Emmy Award-winning broadcaster Adnan Virk is now an author with a forthcoming book about his passion for film.

Cinephile: Interviews, Essays, and Tales from the Red Carpet will be released on Aug. 26. The book is named after his Cinephile podcast, which ended in September 2024.

In the book, Virk recounts some of his favorite interviews, including those with Oscar-winning actors such as Robert De Niro, J.K. Simmons, and Mahershala Ali.

We recently caught up with the host of the MLB Network and NHL Network to discuss his book and the MLB All-Star Game.

This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.

“The last pod was last September, and to be honest, I haven’t missed it, only for the simple fact that today’s movies just aren’t as good as they once were. I’ve enjoyed the last 10 months or so going back and seeing the movies I loved from the 70s and the 90s. The podcast was a ton of fun, 336 episodes over nine years, but it’s ephemeral, right? Tomorrow it could be gone. A book is tangible, and whether you sell five books, 50 books, or 500 books, it truly does live forever, just like a movie. So, I thought it would be a great companion piece to the podcast.”

“Moonlight winning Best Picture. That whole story is bananas. I was there backstage with Ben Lyons broadcasting it all. We were the second screen experience for the Oscars. Jimmy Kimmel’s hosting it, but then on Oscars.com and Facebook Live, it’s me, Ben, Troy Gentile, and Sofia Carson. We are narrating the Oscars, just exactly what we described, like watching a game, like the Manningcast. They butchered the Oscars. It’s something I’ll never forget.

“I had met Barry Jenkins, the director of Moonlight. I saw Barry that night on the red carpet. I said to him, I think you’ve got a puncher’s chance. He smiled and was like, ‘Yeah, I think you’re right.’ It was a fun moment when I got to interview him after. That was like my Al Michaels moment. I’m the one backstage screaming, ‘Moonlight won Best Picture.'”

“At Jimmy Kimmel’s Oscars after-party, we’re in line to get some French fries. I said, ‘Oh my God, it can’t be Michael Keaton. I’m a huge Michael Keaton fan, and he’s literally in front of me. I’m thinking of what to say to him. He turned for a second. He’s like: ‘Hey, how are you?’ I almost fell over that he knew who I was. Then immediately, that goes away. You’re just having a conversation. He’s a huge Pittsburgh sports fan. So we start talking Penguins and the Pirates.”

“The big one for me was Robert De Niro. Bob came to ESPN to promote Hands of Stone, a boxing movie, in August 2016. I was working the Little League World Series for ESPN. But of course, I was not going to miss a chance to meet one of my idols. I drove from Williamsport for five hours that night. Got in at 1 a.m. Up the next day at 7. Drop the kids off at the neighbor’s, and go to the meeting.”

“The big thing I was wondering was: What do I call him? Mr. De Niro sounds very formal, but nobody calls him Robert. Everybody calls him Bob. (When I saw him,) it was almost like a surprise party. I wanted to duck. I’m like, ‘Oh my God, he’s here.’ He had the long hair, white beard, big smile, big handshake. He’s such a sweet guy.

“I noticed in interviews he can be rather taciturn. But when I told him there was no camera, he immediately eased up a little bit, and the interview was much better after that. I started by saying: ‘Can I call you Bob?’ He said, ‘Sure.’ That stands out the most to me.”

Broadcaster
Podcaster
And now author
My love letter to movies and first book Cinephile: Interviews, Essays and Tales from the Red Carpet will be released August 26th. Interviews with Robert DeNiro, Margot Robbie, Kevin Hart, and many more.
Pre-order now!https://t.co/CJ8Y2dx9Vt pic.twitter.com/h9HDyNr5N4

— Adnan Virk (@adnansvirk) July 7, 2025

“J.K. Simmons, who wrote the blurb for my book. His entire career was as a theater actor. He thought that was where he was going to be. Then he gets Oz, which is one of my favorite shows ever. That kind of puts him on the map. He’s unbelievable, playing this (Neo-Nazi). He also gets a role on Law & Order, playing a good-hearted shrink.

“He’s an enormous Detroit Tigers fan. He’s losing his mind right now. He’s just a relatable guy. He’s just so down to earth.”

“It was a great three years, 150 episodes. Dan (Le Batard) calls me last April: ‘I got bad news, buddy. Unfortunately, Meadowlark is changing direction in terms of our podcasts, et cetera. We’re not going to be able to continue it.’ I said, ‘No problem. I understand.’ …

“He said, ‘If you want to keep doing it, we’ll distribute it for you. We just can’t pay you.’ This was last April. Yeah, I gave it five months, and I told my agent if I could find somewhere else great, if not, we’ll bag it. I realized it had run its course. So, it was not my decision. Meadowlark pulled the plug. I couldn’t find anywhere else to run it. I didn’t want to do it for free. The end.”

“I celebrate the fact that the Detroit Tigers have had an unbelievable season. Six Tigers getting named is a great story. It’s one thing to expect Tarik Skubal, who is the best pitcher in baseball. It’s another to expect Riley Greene. For Javier Báez to have this kind of a bounce-back season. Gleyber Torres, in a one-year contract, made the All-Star team as a starting second baseman. That to me is impressive.”

“This was the issue last year, they’re all wearing one jersey. I said, ‘No,’ especially as a kid growing up in Toronto. I love seeing the Blue Jays jersey, the Tigers jersey, the Yankees jersey, etc. That will be the case this year. They’re going to go back to that rather than just having one uniform jersey. That was my biggest thing.”

What’s going to be the big story of the second half?

“A little love for the Blue Jays. How about Toronto ripping off a 10-game winning streak? The way the Jays smacked the Yankees during that four-game series, they’ve taken off. I think the AL East division clash is going to be fascinating, with the Jays, Rays, and Yankees. That’s a legit three-horse race.”

Cinephile, the book, is now available for preorder on Amazon and will be in bookstores next month.