To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar (1995) and Magnolia (1999)

To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar (1995) and Magnolia (1999)

Author: Film Trace June 2, 2024 Duration: 1:12:09

We continue our Camp Cinema season in our fourth episode covering To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar (1995) and Magnolia (1999)

Special Guest: Returning Guest, Rotten Tomato approved film critic, Natasha Alvar from Cultured Vultures

When watching To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar, there is an overriding sense of what could have been. Coming out in the mid 1990s, a surprisingly much more open time in American culture, Wong Foo went to number one at the box office. It was a modest hit, but clearly well received by the general public. If this movie was made today, everyone involved would get more death threats than residuals checks. Culture doesn't always move forward, sometimes it backslides.

Magnolia is a controversial pick for Camp Cinema. To me, it is the paradigm of what Susan Sontag called Naive Camp in her 1964 essays Notes on Camp. Magnolia is a manically ambition film with a passionate and serious tone. Paul Thomas Anderson, like Cameron Crowe in Vanilla Sky, strived to reach the artistic heavens, but all he did was take on a tour of the sad and lonely people of the San Fernando Valley. Chris and Natasha offer some good counterpoints to my stance.


Ever find yourself falling down an internet rabbit hole after the credits roll, clicking from a film’s trivia page to the director’s biography and then to some obscure piece of production history? That’s the exact feeling Film Trace aims to capture and expand upon in audio form. This isn't just another review show. Instead, each episode is a deep, meticulously researched excavation of a single movie’s entire journey. We start with the initial spark of an idea-the script found in a drawer, the chance meeting that got it greenlit-and follow every twist and turn through casting, chaotic production, and post-production. The story continues to the film’s release, its critical and cultural reception, and what legacy it holds now. Think of it as a comprehensive, narrative-driven biography of a film, built on primary sources and genuine curiosity. The hosts at Film Trace use their collective nerd superpowers to do all that obsessive digging for you, weaving together context, history, and behind-the-scenes details into a compelling story about how art gets made. You’ll come away from each installment of this podcast not just with an opinion on a movie, but with a real understanding of its place in the wider world of TV and film. It’s for anyone who believes the story off-screen is just as fascinating as the one projected on it.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Film Trace
Podcast Episodes
The Rise of A24 - Spring Breakers (2013) and Kids (1995) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:17:22
The season finale of our Rise of A24 series starts at the beginning, Harmony Korine's neon maximalist Spring Breakers (2013) as well as his first big break as the writer of Kids (1995).Problematic doesn't begin to descri…
The Rise of A24 - Enemy (2014) and The Tenant (1976) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:05:30
The penultimate episode in our Rise of A24 season features two psychological free falls, Denis Villeneuve's Enemy (2014) and the infamous Roman Polanski's The Tenant (1976)Special Guest: Hollywood Insider and great frien…
The Rise of A24 - Green Room (2016) and Straw Dogs (1971) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:12:04
In our seventh episode of The Rise of A24 series, we revisit the pitch black thriller Green Room (2016) and its even even darker precedent Straw Dogs (1971).Special Guests: David, comedian and musician from Chicago, chec…
The Rise of A24 - It Comes at Night (2017) and The Crazies (1973) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:15
In our sixth episode of The Rise of A24 series, we plunge into the cold dark heart of humanity with It Comes at Night (2017) and The Crazies (1973)Special Guests: Bridget D. Brave, horror writer and horror film aficionad…
The Rise of A24 - First Reformed (2018) and Ordet (1955) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:14:26
In our fifth episode of The Rise of A24 series, we go to church with Paul Schrader’s First Reformed (2018) and Carl Theodor Dreyer’s Ordet (1955).Special Guests: Jen and Sarah of the great podcasts - Movies & Us and TV &…
Under the Silver Lake (2019) and L'Avventura (1960) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:12:32
In our fourth episode of The Rise of A24 series, we are covering the newly minted cult classic Under the Silver Lake (2019) and the art cinema bonanza of L'Avventura (1960)Special Guest - James Adamson, the host of the g…
After Yang (2022) and Late Spring (1949) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:12:28
In our third episode of The Rise of A24 series, we are covering Kogonada's quiet meditation on familial AI, After Yang (2022) alongside the wondrous Late Spring (1949) by Yasujiro Ozu. Special Guest - Lillian Crawford is…
The Rise of A24 - Talk to Me (2023) and Possession (1981) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:14:07
In our second episode of The Rise of A24 series, we are covering the gonzo horror of the Philippou brothers in Talk to Me (2023) and the roots of elevated horror in Andrzej Żuławski's Possession (1981)Special Guest - Ret…
The Rise of A24 - Sorry, Baby (2025) and Eddington (2025) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:20:17
We are back with a new season of Film Trace. In this season, we will survey the short but illustrious history of film studio upstart A24. We will analyze how they have made such a massive impact on filmmaking in such a s…