No. 15: Judy Davis, Voltaire, The Hamburglar, SAD lamps, etc.
I love your look!
I'm typing with semi-heavy eyelids, because a) I just ate too much barbecue; and b) last night the Brooklyn wind was so strong it rattled the windows 'til dawn. But enough excuses! Let's turn up our SAD lamps* to 11 and get on with it ...
* I used to have one of these, then I got rid of it when I moved to Tennessee. Regrets!
11 things I'm into this week ...
Some stuff that's blazing my saddle:
1. My first theatergoing experience of 2019 was to see STAN & OLLIE, the new Laurel & Hardy movie starring Steve Coogan and John C. Reilly. I knew I'd love it: Reilly absolutely transforms himself to play Oliver Hardy, and Coogan brings such a sweetness and vulnerability to Stan Laurel. (And yes, I adore all Steve Coogan does. He also spoke with Marc Maron this week on WTF.)
2. Syfy has posted the first episode of DEADLY CLASS ahead of its Jan. 16 premiere. Based on the comics by Rick Remender and Wesley Craig, it follows a teen who enrolls in a school of assassins in an alternate version of 1987 San Francisco. The soundtrack includes The Cure, Depeche Mode and (natch) "The Killing Moon." Think of it as a Dark Wave Hogwarts where Snape is played by Henry Rollins.
3. A friend turned me on to Gabrielle Bell's Patreon, where she has been posting some incredibly honest and compelling diary comics. Just $2+ a month gets you access. If you subscribe to any other comics on Patreon, I'd love to hear about them.
4. This week the Creative Independent interviewed Nick Quah, creator of Hot Pod, an email newsletter about the podcast industry. If you're a podcast enthusiast like myself, subscribe over at hotpodnews.com.
5. Speaking of podcasts, I loved Felicia Day's chat on Michael Rosenbaum's Inside of You podcast. She covers a lot and may inspire you to read more Voltaire.
6. ANNIHILATION is on Hulu! So is SUPPORT THE GIRLS! And SKATE KITCHEN! I canceled a bunch of premium subscriptions on Jan. 1 to save some money (i.e. HBO and Showtime), but Hulu is safe from the chopping block ...
7. I bought Laurie Weeks' ZIPPER MOUTH because I figured anything beneath that killer cover had to be interesting. The short novel has everything from badbadverybad drug experiences to an imaginary letter to actress Judy Davis.
8. The A24 podcast has a fun episode with old friends Michael Cera and Jonah Hill. (Does anyone have a copy of Hill's zine, by the way? Is it worth 10 bucks?) One of these days I gotta try Elaine May's favorite beer.
9. The Playlist shared a list of 40+ screenplays to download for free, including scripts for FIRST REFORMED, THE BALLAD OF BUSTER SCRUGGS and the aforementioned STAN & OLLIE. I have so many screenplays on my Kindle. And if you've never read the original screenplay for Charlie Kaufman's BEING JOHN MALKOVICH, I highly recommend it, because some parts are very different from the film.
10. Kickstarter's "Make 100" project is underway, where we're challenged to create 100 of something. I wish I could come up with a good idea for this; instead, I'm happy to just browse the limited-edition offerings.
11. And finally, get lost in Steven Soderbergh's massive list of everything he saw and read in 2018. Some stuff isn't surprising -- he likes ATLANTA and BILLIONS and movies on the now-defunct FilmStruck -- but then he'll throw you with, say, a marathon of Bravo's BELOW DECK or an episode of DATELINE.
Hope this helps! Get well soon, John Siuntres!!
... and some stuff you recommend:
Send suggestions via email (just hit reply!) or text/voicemail at 929-515-1988, where I leave a new outgoing message every day. A few things you're into:
MUSIC: I put a call out on Facebook for recent albums that prove rock 'n' roll ain't dead, and the response was overwhelming. Warren likes Ike Reilly. Ingrid digs The Push Stars. Nathan suggests Death Valley Girls. Joe says Lightfoils is a "Cocteau Twins throwback." Jason likes The Beths. And of course I agree with the Kurt Vile, Parquet Courts, Starcrawler and Metric accolades. (And shout-out to Robert, who thinks such a list isn't complete without Avalanche Bob.) I may throw together a playlist, if anyone is interested.
BOOKS: Herman likes Richard Blade's WORLD IN MY EYES, which he says is a "breezy, fun read" about the former New Wave radio DJ. Jerilyn loves the audiobook for THE OTHER WIFE by Michael Robotham, which she says is "so suspenseful with lots of twists." Robert thinks we might like FAST TIMES AND EXCELLENT ADVENTURES, James King's book that details the history of '80s teen movies.
TV: Leanne is binging SIX FEET UNDER because she missed it the first time; Allison loves the French rom-com series THE HOOK-UP PLAN on Netflix, which she says "has a lot more depth to it than you would expect."
COMICS: Aug tells me I need to check out Roman Muradov's work; he's one of many recs on The Comic Journal's roundup of the best comics/graphic novels of 2018.
RADIO: Jerry digs this BBC radio presentation featuring some of Neil Gaiman's favorite songs, stories and other things. They're read by Peter Capaldi and others.
MISCELLANY: Shout-out to Shannon, who thought of me upon seeing this in his doctor's waiting room:
Smashing suggestions, as always! (And has anybody seen a good movie recently? Let us know.)
*Update: Most of you think the cat in is sitting. Thanks for your participating in this very important survey. If we can help solve another mystery, please holler.
Guess what I found in a thrift shop for $3? (It must've been a bad breakup or something, because who the heck gets rid of Dan Clowes?)
Mork calling Orson ...
It's winter and we all need human contact, so call anytime at 929-515-1988 to say hi via text or voicemail. Thanks to all who have urged folks to subscribe at WhitneyMatheson.com or this page. Keep spreading the word! Keep dreaming the dream!
I like my bands in business suits,
Horatio J. Hoodoo
Andy Warhol: You could be a great preacher.
Dolly Parton: What do you mean? I am a great preacher.
- Interview, 1984