone on to direct the science fiction remake The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008), the bone-chilling Sinister (2012), the horror mystery Deliver Us From Evil (2014), and Marvel's reality-bending superhero sorcery origin story Doctor Strange (2016).

It's a pretty impressive CV, but it's about to get all the more impressive as he prepares for his greatest role to date: that of Hell Is For Hyphenates guest host!

So which filmmaker has he chosen to talk about on the show?

None other than Wim Wenders!

If Wenders isn't one of your favourite directors, he certainly will be by the time we're done. For someone with such a distinct style, Wenders was nevertheless impossible to pin down: he worked in both fiction and documentary, worked in numerous languages, in numerous countries, in numerous genres.

As a dramatic director, he's best known for the American drama classic Paris, Texas and the German romantic fantasy Wings of Desire; as a documentarian, he's best known for Buena Vista Social Club and Pina. And behind those top-lined classics are works that would be the calling cards of most other filmmakers: films like The Goalkeeper's Fear of the Penalty, Alice in the Cities, The Wrong Move, Kings of the Road, The American Friend, The State of Things.

If you've seen all of his films, you'll know what a treat this episode will be. If you've only seen the big ones, you're about to discover the delights that reside in the corners of his filmography. And if you haven't seen any at all, then we envy you because you get to experience all of these films for the first time. Any which way you slice it, this episode is going to be a must-listen.

But what is it about the films that had such an effect on Scott? And what is the connection between these two men that puts Scott Derrickson in a unique position to talk about Wim Wenders?

Join us on October 31 when we find out!

Our next filmmaker of the month, Wim Wenders

McLean On Scott

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100 episodes! Not counting the pilot, which we called episode 00 because it was a guest-free test run. Still, this was episode 100 proper, and we had to find a suitable way to celebrate the occasion. So we invited Greg McLean, the writer/director of one of the most influential Australian films of all time, Wolf Creek, to join us on stage at the Melbourne International Film Festival.

Greg opted to talk about the great Ridley Scott, director of Alien, Blade Runner, Thelma & Louise, Gladiator, The Martian, and a heap more beside. Greg's story of â€œseeingâ€ Alien before he saw it is as great an origin story as they come. Talking all things Ridley Scott in front of a live audience with Greg was a thrill, and we reckon a pretty solid way to mark the milestone.

Long-time listeners may also recognise a couple of familiar voices at the top of the show, two interlopers who weren't there for the live recording, but nevertheless had to be included. When Paul revealed he was going to be in London at roughly the same time we were on stage in Melbourne, we decided we needed a reunion of departed Hi4H hosts, so set him up So up for a meeting/recording. Based on what they sent back, they had far too much fun doing something we intended to be work. Honestly, some people.

The epic Nelson/Mayer meeting, inexplicably masking their face with what looks like Totoro slippers

A huge thanks to Greg, and to Thomas Caldwell and everyone at the Melbourne International Film Festival, as well as the Australian Centre for the Moving Image. A lot of people came together to make this happen, and we're grateful to every single one of you.

The Ridley Scott Cheat Sheet

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ALIEN (1979) and PROMETHEUS (2012)

There aren't many filmmakers who have provided us with such perfect before and after shots. Sure, Hitchcock did two versions of The Man Who Knew Too Much and Michael Haneke remade his own Funny Games, but these films weren't quite the career bookends that Ridley's duelling Alien films are. His second feature, Alien, remains one of cinema's most ensuring masterclasses in How To Get Everything Perfectly Right. Character, tension, dialogue, horror, pacingâ€¦ no element has been shortchanged in favour of any other, and it all seems so damn effortless, like an observational documentary gone awry. Even after decades of influence and numerous pretenders, its impact remains remarkably intact. So when Scott returned to the universe for prequel Prometheus, he tried to recreate the feeling of a clean slate. The film was not promoted as an Alien prequel, but rather its own fresh thing, with familiar images slowly cluing the audience in as the film progressed. Prometheus has its defenders and its detractors, but no matter of your feelings for it, there's no better way to compare the tastes, interests, sensibilities and evolution of a filmmaker than by watching him make essentially the same film at the start of his career and then again at the end.

Substitutions: If you can't get or have already seen Alien, seek out Blade Runner (1982). If this film has somehow managed to elude you, then use our show as an excuse to correct that grave error. There are numerous editions, and good arguments for each one, but if you're after guidance then you can't go wrong with the 1991 â€œDirector's Cutâ€. If you can't get or have already seen Prometheus, get your hands on All the Money in the World (2017) (and you thought we were going to say Alien: Covenant, right?). If you've been disillusioned by some of Ridley's recent films and think his best work is behind him, then prepare to be shaken by the sheer energy, pace and confidence behind the direction of this brilliant work.

The Hidden Gem: Want to see something off the beaten path, a title rarely mentioned when people talk about the films of Ridley Scott? Then you should track down The Duellists (1977). It's weird that Scott's lush, epic debut feature should have fallen into the cracks of semi-obscurity, but when your subsequent films alter pop culture forever, a demotion is understandable. Nevertheless, Scott's first film is a confident, stunning work of tension, with every shot an oil painting. Do not miss this one.

The 100^th episode of Hell Is For Hyphenates, featuring Greg McLean talking the films of Ridley Scott, will be released on 30 September 2018.

Reid On Hughes

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They were three partial strangers, with some things in common, meeting collectively for the first time. A brain, a beauty, a jock, a rebel and a recluse. And that was just Daina. Before the day was over, they broke the rules. Bared their souls. Recorded a podcast. And touched each other (metaphorically) in a way they never dreamed possible.

We've been fans of Daina Reid for a long time - first for her on-screen work as in the likes of Jimeoin, Full Frontal and The Micallef Program, and more recently as one of our most proficient directors. Now that the rest of the world has discovered her talents (she directed episodes 11 and 12 of The Handmaid's Tale season two), we were incredibly lucky to get some time with her to talk about the films of John Hughes.

There are so many versions of Hughes: the National Lampoon writer, the hitmaker behind Home Alone, the nuclear-family-on-holiday screenwriter of Vacation and The Great Outdoors, and the director of the definitive 1980s teen comedy-dramas. The iconography of his films still resonate, but how do the films themselves hold up?

Before we talk to Daina about her career and the career of Hughes, we take a break from the monthly new releases and look at some of the films we caught at the Melbourne International Film Festival. A number of filmmakers we've covered previously on the show had new works screening at the fest, so we thought we'd catch up on Terry Gilliam's The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, Gus Van Sant's Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far On Foot, Guy Maddin's (and Evan & Galen Johnson's) The Green Fog and Accidence, and Asghar Farhadi's Everybody Knows.

The John Hughes Cheat Sheet

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THE BREAKFAST CLUB (1985) and PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES (1987)

If you get right down to it, there are primarily two types of John Hughes films. The first is the type he's best known for: the teen angst comedy. Adolescent desires and frustrations are depicted through low-fi high concepts: what if you family forgot your 16^th birthday? How much life could you live if you skipped school for a day? What if five kids with nothing in common had to spend a Saturday in detention together? The Breakfast Club is perhaps the ultimate Hughes film: it's fully committed to its elevator pitch, it digs into uncomfortable emotional territory, it's funny as hell, and it features Molly Ringwald. It's essentially all the Hughes teen films smashed into one, which is why we've programmed it as your first film of the evening. Then we follow it up with that other perennial John Hughes film: the frustrated family man who just wants to do right by his family. From Mr Mom to She's Having a Baby to the Vacation series, Hughes was consumed with how life and circumstance conspire to thwart the best-intentioned husband and dad. With Planes, Trains and Automobiles, he turned his successful Vacation formula on its head, this time featuring a man trying to escape the road to return to his family. Whether troubled teen or desperate dad, these two films should give you a good idea of what drove Hughes. Quite literally in the case of Planes, Trains.

Substitutions: If you can't get or have already seen The Breakfast Club, seek out Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986). It's more broadly comic than his other teen films, but you still get a fair bit of emotional heft from Cameron's paternal woes. And the fantasy concept of skiving off school and having the greatest day of your life is one that remains deeply appealing regardless of your age. If you can't get or have already seen Planes, Trains and Automobiles, get your hands on National Lampoon's Vacation (1989). The story of an eager dad trying to give his family the best holiday possible was such a huge hit, it spawned three sequels, a Superbowl ad, an in-canon reboot, and a made-for-TV spinoff. (Are you one of the seven people who has seen Cousin Eddie's Island Adventure? Let us know in the comments!)

The Hidden Gem: Want to see something off the beaten path, a title rarely mentioned when people talk about the films of John Hughes? Then you should track down Career Opportunities (1991). Sure, it doesn't quite fit the remit of â€œgemâ€, but it certainly qualifies as â€œhiddenâ€. A more grown-up version of Home Alone, the film focuses on an ambitious but lazy young man who becomes the overnight custodian of a department store on what ends up being the most fateful of nights. It's a fun watch, but still more a curiosity than anything else: an example of how the formula that made Home Alone work can so easily not work if some of the elements are tweaked too far.

The next episode of Hell Is For Hyphenates, featuring Daina Reid talking the films of John Hughes, will be released on 31 August 2018.

Our Next Hyphenate Daina Reid

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Director, performer and Hi4H August 2018 guest host Daina Reid

It's fun to watch people who only know Eric Bana only as Serious Dramatic Actor discover his roots in Aussie TV sketch comedy - but for our money, it's a less incredulous career leap than the one taken by Bana's Full Frontal co-star, Daina Reid. Of course, the use of â€œincredulousâ€ here should be read as a compliment of the highest order.

After being one of Australia’s funniest performers on shows such as Jimeoin, Full Frontal and The Micallef Program, Daina pivoted into one of our most prolific directors of television both comedic and dramatic, helming episodes of The Secret Life of Us, MDA, All Saints, Very Small Business, City Homicide, Rush, Nowhere Boys, Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries, Offspring, The Wrong Girl, The Doctor Blake Mysteries and Romper Stomper. She directed the high-profile TV movies Paper Giants: The Birth of Cleo, Paper Giants: Magazine Wars, Howzat! Kerry Packer's War, Never Tear Us Apart: The Untold Story of INXS, The Secret River, and the feature film I Love You Too, starring Brendan Cowell, Yvonne Strahovski, Peter Helliar, Megan Gale, and Peter Dinklage.

This year, she leapt into the world of international event television, directing two episodes of the acclaimed series The Handmaid's Tale.

But none of that compares to her greatest role to date: Roger Explosion's Ethel! Sorry, that should be: Hell Is For Hyphenates guest host! But which filmmaker has she chosen to talk about on the show?

None other than John Hughes!

Hughes was the voice of teen comedies in the 1980s. He either wrote or wrote and directed beloved works such as Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller's Day Off and Some Kind of Wonderful. He wrote some of National Lampoon's earliest comedies Vacation, European Vacation and Christmas Vacation, and would go on to create classics such as Planes, Trains and Automobiles, Uncle Buck, and Home Alone.

His fingerprints remain smeared over so much of modern pop culture, with countless lines and scenes still quoted endlessly in modern works.

But what is it about his filmmaking that so enduring? And most importantly, what kind of effect did his works have on Daina?

Join us on August 31 when we find out!

Our next filmmaker of the month, John Hughes

Chen On Ephron

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What is the secret formula that made Nora Ephron's romantic comedies so much better than all the others? Who are the two Nora avatars that appear throughout her films? How did she commit one of the greatest trolls in history, one that wouldn't be apparent for thirty years?

To find out, we talk to the amazing Corrie Chen, an acclaimed award-winning writer/director of film and television. A trip to the cinema in the early '90s made Corrie a confirmed Nora Ephron fan, and laid the groundwork for both a career in filmmaking and a guest spot on Hell Is For Hyphenates, but we'll let you decide which of those two things is the more prestigious.

Before that, we take Ephron's famous phrase â€œeverything is copyâ€, as coined by her mother Phoebe, and ask Corrie how she interprets that idea, and how she applies it to her own work. It's a fascinating discussion that nevertheless ends on the phrase â€œfully-erect echidnaâ€. It's the journey, not the destination.

And before that, Rochelle and Lee look back at some of the key new releases of the month, including Haifaa al-Mansou's gothic biopic Mary Shelley, Ruth Bader Ginsburg documentary RBG, Kiwi comedy The Breaker Upperers, and William Friedkin's exorcism doco The Devil and Father Amorth. It's an eclectic mix of films, and an eclectic mix of quality.

If you haven't heard: you can come watch us record Hell Is For Hyphenates episode #100 live at the Melbourne International Film Festival! The milestone episode will take place at 2pm on August 11^th, at ACMI's The Cube in Federation Square. We'll be talking to Wolf Creek director about the films and career of Ridley Scott. Tickets are free, but make sure you book through the MIFF website!

Further reading:

If you want to see the Futurama episode that Ruth Bader Ginsburg quote came from, check out the episode The Cryonic Woman. It is exceedingly funny, and is technically the last episode of season two, but sometimes is counted as part of season three. Look, you've got the title, you can hunt it down yourself.
In case you need a fact check on why we call William Friedkin a confirmed Hi4H listener, here's his tweet. (Hey, we didn't say he listened to every episode.)
And you can listen back to our William Friedkin episode, featuring screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker, here.
Everything Is Copy is a bit hard to track down, but it's absolutely worth the effort. Australian listeners can order a region 1 DVD from our newly-opened Amazon store, or from the US Barnes and Noble, or from wherever you source your overseas DVDs. And if any local distributors want to pick up this title, we wouldn't be upset.
There's a treasure trove of Corrie's short films that you can watch right now, including Happy Country, the inspired-by-real-events road trip comedy she talks about on the show.
This is our second time talking Sleepless in Seattle, partly because it's so good, but mostly because auteur theory isn't an exclusive beast, so listen back to our Rob Reiner episode, featuring Chaser member Chris Taylor, here.
â€œI'll cut this.â€ We did not cut this. If you want to see the first page of that MAD Magazine parody Senseless In Seattle, some mysterious hero has put it up on Pinterest.
Patrizia von Brandenstein (not, uh, â€œPatricia van Brandensteinâ€) is the production designer behind Amadeus, Man on the Moon, The Untouchables, Sneakers, and (coincidentally) Ephron's own Silkwood, and you can read a bit more about her here.
Speaking of Carl Bernstein and All the President's Men, you can listen back to last month's show on Alan J Pakula, featuring filmmaker Alex Ross Perry, here.
Here's a Washington Post report of Ephron and Bernstein's divorce from June 1985.
This Is My Life was actually young Gaby Hoffman's third screen role after Field of Dreams (1989) and Uncle Buck (1989). And there's a pretty good chance you'll see us hear us talking about one of those titles next monthâ€¦
Delia hints at the familial discomfort in making Hanging Up in a 2013 interview with Vanity Fair.
The Post producer Amy Pascal discusses the Nora Ephron dedication with Screen Daily.
Here's an article on Good Girls Revolt from Vanity Fair, the dramatised Amazon series about the discrimination lawsuit filed against Newsweek. Nora Ephron is a character in the show, and she's played by Grace Gummer. Who is Meryl Streep's daughter. Did we just blow your mind or what?

Outro music: Psycho Killer by Talking Heads from Julie & Julia

The latest episode of Hell Is For Hyphenates, featuring Corrie Chen talking the films of Nora Ephron, can be heard on Stitcher Smart Radio, subscribed to on iTunes, or downloaded/streamed directly from our website.

The Nora Ephron Cheat Sheet

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HEARTBURN (1986) and SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE (1993)

If you want to really get to know Nora Ephron as both a writer and a person, you've got to kick off your evening with Heartburn. Directed by Mike Nichols and starring Meryl Streep & Jack Nicholson, Ephron based Heartburn on her own autobiographical novel about her marriage to Carl Bernstein. With Ephron as both storyteller and subject, there are few works as revealing or insightful as this gem of a film. Follow it up with Sleepless In Seattle, her second film as director and eighth film as writer. You've probably seen Sleepless, but look, it can't hurt to see it again. A flawlessly-constructed romcom that holds up despite the countless pretenders that have since diluted the genre into meaningless pap, Sleepless is masterful at both the rom and the com aspects, packed with brilliant one-liners, interesting characters, and humans behaving like humans instead of cardboard tropes. If you're wondering why Ephron is so highly regarded, this pair of films will put that question to rest.

Substitutions: If you can't get or have already seen Heartburn, seek out This Is My Life (1992). Ephron's directorial debut wasn't as autobiographical as Heartburn, but it definitely drew on her experiences as a woman struggling to hit it big in the entertainment world as she raises a couple of kids alone. And the physical similarities between Ephron and star Julie Kavner can't be ignored. If you can't get or have already seen Sleepless In Seattle, get your hands on When Harry Met Sally (1989). Directed by Rob Reiner (whom Ephron would later cast in Sleepless and Mixed Nuts), this is the all-time classic of the genre. Funny and engaging, satisfying yet unpredictable, this is one of Ephron's best scripts, and would play a big role in setting the tone of her directorial career.

The Hidden Gem: Want to see something off the beaten path, a title rarely mentioned when people talk about the films of Nora Ephron? Then you should track down Perfect Gentlemen (1978). This is the film that started it all. Her first produced film was a made-for-TV movie that features Lauren Bacall, Ruth Gordon, Sandy Dennis and Lisa Pelikan as a group of women who meet after visiting their husbands in prison, and decide to band together and rob a bank. It's a bit hard to track down (a low-res but watchable version may possibly be findable online if you cast around a bit), but it's absolutely worth it.

The next episode of Hell Is For Hyphenates, featuring Corrie Chen talking the films of Nora Ephron, will be released on 31 July 2018.

Our Next Hyphenate Corrie Chen

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Writer, director and Hi4H July 2018 guest host Corrie Chen

If you've been paying close attention to Australia screen culture, you know who Corrie Chen is. And if you haven't, please remember that you heard about her here first so we can bask in her current and future reflected glory.

Corrie's science fiction short film Reg Makes Contact received an AACTA nomination for Best Short Short Fiction, and an Australian Directors Guild nomination for Best Direction in a Short Film. She was then selected to shadow directors on the Emmy award-winning Nowhere Boys, the AACTA award-winning mini-series Peter Allen, and the final season of the cult hit The Leftovers.

She was the director and executive producer on the acclaimed SBS On Demand series Homecoming Queens, and has directed episodes of Sisters for Network Ten and Mustang FC for the ABC. She is currently co-writing her first feature film Empty Empire, set in China's famed â€œghost citiesâ€. And if you can believe it, we actually left a heap of stuff out of this bio.

But all of those achievements and accolades are about to fade into the background of Corrie's CV as her new exciting role takes centre stage: that of Hell Is For Hyphenates guest host!

Which filmmaker has Corrie selected to discuss on the show?

None other than Nora Ephron!

To convey the full force of Nora Ephron's work would require more space than we have here. She interned in JFK's White House, took Newsweek to court for sexual discrimination, and wrote for Monocle, Esquire, the New York Post and Cosmopolitan. She eventually turned her eye to film, receiving multiple Oscar nominations for her screenplays.

She wrote the biographical drama Silkwood, the autobiographical drama Heartburn, and the ur-romcom When Harry Met Sally. As director, she debuted with the stand-up comic drama This Is My Life, followed it up with the classic Sleepless In Seattle, and went on to direct box office hits including Michael, You've Got Mail and Julie & Julia.

Almost every romantic comedy of the last thirty years has been trying to replicate what Ephron did, and almost every one of them has barely come close. So how did Ephron land on a winning formula? What hidden gems reside in the recesses of her filmography? And what is it about Ephron's films that so inspires Corrie?

Join us on July 31 when we find out!