This was a well-kept secret. Two years since his passing we’ve learned of Peter Bogdanoivch’s podcasting project One Handshake Away, which saw the late-in-life filmmaker sit down with modern luminaries. The first two episodes, out today, feature Guillermo del Toro and Quentin Tarantino discussing personal favorites, the former Alfred Hitchcock and the latter Don Siegel––a normal concept made novel by integrating unheard audio from Bogdanovich’s prodigious start interviewing the deceased filmmakers decades ago.
Later episodes will feature conversations with Rian Johnson and Ken Burns; after Bogdanovich’s passing, del Toro continued the series by speaking to Greta Gerwig, Julie Delpy, and Allison Anders. Integrated into these are audio of John Ford, Howard Hawks, and (believe it or not!) Orson Welles. It’s immediately evident that the company of a fellow auteur puts del Toro and Tarantino at ease, the subjects elevating them to enthusiasm––well and truly above the standard interview series.
Listen to the first two episodes below: