The B.E.E. Podcast - 2/7/21 - Alison Martino - SILVER
Added 2021-02-08 02:38:45 +0000 UTCBret is spellbound by a sudden new glamor radiating from Susan Reynolds and enraged after an encounter with Robert Mallory on the bleachers in Part 12 of The Shards. Writer/Producer/Historian Alison Martino and Bret discuss her dad's unusual route to landing a role in The Godfather, the sad evaporation of mall culture and the current architectural demise of the Sunset Strip.
Comments
Loving the Shards, just listened to this in 2023, have followed Alison’s FB group for years. What is happening in LA is happening everywhere, bland, massive, prefabricated buildings replacing entire city blocks. Every city looks the same. I live in Royal Oak MI, our Landmark Main Art Theater was torn down last year for a new development.
Mike Rankin
2023-06-01 20:33:35 +0000 UTCAgain, I am on the side of the Mansons. Fuck Sharon Tate and those others! Charlie had vision!
Antonio Primavera
2021-12-05 23:40:37 +0000 UTCLove this woman!
John Whieldon
2021-02-23 04:55:00 +0000 UTCAlison Martino is a living, breathing treasure. Such a great guest!
Matt Markwalder
2021-02-21 08:40:57 +0000 UTCMy point is simply that pre-pandemic downtown was much more vibrant than it is currently.
Jack
2021-02-19 19:44:51 +0000 UTCI liked this podcast, it's interesting to hear about people's love of a city that I don't like. I love the restaurants in L.A. but never been a fan of the typical dislikes people have of L.A.
Erick
2021-02-19 19:26:25 +0000 UTCHe lives in Los Angeles
Erick
2021-02-19 19:23:42 +0000 UTCAuthors are good at words
Erick
2021-02-19 19:22:06 +0000 UTCCan't one compliment a pod without then putting poop frosting on it?
Erick
2021-02-19 19:21:04 +0000 UTCI dig it too. I'd really dig Bret reading American Psycho audio book and I'd pay $20 for it haha
Erick
2021-02-19 19:18:36 +0000 UTCHoly shit man. That sounds bleak. I hope you're doing well. If I may ask, why did you leave L.A? Was it because you were bothered by it or were you pushed out by the changes you rally against?
Arthur Ricardo Sousa Machado
2021-02-19 13:30:58 +0000 UTCMan this episode is the embodiment of mixed feelings for me. Spent 24 years in LA, my entire post-college professional life until 5 years ago when I left. I loved the city from day one, and more than that, felt at home....amongst my tribe, the ‘special’, the place where dreaming not only isn’t scorned as is it most other places but almost a given. Of course those are the exact things that eventually grow incredibly tiresome, once you finally grow beyond it, see through it. I loved the vast flat grids of both the Basin and Valley sides, taking any of the endless Boulevards from Downtown to the coast, Olympic being my favorite. I loved the endless density of the city, and it drove me crazy that even those living in it thought of it as undense and ‘sprawling’ (hint: a city can be both.) I both loved and hated its centerlessness, and how even now being Downtown still feels like being OUT of the center. It’s inherently disorienting. As my entire career was in the Industry, of course LA is forever linked with the emotional ups and downs of that. The old ABC center is this stressful project, the Fox lot both my first and last projects. Fresh thrill and dead jaded burnout. CBS TV city triumphs and disasters. Coming out, first boyfriend, the first romantic betrayal, the love of my life. It’s where my life happened. Yet I’m very happy to be gone. I was last back Christmas’19 and I cannot believe how much worse everything is, from homelessness to trash everywhere, to everyone seeming so angry and stressed out and isolated. And all the new, uniformly hideously ugly construction, the awful glass box highrises Downtown, the endless block-long monolithic five story boxes on main streets, suburban complexes plopped down in the middle of the city, that ruin the entire feel of the city. As Alison said, you don’t know where you are anymore when it used to be unmistakable. And everything Ryan Murphy makes is hack cliche, truly the epitome of how genuinely middlebrow creatively hollow unartistic people having the most success in Hollywood now. I couldn’t lie about ‘oh I loved it’ with junk like his anymore and that’s when it’s time to get out. Now, with the intersectional agenda truly taking over (and of course the death of ANY possibility of art) and cancel mobs I can’t IMAGINE how awful it must be in the business now. People must be terrified to say ‘good morning’....
MikeE
2021-02-17 16:23:59 +0000 UTCMichael Connell (author of the Harry Bosch books) would not give up the rights to a TV show unless filmed in LA (versus Vancouver for example). Almost all of the restaurants and bars in the books and the show are real and each has its own LA charm.
Jeremy Gray
2021-02-15 17:28:56 +0000 UTCGreat show. Still digging THE SHARDS. I'm thinking it's my favorite BEE book. Loved the Kiwi reference - Neil Finn and Split Enz. 'I got You' - that was one hell of a track on the dance floor. I used to visit Sunset Boulevard just to check off the famous locations. Not worth it now. Still have my photos from the 80s. 'LA Plays Itself' is a great watch - many movies not included, of course. I used to sneak into the The Chateau - just went with the tips. I wrote a poem about it - but the layout doesn't work in this field. Hey - Bret, have you ever asked Kenneth Anger to be on the show. He is still around, I believe. I met him twenty years ago in Auckland. he screened some movies and signed Hollywood Baby 2. He would be brilliant. The last time I saw him in public was when he was championing Bunker Spreckels. BTW, did you ever see Jeffrey Lee Pierce and The Gun Club play in Hollywood - circa 81/82?
JEREMY ROBERTS
2021-02-14 18:04:45 +0000 UTCThis is a comment I posted in the Gold version, there's more people in Silver! I loved the podcast. I wish I knew more about LA in order to enjoy the conversation more. My favorite movie is "the big lebowski" (has a reference to "the eagles"), unfortunately the bowling alley from the movie is no more, which I guess is a big loss to the city, the movie has other architectural curiosities, so I think I can understand the pain to see some of it gone. I totally understand Sinatra being upset, I'm not sure who was to blame but nobody saw her dad's character as a composite, that was Frank Sinatra!
Jorge Espinha
2021-02-12 10:45:03 +0000 UTCThe Formosa is amazing now!!! It’s like stepping into 1940.
Eric Macom
2021-02-12 04:06:48 +0000 UTCBosch does a great job showing LA. Yes, it is possible to see the city and not be in traffic. I admit since the pandemic the traffic situation is pretty decent!
Eric Macom
2021-02-12 04:05:47 +0000 UTCBosch is a cool show. One show I think about with LA is Southland, very cool show still worth checking out, especially season 4 which can be watched without watching the prior 3
Alex Waller
2021-02-12 02:32:15 +0000 UTCIt took me some time to find out what were you talking about. The last store closed in 1993! I guess that's like that all over the world. The amalgamation of commerce.
Jorge Espinha
2021-02-12 02:08:15 +0000 UTCSpeaking of LA noir, what about Bosh? I never been to LA so it's hard for me to judge, but in the series LA is the main character. The thing thar scares me about LA is the traffic, can you see the city without being stuck in traffic all the time?
Jorge Espinha
2021-02-12 01:38:31 +0000 UTCThis was such a fun listen. I’m not an LA native but I do genuinely love the city and it was great to hear the enthusiasm with which these two true locals discuss their home town.
YourLateNightFriend
2021-02-11 20:37:21 +0000 UTCI think Bret is describing pre-pandemic downtown LA, and has not been there lately.
Jack
2021-02-11 16:24:50 +0000 UTCmy favorite guest and conversation between you two! really great stuff! thanks
Fan
2021-02-11 06:04:08 +0000 UTCOkayyyyy . . . Best episode and guest (last weeks guest was classic too) - come visit Houston (the LA of Texas) Bret!
Seneca Garcia
2021-02-11 04:19:35 +0000 UTCVery much enjoyed this episode. LA/Hollywood has been lame during the COVID era that this conversation helped me find that spark again. Been watching LA based films the last week (American Gigolo, The Player). I’ll do Earthquake next. Thanks!
Nick B
2021-02-10 22:23:22 +0000 UTC#SaveMattKellner
Kate Constable
2021-02-10 12:41:11 +0000 UTCPure bliss.
Paul Richardson
2021-02-10 12:16:28 +0000 UTCGood episode but Once Upon a Time in Hollyood was not a good movie and certainly did not deserve best original screenplay - it's bloated, overlong and self-indulgent. Parasite was very cleverly plotted and paced perfectly. Easily the best screenplay of that year. For me, Tarantino has always had great ideas and had movies of excellent individual moments - scenes, fragments, performances, scenes of dialogue - but they never come together to make a satisfying whole. The closest he came for me since Jackie Brown was Inglorious Bastards, though this is basically just two fantastic scenes (opening and basement bar) with an ending that did not satisfy at all. The only thing that Hollyhood has is a human warmth with the friendship at the core of the movie which suggests Tarantino could make more emotive movies in the future.
Billy Vega
2021-02-10 11:27:28 +0000 UTCHaha, that's pretty funny, I haven't listened to the episode yet but that's my comment he's referring to. To be fair, I didn't trash the episode, I just didn't know who anyone was that they were talking about... not that it would've been that hard to look on wikipedia. It's totally cool to have some back and forth and that is one of the best aspects of the podcast and its community(couldn't think of a better word). I do really miss the film reviews, they were always my favorite part of the podcast and there's been films that have come out within the last couple months that would be great to hear Bret talk about, regardless if I agreed with the take.
Alex Waller
2021-02-10 05:51:00 +0000 UTCGreat episode! A huge breath of fresh air after last week's guest. I'm unfamiliar with a lot of the old school LA landmarks mentioned, but her love and enthusiasm for the city made it so enjoyable to listen to.
Michael Yakutis
2021-02-10 02:13:01 +0000 UTCAnother phenomenal episode and guest, thank you Brett, Adam and Alison Martino! I just wanted to share a little piece of trivia discovered by Adam Carolla (Feb 2 opening after a hot dog discussion) this past week about our collective love for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. For anyone that knows or gives Adam half a second, lol he’s extremely dialed into little bits of minutia. Adam said he was driving his car and the Rolling Stones song (out of time) came on from the scene when Leo comes back to the airport from the spaghetti westerns with his new wife. When Adam looked at his car screen the graphics said Chris Farlowe which bumped him. Long story short, through a fairly complex of meta-release dates and re- recordings the song used in Tarantino‘s film was in 1975 throwing the timeline. As an aside a funny comment about how LAX is perfect since they haven’t renovated that hallway since the 50s, lol. #vintagela
Justin Christopher
2021-02-10 01:59:53 +0000 UTCSorry for the excessive comments. But: great, great, great, great podcast! Bret laying down the law! Ideology is the art. There is no history.
Brian Rooney
2021-02-10 00:57:41 +0000 UTCMkay 💕
Fernando
2021-02-09 21:19:33 +0000 UTCI liked the episode , the granular detail even if I didn't live it mkay, I even think the mask of cool detachment dropped a little and Brett betrayed an enthusiasm that was cute, verbally ya know, Brett is very verbal 💋
Fernando
2021-02-09 21:16:51 +0000 UTCReally liked this episode. The Shards is great and the guest was a blast and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. Even the comment section seems to be relieved and has nothing to complain about any longer <3
Dan Zilic
2021-02-09 20:09:21 +0000 UTC“I dunno, Adam. Is this too ‘insider baseball’?” Harsh dig at the comments from last week, Bret. Very harsh!
Brian Rooney
2021-02-09 17:24:13 +0000 UTCI've only been to LA for about an hour when I was 9, but could listen to this episode if it went on forever. A real delight, loved it!
Sértő-Radics Sarolta
2021-02-09 10:54:44 +0000 UTCAnother great early 70s glimpse of Los Angeles is “reyner banham loves los angeles” ....a 50 minute documentary about a British guy who gets his driver’s license , flies to LA... and explores the city. It’s easy to find. I think it’s up on Vimeo and YouTube. (Same with Los Angeles Plays Itself, it’s on YouTube)
Darren Ankenman
2021-02-09 04:12:03 +0000 UTCSpeaking of, where the hell can you stream that? Been trying to see that for years other than buying a DVD...
Vin Bravo
2021-02-09 01:37:12 +0000 UTCWhat a great guest! Highly enjoyable. And this one didn’t pimp out her dad and then trash him relentlessly like that truly awful Amanda Milius.
Scott E.
2021-02-09 01:34:58 +0000 UTCGreat anecdotes from Martino! I'm from the Northeast; never been to California (layover in LAX on a Hawaiian trip doesn't count) but I didn't mind them indulging in their L.A. nostalgia. Their passion is palpable. Still think Once Upon... is meh, but I understand their personal attachments to the movie's location and era won them over. Sobering to think mentioning names like Sinatra or Bugsy Siegel in Hollywood and Vegas draw puzzled responses nowadays!
Billy Schafer
2021-02-09 01:07:36 +0000 UTCThe shot of those silhouetted palm trees against the sun rising over the mountains in the opening title sequence has mesmerized me since childhood! First saw it in a TV ad for its broadcast premiere in 1988. Takes my breath away every time I watch it.
Billy Schafer
2021-02-09 00:50:11 +0000 UTCUpload those tapes!!!!
Ned Isakoff
2021-02-08 23:23:59 +0000 UTCI love the brightness of Los Angeles, that orange sky and vistas, even the smog, especially on film. Friedkin's To Live and Die in L.A. is a good example of that - where cinematic beauty is not merely seen, but palpable.
Ski Milius
2021-02-08 22:46:25 +0000 UTCLos Angeles Plays Itself. For those of you who have not seen this documentary, get on it!
Brian Rooney
2021-02-08 20:50:59 +0000 UTCI am new to Alison Martino's Facebook and Twitter, and surely she will have covered this important topic. Came here to say that I miss Jurgensen's! Those stores, with the house charge account, got me through high school. Trivia question: in what favorite movie of Bret's is Jurgensen's mentioned?
BUtterfield8
2021-02-08 20:49:47 +0000 UTCI’m from a smaller town in Sweden and have only spent maybe 8 weeks total in LA over the years - but I absolutely LOVE the stories of ”old LA” and all the details from Los Angeles and Southern California. It is simply magical to listen to and LA is STILL paradise to me. Loved this episode!
Karl Johansson
2021-02-08 20:28:57 +0000 UTCJust the other day I thought to myself "Bret could fill an entire 2 hour podcast describing malls and movie theatres and like a fucking moron I'd probably listen to it." I am now a confirmed moron
Alex Bryan
2021-02-08 18:30:41 +0000 UTC
