S6E26: Book of Ghosts
Added 2022-11-22 00:55:06 +0000 UTCAuthor Sam Wasson and Bret Easton Ellis continue their conversation from last week and discuss Hollywood's longtime tradition of self-censorship, Cate Blanchett's chilly turn in Tar and Francis Ford Coppola failing to bring his utopia to fruition. Part 2 of 2.
Comments
Me too man. Love "Rolling Thunder" as well.
John Q. Thompson
2023-12-10 19:21:40 +0000 UTCAbsolutely kickass guest. Fantastic. Now I'm reading his Fosse book. Thank you.
paul dakota
2023-04-05 13:59:09 +0000 UTCThe Last Laugh by Murnau. Great movie!
Martin O'Shea
2023-01-05 20:59:17 +0000 UTCI enjoyed listening to both parts, but in this one I was a little baffled about some of Wasson's opinions on the French New Wave and what a film should deliver (intensity vs. taste is a false dichotomy in my view). Seems obvious that Wasson doesn't like slow cinema at all (not even Antonioni) but I do wonder if he's just too impatient in general (Wasson's scalding commentary on TÀR was an eye-opener for me). Surprising for a film historian, frankly.
Raúl
2022-12-29 15:40:59 +0000 UTCAnyone able to nail down which film the thumbnail is taken from? Thanks!
Ford Hunt
2022-12-18 18:39:19 +0000 UTCI loved both podcasts. Writers are phenomenal guests. I bought the book as a Christmas present for my brother.
Jorge Espinha
2022-12-13 22:32:08 +0000 UTCtár is great, you guys are overthinking it
Nic Sinclair
2022-12-03 18:38:35 +0000 UTCThank you guys for making laugh out loud several times while listening to this in my headphones walking my dog, and thus looking like a crazy person. Your conversation was hilarious, as well as informative, obviously. Made my day.
Mara Capozzi
2022-12-02 06:42:48 +0000 UTCTár was perfect. The scene at the end was sad. Conducting for video game convention IS shit. It’s tragic that masters of the arts have to be confronted with the bullshit ideology of todays younger generation. I loved Todd Field’s instincts here, and glad he did it his way. I just totally disagree with the guest about Tàr. Just because you have pop sensibilities doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy art films. Long love “pretension”! This and Blonde were the best films of the year.
Thumperdinck
2022-12-01 13:29:02 +0000 UTCThanks again!
AC23
2022-11-30 02:56:45 +0000 UTCWatch The Third Lover tout suite. Awesome frog noir. The Cousins really good too.
Alexander Quattlander
2022-11-30 00:39:47 +0000 UTCGlad that Sam Wasson is back! Always interesting. Sorry to hear that all the theaters are closing in LA. Well, the US sucks and LA seems to suck worse than most places. Not the case in Mexico. There are 5 or 6 cinemas within walking distance and 2 new ones just opened. And they are NICE. There is even VIP or "Platino" with big, comfy, spaced seats that recline automatically. Too bad there is only 1 acceptable film per week, what with all the woke and superhero shit. But, there is also Cineteca Nacional and UNAM that play foreign/art/old films all the time.
Antonio Primavera
2022-11-29 17:19:58 +0000 UTCSam is a wit and his books about Hollywood are second to none. The new oral history book is incredible. Just line after line of gold. Have him back for the Coppola book.
Harrison Bergeron
2022-11-29 00:14:38 +0000 UTCDidn't like that patronising stuff about QT. WTF? And yeah - I love Charley Varrick.
JEREMY ROBERTS
2022-11-28 07:43:03 +0000 UTCThanks-would love to see a discussion between BEE and Whit Stillman about the Hays Code, haha
Audrey Rouget
2022-11-27 04:23:37 +0000 UTCLove your name!
E
2022-11-27 02:42:02 +0000 UTCComparing the Hays Code to woke Hollywood is hilarious, but I have really enjoyed these episodes and look forward to reading the book!
Audrey Rouget
2022-11-26 20:59:28 +0000 UTCI legit love Heavens Gate, the directors cut. I find it spellbinding and everything that doesn’t work, just adds more flavor and backstory which you have to consider when you see it. Idk it’s a lot of fun for me.
Steven Carrier
2022-11-26 00:12:27 +0000 UTCJust saw the “The Menu” — another one of those White Lotus things. Had its moments. But the trailer for ‘Babylon’ made me think about these past two episodes with Sam as much of what they are lamenting is this film.
Thomas Matich
2022-11-26 00:09:42 +0000 UTCDeconstructing Harry 😼😏😎 Yessirrr
Seneca Garcia
2022-11-25 06:24:53 +0000 UTCLet’s all meet up on a weekday at the Westwood at the Village and watch a film w Bret!!
Todd
2022-11-25 02:54:47 +0000 UTCAlso, this guy really just said Hugo is “one of the best movies ever?” Blech.
Vlad Boshoer
2022-11-24 23:40:38 +0000 UTCA good discussion slightly tarnished by contant interruption of each other, and Bret seems to get too over-excited and struggle with words a little often.
Vlad Boshoer
2022-11-24 23:26:19 +0000 UTCInteresting comment. While the “victim of Hollywood” trope is ripe to be ridiculed, Sam’s comments on the studio system being excellent are a surprisingly contrarian take, possibly an insane one.
Keith campbell
2022-11-24 13:39:38 +0000 UTCGreat convo and all, but you two got completely filtered by Tar.
David Morgan-Brown
2022-11-24 09:20:20 +0000 UTCSam is the world’s youngest 85 year old man. He’s the best. Looking forward to reading his new book. Great episode!
Adam Chin
2022-11-24 02:27:28 +0000 UTCI disagree with Sam on this take. I love the early Antonioni films and find them haunting and riveting.
N.M. Janice.
2022-11-24 01:00:32 +0000 UTCI have thoroughly enjoyed both of Sam's appearances, and The Big Goodbye is fantastic. That being said, I couldn't disagree more about Licorice Pizza. What's wrong with a movie being "shaggy?" I always find the notion that a filmmakers first responsibility being story to be pretty boring and limited. If PTA made LP narrative driven, it would be a completely different film and not really what he was going for. Plot and three-act structures are definatley things that film can do and are things that filmmakers should have in their toolbox, but they are definatley not a requirement. At this point, when we have seen every single story told in every kind of way, I'm much more interested in mood, atmosphere and character than I am plot.
N.M. Janice.
2022-11-24 00:59:08 +0000 UTCI liked Tar overall but I greatly enjoyed the spirited trashing of it here. Other commentators have spoken about it with such solemn reverence. Just gave me a chuckle to hear the piss get taken out of it. I agree it was too long, and the opening credits too indulgent.
Jon A.
2022-11-23 22:09:42 +0000 UTChow does this guy sound like he's older than Bret?
Brian Borough
2022-11-23 20:02:27 +0000 UTCVery surprised on the Tar take.
OSOS
2022-11-23 17:31:31 +0000 UTCA real thrill from start to finish.
B$
2022-11-23 17:08:26 +0000 UTCam going to listen on my run. will say more later, after my run.
richard owain roberts
2022-11-23 17:06:22 +0000 UTCThank you.
AC23
2022-11-23 11:56:07 +0000 UTCThat was really fun. Sometimes frustrating just in terms of me wanting to burst into the recording like Kool-Aid sporting a big, honking grin on my face and slappin' some fools. But really that was a good time. Are we allowed to state our own opinions here? Some people seem to be bothered that I would dare. Regardless, I'm not the biggest Scorsese guy in the world, but I would give Color of Money a solid 7 out of 10. Or let's say an enthused 7 out of 10. I love its energy. The music. The sense of THIS IS A MOVIE! and the whole 1986 of it all. Just having Eric Clapton wailing away on THAT song is enough for me to share a Cowardly Lion "put'em up" meme in this movie's defense.
bpvalentine
2022-11-23 06:02:16 +0000 UTCSam is pretty pretentious and comes off as a hollywood apologist.
Poetical Gore
2022-11-23 05:07:06 +0000 UTC🙌🙌🙌
Patrick
2022-11-23 02:03:37 +0000 UTC"I'm not gonna ask our guest 'what do you think of The Eagles' cause I asked him last time...but what do you think of The Eagles" 😂😂✌🏼✌🏼
Neil G.
2022-11-23 00:39:39 +0000 UTCYES YES YES!!! This 2-parter w/Sam is RIGHT IN THE PODCAST POCKET. A few eps. of the new season I wasn’t with you, I was like WTF? V - but THIS is irresistible!! Perfect. THANKS Bret & Adam. (PS I’ve been on the verge of reading his Chinatown book and now I’m gonna prioritize “The Big Goodbye” as well as “Hollywood”)
honker_2021
2022-11-23 00:31:31 +0000 UTCI want the hour and half discussing TAR.Please.
Frank Formica
2022-11-22 22:23:33 +0000 UTCWho doesn’t love Antonioni’s “La Knot”? I hear the script ties up a lot of loose ends.
Keith campbell
2022-11-22 18:38:16 +0000 UTCNice finish!
Ashley
2022-11-22 14:37:26 +0000 UTCI would recommend Le Ceremonie (A Judgment in Stone), Le Boucher, Les Bonnes Femmes (The Good Time Girls), Les Biches (dir. Claude Chabrol) and Bluebeard. There also happens to be six more of his films that are streaming for one week on MUBI such as Swindle, Torment and The Color of Lies.
Chris Beaubien
2022-11-22 11:01:27 +0000 UTCJust fabulous, thank you.
PETER GREER
2022-11-22 10:35:07 +0000 UTCClaude Chabrol was mentioned, but no particular movies. Can anyone suggest which ones to start with?
AC23
2022-11-22 06:19:39 +0000 UTCThrilling from start to finish. Got quite sad thinking of my late father who got me into movies at an early age, and how much he would have loved this episode and previous episode on Chinatown.
AC23
2022-11-22 05:31:40 +0000 UTC
