Director Watch Podcast Ep. 84 – ‘Silkwood’ (Mike Nichols, 1983) with Special Guest Izzy of Be Kind Rewind

Welcome to Director Watch! On this AwardsWatch podcast, co-hosts Ryan McQuade and Jay Ledbetter attempt to breakdown, analyze, and ultimately, get inside the mind of some of cinema’s greatest auteurs. In doing so, they will look at their filmographies, explore what drives them artistically and what makes their decision making process so fascinating. Add in a few silly tangents and a fun game at the end of the episode and you’ve got yourself a podcast we truly hope you love. On episode 84 of the Director Watch Podcast, the boys are joined by Izzy of Be Kind Rewind to discuss the next film in their Mike Nichols series, Silkwood (1983).

While most directors from the 1970s flourished during this time period, Mike Nichols struggled through the decade trying to find himself. With two lackluster pictures under his belt, Nichols went back to the theater, look for inspiration and a chance to make something meaningful again. After making some successful plays, he came back to cinema in the early 1980s with one of his most celebrated films to date, a biopic about Karen Silkwood, a a nuclear whistleblower and a labor union activist who investigated alleged wrongdoing at the Kerr-McGee plutonium plant where she worked. The story was all over the news in the late 70s, and the rights to make the film went through hell and back again in the courts, but when it was all set and down, Nichols and company got the chance to make a vital picture that would become a blueprint for Hollywood in telling stories like this for decades to come. Ryan, Jay, and Izzy breakdown their thoughts on the film, how well it holds up, Meryl Streep’s incredible performance at the center of the film, queer identity displayed through the eyes of Dolly played by Cher, how smoking hot Kurt Russell was at the time, their thoughts on the current state of physical media, and the worst foods to eat in a movie theater.

You can listen to the Director Watch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.

This podcast runs 1h54m. The guys will be back next week to continue their series on the films of Mike Nichols with a review of his next film, Working Girl. You can rent it via iTunes and Amazon Prime rental in preparation for the next episode of Director Watch. Till then, let’s get into it.

Music: MUSICALIFE, from Pond5 (intro) and “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro)