Maltin on Movies

If you're wondering why we've been revisiting so many programs instead of posting new interviews, there is a reason: Leonard did himself one heck of a mischief. But now he's back, and he and Jessie thought it was a good time to take stock of what's been going on in the worlds of movies and television.  That's the purpose of this catch-up episode and we hope you enjoy it. The occasional howling of our two dogs are included at n...

The meanest-looking man on screen, the star of Robert Rodriguez's Machete and its sequels, is perhaps better known Trejo's Cantina and other food emporiums have revealed the truth: despite his violent background he has reinvented himself as a good guy and plays that role extremely well, onscreen and off. (He also headlines a new streaming movie, Seven Cemeteries.) Leonard and Jessie enjoyed meeting him (via Zoom) and hearing the st...

He's been a familiar face on television for years, on the long-running comedy Wings and the current Chicago Med. He grew up in a show-business family so it shouldn't be surprising that he loves to perform. His range is limitless and his credits attest to that: everything from Mel Brooks' stage musical The Producers to the TV adaptation of Stephen King's The Shining. He and Leonard enjoy exchanging old show-busi...

Dan is what Hollywood used to call a multi-hyphenate. He's an actor (with an Emmy to prove it), producer, director, and writer, and successful in each arena. As Lisa Kudrow's longtime partner he produced her forward-thinking web series Web Therapy as well as the savvy sitcom The Comeback. Most recently he worked on the hilarious comedy series Hacks and Mid-Century Modern. He shares some of his hard-earned wisdom with Leonard and Je...

As diehard fans of Tucker and Dale vs. Evil, Leonard and Jessie are always rooting for writer-director Eli Craig, whose latest blood-stained outing is called Clown in a Cornfield. It's very different in tone, and its satiric point is muted until the climax. You can see it now in theaters. We also spoke to Eli about his unusual upbringing, living mostly with his brother and dad in Oregon, but casting an eye on the fight for success ...

As the longtime senior editor of Los Angeles magazine, Chris Nichols has accumulated more knowledge about this city than anyone else we know. As an author and frequent tour guide, he loves sharing his discoveries, which is why his newest book BowlaRama (Angel City Press, written with Adriene Biondo) is so much fun. Leonard and Jessie enjoy diving into the fad-like growth of bowling alleys in the Baby Boom y...

Avy Kaufman's name should be familiar to anyone who reads credits, as we do. She has cast scores of films and television series, from The Ice Storm to Succession, and launched many a career along the way. You can hear the pride in her voice when she recounts how she brought young Haley Joel Osment to meet the star and director of The Sixth Sense. Recent credits include some of the most talked-about television s...

Last year, Leonard and Jessie got a rare opportunity to interview Frank Oz at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas before a live audience. His alter egos are world-renowned, but Leonard and Jessie didn't focus on Miss Piggy or Yoda in this conversation. The main topic was directing movies, which Oz has done so well for so many years: The Muppets Take Manhattan, Little Shop of Horrors, In & Out, Dirty Rotten ...

He's an author, film buff, publicist, and now the host of a web series called Locationland that brings us to the spots around Los Angeles where memorable movies were shot—fromGrease to Plan 9 From Outer Space. Harry is a lifelong cinephile lover who first made his mark writing about the worst movies of all time, which led to the Golden Turkey Awards—now reincarnated as the Razzies. He and Leonard shared the same career-defining boo...