Live Sports! A Chat on Recent Non-Fiction

Click here to listen to the episode

Desperate for bodies in motion, five quarantined cinephiles joined Peter and a number of podcast listeners on Zoom to talk about the recent non-fiction films they've been devouring on the world of athletics. Some shows favor the classic narratives; others a different approach. All made for a great happy hour. Join Peter alongside Carman Tse, Nate Fisher, Eric Marsh, Jake Mulligan, and Matt Ellis for a talk about ESPN and the NBA's ten hour "examination" into Michael Jordan and the 1998 Chicago Bulls with The Last Dance, Jon Bois and Alex Rubenstein's expose into the history of baseball's oddest team with The History of the Seattle Mariners, and Theo Anthony's 30 for 30 special on tennis replay, Subject to Review, which might not actually be about tennis but all society. Plus, they remember some guys. Man, remember those guys? Whatever happened to those guys????

0:00–5:16 Opening
6:07-51:41 The Last Dance (Jason Hehir [or Michael Jordan and the NBA])
52:29–56:23 Sponsorship Section
57:25–1:40:10 The History of the Seattle Mariners (Jon Bois and Alex Rubenstein)
1:41:18–2:03:48 Subject to Review (Theo Anthony)
2:04:05–1:56:51 Close 

Episode #110 - Daniel Goldhaber (Showgirls)

Click here to listen to the episode

"For me, it's about finding ideas that are exciting and translating them in a bigger way."

The fine line between art and pornography is as old as visual culture itself, but only recently have those within the industry crafted their narratives for large scale audiences by avoiding the old hat critiques often placed on the profession. Cam, a new horror thriller financed by Blumhouse and made by the creative duo of Isa Mazzei and Daniel Goldhaber, does exactly that by following a cam girl as she fights to reclaim her identity. Dan sits down in this long ranging interview to discuss his creative apprenticeships on documentaries and the lessons he learned from Harvard, the work he and Isa did crafting pornography that thought seriously about aesthetics, and the creative workarounds necessary to make a good film about screen life. Finally, the two talk about Showgirls, a tricky film that nonetheless influenced Cam—Peter and Dan examine how and where the film takes these burlesque dancers seriously, and how the film straddles its campy existence. Plus, Carman Tse joins the show to talk about a few restorations that played the recent AFI Film Festival.

0:00-3:10  Opening
4:13-27:48 Establishing Shots — Repertory Talk at AFI Fest with Carman Tsse
28:33-1:36:45 Deep Focus — Daniel Goldhaber
1:38:00-1:42:00  Sponsorship Section
1:43:08-1:58:40 Double Exposure — Showgirls (Paul Vehoven)

1:58:48-2:00:37 Close / Outtake

Episode #107 - Neil Bahadur (Judith of Bethulia)

Click here to listen to the episode

"People like Chaplin are inspiring because of their audiences—that cinema had that kind of audience and that kind of potential."

It is easy to get caught up in the names that have already become known throughout the cinephile world and their accomplishments and great works. But who will carry the torch through the future? One curious fellow worth noting to the is Toronto-based writer and filmmaker Neil Bahadur. With his iconoclastic ramblings, larky wit, and soft-spoken but all so engrossing enthusiasm, Neil's writing on cinema seems to be pointing toward something different that splices together the past and the future in hope of creating a cinema entirely alien to what we often limit. Peter talks to Neil about his writings on silent films in conversation with more recent art house filmmakers, the role of the marketplace in cinema that hopes to speak politically, and his ambitious first film, From Nine to Nine. They then dive into D.W. Griffith's first feature-length film, Judith of Bethulia, and examine how this curious expansion into length allowed the pioneer to bring together questions of aesthetics and politics. Plus, former guest and eating expert Carman Tse joins Peter to discuss the legacy of one of their favorite critics, food writer Jonathan Gold.

0:00-4:01  Opening
6:02-28:59 Establishing Shots — Remembering Jonathan Gold with Carman Tse
29:45-1:26:57 Deep Focus — Neil Bahadur 
1:27:58-1:31:34  Sponsorship Section
1:32:34-1:48:10 Double Exposure — Judith of Bethulia (D.W. Griffith)

1:48:16-1:50:00 Close / Outtake

Affairs to Remember: Selections from AFI Fest 2017

Click here to listen to the episode

This year's slate of unique films on the festival circuits are works defined by individuals. Some follow how they define themselves to others—romantically or otherwise—while others follow their relationship to work, the state, and to their own being. Performers of dynamic and unique range create compelling faces and bodies to follow through spaces both familiar and alien, traversing time through aesthetic choices. Directors thus create tones through defining space and helping us see what is beyond the camera's gaze. In this report from the AFI Film Festival in Los Angeles, Peter invites on a cornucopia of wonderous guests to discuss some of the fall's most unique films. Works by Hong Sang-Soo, Claire Denis, Sergei Lonznista, Aaron Katz, and Valeska Grisebach explore the contemporary landscape with conviction, empathy, and pathos.

0:00-3:43 Opening
4:37-25:27 The Day After and Claire's Camera with Aret Frost
26:28-43:39 A Gentle Creature with Carson Lund
44:37-48:31 Sponsorship Section
50:10-1:03:31  Gemini with Gabriel Anderson
1:04:39-1:29:47 Western and Let the Sunshine In with Carman Tse

1:30:37-1:32:49 Close / Outtake