The Projection Booth
· Season 1 · Episode 788 · Latest episodeSpecial Report: Clean Hands (2026)
Mike talks with Jake Allyn, writer-director of Clean Hands (2026), a true-crime drama about a celebrated Hagerstown, Maryland narcotics sergeant fighting the opioid pipeline he polices by day while his own daughter is consumed by it at home.
Allyn found the story on YouTube during COVID and became close enough with the real Kevin and Dana Simmers that he calls them second parents; they and the police officers who served with Kevin were on set throughout the 20-day Atlanta and Hagerstown shoot, alongside Brooke’s actual drug counselor, who appears in the film herself. Zach Braff, taking his first dramatic lead as a real person and a cop, reportedly came to need Kevin’s presence on set by the second week after initially asking for space; Esther McGregor carried the weight of standing in for every woman who’s passed through the recovery home the real story inspired. Allyn structured the film’s financing so that a third of its profits go directly to Brooke’s House, the real nonprofit recovery residence Kevin founded after his daughter’s story played out.
The film is Allyn’s second directing credit, made with his brother Conor, following their earlier border drama Ride; it opens Friday, October 16th, after premiering at this year’s Tribeca Festival.
Follow the film on Instagram, and visit Brooke’s House to support the recovery program.
Allyn found the story on YouTube during COVID and became close enough with the real Kevin and Dana Simmers that he calls them second parents; they and the police officers who served with Kevin were on set throughout the 20-day Atlanta and Hagerstown shoot, alongside Brooke’s actual drug counselor, who appears in the film herself. Zach Braff, taking his first dramatic lead as a real person and a cop, reportedly came to need Kevin’s presence on set by the second week after initially asking for space; Esther McGregor carried the weight of standing in for every woman who’s passed through the recovery home the real story inspired. Allyn structured the film’s financing so that a third of its profits go directly to Brooke’s House, the real nonprofit recovery residence Kevin founded after his daughter’s story played out.
The film is Allyn’s second directing credit, made with his brother Conor, following their earlier border drama Ride; it opens Friday, October 16th, after premiering at this year’s Tribeca Festival.
Follow the film on Instagram, and visit Brooke’s House to support the recovery program.
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About this show
Mike White's flagship film podcast, pairing scholarly discussion with original interviews of directors, writers, actors, and craftspeople, with a focus on cult, international, regional, and independent cinema. Recognized by The Washington Post, The A.V. Club, IndieWire, Entertainment Weekly, and Filmmaker Magazine.
Hosts
- Mike WhiteHost, producer and editor
All episodes (1,551)
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2:16:36Season 1 · Episode 30Special Report: Tainted: The Drunken Commentary
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1:43:16Season 1 · Episode 159Episode 159: Toto le Heros (1991)
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18:19Season 1 · Episode 29Special Report: The Freep Film Festival (2014)
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2:37:44Season 1 · Episode 158Episode 158: Smoker (1983)
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1:19:04Season 1 · Episode 157Episode 157: Female Trouble (1974)
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1:45:44Season 1 · Episode 156Episode 156: Black Dynamite (2009)
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1:39:18Season 1 · Episode 155Episode 155: Bone (1972)
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1:51:44Season 1 · Episode 154Episode 154: Bamboozled (2000)
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1:39:50Season 1 · Episode 153Episode 153: Hit! (1973)
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2:29:45Season 1 · Episode 152Episode 152: Watermelon Man (1970)
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1:30:37Season 1 · Episode 151Episode 151: Orgy of the Dead (1965)
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3:45:20Season 1 · Episode 150Episode 150: Cruising (1980)
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22:37Season 1 · Episode 28Special Report: Marjorie Conrad on Chemical Cut
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2:25:25Season 1 · Episode 149Episode 149: Boys in the Sand (1971)
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20:21Season 1 · Episode 27Special Report: Old School Gangstas 2
- 14:20
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1:46:46Season 1 · Episode 148Episode 148: Zardoz (1974)
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1:35:40Season 1 · Episode 147Episode 147: Big Gus, What's the Fuss? (1973)
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2:22:41Season 1 · Episode 146Episode 146: Black Shampoo (1976)
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3:02:50Season 1 · Episode 145Episode 145: The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972)
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1:47:48Season 1 · Episode 144Episode 144: The Brain that Wouldn't Die (1962)
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4:09:08Season 1 · Episode 143Episode 143: The Magnificent Ambersons (1942)
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17:49Season 1 · Episode 26Special Report: Bettie Page Reveals All (2012)
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3:19:17Season 1 · Episode 142Episode 142: Eating Raoul (1982)
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3:42:32Season 1 · Episode 141Episode 141: Executive Action (1973)
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