Switchblade Sisters

This week we are joined by the wonderful Jo Firestone. She’s a comedian, whose writing can be seen on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. You can see her in front of the camera as Sarah Connor, the doomsday prepping band teacher on Joe Pera Talks with You. Or you can hear her on Maximum Fun’s own Dr. Gameshow. But on this episode, she is here to talk about the magnificent Mars Attacks! She and April discuss the important things, like Lisa Marie’s “Sexy Alien” character, and how Jo used to want to work at Hooters. Plus, Jo talks about how a lack of funds on a project can foster a more creative environment. And, she explains the strange experience of running into The Backstreet Boys while they were dressed as chickens on The Tonight Show.

You can watch Rate The Cookie on Adult Swim now.

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If you haven’t seen Mars Attacks! – move it!

With April Wolfe and Jo Firestone.

Heather Buckley is a grand maester of film and horror. The first feature she produced, Jenn Wexler’s The Ranger, for Glass Eye Pix and Hood River Entertainment, premiered at SXSW and played numerous festivals on an international run before it was released in NYC and LA. Heather’s work as a film analyst and journalist spans over a decade, with bylines in Vulture, Dread Central, and Fangoria. Her background in SFX work includes: Circus of the Dead, Dead Still, and We Are Still Here. She is currently a Blu-Ray special features producer, creating documentaries for Kino Lorber, Lionsgate/Vestron, Arrow Films and Shout Factory releases, including John Carpenter's The Thing, Barton Fink, The Long Riders, Saw 10th Anniversary Reissue, and Army of Darkness.

The movie that Heather chose this week is a real doozy - Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer. Heather talks about how she believes it's one of the most important films ever made. She discusses how this film forces the audience to root for violence. She elaborates on the fact that this movie has no moral center, and how it's the audience's job to gauge morality. And she and April also discuss the controversy this film sparked upon release and why the movie was initially difficult to get a hold of.

You can see Heather's work all over the place. Plus, you can watch The Ranger on Shudder.

And if you haven't seen Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer yet, be careful.

With April Wolfe and Heather Buckley.

You can let us know what you think of Switchblade Sisters on Twitter or Facebook.

Or email us at [email protected].

Produced by Casey O'Brien and Laura Swisher for MaximumFun.org.

Mary Lambert is an Arkansas native and a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design. There she became enfolded in the music scene, and her experimental shorts led her to the world of music videos. In her early career, she directed some of the most iconic videos of the time. A short list of these includes Janet Jackson’s “Control” and “Nasty Boys,” Madonna’s “Borderline,” “Like a Virgin,” “Material Girl,” “La Isla Bonita,” and “Like a Prayer.” Other artists include Tom Tom Club, Whitney Houston, The Go-Gos, Sting, Annie Lennox, and Debbie Harry. From there, Lambert ventured into feature films with her debut narrative, Siesta, an adaptation of Patrice Chapman’s novel by Patricia Knop. After that film, Lambert went back to music videos until she got the call that Stephen King was adapting his book Pet Sematary. She got the big OK from King and Pet Sematary was a hit. Most recently Lambert directed episodes of Step Up: High Water, Arrow, and The Blacklist.

The movie that Mary chose to discuss is TOO scary. She chose Ari Aster's Hereditary. Mary gets mystical on us - she examines witches, spells, and the subconscious tokens in art that are felt and not spoken. Plus, she talks about working with actors that have very different approaches. She and April dissect the inner workings of a melodrama. They celebrate the performances in Hereditary, particularly Milly Shapiro and Toni Collette. And Mary reveals the difficulty in cutting something she loves out of one of her projects.

You can stream Pet Sematary now.

And if you haven't seen Hereditary yet, be careful.

With April Wolfe and Mary Lambert.

You can let us know what you think of Switchblade Sisters on Twitter or Facebook.

Or email us at [email protected].

Produced by Casey O'Brien and Laura Swisher for MaximumFun.org.

Chelsea Stardust has been a horror film fan since the age of 10. After working for comedy legends Ivan Reitman and Judd Apatow, Chelsea found her horror home at Blumhouse Productions, where she served as the executive assistant to Jason Blum for several years. Chelsea’s first feature film, the science fiction thriller All That We Destroy, was part of Blumhouse series 'Into The Dark' and is currently available on Hulu. Her second feature film, the horror comedy Satanic Panic, written by novelist Grady Hendrix, and produced by Fangoria and Cinestate, releases nationwide theatrically, on VOD and digital HD on September 6th.

The movie that Chelsea chose to discuss is near and dear to our hearts - Mary Harron's American Psycho. She and April go in deep on the making of the film - from the writing of the script by former Switchblade Sisters guest Guinevere Turner, to the studio's objection to the casting of Christian Bale. They dive into the film's portrayal of male vanity, the performance of Christian Bale as Patrick Bateman, and the difficult job of balancing horror and comedy in one movie. Plus they also discuss Chelsea's latest film Satanic Panic.

You can see Satanic Panic on September 6th.

And if you haven't seen American Psycho yet, go watch it!

With April Wolfe and Chelsea Stardust.

You can let us know what you think of Switchblade Sisters on Twitter or Facebook.

Or email us at [email protected].

Produced by Casey O'Brien and Laura Swisher. Edited by Jordan Kauwling for MaximumFun.org.

Kelli first got her big break in daytime TV, both as the evil adolescent Kimberly in Ryan's Hope and then as vengeful Tina in One Life to Live. Her film debut as the ‘Spirit Bunny’ Cindy Carr in Fast Times at Ridgemont High caught a lot of attention, but Kelli achieved her greatest enduring cult popularity with her delightful turn as the endearingly spunky Samantha in the science-fiction end-of-the-world Night of the Comet. She’s especially memorable as the sweet, killer-robot slayer Alison Parks in the entertaining romp, cult classic Chopping Mall, and as Jamie, a strong female survivor in The Zero Boys, as well as many other films.

The movie that Kelli has chosen to discuss is especially prescient because our host April Wolfe just happens to be writing the remake of the film. That's right, Kelli has chosen to discuss the 1974 classic, Black Christmas. She and April discuss Kelli's career in horror, and how Kelli takes great joy from the fact that horror has recently received the respect it has always deserved. She also talks about "embracing her crap" and coming to terms with the fact that she is most remembered for her cult and horror films. But she also elaborates on how honored she is by the support she receives from the fans of her work, and how meaningful that relationship is to her. Plus, she has a great story about how an off-the-cuff line she said while shooting a machine gun became one of Night of the Comet's most famous lines.

If you haven't seen any of Kelli's films, Night of the Comet is a great place to start.

And go watch Black Christmas too, while you're at it.

With April Wolfe and Kelli Maroney.

You can let us know what you think of Switchblade Sisters on Twitter or Facebook.

Or email us at [email protected].

Produced by Casey O'Brien and Laura Swisher for MaximumFun.org.