The How NOT To Make A Movie Podcast

S5E11 He's A One-Man Movie-Making Band

The How NOT To Make A Movie Podcast

Show Notes

IN THIS EPISODE In this episode, Gil and I chatted with Tales From The Crypt alum John Harrison. John directed two episodes of Crypt: Easel Kill Ya with Tim Roth and The Pit with Wayne Newton which he also wrote. John wrote two of the episodes that we shot in London – Horror In The Night starring Elizabeth McGovern and The Kidnapper which starred Steve Coogan and Julia Sawalha.

John came to Crypt already a highly respected horror auteur. Coming from Pittsburgh, John was heavily influenced by another Pittsburgh native, George Romero. In fact, John worked on Romero’s Dawn Of The Dead and Day Of The Dead. He also worked on Creepshow, Tales From The Darkside, Monsters (the TV series), Nightmare Café and Earth 2 – all before lending his talents to Crypt.

Since then? Among other things, John wrote the animated feature “Dinosaur” for Disney. He wrote and directed Clive Barker’s Book of Blood for TNT, and John’s 6-hour miniseries adaptation of Frank Herbert's Dune (2000), which he directed, was an Emmy Award-winner here in the US and an international TV and home video hit.

Then John did the sequel - Children of Dune - another 6-hour miniseries encompassing the next two novels of Frank Herbert's mythic adventure series. John wrote and co-produced the series - which also won an Emmy, this time for the Sci-Fi Channel.

I’ve only just scratched the surface of our friend John Harrison. Did I mention he’s a musician and scores his work, too? He really is a one-man-movie-making band.

This episode was originally published in April 2023.

If you enjoy this podcast, please sample our other podcasts at Costard & Touchstone Productions. Your next podcast obsession is just a click away! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

More from The How NOT To Make A Movie Podcast

Oct 21, 2026

IN THIS EPISODE It shouldn't be a revelation that we're huge Sherrie Rose fans here at the How NOT To Make A Movie Podcast. Sherrie appeared in two episodes of "Tales From The Crypt" and had a small role in "Demon Knight", the first Crypt-branded feature. Her first Crypt episode was the William Friedkin directed "On A Dead Man's Chest" - a classic episode! But, Sherrie's second Crypt appearance - as the mysterious, mask-wearing young woman in "Only Skin Deep" - is truly a world class performance. Acting is just the tip of the Sherrie Rose Creative Enterprise. She writes, produces, finds financing and pretty much does it all. She's fearless. Like a force of nature. In this episode, we get into all of it - especially the writing!

Oct 14, 2026

IN THIS EPISODE We first met Emmy Award-winning and Oscar-nominated British composer, conductor, and multi-instrumentalist NICHOLAS PIKE back during the Freddy's Nightmares days. Celebrated for his vast stylistic versatility across Hollywood feature films, television series, documentaries, and high-profile music videos, Nick is known for his innovative fusion of orchestral arrangements, electronic syntax, and experimental and found-sound instrumentation. He's built a dynamic career bridging mainstream commercial projects with critically acclaimed independent and documentary films.

Oct 7, 2026

IN THIS EPISODE Creative relationships are exactly like marriages. They require the same TLC and careful nurturing if they're going to endure and be successful. Cy Voris and Ethan Reiff return for another conversation, this time about the craft of writing and how that craft works when two people are doing the crafting. Cy and Ethan have been writing (and producing what they write) super successfully for almost 40 years! How did they do it? How do they continue to do it? That's just for starters!

Sep 30, 2026

IN THIS EPISODE Depending on how you look at it, our friend Brandon Routh either got the best job of his life when he got cast as Superman or the worst job. That’s because Superman is an unusual character which dictates how movie and TV producers have to cast him. Playing a super hero is a lot harder than it looks especially whenn the super hero you're playing is such a genuinely super being. That doesn't make playing Superman easier, it makes playing him harder - and harder still to find and cast an actor who can actually be the character (as opposed to "acting like" him).

Sep 23, 2026

IN THIS EPISODE Returning for another visit – the first of at least two conversations – are old friends Cy Voris and Ethan Reiff. Those knowledgeable about the Cryptosphere, recognize Cy and Ethan as the authors of the first Tales From The Crypt feature film “Demon Knight”. Having been part of several successful writing partnerships, I truly marvel at what Cy and Ethan have achieved. They’ve been working together for almost 40 years. Most marriages don’t last that long! In this chat, we'll talk about the craft of writing - both as individuals and as a team. Those are two somewhat different processes.

See all episodes →