Phil and Emily are joined by actress Fiona Dourif to launch a brand new mini-series, Richard Kelly Reichardt, with the cult classic that started a thousand dorm-room arguments: Donnie Darko (2001).


Richard Kelly's debut premiered at Sundance, opened the same day the Patriot Act was signed into law, and promptly bombed in theaters before Drew Barrymore's Flower Films, a $4.5 million budget, and a generation of video-store rentals turned it into a phenomenon. The gang digs into why it became the movie every college bro swore was a misunderstood masterpiece, and whether it actually holds up a quarter century later.


They get into the big stuff: the tall bunny named Frank, the pocket-universe time-loop mechanics, and that gut-punch ending where Donnie chooses to sacrifice himself. Emily, who has seen this more times than almost any movie in her life, untangles Kelly's "ironclad" explanation, why she prefers the simpler emotional read, and why the director's cut overexplains everything. Fiona connects it to American Beauty and Magnolia, the search for God after religion, and her own time-bending turn in Christopher Nolan's Tenet. And the whole table takes on modern film-discussion culture's obsession with mapping every rule instead of just living inside a story that doesn't quite make sense.


Plus: baby Noah Wyle, the most unhinged high-school teacher ever written, and a stacked early-2000s cast that keeps making you hit pause. Does Donnie Darko hold up, or did it age like the 25-year-old screenwriter dialogue it's built on? Listen and decide.


Follow the show & guests:


Podcast Like It's... — https://www.instagram.com/podcastlikeits

Phil Iscove — https://www.instagram.com/pmiscove

Emily St. James — https://www.instagram.com/emilystjams

Fiona Dourif — https://www.instagram.com/fionadourif

💜 Patreon (bonus episodes & video): http://patreon.com/Podcastlikeits

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

99: Donnie Darko with Fiona Dourif

This week on Holly Randall Unfiltered, Holly sits down with performer, creator, and entrepreneur Eva Maxim for an honest conversation about identity, ambition, and building a career on your own terms.

Born and raised in Cuba, Eva shares her journey from immigrating to the United States to transitioning at 21 and eventually becoming one of the most recognizable trans performers in the industry. Known for combining cosplay, storytelling, original content, and a distinct creative voice, Eva explains how she built a brand that stands out in an increasingly crowded digital landscape.
Eva opens up about her early days in the business, the realities of navigating visibility as a trans performer, and why authenticity has been one of her greatest assets. She discusses the challenges and opportunities that come with representing a community, how the industry has evolved over the years, and why she believes visibility alone isn't enough without meaningful representation.

The conversation also goes beyond her career, diving into dating, therapy, personal growth, setting boundaries, international travel, and the lessons she's learned from living so much of her life in the public eye. Eva shares why she embraces being a role model, the responsibility that comes with it, and how she balances public expectations with staying true to herself.

Whether you're already familiar with Eva's work or discovering her for the first time, this episode offers a thoughtful, funny, and surprisingly vulnerable look at one of the industry's most unique personalities.

Huge thanks to SC World for sponsoring this episode.
YouTube: @scworld.official
Instagram: @scworld.official

Follow Holly Randall on all platforms: HollyLinks.com [https://HollyLinks.com]

Subscribe for exclusive interviews, bonus episodes, and behind-the-scenes content:
Patreon.com/HollyRandallUnfiltered [https://Patreon.com/HollyRandallUnfiltered]


Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/holly-randall-unfiltered--6630320/support [https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/holly-randall-unfiltered--6630320/support?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss].

Trans Star Eva Maxim on Cosplay, Transitioning, and Building a Career on Her Own Terms

Phil and Emily are joined by writer Elias Isquith (Necessary Fictions blog) to close out the Angelina Jolie Action Films of the 2000s miniseries with the loudest, messiest entry yet: Timur Bekmambetov's Wanted (2008).


James McAvoy plays a cubicle drone recruited by Angelina Jolie and Morgan Freeman into a secret fraternity of assassins that takes its orders from a magical loom. Yes, a loom. The movie was a surprise hit the summer it opened alongside WALL-E, weeks before The Dark Knight blew everything away, and none of them had seen it since theaters. Rewatching it in 2026 was a very different experience.


The conversation digs into how Wanted plays like a proto-incel power fantasy, a movie that negs its audience for 110 minutes and then stares into the camera asking "what the fuck have you done lately?" They trace the line from Fight Club and The Matrix to this film's confused politics, where the message is "be free and take charge of your life" but also "obey the magic loom or die." Emily breaks down the gendered self-loathing baked into so many films aimed at young men, and Elias connects the movie's hyper-individualism to the toxic masculinity pipeline that would migrate to social media just a year later. They also talk about Angelina Jolie's decision to kill off her own character, why the film's structure feels like a video game with half-assed cutscenes, and how Zack Snyder somehow handles this same territory with more nuance.


Follow the show & guests:


Podcast Like It's... — https://www.instagram.com/podcastlikeits

Phil Iscove — https://www.instagram.com/pmiscove

Emily St. James — https://www.instagram.com/emilystjams

Elias Isquith — NecessaryFictions.blog

💜 Patreon (bonus episodes & video): http://patreon.com/Podcastlikeits

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

98: Wanted with Elias Isquith

Stella Barey didn’t exactly follow the traditional path from pre-med student to adult industry icon, but then again, traditional paths are overrated. She joins Holly Randall Unfiltered to talk about how she got here, what she’s built along the way, and why she decided the industry needed a better platform.

That platform is Hidden, a creator-owned space built by sex workers for sex workers, and Stella breaks down exactly what that means in practice: better discovery tools, less burnout from self-promotion, and actual financial ownership for the people doing the work. If you’ve ever wondered why creators on traditional platforms spend half their time marketing themselves off-platform just to drive traffic back to it, Stella has answers.

She also opens up about studying philosophy and public health, growing up with a mother who is a doctor specializing in sexual medicine, and how both of those things shaped the way she thinks about pornography, sexuality, and personal agency. This is a fascinating conversation with an incredibly intelligent woman that’s worth hearing.

Huge thanks to https://www.youtube.com/@scworld.official for sponsoring the show!Follow them at https://www.instagram.com/scworld.official

Follow Holly Randall on all platforms Hollylinks.com [http://hollylinks.com] 

Subscribe for more exclusive interviews and behind-the-scenes content from the adult industry! https://www.patreon.com/c/hollyrandallunfiltered


Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/holly-randall-unfiltered--6630320/support [https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/holly-randall-unfiltered--6630320/support?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss].

Stella Barey: The Future of Adult Entertainment Is Creator-Owned 

Phil and Emily bring in writer Lindsey Romain for the fourth installment of the Angelina Jolie action films miniseries, and it is the one LaToya Ferguson was promised. Lindsey's work has appeared in the Chicago Tribune, Vulture, and Bright Wall/Dark Room, and she saw this movie four times in theaters as a teenager. She still has the promotional pin from when she worked at a movie theater in high school. She is the right person for this.


Mr. and Mrs. Smith follows two upper-class assassins who are also, it turns out, married to each other and working for rival agencies. It opened June 10th, 2005 against Madagascar, Star Wars Episode III, The Longest Yard, and The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3D, and made $487 million on a $110 million budget. The script originated as Simon Kinberg's graduate thesis. Carrie Fisher, Akiva Goldsman, Jez and John Henry Butterworth, Ted Griffin, and Terrence Winter all took passes at it. Angela Bassett and Keith David filmed scenes that were cut entirely. What remained was Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, which Roger Ebert correctly identified as the only thing that needed to remain.


The conversation covers the Doug Liman of it all, specifically his "we'll make it up as we go along" approach and what that costs the film in its final act. Emily identifies the half hour from when they can't kill each other through the home improvement store sequence as the movie locking in completely, and the final action sequence as where it loses her. Phil compares the last scene to Eyes Wide Shut. The group also gets into how the affair backdrop has shifted what it feels like to watch now, the surprisingly durable premise and its various attempted adaptations, who was responsible for the ex-wife jealousy beat, and where exactly 2005 Brad Pitt ranks in the full Brad Pitt hotness timeline. The answer is not first.


This is the fourth installment of the Angelina Jolie action films miniseries. Wanted is next.


Follow the show and guests:


Podcast Like It's... — https://www.instagram.com/podcastlikeits

Phil Iscove — https://www.instagram.com/pmiscove

Emily St. James — https://www.instagram.com/emilystjams

Lindsey Romain — https://www.instagram.com/lindseyromain


💜 Patreon (bonus episodes and video): http://patreon.com/Podcastlikeits

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

97: Mr. & Mrs. Smith with Lindsey Romain

Lisa Ann joins Holly Randall Unfiltered for a candid conversation about reinvention, technology, wellness, and the changing landscape of adult entertainment.

Known for successfully building a mainstream media career through fantasy football, broadcasting, and live events, Lisa reflects on how her priorities have evolved in recent years. She discusses her upcoming third book, her analysis of the “manosphere”, and why she believes online culture has become increasingly hostile toward sex workers. 

Lisa also shares her perspective on artificial intelligence, including the creation of a digital twin designed to interact with fans and preserve her brand long into the future. The discussion explores age verification, digital intimacy, the loneliness epidemic, and the challenges facing younger generations growing up online.

Additionally, Lisa opens up about her recent surgery where she removed her breast implants, the dramatic improvements she experienced afterward, and the wellness practices that keep her physically and mentally strong.

It’s an insightful look at one of the industry’s most influential figures as she enters a new chapter focused on writing, personal growth, and living what she calls her “softest life.”

Huge thanks to https://www.youtube.com/@scworld.official for sponsoring the show!
Follow them at https://www.instagram.com/scworld.official
Follow Holly Randall on all platforms Hollylinks.com [http://hollylinks.com] 

Subscribe for more exclusive interviews and behind-the-scenes content from the adult industry! https://www.patreon.com/c/hollyrandallunfiltered

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/holly-randall-unfiltered--6630320/support [https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/holly-randall-unfiltered--6630320/support?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss].

Lisa Ann on AI, the Manosphere, and Life After Adult Entertainment

Phil and Emily continue the Angelina Jolie action films miniseries with Lara Croft: Tomb Raider — The Cradle of Life (2003), joined by Carson Betts and Caroline Thompson, co-hosts of the How Have You Not Seen It podcast. All four participants are watching this film for the first time. This is relevant information.


The Cradle of Life follows Lara Croft racing to find Pandora's Box before a rogue scientist with strong Peter Thiel energy can use it as a biological weapon, with complications provided by her ex-lover Terry Sheridan, played by Gerard Butler. It cost $95 million, grossed $160 million worldwide, and opened July 25th, 2003 against Spy Kids 3D, Pirates of the Caribbean, Bad Boys 2, and Seabiscuit. It received three stars from Roger Ebert, which nearly convinced Emily to see it in theaters that summer. She saw The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen instead. Phil does not believe she made the better choice. The film was also banned in China for giving the impression of a country in chaos overrun by secret societies. Hollywood had not yet figured that out.


The consensus is that this movie is more competent than the first Tomb Raider along nearly every axis, which somehow makes it less enjoyable. Phil calls it dumb and not fun, as opposed to the first film, which was dumb and fun. Emily notes the big action set piece in the middle is a shootout in a lab, which she finds strange given the title. The group also covers Jan de Bont's filmography and what it means that this was his final film, the Sasquatch creatures that the script introduces and then declines to explain, and the actual Cradle of Life, which turns out to be visually underwhelming in a way that Carson compares to a YouTube video that will not load.


The true climax, Carson argues, was always going to be in Lara's heart.


This is the third installment of the miniseries on Angelina Jolie's 2000s action films, following Gone in 60 Seconds and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider.


Follow the show and guests:


Podcast Like It's... — https://www.instagram.com/podcastlikeits

Phil Iscove — https://www.instagram.com/pmiscove

Emily St. James — https://www.instagram.com/emilystjams

Carson Betts — https://www.instagram.com/carsonlbetts

Caroline Thompson — https://www.instagram.com/sportclimbbarbie

How Have You Not Seen It — https://www.instagram.com/hhynspod

💜 Patreon (bonus episodes and video): http://patreon.com/Podcastlikeits

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

94: Tomb Raider 2 with Caroline Thompson & Carson Betts

This week on Holly Randall Unfiltered, the legendary Madison Ivy returns for one of her most personal and revealing interviews yet. From becoming Brazzers’ very first contract star to surviving a life-altering car accident, Madison opens up about the highs, setbacks, and resilience that have defined her career.

Madison reflects on entering the adult industry at just 18 with a clear vision of becoming the ultimate bombshell, quickly rising to icon status during the DVD era. She shares behind-the-scenes stories from the early days of her career, unforgettable shoots in Costa Rica involving snakes, and the now-infamous “Lakers dinner” story that fans still ask about.

The conversation takes a deeply personal turn as Madison discusses the catastrophic car accident that changed her life a decade ago, the reality of enduring 12 surgeries, living with chronic pain, and the mental strength it took to rebuild both physically and emotionally while continuing to work and create content.

Madison and Holly also dive into how the industry has transformed from DVDs to creator-driven platforms like OnlyFans, the pressures performers face today, and why Madison says she’s finally reclaiming her signature confidence and “bukkake energy” for a new chapter in her comeback.

Funny, brutally honest, and unexpectedly inspiring, this episode is a candid look at survival, reinvention, and what it really takes to endure in an ever-changing industry.

Huge thanks to SC World for sponsoring this episode.

YouTube: @scworld.official
Instagram: @scworld.official

Follow Holly Randall on all platforms: HollyLinks.com

Subscribe for exclusive interviews, bonus episodes, and behind-the-scenes content:
Patreon.com/HollyRandallUnfiltered


Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/holly-randall-unfiltered--6630320/support [https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/holly-randall-unfiltered--6630320/support?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss].

Bukkake Energy": Madison Ivy on Her Wildest Scenes and Her New Era

Phil and Emily continue the Angelina Jolie action films miniseries with Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001), joined by BJ Colangelo and Harmony Colangelo, co-hosts of the This Ends at Prom podcast. BJ and Harmony previously joined the show for Hard-Boiled, which Phil describes as a superior action movie. Harmony agrees with everything about that sentence.


Tomb Raider follows aristocrat archaeologist Lara Croft racing against the villainous Illuminati to retrieve the two halves of the Triangle of Light before a rare planetary alignment allows them to unlock its power over time. It cost $150 million, grossed $274 million worldwide, and opened June 15th, 2001 against Atlantis: The Lost Empire, Shrek, Swordfish, Pearl Harbor, and Evolution. Paramount had purchased the video game rights in 1998. No fewer than seven screenwriters took a pass at the script before Simon West stitched something together and pointed a camera at Angelina Jolie.


The group agrees on several things: Jolie is perfectly cast, clearly having a blast, and simply is Lara Croft in a way that very few actors embody a character that completely. They do not agree on much else. Phil's issues are with the script, specifically a 45-minute delay before the film bothers to explain what is actually at stake. Harmony's defense is that this is video game logic, anything is possible, and sometimes you just want to watch someone cool do cool things. Emily ran into Angelina Jolie at a grocery store once and has thoughts.


Daniel Craig is also in this movie. Nobody can identify what accent he is doing. Emily has a theory involving one specific block in Lincoln, Nebraska.

This is the second installment of the miniseries on Angelina Jolie's 2000s action films, following Gone in 60 Seconds.


Follow the show and guests:

Podcast Like It's... — https://www.instagram.com/podcastlikeits

Phil Iscove — https://www.instagram.com/pmiscove

Emily St. James — https://www.instagram.com/emilystjams

BJ Colangelo — https://www.instagram.com/bjcolangelo

Harmony Colangelo — https://www.instagram.com/harmonycolangelo

This Ends at Prom — https://www.instagram.com/thisendsatprom

💜 Patreon (bonus episodes and video): http://patreon.com/Podcastlikeits

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

95: Tomb Raider with BJ & Harmony Colangelo

This week on Holly Randall Unfiltered, Holly sits down with the captivating Ava Amira for one of the most unexpected origin stories in the industry. Born in Baghdad and raised across four countries, Ava opens up about escaping war, rebuilding her life across continents, and how those experiences shaped the fiercely independent woman she is today.

Before entering the adult industry, Ava worked as an international flight attendant, traveling the world while quietly rebuilding herself after a painful breakup and five-year engagement. She shares the deeply personal story of moving to Costa Rica for love, questioning her sexuality during what she calls her “asexual phase,” and realizing she wasn’t broken, she was simply with the wrong person.

Ava also pulls back the curtain on how she strategically entered the adult business, treating it like a career from day one. From studying the industry and connecting with veteran performers and agents to landing scenes with some of the biggest names in the business, Ava explains why preparation became her biggest advantage.

The conversation gets candid as Ava talks relationships, dating, personal boundaries, staying single while building her career, and the mindset that keeps her focused in an industry built on distraction.
Raw, funny, and surprisingly vulnerable, this episode is an honest look at reinvention, ambition, and knowing exactly what you want out of life.

Huge thanks to SC World for sponsoring this episode.

YouTube: @scworld.official [https://www.youtube.com/@scworld.official]
Instagram: @scworld.official [https://www.instagram.com/scworld.official]

Follow Holly Randall: HollyLinks.com [https://HollyLinks.com]

Subscribe for more exclusive interviews, bonus episodes, and behind-the-scenes content:
Patreon.com/HollyRandallUnfiltered [https://Patreon.com/HollyRandallUnfiltered]


Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/holly-randall-unfiltered--6630320/support [https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/holly-randall-unfiltered--6630320/support?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss].

Ava Amira: The Iraq War Took Away Her Home, the Adult Industry Gave Her a New One

No topic will be off limits Aries Spears and Gerard Guillory will discuss everything from politics to pop culture to sports music religion and everything that’s humanly relatable. Aries and Gerard are the “SOPHISTICATED SCOUNDRELS”

Sophisticated Scoundrels

Unfiltered is a podcast series that sheds light on those working in the adult industry, and explores all topics of sex with authors, educators, and advocates. Hosted by world renowned erotic photographer and director Holly Randall, she interviews some of the biggest names in the adult industry, and various non-porn guests who touch on the subject of sex in one way or another. With an honest and humorous outlook on life, Holly strips away the misconceptions on people who work in the sex industry, and offers sex-positive discussions on various social and political issues. You can follow Holly on both Instagram and Twitter at @hollyrandall and drop us an email at hollyrandallunfiltered@gmail.com. Expect to be intrigued, to laugh your ass off, and to learn something new! Holly Randall Unfiltered is a proud member of Pleasure Podcasts. For network details, contact cameron@pleasurepodcasts.com.

Holly Randall Unfiltered

In a lot of ways 1999 was the year that changed movies. From “The Matrix” and “The Blair Witch Project” to “American Beauty” and “The Sixth Sense”, the last year of the millennium was transformative for Hollywood. Through "Podcast Like It's 1999" writers Phillip Iscove (co-creator of FOX's Sleepy Hollow) and Kenny Neibart (Entourage, Hindsight) examine this apex of Cinema, before television took over, before Reality TV, before TMZ and Twitter but also after the internet, after Clinton, after OJ, after Howard Stern and Jerry Springer. This podcast will cover the over 250 exciting, funny and influential movies produced that year. Get excited to do a deep dive into all things 1999.


Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Podcast Like It's 1999

If you CrossFit, this is the show for you! The Wodcast Podcast is a fun show about functional fitness hosted by comedian Eddie Ifft. The host is knowledgeable (sometimes), experienced, and love the “sport of fitness.” They blend CrossFit experience and insight with humor, providing meaningful content without taking themselves too seriously. Each week the Wodcast Podcast hosts some of the biggest names in CrossFit including Games athletes, subject matter experts, coaches, fitness professionals, and many more. The hosts and guests hit it off so well you would think they are all sitting around having a beer which makes for a highly entertaining podcast whether you WOD or not.

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