The Plaza Classic Podcast

"One Battle After Another"

One Battle After Another, the latest film by acclaimed director Paul Thomas Anderson, took over El Paso when the film crew shot parts of the movie here in 2024. The excitement was palpable as Downtown El Paso's historic buildings and unique facades became the backdrop for several scenes and Academy Award winning actors Leonardo DiCaprio, Benicio Del Toro, and Sean Penn were spotted meandering around the city.
On Sept. 13, 2025, the fervor spilled over. Warner Bros. Studios worked with the El Paso Community Foundation and others to screen One Battle at the Plaza Theatre. Dozens of movie extras, local crew, and supporters of the El Paso film community were invited to the special showing two weeks before the world premiere.
Podcast hosts Stephanie Valle and Lisa Elliott are joined in studio by El Paso location scout Jacob Cena and architect Bill Helm, who were both instrumental in winning "one battle after another" to shoot the film in the Sun City.
The Plaza Classic Podcast is a production of the El Paso Community Foundation and is recorded on the El Paso Community College campus.
Check out this week's show notes here.
Learn more about the Plaza Classic Film Festival here.
 

Onstage with "The Birds" star Veronica Cartwright

Veronica Cartwright is one of Hollywood's busiest character actors. As a child, she started off as a model, then a commercial actor, and even landed a recurring role in Leave It to Beaver.
Cartwright's big screen break came at age 14, when she was cast as Cathy Brennan in The Birds (1963), directed by Alfred Hitchcock. She later worked alongside Ridley Scott as "Lambert" in the sci-fi classic Alien (1979).
The actress was a special guest at the 2025 Plaza Classic Film Festival, where she sat for a Q&A ahead of both aforementioned films. The following episode contains the interview Plaza Classic Podcast host Lisa Elliott conducted with Cartwright before the screening of The Birds on July 26.
The Plaza Classic Podcast is a production of the El Paso Community Foundation and is recorded on the El Paso Community College campus.
Check out this week's show notes here.
Learn more about the Plaza Classic Film Festival here.

Q&A with "La Bamba" Director Luis Valdez

Luis Valdez influenced a generation of Latinos and Latinas when he showcased their stories on the big screen in the 1980s.
The director was the special guest during the first weekend of the 2025 Plaza Classic Film Festival, appearing before the screenings of La Bamba on Friday, July 18 and Zoot Suit on Saturday, July 19.
The following interview with Film Festival Advisory Committee member and podcast co-host Stephanie Valle was held before a live audience onstage at the Plaza Theatre on Friday evening. 
The Plaza Classic Podcast is a production of the El Paso Community Foundation and is recorded on the El Paso Community College campus.
Check out this week's show notes here.
Learn more about the Plaza Classic Film Festival here.

Location, Location, Location

Location matters when it comes to setting up a business, buying a house, and filming a movie.
Jacob Cena knows El Paso like the back of his hand. It's one of his most prized assets as the Borderland's trusted location scout.
Cena will delve deeper into his craft during the Filmmaker's Brunch, which takes place on the last day of the Plaza Classic Film Festival.
He also shares some insight into what it takes to get a film shot in the Sun City with Lisa Elliott and Stephanie Valle.
The Plaza Classic Film Festival runs from July 17-27, 2025. Find the full schedule here.
Get festival passes and more here.
Want more? Check out the show notes.
The Plaza Classic Podcast is a production of the El Paso Community Foundation and is recorded on the El Paso Community College campus.

The Diego Munoz Holguin Film Showcase

Not all the movies shown during the Plaza Classic Film Festival are classics in the traditional sense of the word. Some are making their debut on the big screen during the festival.
Local filmmaker Diego Munoz Holguin has the honor of screening several of his short films at the Plaza.
Munoz talks to podcast hosts Stephanie Valle and Lisa Elliott about his works and the method to his filmmaking.
The Plaza Classic Film Festival runs from July 17-27, 2025. Find the full schedule here.
Get festival passes and more here.
Want more? Check out the show notes.
The Plaza Classic Podcast is a production of the El Paso Community Foundation and is recorded on the El Paso Community College campus.

The Film Fest's Special Guests are...

Luis Valdez and Veronica Cartwright may not be household names, but they have both played large roles in some memorable films you surely have seen.
Valdez directed "Zoot Suit" with Edward James Olmos and "La Bamba" with Lou Diamond Phillips; Cartwright portrayed both Cathy, the teen girl in "The Birds," and Lambert in "Alien." And both stars will be gracing the stage during the Plaza Classic Film Festival.
Festival Program Director and "Friend of the Pod" Doug Pullen is back in the podcast studio with Stephanie Valle and Lisa Elliott to run down the schedule of the 18th film festival.
The Plaza Classic Film Festival runs from July 17-27, 2025. Find  the full schedule here.
Get festival passes and more here.
Want more? Check out the show notes.
The Plaza Classic Podcast is a production of the El Paso Community Foundation and is recorded on the El Paso Community College campus.

"I'm Just A Girl" Dinner

If you're a fan of "Notting Hill" starring Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant, then you're in luck.
The 1999 rom-com is the star of the newest date night event held during the Plaza Classic Film Festival. The "I'm Just a Girl" Dinner is on Monday, July 21 with a screening of "Notting Hill" to follow.
In this episode, podcast hosts Lisa Elliott and Stephanie Valle are just two girls, sitting in front of two fellow committee members Craig Holden and Rebecca Mendez, asking them to talk about "Notting Hill."
Get "I'm Just A Girl" Dinner tickets here.
The Plaza Classic Film Festival runs from July 17-27, 2025. Find the full schedule here.
Get festival passes and more here.
Want even more? Check out the show notes.
The Plaza Classic Podcast is a production of the El Paso Community Foundation and is recorded on the El Paso Community College campus.

"Jaws in Space"

Do you know the story behind the most famous pitch in film history?
It was for 1979's Alien. Legend has it, the screenwriters told the studio heads three words: "Jaws in space."
The power of the pitch is clear, and there will be a workshop during the Plaza Classic Film Festival to help writers finesse that much-needed skill.
El Paso Film Commissioner Drew Mayer-Oakes joins Lisa Elliott and Stephanie Valle in the podcast studio to talk about the Screenwriting Pitch Fest.
The Plaza Classic Film Festival runs from July 17-27, 2025. Find the pitch fest on the full schedule here.
Get festival passes and more here.
Want more? Check out the show notes.
The Plaza Classic Podcast is a production of the El Paso Community Foundation and is recorded on the El Paso Community College campus.

A Night at the Museum(s)

2025 marks the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. As part of a massive collaborative effort, the Plaza Classic Film Festival is teaming up with FIVE of El Paso's museums to showcase "Hollywood Goes to War," the festival's major theme commemorating the anniversary.
Podcast hosts Stephanie Valle and Lisa Elliott are joined in studio by representatives of the Mexican American Cultural Center, the El Paso Museum of Art, and the El Paso Holocaust Museum, so they can share the special World War II-themed exhibits and programs taking place during the festival.
Check the show notes for the special exhibits and features at La Nube STEAM Discovery Center and the El Paso Museum of History.
The Plaza Classic Podcast is a production of the El Paso Community Foundation and is recorded on the El Paso Community College campus.
The Plaza Classic Film Festival runs from July 17-27, 2025. Check out the schedule here.
Get festival passes and more here.

From BlacKkKansman to the Hip Hop Cop

El Pasoan Ron Stallworth had an eventful career in law enforcement. He helped sabotage KKK activities in Colorado Springs as an undercover member of the Klan, and he also uncovered Bloods and Crips activity in Salt Lake City's Mormon Country.
His true life stories are more fascinating than fiction, prompting screenwriters to bring his published memoirs "BlacKkKlansman" and "The Gangs of Zion" to the big and small screen, alike.
Stallworth joins Stephanie Valle and Lisa Elliott to talk about his life, his work, and his efforts to support budding writers with the help of the El Paso Community Foundation.
The Plaza Classic Podcast is a production of the El Paso Community Foundation and is recorded on the El Paso Community College campus.
The Plaza Classic Film Festival runs from July 17-27, 2025. Check out the schedule here.
Check out this week's show notes here.
Get festival passes and more here.