His new documentary, The King, sees Elvis Presley as a symbol of the rise and fall of America. So where does that leave Col. Parker, Elvis’s manager, widely disparaged for exploiting Elvis? “We deserve what we get,” says Jarecki, referring both to democracy and rock’n’roll. But do we? I didn’t vote for Trump. A … Continue reading »
Category Archives: Movies
Movies / Television / Theater
Episode 198: F. Murray Abraham
This fine actor was first admired by many people my age as Salieri in Amadeus and those my daughter’s age as Dar Adal in Homeland. We spoke at the Friars Club about his childhood in El Paso – El Paso! – his passionate devotion to our immigrant nation, and his suprising friendship with Louis C.K. … Continue reading »
Episode 141: Paul Giamatti and Maggie Siff
When we spoke at Wave Hill, these fine actors, colleagues on the TV series Billions, suggested that Sadaharu Oh is the Vanessa Redgrave of Japanese baseball. Or is Redgrave the Oh of actors? Either way, why are we inspired by such titans rather than intimidated by their inimitable brilliance? Plus a few jokes about Ibsen … Continue reading »
Episode 140: Paul Rudnick
If an audience doesn’t laugh, the play/movie/book isn’t funny. Or might it be? Can an audience fail the writer? It’s complicated, says Paul Rudnick, who should know, having written for the screen (Adams Family Values), the stage (Jeffrey) and the page (The New Yorker). A conversation about comedy and stained glass windows – two … Continue reading »
Episode 139: Andrew Bergman
His screenplay Tex X evolved into Blazing Saddles after amiable hours writing and rewriting with Richard Pryor and Mel Brooks: workmates! He directed Marlon Brando in a rare – and terrific – comedy performance in The Freshman. Plus a childhood visit to Victor Borge’s dressing room and a chance encounter with Philip Roth. And … Continue reading »
Episode 109: Molly Haskell
She was a film critic for The Village Voice, New York and Vogue, and has written for the Times, the New York Review of Books and, well, everywhere. In this episode, she speaks insightfully about the tension between being an ambitious intellectual and a genteel southern gal: oh yes, she started out as a gal. … Continue reading »
Movies / Music / Nonfiction
Episode 104: Paul Williams & Tracey Jackson
He is a songwriter who’s won an Oscar, 3 Grammies and 2 Golden Globes for hits like “We’ve only Just Begun” and “Rainy Days and Mondays.” Her TV and film scripts include Confessions of a Shopaholic for Jerry Bruckheimer. They are the co-authors of Gratitude and Trust: Six Affirmations that will Change Your Life. We spoke at Glenn … Continue reading »
Episode 99: A. O. Scott
He joined the Times in 2000 and is now a chief movie critic. It’s tough to write about critics; they generally do not have lives teeming with event. And movie critics? They sit in the dark and watch something then sit at a desk and write about it. And in Scott’s case, talk about it … Continue reading »
Episode 98: Hank Azaria
The voice of every Simpsons character – OK, many Simpsons characters: Moe, Apu, Chief Wiggum, Comic Book Guy, Carl Carlson and more – he is admired as an actor in movies (Night at the Museum), television (Mad About You) and theater (Spamalot). PERSON: Roy London PLACE: the NICU THING: his first TV RANDY’S PLACE: concert hall, … Continue reading »
Episode 81: Terence & Rachel Winter
He is the creator of Boardwalk Empire, who this year was nominated for an Oscar for writing Wolf of Wall Street. She was Oscar-nominated for producing Dallas Buyers Club, and she won. Pretty impressive couple. Pretty good year. We spoke on Shakespeare’s birthday on stage at the JCC in Manhattan. PERSON:Barry Manilow PLACE: Mammoth, CA … Continue reading »
Episode 69: Griffin Dunne
He is the son of the the writer Dominick Dunne and the nephew of two more writers, John Gregory Dunne and Joan Didion. That’s not really an accomplishment; it’s an accident of birth, like being French, only better, but it would have seemed coy, somehow, not to mention it. I first became aware of him … Continue reading »
Episode 71: John Turturro
Many of us got to like him in Do the Right Thing and got to like him even more as he became part of the rep company of Spike Lee then of the Coen Brothers. And that represents just a few of his more than 60 films. His latest is Fading Gigolo: he wrote it, … Continue reading »