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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26:28Season 1 · Episode 25Special Report: Blow Out: Bonus Interview: Bill Mesce
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3:22:47Season 1 · Episode 140Episode 140: Blow Out (1981)
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25:27Season 1 · Episode 24Special Report: John Sayles on Go For Sisters
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2:24:57Season 1 · Episode 139Episode 139: Cabin Boy (1994)
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38:57Season 1 · Episode 23Special Report: Detroit Unleaded Comes Home
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2:32:46Season 1 · Episode 138Episode 138: The Devil in Miss Jones (1973)
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31:22Season 1 · Episode 22Special Report: Help Zoe Cassavetes Create Day Out of Days
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1:31:12Season 1 · Episode 137Episode 137: Who Can Kill A Child? (1976)
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3:43:18Season 1 · Episode 136Episode 136: Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (1992)
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1:46:53Season 1 · Episode 135Episode 135: Good Hair (2009)
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1:19:00Season 1 · Episode 134Episode 134: Mr. Freedom (1968)
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59:30Season 1 · Episode 21Special Report: Detroit Institute of Arts' Watch Me Move
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22:45Season 1 · Episode 20Special Report: Adam Rifkin & Penn Jillette building Director's Cut
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2:56:22Season 1 · Episode 133Episode 133: There Will Be Blood (2007)
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1:26:46Season 1 · Episode 19Special Report: The Aspen & Blue Water Film Festivals
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2:18:40Season 1 · Episode 132Episode 132: Myra Breckinridge (1970)
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2:11:33Season 1 · Episode 131Episode 131: Seconds (1966)
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2:50:22Season 1 · Episode 130Episode 130: Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
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1:56:44Season 1 · Episode 129Episode 129: Sorcerer (1977)
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1:32:26Season 1 · Episode 128Episode 128: Surf Nazis Must Die (1987)
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1:45:25Season 1 · Episode 127Episode 127: Gremlins (1984)
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1:11:08Season 1 · Episode 126Episode 126: WR - Mysteries of the Organism (1971)
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1:37:07Season 1 · Episode 125Episode 125: I Am Divine (2013)
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48:08Season 1 · Episode 18Special Episode: There She Is (2014)
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1:26:23Season 1 · Episode 124Episode 124: Cleanflix (2009)
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