In episode 31, Johnny talks to New Zealand director Michael Duignan.


Michael’s debut feature - The Paragon - premiered last year at the New Zealand International Film Festival, and blew audiences away.

Made for a budget of just $25,000 NZD - the dictionary definition of making something ‘off the smell of an oily rag’ - The Paragon is a sci-fi-comedy that punches well above its weight. You can see the film in theatres in five American cities - L.A., New York, Austin, Chicago and Portland - from the 6th of September 2024, or online from Music Box films, and AroVision in New Zealand.

Not surprisingly Johnny and Michael's talk covers the trials and tribulations of making a low-budget psychedelic fantasy film in New Zealand, they discuss the work of Michael Mann - always a favourite subject - and his lasting impact on cinema, and they take a spoiler-filled look at the latest Alien film, Alien Romulus.

This conversation was recorded face to face in late August of 2024. We recorded in the garden of Michael’s house - AKA the Paragon house - and so there’s a lovely soundtrack of birds, ducks and the occasional car driving past.

Thanks to James Van As who wrote and performed the brilliant podcast music (check out James' ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Loco Looper⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ game) and to Willow Van As who designed the amazing artwork and provided general podcast support.


You can contact My Movie DNA on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter @mymovieDNA or email mymovieDNA@gmail.com.

In episode 30, Johnny talks to Academy Award-winning art director and production designer Grant Major.


Described by Vanity Fair as ‘the architect of New Zealand’s greatest cinematic achievements’, Grant has an impressive body of work. 


His work in the early 1990s on Jane Campion’s An Angel At My Table led him to work with Peter Jackson on Heavenly Creatures. He remained in the Peter Jackson fold on The Frighteners, followed by the Lord Of The Rings trilogy and King Kong. He also worked on Niki Caro’s Whale Rider in the early 2000s, and recently reprised his collaboration with Jane Campion on the Oscar-nominated The Power Of The Dog. 


Grant has been nominated for five Academy Awards, winning the Oscar in 2003 for his work on The Return Of The King.


Their talk covers Grant’s career from working in New Zealand television in the 1970s and the BBC in the 1980s, to conquering Hollywood with Jane Campion and Peter Jackson throughout the 1990s and beyond. They discuss Grant's influences from filmmakers like David Lynch, Stanley Kubrick and Ray Harryhausen, and Grant shares what it’s like to witness the first and only take of a devastatingly emotional Oscar-nominated acting performance! 


This conversation was recorded online in mid-July 2024.


Thanks to James Van As who wrote and performed the brilliant podcast music (check out James' ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Loco Looper⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ game) and to Willow Van As who designed the amazing artwork and provided general podcast support.


You can contact My Movie DNA on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter @mymovieDNA or email mymovieDNA@gmail.com.

In episode 29, Johnny talks to Dave Wain, one of the last bastions of the video rental industry.

Dave runs Snips Movies, one of the UK’s last video stores. The shop, situated in the Wirral near Liverpool, boasts an impressive selection of over 15,000 movies, all available to rent for the great price of 3 for £5. The depth of the range available is eye-watering and is just the tonic against the dull, predictable and limited selections available on the popular streaming services.

Johnny's talk with Dave covers the trials and tribulations of running a video rental store in the 21st century, an enterprise that’s going from strength to strength with an ever-changing profile of appreciative customers.

They also discuss the directors Joe Dante, Quentin Tarantino and William Friedkin, and they lift the lid on Orson Welles editing lesbian shower sequences for porn films in his spare time...

This conversation was recorded online in mid-July 2024.

Thanks to James Van As who wrote and performed the brilliant podcast music (check out James' ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Loco Looper⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ game) and to Willow Van As who designed the amazing artwork and provided general podcast support.

You can contact My Movie DNA on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter @mymovieDNA or email mymovieDNA@gmail.com.