Episode #92 - Catherine Grant (The Headless Woman)

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"If you dive in with an idea of sketchiness, 'I can see something here but I'm not quite sure,' and then go for it, you constitute things. I think it's what we always hope to do with our scholarship."

While Peter sometimes has questioned what digital cameras have wrought, there is no question that the digital revolution has changed the ways we can relate to our cinematic experiences (Exhibit A: this podcast). UK film scholar Catherine Grant has always seemed to be on the precipice of these changes. Her blog, Film Studies for Free, brought the idea of Open Access within the field to a whole array of scholars, and her pioneering work in video essays transformed the way that film scholarship can come closer to their objects of study than ever before. In this interview conducted in the heart of the annual SCMS conference, Catherine discusses her discovery of art cinema, her research on world cinema and auteurism in the digital age, and the role that these new visual tools have changed the way she approaches cinema. They top off their conversation by turning to The Headless Woman and how Argentine director Lucrecia Martel creates a hyper-attentive spectator in the most breathtaking drama of recent memory. 

0:00-3:26 Opening 

4:25-9:14 Establishing Shots — Preview of "This American Life — Jonathan Demme"

9:59-1:00:05 Deep Focus — Catherine Grant
1:00:55-1:03:11 Sponsorship Section
1:04:09-1:1:39 Double Exposure — The Headless Woman (Lucrecia Martel)
1:19:43-1:22:02 Close / Outtake

Episode #26 - Jordan Cronk (Repo Man)

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"I'm a kind of person who with film and music I'll force myself to listen to something that I don't necessarily think I like, whether its has no sound or has no traditional narrative.  

The city of Los Angeles might be where Hollywood's dreams come true, but for film critic Jordan Cronk, his mind often wanders toward the films of countries far and abroad, reflective works of the most avant-garde order. So when Jordan decided to make a pit stop in New York before heading off to the Toronto Film Festival, Peter had him drop by the studio for some chat on his work as a critic, the state of world cinema, Los Angeles's growing repertory theaters, how to approach music the same way as film, and his slight obsession with actress Shailene Woodley. They then dream of an LA they never knew with Alex Cox's crazy cult classic, Repo Man, whose humor and political allegory is uniquely distinct and worth deconstructing, as well as simply rocking along with. 

0:00-1:01 Opening 

2:09-8:31 Establishing Shots - Twixt / Trivia Round

9:16-51:41 Deep Focus - Jordan Cronk

53:05-1:12:11 Double Exposure - Repo Man (Alex Cox)

1:12:13-1:14:47 Close / Outtake

Visit Jordan's blog, as well as his work for Reverse Shot, Slant Magazine, Fandor, Little White Lies, and Coke Machine Glow. 

Follow Jordan on Twitter.