Cinema Junkie

Satisfy your celluloid addiction and mainline film 24/7 with Cinema Junkie’s Beth Accomando. So if you need a film fix, want to hear what filmmakers have to say about their work, feel like taking a deep dive into a genre, or just want to know what's worth seeing this weekend, then you've come to the right place. You can also find Beth's coverage of other arts and culture events here.
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2025 Eisners: Highlights and backstage
Comic-Con Museum celebrates Mexico's lucha libre in new exhibit

Go behind the scenes of Primal Pro Wrestling School

Highlights from the Lucas Museum Panel
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In this two-part Cinema Junkie podcast I look to the female perspective in film. In this first part I speak with Heidi Honeycutt, director of programming for Etheria Film Night. Founded in 2014, Etheria Film Night is a showcase of horror, science fiction, fantasy, action, thriller, and dark comedy directed by women and for an audience that includes producers, managers, showrunners, distributors, and genre fans. Etheria says its goal is to put the women directors who want to make genre films and TV in front of the people who want to hire them. Etheria is hosted by American Cinematheque and takes place at its Egyptian Theater.
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African Americans and Hollywood have a long, troubled, and complicated past. I am going to explore that history with Donald Bogle author of the new book "Hollywood Black: The Stars, the Films, the Filmmakers" from Turner Classic Movies. His comprehensive exploration begins in the silent era and wraps up with 2018's "Black Panther." Bogle has been writing about blacks in Hollywood and on screen for decades and over a half dozen books.
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Shakespeare has been dead for four centuries but this summer there is a film about his life called "All is True," an adaptation of the book "Ophelia" that looks at "Hamlet" from Ophelia's point of view, and a pair of his plays and a lecture about his work at the Old Globe Theatre. Cinema Junkie looks to the two new films, and then speaks with Globe artistic director and Shakespeare scholar Barry Edelstein
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"John Wick: Chapter 3 -- Parabellum" finally arrives and stuntman-turned-director Chad Stahelski delivers an exhausting, exhilarating film. I have a review of the new film and have a 2017 interview with Stahelski where he explains exactly why John Wick raises the bar on action films. And learn the difference between having a star do action versus doing stunts.
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J.R.R. Tolkien famously wrote "The Hobbit" and "Lord of the Rings" books that inspired Peter Jackson's recent films. Now a film biography about the author hits theaters. I'll discuss the allure of Tolkien's fellowship, have a review of the biopic "Tolkien" and speak with the film's director Dome Karukoski about making connections between the man and his books.
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Reel Science returns with the San Diego Natural History Museum and Digital Gym Cinema pairing sci-fi films with real scientists to put the movie science into a broader context. Whether you want preview of the film series or if you can't make the films but want to watch sci-fi films with some questions to ask you'll want to hear entomologist Michael Wall and cognitive scientist Eric Leonardis dissect "Damnation Alley" and David Cronenberg's "The Fly."
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I may hate the Academy for some of its Oscar choices but I have nothing but praise for the work it does to preserve film history. I speak with Josef Lindner, the preservation officer at the Academy Film Archive about the challenges of preserving and restoring films. As an example we discuss the pre-Code comedy naughtily titled Cock of the Air.
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In part one of my look at the 10th Annual TCM Classic Film Festival I spoke with TCM Film Festival programmer Charles Tabesh. Now for part two, I speak with Fox archivist Schawn Belston about the studio's past, future, and exactly what it is an archivist does. He also discusses some of the strange places he has discovered film elements.
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Visitors can get closer to wildlife than ever, but the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance's impact goes far beyond the savanna.
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Pop culture icons Peaches Christ and Mink Stole share the story behind their decades-long friendship, their love of John Waters and the impact of cult films on their careers and lives.
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This Indian film celebrates the scrappy determination of small-town filmmakers chasing their Bollywood dreams.
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Coop's West Texas BBQ in Lemon Grove nearly shut down, but owner Bradrick Cooper's new game plan kept his rare brick ovens fired up — and the brisket smoking.
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The new musical explores the complex friendship between the president and the famed abolitionist. We spoke with co-lyricist and co-choreographer Daniel J. Watts about the creative process behind the production.
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The 14th annual Oceanside International Film Festival showcases diverse films, from environmental documentaries to star-studded shorts, all embracing unique stories and values.
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The annual celebration of Black comic creators returns to Balboa Park for its seventh year.
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It may look like a drag queen threw up in there, but "nobody leaves unhappy" from the drag palace on El Cajon Boulevard.
Stripper Energy just received an Emmy for Journalistic Enterprise, you can watch the six-part video podcast now.