Josh Horowitz, the entertainment journalist behind the Happy Sad Confused podcast, is expanding his footprint in the interview space.
On Monday, Horowitz launched Watch-a-Long, a spinoff miniseries in which Horowitz invites filmmakers to rewatch one of their films in full while the two chat. The inaugural episode features Louis Leterrier and his 2008 Marvel Studios feature, The Incredible Hulk.
Among the other guests and films lined up are Catherine Hardwicke (Twilight), Francis Lawrence ( The Hunger Games: Catching Fire), Justin Lin (The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift) and Chad Stahelski watching John Wick: Chapter 4. Each episode is edited down to around 45 to 60 minutes, described as a “Best of” edit, but the unedited conversations will be available on the Happy Sad Confused Patreon page.
“As a lifelong obsessive of DVD filmmaker commentaries, I’m thrilled to bring my own Happy Sad Confused spin to this format by hosting this series,” Horowitz said in a statement. “With the luxury of time and the trust of my guests, this series has been a dream come true to produce and I’m so excited to share it with fellow movie fans at last. We’re about to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Happy Sad Confused and I can’t think of a better extension of the podcast to commemorate the occasion.”
In addition to Happy Sad Confused, Horowitz works as a host for MTV, Comedy Central and Paramount+. He launched Happy Sad Confused in 2014 and has turned it into a flagship brand in the film interview space, with guests including Quentin Tarantino and Christopher Nolan. Over the past year, it generated more than 70 million impressions across audio, YouTube and its social channels. In recent years he has expanded to live events, taping episodes of Happy Sad Confused at the 92nd Street Y in New York.
Among the podcast’s key selling points is Horowitz’s tendency to draw out headline-making tidbits from his guests. His first episode of Watch-a-Long is no exception. Incredible Hulk star Edward Norton famously did not return to the role of Bruce Banner/Hulk after a single film following reported clashes with Marvel.
Leterrier shares his thoughts from his vantage point (“There was no tension. And then one day, it was done”) and reveals that Norton advocated for Radiohead to be involved in the music for the film.
Watch the first episode below.
