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Author Special Episode 10-Ian Nathan

10/24/2023

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​Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links and we receive a commission if you visit a link and buy something on our recommendation. Purchasing via an affiliate link doesn’t cost you any extra and the opinions expressed in this post are the author's own. For more details see our disclosure policy and privacy policy.
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In this author interview, I speak with Ian Nathan for the second time on the podcast He joins me today to talk about his book, David Lynch: A Retrospective. 

Listen to hear the importance of Lynch's first film Eraserhead to his career, what exactly a Lynchian film is, and why Lynch is a mystery even to himself.
 


Books mentioned in this episode include:
  • "David Lynch Keeps His Head" by David Foster Wallace (appears in A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again)
  • Fassbinder Thousands of Mirrors by Ian Penman
  • The New Journalism by Tom Wolf

Films mentioned in this episode include:
  • Eraserhead directed by David Lynch
  • Blue Velvet directed by David Lynch
  • Mulholland Dr. directed by David Lynch 
  • Rear Window directed by Alfred Hitchcock
  • Inland Empire directed by David Lynch
  • The Straight Story directed by David Lynch
  • Miller's Crossing directed by Joel & Ethan Coen
  • Mad Max: Fury Road directed by George Miller
  • A Brief Encounter directed by David Lean
  • Aliens directed by James Cameron
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Also mentioned in this episode:
  • Twin Peaks created by David Lynch
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Author Special Episode 9-Andrew DeGraff

10/10/2023

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​Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links and we receive a commission if you visit a link and buy something on our recommendation. Purchasing via an affiliate link doesn’t cost you any extra and the opinions expressed in this post are the author's own. For more details see our disclosure policy and privacy policy.
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In this author interview, I speak with Andrew DeGraff, a freelance illustrator and artist living and working in Maine. He graduated from Pratt Institute’s Communications Design program and returned to teach there from 2009 to 2014. His gallery work has been shown in cities around the world including New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Calgary, Mexico City, and the Philippines. He published his book Plotted: A Literary Atlas in 2015 and he joins me today to talk about his book, Cinemaps: An Atlas of 35 Great Movies.  

Listen to hear what exactly a Cinemap is, how long it takes to make a single map, and what some of the challenges are in putting together these unique pieces of art.

Books mentioned in this episode include:
  • The Rest is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century by Alex Ross
  • Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
  • The Culture Series by Ian Banks
  • The Dark Tower by Stephen King

Films mentioned in this episode include:
  • The Goonies directed by Richard Donner
  • Raiders of the Lost Ark directed by Steven Spielberg
  • Star Wars directed by George Lucas
  • Guardians of the Galaxy directed by James Gunn
  • Mad Max: Fury Road directed by George Miller
  • Metropolis directed by Fritz Lang
  • King Kong directed by Merian C. Cooper & Ernest B. Schoedsack
  • The Wizard of Oz directed by Victor Fleming
  • The Conversation directed by Francis Ford Coppola
  • The Third Man directed by Carol Reed
  • Star Trek (2009) directed by J. J. Abrams
  • The Shining directed by Stanley Kubrick
  • The Breakfast Club directed by John Hughes
  • Terminator 2: Judgement Day directed by James Cameron
  • There Will be Blood directed by Paul Thomas Anderson
  • Point Break directed by Kathryn Bigelow
  • Se7en directed by David Fincher
  • Fargo directed by Joel & Ethan Coen
  • Back to the Future directed by Robert Zemeckis
  • High and Low by Akira Kurosawa
  • Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse directed by Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, and Rodney Rothman
  • Lord of the Rings directed by Peter Jackson

​Also mentioned in this episode:
  • David Rumsey Map Database
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Author Special Episode 8-Nat Segaloff

9/26/2023

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​Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links and we receive a commission if you visit a link and buy something on our recommendation. Purchasing via an affiliate link doesn’t cost you any extra and the opinions expressed in this post are the author's own. For more details see our disclosure policy and privacy policy.
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In this author interview, I speak with Nat Segaloff is a writer, broadcaster, teacher, film historian, and raconteur with a varied background in motion picture publicity, journalism, producing, and covering up other people's mistakes. Having begun his career during the exciting transition between the old studios and the film generation of the New Hollywood, he provides both perspective and commentary on a wide range of subjects, many of them having to do with movies. He joins me today to talk about his upcoming book, Say Hello to My Little Friend: A Century of Scarface. 

Listen to hear how the original Scarface film was impacted by the beginning of the production code, and why people gravitate to characters like Tony Montana in film.

Books mentioned in this episode include:
  • Scarface by Armitage Trail
  • Scarface Nation: The Ultimate Gangster Movie and How It Changed America by Ken Tucker
  • The Exorcist Legacy by Nat Segaloff
  • Which Way to Mecca, Jack? From Brooklyn to Beirut: the Adventures of an American Sheik by William Peter Blatty
  • I'll tell them I remember you by William Peter Blatty
  • John Goldfarb, Please Come Home by William Peter Blatty
  • In Defense of Elitism by William A. Henry III

Films mentioned in this episode include:
  • Scarface (1983) directed by Brian DiPalma
  • Scarface (1932) directed by Howard Hawks
  • The Public Enemy directed by William A. Wellman
  • Little Cesars directed by Mervyn LeRoy
  • Angels with Dirty Faces directed by Michael Curtiz
  • Bonnie & Clyde directed by Arthur Penn
  • The Godfather directed by Francis Ford Coppola
  • Citizen Kane directed by Orson Welles
  • Bringing up Baby directed by Howard Hawks
  • His Girl Friday directed by Howard Hawks
  • Some Like it Hot directed by Billy Wilder
  • The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes directed by Billy Wilder

​Also mentioned in this episode:
  • Scarface video game
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Episode 1.10 - The Racket: Cops vs. Robbers

9/18/2023

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Regular episodes of The Oscar Project are back and this week I'm discussing the 1928 film The Racket. This story is adapted from a play of the same name and was considered one of the most important cop/gangster films of the time when it was released. Listen now to learn about the threats made against the creators and as always, my own thoughts about the film.

Look for more episodes every Monday as I finish out the rest of the films nominated for Oscars at the very first Academy Awards.

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Music for this episode from https://filmmusic.io, "Onion Capers" and "Breaktime" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com) License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
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Author Special Episode 7-Brad Weismann

9/12/2023

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​Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links and we receive a commission if you visit a link and buy something on our recommendation. Purchasing via an affiliate link doesn’t cost you any extra and the opinions expressed in this post are the author's own. For more details see our disclosure policy and privacy policy.
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In this author interview, I speak with Brad Weismann, an award-winning writer and journalist who has also worked as a stand-up comic and improv actor. He’s contributed to publications and websites worldwide such as Senses of Cinema, Film International, Backstage, Movie Habit, Colorado Daily and Boulder Magazine. His first book, Lost in the Dark: A World History of Horror Films, was recently published by the University of Mississippi and he contributed to the critical collection 100 Years of Soviet Cinema. He joins me today to talk about his new book, Horror Unmasked: A History of Terror from Nosferatu to Nope. 

Listen to hear about what horror is, how horror films are similar to today's superhero films, and why the horror genre has been kept out of the Oscars (with very few exceptions).

Books mentioned in this episode include:
  • Danse Macabre by Stephen King
  • The Monster Show: A Cultural History of Horror by David J. Skal
  • Screams of Reason: Mad Science in Modern Culture by David J. Skal
  • Dark Carnival: The Secret World of Tod Browning, Hollywood's Master of Macabre by David J. Skal
  • The Horror Film: An Introduction by Rick Worland
  • The Rough Guide to Horror Movies by Alan Jones
  • Four of the Three Musketeers: The Marx Brothers on Stage by Robert S. Bader
  • Montaigne's Essays by Michel de Montaigne
  • On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio by John Dunning
Films mentioned in this episode include:
  • Dracula directed by Tod Browning & Karl Freund
  • The Mummy directed by Karl Freund
  • Frankenstein directed by James Whale
  • Batman vs. Superman directed by Zack Snyder
  • Freddy vs. Jason directed by Ronny Yu
  • Get Out directed by Jordan Peele
  • The Shape of Water directed by Guillermo del Toro
  • The Silence of the Lambs directed by Jonathan Demme
  • Smile directed by Parker Finn
  • Nope directed by directed by Jordan Peele 
  • Evil Dead Rise directed by Lee Cronin
  • The Bride of Frankenstein directed by James Whale
  • Peeping Tom directed by Michael Powell
  • The Wicker Man directed by Robin Hardy
  • Seven Samurai directed by Akira Kurosawa
  • Lawrence of Arabia directed by David Lean
  • Children of Paradise directed by Marcel Carne
Also mentioned in this episode:
  • Scooby-Doo
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Author Special Episode 6-Koren Shadmi

8/29/2023

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​Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links and we receive a commission if you visit a link and buy something on our recommendation. Purchasing via an affiliate link doesn’t cost you any extra and the opinions expressed in this post are the author's own. For more details see our disclosure policy and privacy policy.
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In this author interview, I speak with Koren Shadmi, the author of Bionic, Rise of the Dungeon Master, Gary Gygax and the Creation of D&D, and The Twilight Man: Rod Serling and the Birth of Television. He joins me today to talk about his graphic novel, Lugosi: The Rise & Fall of Hollywood’s Dracula.

Listen to hear about how Lugosi's history as an activist, how Lugosi's career might have been different had he played Frankenstein's monster, and why Dracula is such an enduring story for film adaptation.

Books mentioned in this episode include:
  • All Tomorrow’s Parties: The Velvet Underground Story by Koren Shadmi
  • Dracula by Bram Stoker
  • Lugosi The Man Behind the Cape by Robert Cremer
  • Bela Lugosi: Hollywood’s Prince of Darkness by Nige Burton and Jamie Jones
  • Acting Class by Nick Drnaso
Films mentioned in this episode include:
  • Dracula directed by Tod Browning & Karl Freund
  • Son of Frankenstein directed by Rowland V. Lee
  • The Black Cat directed by Edgar G. Ulmer
  • Frankenstein directed by James Whale
  • Renfield directed by Chris McKay
  • Last Voyage of the Demeter directed by André Øvredal
  • Videodrome directed by David Cronenberg
  • The 400 Blows directed by François Truffaut
  • Vertigo directed by Alfred Hitchcock
Music mentioned in this episode includes:
  • Bauhaus
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Author Special Episode 5-Ian Nathan

8/15/2023

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​Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links and we receive a commission if you visit a link and buy something on our recommendation. Purchasing via an affiliate link doesn’t cost you any extra and the opinions expressed in this post are the author's own. For more details see our disclosure policy and privacy policy.
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​In this author interview, I speak with Ian Nathan, the author of Stephen King at The Movies, Ridley Scott: A Retrospective and James Cameron: A Retrospective, and biographies of The Coen Brothers, Quentin Tarantino, and Wes Anderson. He is the former editor and executive editor of Empire, the world's biggest movie magazine, and a regular contributor to newspapers, magazines, and TV. He joins me today to talk about his new book coming out September 7th, Clint Eastwood: The Iconic Filmmaker and His Work. 

Listen to hear about how Eastwood fits in to both the old star tradition of Hollywood and the upstart filmmakers that came in the 1970s, how Eastwood can be considered a feminist filmmaker, and whether Eastwood will ever truly retire from filmmaking.

Books mentioned in this episode include:
  • Flags of Our Fathers by James Bradley and Ron Powers
  • Clint Eastwood: A Biography by Richard Schickel
  • Clint Eastwood Interviews edited by Robert E. Kapsis and Kathie Coblentz
  • City of Nets: A Portrait of Hollywood in the 1940's by Otto Friedrich
  • Final Cut: Art, Money, and Ego in the Making of Heaven's Gate, the Film that Sank United Artists by Steven Bach
  • David Lynch: A Retrospective by Ian Nathan

Films mentioned in this episode include:
  • Dirty Harry directed by Don Siegel
  • Play Misty for Me directed by Clint Eastwood
  • The Gauntlet directed by Clint Eastwood
  • Million Dollar Baby directed by Clint Eastwood
  • Bird directed by Clint Eastwood
  • Flags of Our Fathers directed by Clint Eastwood
  • Letters From Iwo Jima directed by Clint Eastwood
  • Invictus directed by Clint Eastwood
  • The Outlaw Josey Wales directed by Clint Eastwood
  • Unforgiven directed by Clint Eastwood
  • Mystic River directed by Clint Eastwood
  • Rawhide (television series)
  • A Fistful of Dollars directed by Sergio Leone
  • For a Few Dollars More directed by Sergio Leone
  • The Good, the Bad and the Ugly directed by Sergio Leone
  • High Plaines Drifter directed by Clint Eastwood
  • Pale Rider directed by Clint Eastwood
  • Juror No. 2 directed by Clint Eastwood
  • Cry Macho directed by Clint Eastwood
  • Blade Runner directed by Ridley Scott
  • Paris, Texas directed by Wim Wenders
  • Miller’s Crossing directed by Joel and Ethan Coen
  • E.T. The Extraterrestrial directed by Steven Spielberg
  • Rear Window directed by Alfred Hitchcock
  • Quo Vadis directed by Mervyn LeRoy
  • The Godfather directed by Francis Ford Coppola
  • Blue Velvet directed by David Lynch
  • Barton Fink directed by Joel and Ethan Coen
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Author Special Episode 3-Suzanne Ferriss

7/18/2023

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​Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links and we receive a commission if you visit a link and buy something on our recommendation. Purchasing via an affiliate link doesn’t cost you any extra and the opinions expressed in this post are the author's own. For more details see our disclosure policy and privacy policy.
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In this author interview, I speak with Suzanne Ferriss whose first book about Sofia Coppola The Cinema of Sofia Coppola: Fashion, Culture, Celebrity was published in February 2021 and she edited The Bloomsbury Handbook to Sofia Coppola, which was published in early 2023. She joins me today to talk about her latest book, Lost in Translation from BFI Film Classics about Coppola’s film that celebrates its 20th anniversary this year.

Listen to hear about Suzanne’s approach to writing about Coppola’s work, the wealth of films she recommends, and thoughts on who might be a good fit to cast in Lost in Translation if it were made today.

Books mentioned in this episode include:
  • The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides
  • The Bloomsbury Handbook to Sofia Coppola edited by Suzanne Ferriss
  • Sofia Coppola: The Politics of Visual Pleasure by Anna Backman Rogers
  • Sofia Coppola: A Cinema of Girlhood by Fiona Handyside
  • The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson
  • The Overstory by Richard Powers
  • Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu
  • The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen
  • Good for a Girl: A Woman Running in a Man's World by Lauren Fleshman

Films mentioned in this episode:
  • Virgin Suicides directed by Sofia Coppola
  • An Affair to Remember directed by Leo McCarey
  • Manny & Lo directed by Lisa Krueger
  • Girl with a Pearl Earring directed by Johannes Vermeer
  • Asteroid City directed by Wes Anderson
  • Groundhog Day directed by Harold Ramis
  • Rushmore directed by Wes Anderson
  • On the Rocks directed by Sofia Coppola
  • Past Lives directed by Celine Song
  • Rear Window directed by Alfred Hitchcock
  • Parasite directed by Bong Joon-ho
  • Somewhere directed by Sofia Coppola
  • The Thin Man directed by W. S. Van Dyke
  • Party Girl directed by Daisy von Scherler Mayer
  • Silver Linings Playbook directed by David O. Russell
  • Psycho directed by Alfred Hitchcock
  • Grand Budapest Hotel directed by Wes Anderson
  • The Shining directed by Stanley Kubrick

John Kacere on Wikipedia, inspiration for the opening shot of Lost in Translation.

Video for Shawn Mendes's sons "Lost in Japan", inspired by Lost in Translation.
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Author Special Episode 2-Charlotte Booth and Brian Billington

7/4/2023

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​Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links and we receive a commission if you visit a link and buy something on our recommendation. Purchasing via an affiliate link doesn’t cost you any extra and the opinions expressed in this post are the author's own. For more details see our disclosure policy and privacy policy.
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​In my second author interview, I speak with guests Charlotte Booth and Brian Billington. Charlotte Booth is a professional writer of history books (including The History of the Undead, and How to Survive in Ancient Egypt), and was also an extra in a Bollywood movie. Brian Billington is an IT professional, amateur photographer, and a lover of movies who enjoys working out where those movies were filmed.

Over the years they’ve created personal movie location tours including Wells, Turin and London, and decided it was time to share this with others. They join me today to talk about their collaboration, The Movie Lover’s Guide to London.
 
Listen to hear about how Charlotte and Brian came up with the idea for the book, some diverging thoughts on James Bond, and the oddest dinner party guest list in film.

Books mentioned in this episode include:
  • Hollywood Wants to Kill You: The Peculiar Science of Death in the Movies by Michael Brooks and Rick Edwards
  • The Italian Boy: A Tale of Murder and Body Snatching in 1830s London by Sarah Wise
Films mentioned in this episode include:
  • Hot Fuzz directed by Edgar Wright
  • Mission: Impossible - Fallout directed by Christopher McQuarrie
  • Cockneys vs Zombies directed by Matthias Hoene
  • Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels directed by Guy Ritchie
  • Paddington directed by Paul King
  • Bridget Jones's Diary directed by Sharon Maguire
  • Snatch directed by Guy Ritcie
  • James Bond Franchise
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Author Special Episode 1-Mia Mask

6/20/2023

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​Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links and we receive a commission if you visit a link and buy something on our recommendation. Purchasing via an affiliate link doesn’t cost you any extra and the opinions expressed in this post are the author's own. For more details see our disclosure policy and privacy policy.
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It's a first for The Oscar Project, an interview with an author who writes about movies. Today's guest is Mia Mask, a professor at Vassar College where she teaches African American cinema, Documentary History, and seminars on topics including horror film and auteurs like Spike Lee, Charles Burnett and Ava DuVernay. She also teaches feminist film theory, African national cinemas, and other genre courses. Her commentary can be heard on NPR and her first book Divas on Screen: Black Women in American Film was published in 2009. Today she joins me to talk about her new book Black Rodeo: A History of the African American Western.

Listen to hear about Mia's work with Criterion, including getting to speak with actor Sidney Poitier, what three of her favorite westerns are, and much more.

Books mentioned in this episode include:
  • The Western in the Global South by MaryEllen Higgins, Rita Keresztesi, and Dayna Oscherwitz
  • Undead in the West: Vampires, Zombies, Mummies, and Ghosts in the Cinematic Frontier by Cynthia J. Miller and A. Bowdoin Van Riper
  • Horror Noire: Blacks in American Horror Films from the 1890s to Present by Robin R. Means Coleman
  • Horse by Geraldine Brooks
Films mentioned in this episode include:
  • The Learning Tree directed by Gordon Parks
  • Buck and the Preacher directed by Sidney Poitier
  • Thomasine and Bushrod directed by Gordon Parks Jr.
  • Queen & Slim directed by Melina Matsoukas
  • Bonnie & Clyde directed by Arthur Penn
  • Django Unchained directed by Quentin Tarantino
  • The Harder They Come directed by Perry Henzell
  • Five Fingers for Marseilles directed by Michael Matthews
  • The Homesteader directed by Oscar Micheaux and Jerry Mills
  • Swingtime directed by George Stevens
  • A Raisin in the Sun directed by Daniel Petrie
  • Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror directed by Robin Givens, Kimani Ray Smith, Rob J. Greenlea, Director X., Zandashé Brown, and Joe West

Check out Wikipedia for more information about the Lobo Comics mentioned in the interview.

And check out this article from Collider featuring "10 Actors Who Were Pioneers of the Western Genre."

A Brief Intro to Black Westerns with Mia Mask

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