The 22 Best Podcasts on Filmmaking

If you have a lot of downtime, and I think we all do right now, a podcast might be a great way to help pass it. There are so many great pods out there, how can you choose which ones are the best for you? I wanted to select some of my favorite filmmaking podcasts that would be perfect to entertain and inform you.

So let's go through the list of the twenty I selected.

What Are The 22 Best Podcasts on Film and Filmmaking?

1. Unspooled

Want to watch the AFI Top 100 films and dissect them? Unspooled features actor Paul Scheer, who is a lifelong movie buff but has admittedly seen very few of history's most celebrated classic films. On Unspooled, he teams-up with film critic Amy Nicholson to watch all 100 movies and talk about whether or not they really belong on the list.

2. How Did This Get Made?

Ever wonder how terrible movies happen? How Did This Get Made? is a podcast hosted by Paul Scheer, June Diane Raphael and Jason Mantzoukas. Each episode, which typically has a different guest star, features the deconstruction and mockery of outlandish and bad films from The Fast and Furious Franchise to Brink!

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

3. Scriptnotes

A-list screenwriters John August and Craig Mazin give advice on breaking stories, coming up with ideas, and navigating Hollywood. It's a wonderful discussion by and for people interested in screenwriting.

4. You Must Remember This

One of my favorite topics is film history, and no one digs deeper than critic Karina Longworth. Her podcast has been running for a while and covers deep dives into different eras and topics within Hollywood history.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

5. Blockbuster

A new obsession of mine, each season follows a different filmmaker's rise to prominence. This year they are covering James Cameron. Each episode is an audio drama with actors and they tell you about the specific events that led to the rise of the person.

6. The Plot Thickens

This one just started, but Turner Classic Movies curates this story of a filmmaker. Season one is about Peter Bogdanovich. Alongside host Ben Mankiewicz, "Peter looks back on his life, trying to make sense of the good and the bad, and reckon with his legacy in an unforgiving industry."

7. No Film School

8. The Q&A

In this interview series, Jeff Goldsmith talks to screenwriters and filmmakers alike about their creative process. He gets down to deep questions and always focuses on breaking in stories, which I think helped me find my footing when I moved here.

9. Filmspotting

It's over a dozen years old, and more than 600 episodes deep, Filmspotting hosts Josh Larsen and Adam Kempenaar, create cinephiles out of casual fans and make sure we always know what's going on in Hollywood. It's educational and inspirational. A must-listen for people who want to be here.

10. The Black List

Franklin Leonard and Kate Hagen of The Black List talk to filmmakers, dissect movies, and get to the heart of Hollywood. They speak to huge names like Spike Lee, Leysle Headland, and Cathy Yan. Hosts dig deep into what's going on inside the town and really focus in on how Hollywood is changing right now.

11. WTF

Hosted by Marc Maron, WTF offers an intimate look into a guest's life each week. Maron is an excellent talker, helping pull stories and factoids out of people we've never heard before. While not every guest is involved in filmmaking, it's a treasure to listen to week in and out.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

12. The Director's Cut

Brought to you by The Directors Guild of America, The Director's Cut brings you the behind-the-scenes stories of today's most talked-about films. Every episode features a new director interviewed by one of their peers, leading to revealing conversations about the grueling but rewarding process of bringing the most interesting stories to life.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

13. The Treatment

16. Rewatchables

Like a movie so much you've seen more than once? Well, Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, and Chris Ryan are in the same boat. This show has a ton of guests, like Quentin Tarantino, and assembles a long list of movies they love to watch over and over. And even gab about later.

17. The Big Picture

Another banger from The Ringer hosts Amanda Dobbins and Sean Fennessey in which they talk about the state of Hollywood today. They dig into the viewing numbers on Hamilton, talk with people like David Koepp, and dig into delays in the Academy Awards and other huge news stories of the year.

18. BingeMode

One of my favorite things to do is watching something all at once. Lucky for me, The Ringer's editor-in-chief Mallory Rubin and senior creative Jason Concepcion do too. Each season they pick something like Harry Potter, Star Wars, or even Game of Thrones, and watch it all at once. They dig into what happens in each chapter and make me laugh along the way.

19. Just Shoot It

Just Shoot It is a podcast on directing, filmmaking, and how to build a career in entertainment. Join hosts Matt Enlow and Oren Kaplan as they interview lots of exciting guests from every walk of life in the industry.

www.youtube.com

20. Indie Film Hustle

This is a show that really gets down to the nitty-gritty of what it takes to succeed in Hollywood. It profiles jobs, people, news, and really make you take notes as they speak. There is no sugar coating it. You get to hear all the hard lessons.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

21. The Call Sheet

Kris Tapley is one of the best interviewers out there. He gets at the heart of the project and always pulls interesting stories and emotions from them. Entering the second season now, the episodes cover directors, writers, composers, producers, and lots of other people within the industry.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

22. Team Deakins

Want to learn cinematography and filmmaking from Roger Deakins and his wife? Each week they chase a submitted question and go on a quest for the answrr...and who knows where they'll wind up.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

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