The Magic Lantern was born of a simple idea: we should just make the kind of show that we would want to listen to. With the Lantern, we want to shine a light on the things we love about our favorite films from the silent era to today. With a loose mix of cinema history, film appreciation and our own ramblings, we hope to point you toward a few things you might have never seen, inspire you to revisit a classic or re-examine some old favorites in a new light. We’re not academics or industry folks, we just love movies. We hope that comes through and we hope you enjoy the show.

cole and ericca

Ericca Long comes to the love of film and film minutiae honestly, as she was raised by a mother whose favorite spot-the-character-actor game is “you know who that is, don’t ya?!” She was inspired from a young age to discover, connect and appreciate those who make great films and their work. And she continues to be inspired and excited (and not just from Regis Toomey sightings). Ericca is also very proud to be married to Cole.

Cole Roulain still remembers constantly hoping recess would get rained out so that every day in grade school could be movie day. A steady diet of Saturday afternoon creature features and Laurel and Hardy two-reelers laid the groundwork for a lifetime of pursuing that next cinematic thrill, a pursuit that has lost none of its allure after all these years. He is grateful to live in Austin, Texas – one of the greatest filmgoing cities in the world – which affords him the chance to discover something great almost daily. He is doubly grateful to get to sit next to Ericca for all of it.