Price Projection Room

The film world is a completely different universe than it was when Better off Dead came out in August 1985. "Savage" Steve Holland's film about a jilted nerd, skiing, and the foreign exchange student who saves him, is perhaps the quintessential cult teen film of the 80s.  “Those video stores just completely saved Better Off Dead,” Holland told Fast Company. “It was always out at any Blockbuster Video I walked into, and then I’d talk to the guys who worked there and they were like, ‘You know, people rent it and they don’t bring it back.’” Is this a case of hindsight isn't so Pretty in Pink, or does it stand some of the tests of time? Host Jonathan Schwartz is joined by Alex Ago and Aubrey Hicks. Twitter: @reelreviewusc, @AubreyHi, @jonHLYP Email: reel.review@usc.edu

Depending on who you talk to, The Godfather is either a story of an "aging patriarch of an organized crime dynasty transfers control of his clandestine empire to his reluctant son" or, the "greatest gangster film of all time." We discuss why the film is still watched ... and loved almost 50 years later. Listen as host Erroll Southers discusses the first of the trilogy, The Godfather, with Carla Della Gatta, Aubrey Hicks, and Jonathan Schwartz.  Twitter: @reelreviewusc, @esouthersHVE, @CarlaDellaGatta @AubreyHi, @jonHLYP  

We've got a special "Warriors" episode of Reel Review for you today! We got together Lt. Col. Olivia Nelson and two female Air Force ROTC Cadets to discuss the first (!) Marvel movie to center a female superhero: Captain Marvel.  Warning: Spoilers! Host Jonathan Schwartz is joined by Lt. Col. Olivia Nelson, Tiana Grow (First year, Health & Human Sciences major), and Natalie Smith (First year, Aerospace Engineering)  Twitter: @reelreviewusc, @jonHLYP  This podcast is brought to you by Price Video Services and USC Bedrosian Center, and continues ongoing efforts to bring policy and its impact into the public discourse and is produced by Aubrey Hicks and Jonathan Schwartz. Sound supervision by the Brothers Hedden.

From the mind the brought us Get Out, is the new film scaring audiences across the states. In Jordan Peele's latest film, Us, doppelgängers menace a family trying to enjoy their summer vacation. But ... as in Get Out, everything isn't quite that simple. What mirror is Peele holding up for us now? Warning: Spoilers! Host Erroll Southers is joined by Alex Ago, Aubrey Hicks, & Keith Nelson. Twitter: @reelreviewusc, @esouthersHVE, @AubreyHi This podcast is brought to you by Price Video Services and USC Bedrosian Center, and continues ongoing efforts to bring policy and its impact into the public discourse and is produced by Aubrey Hicks and Jonathan Schwartz. Sound supervision by the Brothers Hedden.

  Based on a true story, Fighting with My Family is a British comedy meets WWE. Paige is born into a wrestling family. When she and her brother get a chance to try out for WWE (and meet Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson) they are thrilled. Of course, there is a catch ... only Paige earns a spot. We're interested in how the story is translated to screen as well as the real complicated women portrayed. Host Erroll Southers is joined by Prof Ange-Marie Hancock Alfaro and Alex Ago. Twitter: @reelreviewusc, @esouthersHVE, @AngeMarieH This podcast is brought to you by Price Video Services and USC Bedrosian Center, and continues ongoing efforts to bring policy and its impact into the public discourse and is produced by Aubrey Hicks and Jonathan Schwartz. Sound supervision by the Brothers Hedden.

Reel Review, formerly known as the Price Projection Room, invites you to tune in for a third season with a fresh new design and social media presence: Twitter, Facebook, & Instagram, via the handle @reelreviewusc

October 2018 brought us RBG, the documentary about the Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Now we have On the Basis of Sex, a biopic starring Felicity Jones as this iconic leader in the fight for gender equality and justice under the law. The film is directed by Mimi Leder. The film focuses on the period between RBG's first year in law school and the first case she tries in court.  Does the film work to humanize the subject, or perhaps to dehumanize the men who continuously tried to demean her? Perhaps most striking is how quickly some of us have forgotten what it was like to live through this transitional period, and how long people have been pursuing equal protection and rights under the law.  Host Jonathan Schwartz is joined by Alex Ago, Carla Della Gatta, and David Warshofsky to discuss the film, opening today. While you might know most of RBG's story, beware of spoilers. For links and more, check out the showpage.

2016 brought us back to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in the prequel to the beloved books and movies: Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them. 6 fictional months and two real life years later, we return to in Yates' Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. Reviews have been decidedly mixed. What do our geeks think of the new addition to the Potterverse?  Voldemort-lite or complex look at the "Banality of Evil?" If you haven’t seen the movie, beware, this conversation has spoilers. Host Jonathan Schwartz is joined by Alex Ago and Aubrey Hicks. Find us on Twitter:   @BedrosianCenter, @AubreyHi, @jonHLYP, @USCCinema, @USCSDA, @USCPrice Showpage: http://bit.ly/pprbeasts

Rhymes for Young Ghouls, written and directed by Jeff Barnaby is set on the Red Crow Mi'g Maq reservation in 1976. It follows 15 year old Aila as she navigates growing up in a country which imposes taxes and violence upon those who wish to preserve heritage, language, and way of living. She must also face the violence & addiction within her family, within her own community. The children of the Crow have a common enemy. The sadistic truancy officer, Popper. Popper torments the children with physical and psychological violence if they remain "truant."  Rhymes is a heist film, a revenge film, a coming of age film, and possibly one of the most relevant for policy films we've discussed on the podcast.  If you haven't seen the movie, beware, this conversation has a ton of spoilers. We highly recommend watching - it's streaming on multiple platforms. Host Jonathan Schwartz is joined by Chris Finley and Aubrey Hicks. Find us on Twitter: @BedrosianCenter, @AubreyHi,  @NDNCinema, @jonHLYP, @USCPrice ---   This pod

As follow up to our discussion of the film, Wind River, we are joined by partners in the Native Women in Film & Television organization. Native Women in Film & Television is  a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting equal opportunities for American Indian & Indigenous women, encouraging the creative narrative by native women, exploring and empowering portrayals of women in all forms of global media, expanding empowerment initiatives for native women and girls, in the arts, media, social justice, civic engagement, economic empowerment, research, training and international relations. We discuss why some organizations supporting Native Women find their struggle portrayed in Taylor Sheridan’s film. Why it resonates with many native women and how it might support the #WhyWeWearRed, #TimesUp, and #MeToo online movements to recognize trauma affecting millions of women. If you haven't seen the movie, beware, this podcast has spoilers. Host Jonathan Schwartz is joined by Chris Finley, Joanelle Rome

Wind River, written and directed by Taylor Sheridan, is the story of Cory Lambert (Jeremy Renner), a wildlife officer who finds the body of an 18-year-old woman on an American Indian reservation in snowy Wyoming. Young FBI agent Jane Banner (Elizabeth Olsen) arrives to investigate. This Florida native must work with Lambert as a guide, to get to the bottom of why a young woman would run miles, barefoot, in the late night snow. Cory is also haunted by the death of his teen daughter just a few years prior to the opening of the film. He finds that must help Banner confront the violence young women face on the Wyoming reservation. If you haven't seen the movie, beware, this podcast has spoilers. Host Jonathan Schwartz is joined by Chris Finley, Aubrey Hicks, and David Washofsky. Find us on Twitter: @BedrosianCenter, @AubreyHi,  @NDNCinema, @USCSDA ‏ @USCCinema @jonHLYP For links and more, see the showpage. This podcast is part of a series on Indigenous films in partnership with the Red Nation Celebration Institut

For many indigenous people living in the US today, the past had been cut off from them. We Are Birds Director Albert Chacon discovered this history through the tradition of birdsinging – bird songs are the oral tradition of passing down the family’s story through song and dance. The old rituals designed to keep history and spirit of the family and tribe alive. “Ay, every generation, every man is a part of his past. He cannot escape it, but he may reform the old materials, make something new –“ – Rudolfo Anaya As Chacon discovered the traditions, he began talking with other birdsingers and discovered others in the same situation. There men and women were also finding out about their history through this tradition and building new ways to (re)create ritual and community meaning. We Are Birds is the result of interviews at powwows and other events on Southern California reservations. Here is our conversation with Chacon and several birdsingers in this documentary and you can watch the film on Vimeo or visit it’s

The latest remake of A Star is Born is, well … is getting mixed reviews. Some are rapturous (like this, this, or this and especially this) others not so much (for instance: this, this, or this).  Our panel discuss this latest version in the "there is always a possibility of getting discovered" American myths. This version stars Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga with Cooper also directing. It is the story of a musician who meets and falls for a young singer. He helps her find fame, as age and addiction send his own career into a downward spiral. Jonathan Schwartz fills in for host Erroll Southers and is joined by veteran panelists Alex Ago, Ange-Marie Hancock Alfaro, and Anita Dashiell-Sparks @BedrosianCenter, @AngeMarieH, @AlessandroAgo Email: bedrosian.center@usc.edu This podcast is brought to you by Price Video Services and USC Bedrosian Center, and continues ongoing efforts to bring policy and its impact into the public discourse. Sound editing by the Brothers Hedden.

We are thrilled to share this conversation about Powwow Highway with you! A. Martinez, Amanda Wyss, Joanelle Romero, from the film join host Jonathan Schwartz and USC Profs Ange-Marie Hancock Alfaro and Chris Finley in conversation about the making, legacy, and meaning of this cult classic. If you haven't seen it, be ware, there are a ton of spoilers. Powwow Highway is the story of two Native Americans, Philbert and Buddy (A. Martinez) who journey from Montana to Santa Fe to bail Buddy's sister Bonny (Joanelle Romero) out of jail. A classic road movie, Buddy and Philbert travel to Santa Fe by way of South Dakota and a few different Indian reservations as they go. Reaching Santa Fe the men find Bonny, her children, and her close friend Rabbit (Amanda Wyss). They travel the highways through a seemingly broken American Dream to the possibility of hope through friendship and family. @BedrosianCenter, @jonHLYP, @AngeMarieH, @_AmandaWyss, @ABoneMartinez, @NDNCinema,  @USCPrice This podcast is part of a series on In

Powwow Highway is the story of Philbert and Buddy who journey from Montana to Santa Fe to bail Buddy's sister Bonny out of jail. For many indigenous peoples in the Americas, life can be grim. Much has been taken from them. In Powwow Highway, we begin with a view of the failed American Dram with the Northern Cheyenne tribe of Lame Deer, Montana. Buddy Redbow is a Vietnam veteran and activist looking to subvert a land-grab. His acquaintance and possible friend, Philbert Bono seems simple minded but might just be a spiritual guide to the rageful Buddy. When Bonny is framed and incarcerated in Santa Fe, the two men take Philbert's beat up '64 Buick, his 'war pony,' on a road trip via a Powwow gathering in South Dakota, Buddy's life may just be transformed. If you haven't seen the movie, be ware, this podcast has spoilers. Host Jonathan Schwartz is joined by Chris Finley, Aubrey Hicks, and Lisa Schweitzer.   @BedrosianCenter, @AubreyHi, @drschweitzer, @NDNCinema , @USCPrice , @jonHLYP This podcast is part of a ser

Does the biopic about a 19th century French writer Colette bring her to life? This episode features a conversation on a film which seems to be of the moment. Gender dynamics, intellectual property, relationships ... history. Host Jonathan Schwartz is joined by podcast favorites Ange-Marie Hancock Alfaro, Anita Dashiell-Sparks, and Alex Ago. Let us know what you think of the film and our conversation at Facebook or Twitter. @BedrosianCenter, @AubreyHi, @AngeMarieH, @esouthersHVE, @jonHLYP, @USCPrice, @AlessandroAgo

Sorry to Bother You, written and directed by Boots Riley. The film follows a young Cassius (Cash) Green who joins an Oakland telemarketing company, adopting a white accent to thrive, propelling him up the ladder. He is faced with the dilemma of success and the ethics of what he's selling. The ensemble cast, the Oakland setting, the themes explored in this film make this one to talk about! Explore this nuanced film with us! Featuring host Erroll Southers and guests Ange-Marie Hancock Alfaro, Aubrey Hicks, and Jonathan Schwartz. Let us know what you think of the film and our conversation at Facebook or Twitter. @BedrosianCenter, @AubreyHi, @AngeMarieH, @esouthersHVE 

Sorry to Bother You, written and directed by Boots Riley. The film follows a young Cassius (Cash) Green who joins an Oakland telemarketing company, adopting a white accent to thrive, propelling him up the ladder. He is faced with the dilemma of success and the ethics of what he's selling. The ensemble cast, the Oakland setting, the themes explored in this film make this one to talk about! Explore this nuanced film with us! Featuring host Erroll Southers and guests Ange-Marie Hancock Alfaro, Aubrey Hicks, and Jonathan Schwartz. Let us know what you think of the film and our conversation at Facebook or Twitter. @BedrosianCenter, @AubreyHi, @AngeMarieH, @esouthersHVE 

Tully is the third collaboration of writer Diablo Cody and director Jason Reitman and its the story of motherhood. Charlize Theron plays expectant mother, Marlo. It is the birth of this third child that seems to push Marlo to a breaking point. While she seems to resent the gift of a night nanny from her wealthier brother, her exhaustion (and possibly a run-in with a college roommate) allows her to hire Tully (played by Mackenzie Davis) as a night nanny to help her sleep through the night. What does the film tell us about nostalgia, age, motherhood, parenting, and authenticity? Beware this podcast has spoilers! Featuring host Erroll Southers and guests Alex Ago, Ange-Marie Hancock Alfaro, and Lt. Col. Olivia Nelson. Let us know what you think of the film and our conversation at Facebook or Twitter. For links and more, visit the showpage.

The film follows a fictional hostage situation in Beirut, Lebanon at the height of the Lebanon Civil War. Our panel discusses the controversies surrounding the film including how Hollywood portrays the Middle East. Is it social commentary, an action thriller, or both? Listen now to find out how our all-star panel felt. Featuring host Erroll Southers and guests Lt. Col. Olivia Nelson, Jonathan Schwartz, and David Warshofsky. Let us know what you think of the film and our conversation at Facebook or Twitter. This podcast is sponsored by Price Video Services and USC Bedrosian Center, and continues ongoing efforts to bring policy and its impact into the public discourse. Special thanks to Dean Jack Knott, USC Price; Dean David Bridel, USC School of Dramatic Arts; and Dean Elizabeth Daley, USC Cinematic Arts for their support of this interdisciplinary conversation.  This podcast was produced by Aubrey Hicks and Jonathan Schwartz, recorded and mixed by The Brothers Hedden, Ryan & Corey Hedden.