KLOS, KMET, Mark & Brian and the days when Southern California rock radio ruled the airwaves. Paul Dergarabedian and Mike Polydoros welcome their friend Steven G. Smith, a.k.a. Steve the Lizard Killer, former Director of Advertising and Promotion at 95.5 KLOS, to Rentrak’s Lights, Camera, Box Office! podcast. With a career that included movie promotions for Back to the Future and Jurassic Park, Steven G. helped bring Hollywood and rock radio together through screenings, premieres and some wonderfully outrageous promotional ideas. From behind-the-scenes stories to a station rivalry that spilled into the parking lot at a Who concert, he takes us back to an extraordinary era of Los Angeles radio. Along the way, the conversation turns to In-N-Out Burger, old friendships and the people who made it all happen.

Lights, Camera, Box Office! went live on Monday, September 21 from CineLATAM 2026 in Coral Gables, Florida.

Rentrak’s Luis Vargas joins Paul Dergarabedian and Lights, Camera, Box Office! co-host Mike Polydoros of Paper Airplane Media for a special conversation about the state of the theatrical marketplace across Latin America and Iberoamérica.

Following Luis' presentation of exclusive Rentrak data, the three dig into the strength of the 2026 box office, where momentum is building across the region, the impact of local films and global event movies, the growing importance of premium theatrical experiences, and what today’s audience behavior tells us about the future of moviegoing.

Recorded live from the floor of CineLATAM 2026.

Featuring:
Luis Vargas, Rentrak LATAM
Mike Polydoros, President, Paper Airplane Media
Paul Dergarabedian, Head of Marketplace Trends, Rentrak

Veteran film journalist, critic and industry analyst David Poland joins Paul Dergarabedian for a conversation that quickly moves beyond the numbers and into something they both care deeply about: movies and the moviegoing experience.

They talk about the Cinerama Dome, ArcLight, VistaVision, cinematography, horror movies, filmmakers, actors, film history, audiences and the communal experience of seeing a great movie in a theater.

David also offers a sharp take on what he calls “abandoned weekends," release dates studios too often leave open because they assume audiences won’t show up. His view is simple: “Anything is a good date if you have a movie they want to see.”

The conversation also touches on box office tracking, marketing, studio economics and the need for more movies in theaters.

And David sums up the spirit of the episode perfectly:

“Show business be damned. We care about movies.”

Recorded before the official end of the 2026 summer movie season, so some box office figures discussed were still evolving.