More Than a Movie

12. Aristotle & Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe with Aitch Alberto Jul 04, 2024

“These boys were mine and now I give them to you.” For the season finale of More Than a Movie, we sat down with friend of the pod Aitch Alberto to dive deep on her feature filmmaking debut. We discussed everything from adapting a beloved YA novel and convincing the author to give her the rights, to taking over directing duties from Miguel Arteta, and what it’s like to have financiers derail the post-production process. If you’re curious about the A-to-Z of getting a movie made in Hollywood today, listen to Aitch detail the process in our exciting sendoff for the season.

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11. In the Summers with Residente and Alessandra Lacorazza Jun 27, 2024

“We won Sundance! What the fuck?” If you’re an outsider, the film industry can be seemingly impossible to penetrate. It’s even more difficult to tell your story - and have it seen - when it’s a semi-autobiographical coming-of-age tale about a queer Latina and her alcoholic father set in a small town in New Mexico. That story became the indie filmmaking miracle In the Summers, a deeply personal tone poem that won the top two prizes at Sundance 2024, America’s most prestigious film festival. To explore the movie's journey from pre-production to Sundance, we interviewed the star of the film, music legend Residente in his first major acting role, and director Alessandra Lacorazza, whose life story inspired this new queer/Latino classic.

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10. El Mariachi with Carlos Gallardo and Elizabeth Avellan Jun 20, 2024

“He did it for $7,000.” Before Machete, before Spy Kids, before From Dusk till Dawn, there was El Mariachi. Eager to make a name for himself in the world of film, but with no industry connections whatsoever, Robert Rodriguez went and directed a movie on his own - guerilla style - in Mexico, with a production budget of only $7,000. Producer Elizabeth Avellan is back to tell us how Robert came up with the idea and the crazy story of how he pulled it off. Spoiler: it involves signing himself up to be a medical lab rat so he could raise some of the funds. We also interviewed Mr. Mariachi, Carlos Gallardo, a true pro who not only starred in the film, but also had his hands involved in the producing, special effects, and camera departments while on set.

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9. Zoot Suit with Luis Valdez Jun 13, 2024

“Let’s just shoot the play.” If you’ve listened to the first season of More Than a Movie, you may remember the one property that kept getting mentioned over and over - Zoot Suit - the play, and later film, that linked a generation of Latino actors and became a foundational text for the Chicano arts movement. Even many of our guests this season - from Andy Garcia to Lou Diamond Phillips and Enrique Castillo - have a connection to Zoot Suit, so we were incredibly honored when the legendary creator himself, Luis Valdez, came on board for an interview. We discussed his early political work on the ground with Cesar Chavez, founding the iconic Teatro Campesino, and everything Zoot Suit - the conception of the play, directing the film adaptation his way, and essentially launching Edward James Olmos’ movie career.

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8. Language Lessons and Plan B with Natalie Morales Jun 06, 2024

“I was filming Plan B in the fall and editing Language Lessons on the weekend.” Everybody in Hollywood will tell you, it’s incredibly difficult to get a film made. Making a movie during a global pandemic? Even more difficult. Directing two movies during lockdown, in your first-ever attempt at feature filmmaking? Seemingly impossible. But not for Natalie Morales. We talked to the multi-hyphenate about her transition from acting in some of our favorite sitcoms to finally stepping behind the camera and how on earth she was able to get her two incredible debut films off the ground in the heart of Covid

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7. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse with Phil Lord May 30, 2024

“What if it’s Miles Morales?” We’ve seen Spider-Man on screen before. In fact, we’ve seen him in three different live-action iterations over the last 22 years. And yet somehow, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse feels startlingly fresh, a major shock to the system. We had never experienced anything like it in the world of superhero films, live-action or otherwise. Not only is the animation innovative, vibrant, and unique, but for the first time ever, we followed Miles Morales, the Afro-Latino Spider-Man that injected new life into a genre that was starting to feel rote. To understand how this miracle of a film came to be, we interviewed Academy Award winner Phil Lord, who co-wrote the Spider-Verse movies and introduced us to cinema’s newest, and best, Spider-Man.

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6. Spy Kids with Alexa PenaVega and Elizabeth Avellan May 23, 2024

“The idea of Spy Kids, just like boom, hit him.” Coming off a string of successful Hard-R genre movies, Robert Rodriguez decided to make a surprising pivot into the world of family films. Enter the Spy Kids: a wildly popular franchise that now spans five films and has grossed over $550 million at the box office. We sat down with Robert’s wife and producing partner, Elizabeth Avellan, to discuss how they launched the first ever Latino superhero movie and Alexa PenaVega, the titular Spy Kid and star of this beloved series, who shared stories from the set.

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5. Blood In, Blood Out with Jesse Borrego and Enrique Castillo May 16, 2024

“You need to help me cast the Vatos Locos.” Season one of More Than a Movie offered a deep dive on American Me - Edward James Olmos’ notorious directorial debut about the formation of a real-life Mexican prison gang. In this episode, we take a look at the film that came just one year later - allegedly delayed in part because of the release of and reception to American Me - that has a startlingly similar premise, but a lot more heart. We talked to Jesse Borrego, the actor who played Cruz, about being tasked with finding the Vatos Locos and training them in the ways of chicanismo; and Enrique Castillo, who had to shape the character of big, bad Montana while filming in a fully-operating maximum security prison with real inmates.

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4. Real Women Have Curves with Patricia Cardoso May 09, 2024

“I walked out of the play.” Fresh off winning a Student Academy Award, Colombian filmmaker Patricia Cardoso was looking for her next film project. After some initial hesitation, she decided to adapt the much-beloved (but somewhat problematic) stage play Real Women Have Curves into what would become a major Sundance sensation. We sat down with Patricia to talk about the changes from stage to screen, discovering a young America Ferrera, bringing authenticity to the film, and why the doors of Hollywood stayed closed to her after this smash success.

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3. La Bamba (Pt. 2) with Taylor Hackford May 02, 2024

"There’s a whole audience you’re missing.” On this episode of More Than a Movie, we met with the producer of La Bamba, Academy Award winning filmmaker Taylor Hackford, and explored how a white kid from Santa Barbara ended up becoming the driving force behind a film about a Mexican-American rock star. We talked everything from obtaining life rights to casting Lou Diamond Phillips, and what it truly means to be an ally in Hollywood.

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2. La Bamba (Pt. 1) with Lou Diamond Phillips Apr 25, 2024

“I didn’t think I had a shot at Richie.” Nearly 40 years after its release, La Bamba remains a cinematic landmark for representation and one of the highest-grossing Latino films of all time. We interviewed the star of the movie, Lou Diamond Phillips, about landing his big break, inhabiting the role of Chicano music icon Richie Valens, and bonding with the late singer’s family on set.

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1. The Godfather Part III with Andy Garcia Apr 18, 2024

“I remember saying to myself, ‘that’s my part.’” For the season two premiere of More Than a Movie, we sat down with Andy Garcia to discuss the path to his legendary acting career, navigating Hollywood as a Latino, and manifesting his role as the successor to the most notorious crime boss in film history.

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Introducing: More Than A Movie Season 2 Apr 11, 2024

On this season of More Than a Movie, host Alex Fumero takes us through some of our favorite films that have impacted Latino Cinema. From Andy Garcia’s 1990 breakout role in Godfather III to Natalie Morales’s 2021 double directorial debut with Plan B and Language Lessons, this podcast looks at the story behind the story of Latino movies over the last several decades. Every episode will reveal something about the movie you didn’t know, feature interviews with the biggest actors, directors, writers and producers behind them, and tap into the history of Latinos in film.

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Introducing: Shoot the Messenger Feb 15, 2023

In More Than A Movie, host Alex Fumero dissects a cultural phenomenon and looks at its impact on different communities. EXILE Content Studio’s latest podcast Shoot the Messenger: Espionage, Murder, & Pegasus Software (subscribe here) is a deep dive into one of the hottest phenomenons today - cybersecurity and spyware. We all use our phones daily, as almost an extension of ourselves - but what happens when our phones are no longer safe?

Jamal Khashoggi’s life, assassination, and betrayal opened up a timeline for a new digital battle: cyber-surveillance weapons.

In 2018, Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi entered the Saudi consulate in Turkey and was never seen again. Weeks later, the Turkish intelligence released secret tapes of Khashoggi’s last moments before being brutally murdered, causing an international uproar. It has been four years since Khashoggi’s murder, and what we now know is that the first weapon used against Khashoggi was digital and it’s called Pegasus - a kind of software that can be used to hijack your phone; a military-grade, spyware software.

A new biweekly serialized podcast, every season Exile Content Studio investigates one international new story. You may have heard the headlines — this is the deep dive. The first season examines the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, and his inner circle that has had the world’s most sophisticated military-grade spyware confirmed on their phones. It’s called Pegasus. How did this spyware come to be, how does it work, and how vulnerable are you?

Shoot the Messenger is hosted by Rose Reid and Nando Vila and is a production of Exile Content Studio.

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12. Retrospective Nov 24, 2022

We recap what we've learned, especially the whirlwind final months when we got to the bottom of what happened here.

We set out to find out what happened during and after the production of the movie American Me. It took six months, but we think we've determined who did what, and why they did it. Instead of fuzzy memories and street rumors, we finally talked to some of the people closest to the events. We put the events in context for the listener and provide our major takeaways. For perhaps the first time ever, we learn the "why" to one of the most notorious movie productions in American history.