We’ve had guests on the show who have had a personal connection to their filmmaker of the month. Brian Trenchard-Smith talked about Quentin Tarantino asking his advice on a rough cut. Edgar Wright talked about consulting with George Miller on how to film car chases. And we certainly got the personal touch when we talked about Robert Altman with his son Michael.

But we’d wager no guest to date has talked about their filmmaker subject with as much breadth as Scott Derrickson, who talks about Wim Wenders as a fan, as a collaborator, and as a close friend. Scott switches effortlessly between these modes as we traverse the eclectic, exciting, and never-dull filmography of the man who gave us classics like Wings of Desire and Paris, Texas.

Before we get to him, we look at some of the key new releases of this month, including Nicole Holofcener’s latest drama Land of Steady Habits, Bradley Cooper’s update of the classic Hollywood tale A Star Is Born, Damien Chazelle’s moon landing retelling First Man, and the Freddie Mercury + Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody.

Further reading:

• Check out our friends at Culture Capital talking A Star Is Born here on Soundcloud
• Here’s some more detail on whether or not Neil Armstrong really did leave his daughter’s bracelet on the moon
• Regardless of your own feelings on Bohemian Rhapsody, it would have been pretty interesting to see Sacha Baron Cohen’s take on Freddie Mercury
• So what does a Bob Dylan painting of a Wim Wenders shot look like? Check it out
• We’re pretty sure that this is the shot described by Scott, taken at Ground Zero by Wim

Outro music: Chan Chan from the Buena Vista Social Club

The latest episode of Hell Is For Hyphenates, featuring Scott Derrickson talking the films of Wim Wenders, can be heard on Stitcher Smart Radio, subscribed to on iTunes, or downloaded/streamed directly from our website.

We’ve been fans of Scott Derrickson’s work for over a decade now. It was 2005’s The Exorcism of Emily Rose that put him on the map, the creeping slow-burn horror film that merged the courtroom drama with the exorcism sub-genre in all the right ways.

Since then, Scott has gone on to direct the science fiction remake The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008), the bone-chilling Sinister (2012), the horror mystery Deliver Us From Evil (2014), and Marvel’s reality-bending superhero sorcery origin story Doctor Strange (2016).

It’s a pretty impressive CV, but it’s about to get all the more impressive as he prepares for his greatest role to date: that of Hell Is For Hyphenates guest host!

So which filmmaker has he chosen to talk about on the show?

None other than Wim Wenders!

If Wenders isn’t one of your favourite directors, he certainly will be by the time we’re done. For someone with such a distinct style, Wenders was nevertheless impossible to pin down: he worked in both fiction and documentary, worked in numerous languages, in numerous countries, in numerous genres.

As a dramatic director, he’s best known for the American drama classic Paris, Texas and the German romantic fantasy Wings of Desire; as a documentarian, he’s best known for Buena Vista Social Club and Pina. And behind those top-lined classics are works that would be the calling cards of most other filmmakers: films like The Goalkeeper’s Fear of the Penalty, Alice in the Cities, The Wrong Move, Kings of the Road, The American Friend, The State of Things.

If you’ve seen all of his films, you’ll know what a treat this episode will be. If you’ve only seen the big ones, you’re about to discover the delights that reside in the corners of his filmography. And if you haven’t seen any at all, then we envy you because you get to experience all of these films for the first time. Any which way you slice it, this episode is going to be a must-listen.

But what is it about the films that had such an effect on Scott? And what is the connection between these two men that puts Scott Derrickson in a unique position to talk about Wim Wenders?

Join us on October 31 when we find out!