We've got a truly fascinating conversation on this week's episode with 'Dirty John' showrunner Alexandra Cunningham. Her new show is based upon the wildly popular LA Times true crime podcast of the same name. It deals with deception, seduction, and intrigue. These are all themes found in the film that Alexandra chose to discuss, the 1945 technicolor noir classic Leave Her to Heaven. As 'Dirty John' deals with the mind of a manipulative conman, Alexandra has become somewhat of an expert on the mindset of villains. And she has some enlightening words on Gene Tierney's coldhearted Ellen in Leave Her to Heaven. Alex comes from a playwriting background and explains how she learned to show rather than to tell. April and she dissect the famous drowning scene in the film. And Alex has a fascinating story about working for a suicide hotline, and reveals how sometimes the scariest things happen in the light of day.

Check out Dirty John on Bravo.

And if you haven't seen it yet, go watch Leave Her to Heaven.

With April Wolfe with Alexandra Cunningham.

You can let us know what you think of Switchblade Sisters at @SwitchbladePod on Twitter. Or email us at switchbladesisters@maximumfun.org
Produced by Casey O'Brien and Laura Swisher for MaximumFun.org.

Listening to this episode will get you as pumped as Rocky running up all those steps. And you don't even need to drink raw eggs! This episode's got some PUNCH to it. That's right, we're talking Creed II and we're joined by Philly's own CJ Sullivan. Alonso announces that he is officially in full on Christmas mode. April is excited about Alicia Malone's new book called The Female Gaze (which April also contributed to). It's Ricky's Mom's birthday and he's sending her a cake. And CJ is just happy that Brigitte Nielsen is back in our lives with her appearance in Creed II. We answer a call from the "Who Shotline" about film genres that we don't care about. We get another infusion of The El Mero Mero de Navidad Christmas Minute. And of course, staff picks.

In news, Christopher McQuarrie wants the Oscars to introduce an award for stunts, Julie Andrews is a giant fish monster, and we discuss the careers of Nicolas Roeg and Bernardo Bertolucci .

Weekly Movie Recommendations:

Ricky - McCabe & Mrs. Miller
Alonso - Cola de Mono
April - Volcano
CJ - Mississippi Grind

PLUS, we have two Spotify playlists. One is for Movie Soundtracks and the other is for Movie Scores. Check 'em out!

Next week we're discussing Green Book with Holly Walker .

With CJ Sullivan, April Wolfe, Alonso Duralde, and Ricky Carmona.

You can let us know what you think of Who Shot Ya? at @WhoShotYaPod on Twitter. Or email us at whoshotya@maximumfun.org

Call us on the "Who Shotline" - WSY-803-1664

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

The Album: J*DaVeY The Beauty in Distortion (2008)

Heat Rocks co-host Morgan Rhodes is a huge fan of J*Davey and a huge fan of Iman Omari. Naturally she was beyond thrilled when Iman accepted an invitation to come on Heat Rocks and chose J*Davey's 2008 brilliant debut album "The Beauty In Distortion" to discuss.

J*Davey's breakout project was one of the jewels in LA's emerging future soul scene a decade ago. Their sound, a fusion of soul, synth, funk and pop gained a million fans and caught the ear of tastemakers everywhere.

This album had a profound influence on his production choices pushing him in the direction of avant-garde soul.

More on Iman Omari

• Iman Omari Loses Love to 'Another' (Soul Bounce)
• Meet MusiKXian Iman OmarI
• Instagram | Twitter

More on The Beauty in Distortion

• J*Davey Talks LA Style (XLR8R)
• J*DaVeY: the beauty in distortion! Promo"
• J*Davey's Wikipedia Entry

Show Tracklisting (all songs from The Beauty in Distortion unless indicated otherwise):

• Division of Joy
• Everybody Touch It
• Iman Omari: Midnight
• Mr. Mister (Future Screw Remix)
• Cowboys and Indians
• Finer Things
• Private Parts
• Might as Well
• Everybody Touch It
• Kim Burrell: Prayer Changes Things
• Kim Burrell: Holy Ghost
• Private Parts
• Cowboys and Indians
• Division of Joy
• Everybody Touch It
• Private Parts
• Finer Things
• No More
• Enterception
• Camera (Gangsta)

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find on there.
If you're not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!

A great new episode coming your way with the director of the new road comedy The Long Dumb Road, Hannah Fidell. Her film follows the sheltered Nat (played by Tony Revolori) as he drives cross country to attend art school in Los Angeles. On his way he picks up a hitchhiker (played by Jason Mantzoukas) who shakes up Nat's close minded worldview.

The movie that Hannah has chosen to discuss this week is Michael Haneke's Funny Games. She sort of picks both the American and Austrian version since they are almost perfectly identical films. April calls Hannah's own film The Long Dumb Road a comedic Funny Games, since both deal with an intruder breaking the unwritten rules of politeness and social decency. Hannah and April really dig into the genius of Haneke and his masterful filmmaking. They elaborate on how Funny Games is eerily prescient in its prediction of the emergence of "alt-right trolls." April also reveals that this movie was somewhat born out of Haneke's hatred for Natural Born Killers and how this Austrian film was really intended for American audiences.

Check out The Long Dumb Road streaming now.

And if you haven't seen it yet, go watch Funny Games, either the Austrian or the American version.

With April Wolfe with Hannah Fidell

You can let us know what you think of Switchblade Sisters at @SwitchbladePod on Twitter. Or email us at switchbladesisters@maximumfun.org
Produced by Casey O'Brien and Laura Swisher for MaximumFun.org.

Paula and Adam try to look busy when Maximum Fun’s CEO Jesse Thorn comes over for dinner. And by “dinner” we mean “Doritos and “Double Stuf Oreos.” Jesse helps us understand what makes a successful podcast, and then we demonstrate how much we’ve learned by talking about Paula’s clogged pipes. Yes, Star Tomlinson, owner and CEO of The Drain Co. helps us determine what Paula shouldn’t have flushed. Also, we unveil our new T-shirts, which are available now at the Maximum Fun Store!

House band
Vincent Camuglia, clarinet

Guests

Jesse Thorn
Owner, Maximum Fun
Twitter: @JesseThorn

Star Tomlinson
Owner & CEO of The Drain Co.
Website: TheDrainCo.com
Facebook: @TheDrainCo
Instagram: @TheDrainCo
Yelp: The Drain Co

Even though Thanksgiving is over, let us give thanks for this wonderful new episode of 'Who Shot Ya?' Drea Clark is back in the building to talk with the crew about Widows. Alonso mourns the loss of 'Irv's Burgers' in West Hollywood. April shares a great Ethan Hawke story. Drea attends a festival for festival planners. And Ricky rejoices at the re-opening of the New Beverly Cinema. Plus, we take a call from the 'Who Shotline.' Alonso almost has a heart attack during the "El Mero Mero De Navidad Christmas Minute.' And as always, staff picks.

In news, Eddie Redmayne admits he gave an "interesting" performance in Jupiter Ascending, General Mills wants to make a Cereal Monsters film franchise, and the Criterion Channel is re-born.

Weekly Movie Recommendations:

Ricky - Mi Familia
Alonso - The Christmas Chronicles
April - Cam
Drea - Shoplifters

PLUS, we have two Spotify playlists. One is for Movie Soundtracks and the other is for Movie Scores. Check 'em out!

Next week we're discussing Creed II with CJ Sullivan .

With Drea Clark, April Wolfe, Alonso Duralde, and Ricky Carmona.

You can let us know what you think of Who Shot Ya? at @WhoShotYaPod on Twitter. Or email us at whoshotya@maximumfun.org

Call us on the "Who Shotline" - WSY-803-1664

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

In this season of Thanksgiving, we give thanks for our wonderful guest this week. We've got the writer and producer of the new film Cam, Isa Mazzei. We're so excited about having her on the show that we dropped the episode a day early! She's on the program to talk about the much under appreciated Jennifer's Body. Isa is a former camgirl herself and discusses the expertise she brought in creating her film. She also discusses her role on set and how she needed to direct some scenes to maintain the female gaze. She and April also discuss Jennifer's Body and how it subverts the expectations of a teen comedy. They elaborate on the role of director Karyn Kusama and screenwriter Diablo Cody and the results of having an all female creative team. This a great episode and one that should be recommended to your in-laws over Thanksgiving dinner.

Check out Cam, now streaming on Netflix.

And if you haven't seen it yet, go watch Jennifer's Body on HBO Go.

With April Wolfe with Isa Mazzei.

You can let us know what you think of Switchblade Sisters at @SwitchbladePod on Twitter. Or email us at switchbladesisters@maximumfun.org

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

A fresh episode of Who Shot Ya? right out of the oven. We've got the classic crew of Ricky, Alonso, and April, and they're talking about the newest installment in the "Nazi Zombie" movie genre. That's right, we're discussing Overlord. In addition to that, April is only slightly "yawny" this episode. Alonso is excited about Oprah's Favorite Things list. And Ricky is hyped over a Tribe Called Quest and Wu-Tang mash-up album. Plus, the crew discusses the life and work of Stan Lee. We've got another installment of Alonso's Christmas Minute. And, as always, we've got staff picks.

In news, Spike Lee wants to make a musical, FX asks the Supreme Court to throw out Olivia de Havilland's lawsuit, and James Woods has a moment of redemption.

Weekly Movie Recommendations:

Ricky - Life
Alonso - The Other Side of the Wind and They'll Love Me When I'm Dead
April - Zama

PLUS, we have two Spotify playlists. One is for Movie Soundtracks and the other is for Movie Scores. Check 'em out!

Next week we're discussing Widows.

With April Wolfe, Alonso Duralde, and Ricky Carmona.

You can let us know what you think of Who Shot Ya? at @WhoShotYaPod on Twitter. Or email us at whoshotya@maximumfun.org

Call us on the "Who Shotline" - WSY-803-1664

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

On today's episode, we're talking about the movie for which the masses have been clamoring. That's right, we've got comedian Emily Heller on to talk about The Mask. Emily is a stand-up comedian, but also an actor and Emmy nominated writer. She's written for 'Crowded', 'People of Earth', and most recently 'Barry.' On this episode, she gives April an inside look of what it is like to be in a writer's room. She discusses how she got started as a TV writer, what she did to get hired, and what kind of pilot's people are looking to read. She and April also dive right into the mixed messages of The Mask and how the movie is basically one giant meme. This is a hilarious episode and one not to be missed. Some would say it's "SMOKIN'!" (Sorry).

Check out Emily's new stand-up album, Pasta, which is out November 19th.

Also check out Emily's podcast on Maximum Fun, Baby Geniuses.

And if you haven't seen it yet, go watch The Mask on HBO Go.

With April Wolfe with Emily Heller.

You can let us know what you think of Switchblade Sisters at @SwitchbladePod on Twitter. Or email us at switchbladesisters@maximumfun.org

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

Don't stop me now! We're talking about the new Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody. We are so lucky this week to be joined by friend of the podcast, film critic Katie Walsh. This episode was recorded the night of the election, so you can certainly hear a level of optimistic anxiety in all the host's voices. The crew dissects all the important parts of the new movie: Rami Malek's fake teeth, the bad jokes, and how many times the band members say that they're a family. Plus, we chat about the phenomenon of straight actors playing gay characters. AND, most importantly, Alonso kicks of the Holiday season with a new weekly segment called The El Mero Mero de Navidad Christmas Minute. Each week Alonso will recap all the Christmas movies he's watched from the past week. The only caveat is that he must do it in under a minute. And as always, we have staff picks.

In news, the titles for the new Avatar sequels are in, the LA Film Festival is no more, and JJ Abrams seeks a "Megadeal."

Weekly Movie Recommendations:

Ricky - Hip-Hop Evolution
Alonso - Shirkers
April - Memories of Murder
Katie - El Ángel

PLUS, we have two Spotify playlists. One is for Movie Soundtracks and the other is for Movie Scores. Check 'em out!

Next week we're discussing Overlord.

With Katie Walsh, April Wolfe, Alonso Duralde, and Ricky Carmona.

You can let us know what you think of Who Shot Ya? at @WhoShotYaPod on Twitter. Or email us at whoshotya@maximumfun.org
Produced by Casey O'Brien and Laura Swisher for MaximumFun.org.