That’s right… the second podcast of the day, and this one is hot off the presses. Or the microphone. Or whatever a podcast is hot off of.
This morning, I talked to Edgar Wright about his New Beverly programming series, The Wright Stuff III, and we also talked about the idea that 35MM film is on its way out. This is something that is upsetting even if you understand the forces at play that are making it happen. I know how important the theatrical experience is to Edgar, and I wanted to ask him about how the festival’s going so far.
For those of you who aren’t aware of it, he’s running a series of well-known films that he hasn’t seen before, all picked by friends and fans and fellow film freaks, and he’s finally seeing them on the bigscreen where they belong. They had a silent movie night with “The Gold Rush” and “Steamboat Bill Jr.” the other night, and they had a great crazy night of surrealism last night with the Japanese ghost story “Kwaidan” and the Dr. Seuss film “The 5000 Fingers Of Dr. T,” and he’s had guests to introduce the films like John Landis and Joe Dante and Alan Arkush and Patton Oswalt. Basically, this is film nerd central in Los Angeles all week long.
What else is playing? Well, here’s the rundown of the rest of the programming, along with some special guests who will be there to introduce the films:
Tonight: “The Umbrellas Of Cherbourg” / “Chungking Express”
Seems fitting considering it’s raining in LA today. God seems to approve of Edgar’s selections and he’s setting just the right maood for the films. And if God’s not a good enough reference for you, Matthew “Mad Men” Weiner is going to be there to introduce “Umbrellas,” so consider that the dealbreaker and be there. James Gunn will also be co-hosting.
DEC. 13: “White Heat” / “Throne Of Blood”
James Cagney biographer and legendary film critic Richard Schickel will be on-hand to introduce “White Heat,” and it would not surprise me at all to hear that Edgar has somehow resurrected Kurosawa himself to introduce “Throne Of Blood.” Rian Johnson is also co-hosting.
DEC. 14: “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance” / “Ride The High Country”
Awesome Westerns that both take very pointed looks at mythology and the end of the old way of doing things, shot through the very different prisms of some of the most talented filmmakers to ever work in the genre. And with Peter Bogdanovich and Joe Carnahan showing up to co-present, it should be a great night.
DEC. 15: “To Be Or Not To Be” / “The Bad News Bears”
I love that Edgar hasn’t seen “The Bad News Bears,” because that means he’s going to have a consciousness-altering experience when he does. That movie is one of the best films about growing up in the ’70s made by anyone. And that “To Be Or Not To Be” ain’t half-bad, either. Larry Karaszewksi co-presents, along with the unlikely team of Leonard Maltin and Doug Benson, which is almost a weird enough combination to get me to the theater even if there was no film playing.
DEC. 16: “Hickey & Boggs” / “Cutter’s Way” followed by a special midnight presentation: “The Adventures Of Buckaroo Banzai Across The 8th Dimension”
One of my favorite cult movies preceded by two very good very underseen movies about crime and friendship and unlikely partnerships. You’ve never seen Bill Cosby the way Bill Cosby appears in “Hickey & Boggs,” and you really should see it with a crowd. Especially with Elvis Mitchell and Josh Olson co-presenting the first two films and Richard Kelly and Kevin Smith presenting the midnight show.
And if that weren’t enough movie nerd heaven for one podcast, I also had Nordling call in from AICN to talk about the Butt-Numb-A-Thon that just took place in Austin this weekend.
Plus your calls for Movie God and Remake This, which adds up to one rocking good podcast. Here’s a completely breakdown of what you can expect:
00:00 – 02:10 / Introduction
02:10 – 12:35 / In The News
12:35 – 19:40 / New Trailers With Scott
19:40 – 25:00 / Thoughts on “The Dark Knight Rises” Prologue
25:00 – 28:00 / Thoughts on the new James Bond film
28:00 – 50:00 / Nordling recaps Butt-Numb-A-Thon 13
50:00 – 1:03:15 / Movie God and Remake This!
1:03:15 – 1:24:10 / Edgar Wright on “The Wright Stuff III”
1:24:10 – 1:26:58 / Wrapping It Up
My thanks to Edgar for his time this morning, Nordling for his time last night, and all of you for calling in and for listening.
The Wright Stuff III runs the rest of this week.