Vending machine love 🍬
Psst, over here...
Are you having a summah? I'm trying my darndest--last weekend I visited the beautiful Greenport Theatre to watch 26 films made by students at the Manhattan Film Institute. (One of them was based on a short script I wrote, CONCESSIONS, which you can read on my Patreon.)
I was blown away by these talented young folks and their teachers, who include MFI founder Tony Spiridakis and director Shannon Goldman (pictured below). Thanks for inviting me to the party!
Also...
- Mike White's THE WHITE LOTUS is the summer cocktail I needed. The cast of HBO's limited comedy series includes Jennifer Coolidge, Murray Barlett, Connie Britton and Steve Zahn. Watch the first episode for free.
- My former writing teacher/rad human being Jeanne Thornton has a new novel out called SUMMER FUN. It follows a young trans woman who writes letters to the singer of her favorite '60s California pop band, the Get Happies. I can't wait to read it; read an excerpt here.
- Joshua Leonard directs FULLY REALIZED HUMANS, which he stars in alongside co-writer Jess Weixler. I'm eternal fans of these two; the film follows a couple that does as many crazy things as possible before the birth of their baby. It arrives in theaters/on streaming today. (P.S. I, too, have wondered what it would be like to punch someone in the face and once wrote a short story about it.)
- Matt Damon was great on WTF this week. I have a couple chapters left in Tarantino's novel and will listen to him on THE BIG PICTURE when I'm done.
- Our longtime friend Zack Smith had the brilliant idea to order a Cameo from Malcolm McDowell and ask the actor to read tweets that inspired the movie ZOLA. Ha! Sign up for Zack's newsletter here.
- Brooklyn folks: St. Mark's Comics is having an all-day grand opening party today at Industry City. A bunch of my pals will be there, including George O'Connor and Dean Haspiel. Stop by, say hi and grab some comix.
- And finally, I'm still adding to my BEST OF 2021 Spotify playlist. I've been digging the song "Yoga Town" and just realized it's part of a new graphic novel from musician Graham Coxon and a pile of writers, musicians and visual artists. That book, SUPERSTATE, arrives next month with an original soundtrack.
Last week I attended a book release party for Kristen Radtke's SEEK YOU: A JOURNEY THROUGH AMERICAN LONELINESS and Rachel Yoder's NIGHTBITCH. I had the time of my life and woke up the next morning with both titles and a bit of a hangover. Grab 'em now from your favorite bookstore.
(And yes, this image is from one of my diary comics. You can read all of those at patreon.com/whitneymatheson for as little as 2 bucks a month.)
Seek pleasure today, and holler anytime at whitmath@gmail.com. Let's meet for karaoke soon! I'll do a cover of Laura Branigan's "Gloria" that I'll certainly regret later.
Your phantom of the paradise,
Lady Elaine Fairchilde
"Just remember, we're all in this alone."
- Lily Tomlin
Reach out! Find me on Twitter, Instagram and at whitmath@gmail.com.