🍕 action = satisfaction 🍕
Howdy again! This week I've been buried in Paid Work, which helps keep the Creative Projects possible. Without revealing too much, I'll just say that my play DENNY BARRACUDA is taking an exciting new form ... stay tuned.
I'm into it:
1. I rewatched Robert Altman's NASHVILLE, which I hadn't seen in maybe 20 years. What a brilliant movie, made even more so by the fact that the actors wrote their own songs. Here's a 12-minute interview with Altman about the making of the film; next on my list might be COME BACK TO THE 5 & DIME JIMMY DEAN, JIMMY DEAN (1982), which is now on Criterion and stars Karen Black, Cher and Sandy Dennis.
2. I watched A GHOST STORY on Netflix the other night and loved it so much. Here's a snippet from a scene with Will Oldham that I can't get out of my head, but if you can spare 90 minutes, just watch the whole movie.
3. I got sucked into James Franco's SATURDAY NIGHT, his behind-the-scenes documentary about SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE. He shot it in 2008, but it wasn't released until 2014. See the whole thing on YouTube.
4. HBO released a trailer for the Adrienne Shelly documentary, which airs Dec. 1.
5. Edgar Wright's THE SPARKS BROTHERS doc is now on Netflix.
6. Thanks to Audra for telling me about so many shows I gotta watch on Apple TV+, especially the animal docuseries TINY WORLD, which will probably be binged this weekend along with the new HARRIET THE SPY series.
I grew up near Spotsylvania, Virginia, which made headlines last week when its school board voted to ban--and maybe even BURN--several books. (The decision was just reversed.) My daughter is reading Alan Gratz's BAN THIS BOOK, which explains the concept. (P.S. I went to college with Alan, who has written many fantastic YA novels. See more of them at alangratz.com.)
Enjoy the weekend, and thanks for supporting my work on Patreon, where you can see my diary comics and more. Yodel in my direction at whitmath@gmail.com.
*feels it in the air tonight*
Jo Polniaczek
"I love playing strong women, even if they're nuts."
- Karen Black
Hey, kids! I've written several books for young readers on Epic, including titles about unicorns, the Loch Ness Monster, Australia and, of course, COMICS! Log in and search my name to read 'em all. (Epic is free through most schools and libraries.)
Reach out! Find me on Twitter, Instagram and at whitmath@gmail.com.