Podcast appearances and mentions of Charles Willeford

«Quando descrivi la realtà, ti accusano di fare dell'umorismo nero» forse è racchiuso in queste parole di Charles Willeford - uno dei capostipiti del noir americano - il segreto del successo di una delle ibridazioni di genere più felici e curiose: quella tra commedia e poliziesco. Un'ibridazione apparentemente paradossale perché coniugare a storie cupe, misteriose, in cui si narrano crimini violenti, ironia ed umorismo può sembrare ostico, ma è invece ciò che rende quelle storie profondamente umane e reali, trasformandole da genere apprezzato soprattutto dagli adepti in romanzi in grado di affrontare temi universali.Ma come il comico si è introdotto nel noir? Da dove ha avuto origine il fenomeno e come si è diffuso? Quali sono i suoi risultati migliori? E quali, dopo i molti adattamenti in serie tv, le possibilità di evoluzione di un linguaggio che forse sta diventando un genere a sé stante? Ne parliamo con uno scrittore italiano capace di suspence e intrecci avvincenti ma anche di tanta ironia come Alessandro Robecchi (che dopo il ciclo su Carlo Monterossi ha appena pubblicato quello che potrebbe essere il primo di una nuova serie di romanzi noir), con Luca Conti traduttore dello stesso Willeford ma anche di altri autori noir di grande successo e infine con l'editore Carlo Amatetti grande studioso di comicità e linguaggio umoristico con cui nello scorcio finale di Moby Dick ci affacciamo guidati dalla spassosissima Only Murders in the Building nel mondo delle serie TV e dei podcast true crime.

This week on The Video Store Podcast, I'm recommending four offbeat cop films that have stuck with me over the years. These films can be funny, gritty, offbeat, and sometimes kind of chaotic in the best way possible. So what movies am I recommending?Running Scared (1986) – Billy Crystal and Gregory Hines as two wisecracking Chicago detectives. This one's got a great mix of comedy and action, and it leans into that mid-80s buddy cop energy without taking itself too seriously. Michael McDonald's “Sweet Freedom” is on the soundtrack, which feels like a time capsule in itself.Miami Blues (1990) – Alec Baldwin in a role that's kind of hard to pin down. He plays a violent conman who ends up impersonating a cop. It's based on a Charles Willeford novel and keeps that oddball tone where you're not always sure if you're supposed to laugh or be disturbed. Fred Ward is great in it too, playing the worn-out detective trying to catch him.Freebie and the Bean (1974) – This one's messier than most cop movies, but it's intentional. Directed by Richard Rush, who also did The Stunt Man, it's full of reckless driving, dark humor, and strange tonal shifts. Alan Arkin and James Caan play the leads, and they're either chasing criminals or arguing with each other. It kind of laid the groundwork for a lot of buddy cop films that came later.Stakeout (1987) – Richard Dreyfuss and Emilio Estevez as partners on a surveillance detail that doesn't stay professional for very long. There's a good balance of suspense and comedy, and Madeleine Stowe holds her own in her first major role. It was directed by John Badham, who also did WarGames and Short Circuit, so the pacing is solid.If you're in the mood for movies where different type of cops break rules, hunt odd suspects or drive their car on the track of an elevated train, I think you will find something here you will like.Thanks for reading Video Store Podcast! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.videostorepodcast.com

“Real badge. Real gun. Fake cop.”   “Miami Blues is a 1990 American neo-noir black comedy crime drama film directed by George Armitage, based on the novel of the same name by Charles Willeford.”   Show Links Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCihaiBkIxI   Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miami_Blues   Just Watch: https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/miami-blues   Socials Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/@moviewavepod   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/moviewavepod   Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/moviewavepod/   Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/user/moviewavepod   TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@moviewavepod   Twitter (X): https://twitter.com/moviewavepod   Buy Me A Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/moviewavepod   Intro/Outro Sample Credits “Aiwa CX-930 VHS VCR Video Cassette Recorder.wav” by Pixabay “Underwater Ambience” by Pixabay “waves crashing into shore parkdale beach” by Pixabay   Movie Wave is a part of Pie Hat Productions.

Heather Drain and Jedidiah Ayres join Mike to take a gritty plunge into Monte Hellman's Cockfighter (1974), a controversial and fascinating portrait of obsession and redemption. Warren Oates stars as Frank Mansfield, a man so consumed by his quest to win the cockfighting championship that he's taken a vow of silence until he claims victory. Set in the underbelly of the American South, this visceral tale pits man against his demons, much like the roosters he trains. Adapted from Charles Willeford's novel, Cockfighter pulls no punches in its depiction of the brutal, outlawed sport, which was illegal in 47 states at the time. Film scholar Kier-la Janisse discusses the complex themes of masculinity, pride, and obsession, as well as Hellman's signature directorial style in her new book, Cockfight: A Fable of Failure.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-projection-booth-podcast--5513239/support.

Heather Drain and Jedidiah Ayres join Mike to take a gritty plunge into Monte Hellman's Cockfighter (1974), a controversial and fascinating portrait of obsession and redemption. Warren Oates stars as Frank Mansfield, a man so consumed by his quest to win the cockfighting championship that he's taken a vow of silence until he claims victory. Set in the underbelly of the American South, this visceral tale pits man against his demons, much like the roosters he trains. Adapted from Charles Willeford's novel, Cockfighter pulls no punches in its depiction of the brutal, outlawed sport, which was illegal in 47 states at the time. Film scholar Kier-la Janisse discusses the complex themes of masculinity, pride, and obsession, as well as Hellman's signature directorial style in her new book, Cockfight: A Fable of Failure.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-projection-booth-podcast--5513239/support.

Chris had this as an ex-VHS rental back in the day and has chosen the neo-noir black comedy crime drama, Miami Blues (1990). Miami Blues was an adaptation of Charles Willeford's novel, directed by George Armitage and produced by Jonathan Demme. The film starred Alec Baldwin as the charming yet psychopathic criminal Frederick J. Frenger Jr., Jennifer Jason Leigh as his naive love interest Susie Waggoner, and Fred Ward as the weary, veteran detective Hoke Moseley. The casting process was crucial, with Baldwin bringing a charismatic and unpredictable energy to his role, while Leigh's performance added depth and vulnerability to her character. Ward, also serving as the film's co-producer, provided a grounded and gritty counterbalance to Baldwin's manic character. Filming took place in various locations around Miami, utilizing the city's vibrant and diverse backdrop to enhance the film's atmosphere. The production aimed to capture the seedy underbelly and the contrasting sunny exterior of Miami, which served as a character in its own right. The blend of dark humor, crime drama, and offbeat romance required careful direction to maintain the film's tone. Armitage and Demme's collaboration ensured that the film stayed true to Willeford's unique style while making it accessible to a broader audience. Despite its modest box office performance, "Miami Blues" received praise for its performances, particularly Baldwin's, and has since gained a cult following for its quirky, noir-infused take on crime and romance. If you enjoy the show we have a Patreon, so become a supporter. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.patreon.com/thevhsstrikesback⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Plot Summary: Frederick J. Frenger Jr., a recently released convict, arrives in Miami and quickly resumes his life of crime. After accidentally killing a Hare Krishna at the airport, Frenger steals, robs, and impersonates a police officer, causing chaos throughout the city. He forms a romantic relationship with Susie Waggoner while being pursued by the persistent and grizzled detective Hoke Moseley. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠thevhsstrikesback@gmail.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/vhsstrikesback⁠ --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thevhsstrikesback/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thevhsstrikesback/support

Lieske, Tanyawww.deutschlandfunk.de, Büchermarkt

Stahl, Ennowww.deutschlandfunk.de, Büchermarkt

The boys join Alec Baldwin in a life of crime in 90's Miami. Between gaslighting a girlfriend, killing people by breaking their fingers, and losing our false teeth, we get distracted by pre-chewing food, the humility that comes with bib-wearing, and desserts that make your pee stink, but mostly we're surprised by just how great this movie is. Seriously it's so fun. Go watch it.Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCihaiBkIxIIMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0100143/Leave us a 30 second voicemail and if we like it we'll play it on the show: (949) 4-STABBY (949-478-2229)Like a book club but for dissecting obscure thriller, exploitation, and horror movies. Next movie announced every Wednesday. New episodes every Monday. Follow us on the things:Linktree: https://www.linktr.ee/stabbystabbyInstagram:  @stabbypod  https://www.instagram.com/stabbypod/Letterboxd:   https://boxd.it/dp1ACGet the shirt: https://www.big-other.com/shop/p/stabby-stabby-podcast-tee

For our final episode of 2021, we decide to broaden out a personal tradition and share it with listeners... we each share our 10 favorite reading experiences of the year, and discuss why these books made a lasting mark on us. Our choices are not at all limited to books that came out in 2021, but could be any book of any genre from any year. These books were "buried in our heads like a stinger" (to borrow from Flannery O'Connor) and just would not let go, no matter what else we might have consumed. We want to offer a sincere THANK YOU to anyone who chose to spend some of their valuable time listening to us blather on about books this year... we do not take your listening for granted, and while the twinly conversation would go on regardless, it has been humbling and heartening to receive all of your positive feedback about the show. We wish you all a very happy and restorative holiday season, and we'll be talking to you again in 2022! MUSIC BY YOUNG WOLF, VOIDZ PANDA BOOKS DISCUSSED/MENTIONED/RECOMMENDED IN THIS EPISODE What Jude is currently reading/plans to read next: 'White Line Fever,' Lemmy Kilmister (w/ Janiss Garza) - 'A Prayer for the Dying,' Jack Higgins - What John is currently reading/plans to read next: 'Barkskins,' Annie Proulx - 'Sir Gawain and the Green Knight,' Anonymous, trans. by W. S. Merwin Books/Writers discussed in this episode: JUDE's BEST BOOKS OF 2021 - 1. 'Extraterrestrial,' Avi Loeb - 2. 'Walking with Ghosts,' Gabriel Byrne - 3. 'The Songlines,' Bruce Chatwin - 4. 'The Reason for the Darkness of the Night: Edgar Allen Poe and the Forging of American Science,' John Tresch - 5. 'The Five Wounds,' Kristin Valdez Quade - 6. 'Klara and the Sun,' Kazuo Ishiguro - 7. 'Challenger: A Major Malfunction - A True Story of Politics, Greed and the Wrong Stuff,' Malcolm McConnell - 8. 'Night Boat to Tangier,' Kevin Barry - 9. 'Solar Bones," Mike McCormack - 10. 'Close Range: Wyoming Stories,' Annie Proulx - JOHN's BEST BOOKS OF 2021 - 1. 'Via Negativa,' Daniel Hornsby - 2. 'The Wayfinders: Why Ancient Wisdom Matters in the Modern World,' Wade Davis - 3. 'Exhalation: Stories,' Ted Chiang - 4. 'Fragments of an Infinite Memory: My Life with the Internet,' Maël Renouard - 5. 'The Mission: A True Story,' David W. Brown - 6. 'Bad Dirt: Wyoming Stories 2,' Annie Proulx - 7. 'The Valancourt Book of World Horror Stories, Vol. 1,' Ed. by James D. Jenkins & Ryan Cagle - 8. 'Cockfighter,' Charles Willeford - 9. 'Interior States: Essays,' Meghan O'Gieblyn - 10. 'Barkskins,' Annie Proulx - Planned next episode of the Book XChange podcast: Episode 43... TBD!

Throw on your white blazer, power up the speed boat, and cut yourself a line. We're head to '80's  Miami for Charles Willeford's 'Miami Blues."  In what can only be described as a "weird and unsettling novel," we join Hoke Moseley, Frederick J. Frenger Jr, and Susan Waggoner for a bizarre tale of Floridian crime. Get in touch with the show: pointblanknoir@gmail.com Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pointblankpodcast

Four years before Pulp Fiction set off a trend of quirky, violent crime films in the '90s, writer/director George Armitage adapted the first of Charles Willeford's Hoke Moseley novels with this violent, titularly Miami-based gem starring a gorgeous and unhinged Alec Baldwin. On this episode former guests Kyle Smith and Tyler Savage discuss:- this 1990 Jonathan Demme-produced film;- its exuberant personality;- the long-lasting influence of Willeford (Tarantino initially said he was aiming for the author with Pulp Fiction);- and Armitage's career from Roger Corman, Gross Point Blank, and the chaotically studio-edited The Big Bounce.Also:- Fred Ward's late-'80s/early-'90s streak;- alternate castings over the years for Hoke Moseley;- whether Jennifer Jason Leigh is playing an under- or overage sex worker;- and the rise and fall of that '90s crime film trend.Kyle Smith is writer/director of the films Blue Highway and Turkey Bowl, which debuted at the 2011 SXSW Film Festival. Currently in development on his third feature, you can find Kyle and his film thoughts on Letterboxd.After playing the festival circuit in a pandemic-ravaged festival season, Tyler Savage's second directed-feature, Stalker, which he also co-wrote, will be released Vertical Entertainment in early 2021. Savage also wrote/directed Inheritance, along with associate producer credits on Song to Song, Knight of Cups, and Voyage of Time.Miami Blues is available on Blu-ray from Shout! Factory (though it's sold out on their website) and streaming on Amazon Prime.

Notre critique du film "The Burnt Orange Heresy" réalisé par Giuseppe Capotondi avec Claes Bang et Elizabeth Debicki. Disponible sur Amazon Prime Video en France et en VOD en Belgique.  Abonnez-vous au podcast CINECAST sur la plateforme de votre choix : https://smartlink.ausha.co/cinecast  ---   Titre : The Burnt Orange Heresy Sortie : 06 janvier 2020 (sortie VOD en Belgique) De : Giuseppe Capotondi Avec : Claes Bang et Elizabeth Debicki. Synopsis : Dans cette adaptation du roman Hérésie de Charles Willeford, un critique d'art peu scrupuleux ayant soif de gloire cherche à rencontrer un célèbre peintre afin de lui voler une de ses oeuvres. Bande-annonce : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbjakuJZgww&t # TheBurntOrangeHeresy #CINECAST

On Episode 62 of the Paperback Warrior Podcast, Eric and Tom discuss the life and work of Charles Willeford. Also: Tom’s Dallas Book Tour, Richard Stark, Ron Goulart, Warrant for a Wanton, Nick Quarry, Hoke Moseley, William Fuller and more! Listen on your favorite podcast app, on PaperbackWarrior.com, or download directly here: https://bit.ly/2FFMHnk (Music by Bensound)

In this episode, we take a look at a double-bill of classic Florida pulp fiction: John D. MacDonald's Darker Than Amber (the seventh novel in his Travis McGee series) and Charles Willeford's Miami Blues (the first novel in his Hoke Moseley series). We're joined by director and "Mr. Miami" Bill Teck to discuss the novels, the sense his Cuban heritage gives him of the the state's history, the changes in crime between the 1967 publication of Amber and Blues in 1984 as well as the nuances of Floridalia ranging from Miami Dade Community College to Granny Feelgood's to depressing top-sider bars in Fort Lauderdale. The Pink Smoke site:
 www.thepinksmoke.com Patreon: www.patreon.com/thepinksmoke The Pink Smoke on Twitter :
twitter.com/thepinksmoke John Cribbs on Twitter:
 twitter.com/TheLastMachine Christopher Funderburg on Twitter: twitter.com/CFunderburg Intro & outro music by Marcus Pinn of Pinnland Empire.

Magazine literario −dirigido y presentado por Paco Atero− dedicado al mundo de la novela negra en todas sus vertientes: libros, noticias, actualidad, sucesos, televisión, cine, cómic, otros géneros literarios, etc. Contenido del programa: - ACTUALIDAD NEGRAYMORTAL con Alba Prieto. Reseña de ‘LA TERCERA LEY (Luis Ángel Fernández de Betoño, Amazon): https://negraymortal.com/la-tercera-ley-luis-angel-fernandez-de-betono/ y de ‘UNA OBRA MAESTRA’ (Charles Willeford, RBA Serie Negra): https://negraymortal.com/una-obra-maestra-charles-willeford/ - EN LA ONDA CON JULIO a cargo de Julio Megía. Recomendación de la serie de televisión ‘HIERRO’ que se emite en Movistar+. - CRÍMENES SIN RESOLVER con la detective Roser Ribas. Caso: ‘EL VAMPIRO DE ATLAS’ (Estocolmo, Suecia, 1932). - LOS MUNDOS DE MARTA con Marta Pérez: Recomendación de la novela ‘EL MISTERIO DE GRAMERCY PARK’ (Anna Katharina Green). - LOS THRILLERS DE TONA con Marta Cañigueral. Recomendación de ‘EL SHOW DE LAS MARIONETAS’ (M. W. Craven, Roca Editorial): https://negraymortal.com/el-show-de-las-marionetas-m-w-craven/. Tema musical portada: RITMO HOSTIL, de Funkiwis. Tema musical cierre: BAILE DE BUITRES, de Funkiwis. Con la colaboración de David Esquius (sintonías musicales). Suscribiros a nuestro canal para recibir de la manera más cómoda todos nuestros podcasts. Nos podéis escuchar en Ivoox, iTunes, Spotify, Podimo y en nuestra sección de Podcast en negraymortal.com Os invitamos a dejar vuestros comentarios tanto en nuestras cuentas en RRSS como enviando un correo electrónico a: podcastnoir@negraymortal.com ¡Gracias por vuestras escuchas!

Mike talks with author/screenwriter Scott Smith about his latest film, The Burnt Orange Heresy -- an adaptation of Charles Willeford's wonderful book about a sociopathic art critic. Mr. Smith also discusses his earlier work from A Simple Plan to The Ruins to Siberia.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this special episode of The Projection Booth, Mike talks with author/screenwriter Scott Smith about his latest film, The Burnt Orange Heresy -- an adaptation of Charles Willeford's wonderful book about a sociopathic art critic. Mr. Smith also discusses his earlier work from A Simple Plan to The Ruins to Siberia.

On this special episode of The Projection Booth, Mike talks with author/screenwriter Scott Smith about his latest film, The Burnt Orange Heresy -- an adaptation of Charles Willeford's wonderful book about a sociopathic art critic. Mr. Smith also discusses his earlier work from A Simple Plan to The Ruins to Siberia.

“The artist alone is the final judge of his work.” Hosts John Cribbs & Christopher Funderburg discuss Charles Willeford's twisty thriller set in the hip, commercialized art world of Miami in the early 70's. It's a funny, cynical and self-critical book about the relationship between artists and critics, but at the same time a typically outrageous & unpredictable work of Willeford pulp crime fiction. Join them as they discuss one of their favorite novels from one of their favorite authors. The Pink Smoke site: www.thepinksmoke.com/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thepinksmoke The Pink Smoke on Twitter: https://twitter.com/thepinksmoke John Cribbs on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheLastMachine Christopher Funderburg on Twitter: https://twitter.com/CFunderburg Intro & outro music by Marcus Pinn of Pinnland Empire.

Hosts John Cribbs & Christopher Funderburg discuss the upcoming reprint of Donald E. Westlake's Enough, a pair of novellas that have been given the much more appropriate title Double Feature in conjunction with the re-release. The two works, A Travesty and Ordo, have been out of print for nearly 40 years despite ranking among Westlake's very best work. The breathless episode touches on everything from the history of Los Angeles as depicted in crime literature, the technicalities of locked room mysteries, the relationship of Westlake's work to that of Charles Willeford as well as the strange moments when pulp fiction seems to transcend the pulp genre and transform into legit literature. Special Thanks to Hard Case Crime! order the book here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07RL8THY7 The Pink Smoke site: www.thepinksmoke.com Patreon: www.patreon.com/thepinksmoke The Pink Smoke on Twitter: twitter.com/thepinksmoke John Cribbs on Twitter: twitter.com/TheLastMachine Christopher Funderburg on Twitter: twitter.com/CFunderburg Intro & outro music by Marcus Pinn of Pinnland Empire.

  From "Blood on Black" available on Amazon   "WHEN I GO GET ANGRY IT IS USUALLY NOT A PRETTY SITE."       Though Damien Echols routinely and wrongly has been described as “innocent” or even “exonerated,” Jason Baldwin in many ways has been more effective with his assertions of innocence than the weird and off-putting Echols. The perpetually smiling Baldwin projects a whimsical and slightly goofy image for one supposedly mistreated by the justice system. In many ways unchanged from the skinny little murder defendant who looked as if he should still be drawing race cars and airplanes at the back of a classroom, Baldwin continues to speak without self-consciousness of his simple beliefs in justice, truth and loving your mom. While perpetual poser Echols scowls and sulks in his frequent media portraits, Baldwin today seems positively blithe. Crime novelist Charles Willeford's description of a heartless young criminal as a “blithe psychopath" sums up many a man lacking a conscience, eager to rob, rape, cheat or kill with never a doubt, qualm or worry. For those who consider Baldwin's actions on May 5, 1993, “out of character,” consider that his very best, his inseparable friend was a violent, mentally ill dabbler in the occult who went to great lengths to project an image of foreboding evil.     In a hearing in 2009, Samuel Joseph Dwyer, a neighbor and playmate of the Baldwin brothers at Lakeshore in 1993, described how Jason began to adopt Echols' manner of dress and distinctive way of speaking after they began hanging out together. Even so, Dwyer carefully characterized Baldwin as someone who was not a follower, but as one who kept his own counsel. Jason, like the disturbed Echols and the thuggish Misskelley, already had had several brushes with the law prior to his arrest for murder. Also in counterpoint to his reputation as a mild-mannered animal lover with an artistic soul were several incidents of violent acting- out. There were troubling incidents. On June 5, 1987, the Baldwin/Grinnell clan was living in a rundown sec- tion of rural Shelby County when someone set fire to a bedroom with a lighter. Setting fires is one of the earliest and surest signs of budding criminal psychopathology. Exactly six years later, on June 5, 1993, in the first shock of the arrests,  Jason's paternal grandmother, Jessie Mae Baldwin of Sheridan, Ark., expressed doubts about his innocence to the Commercial Appeal.  She said, “I thought in my own mind when those boys were killed that my grandson is sorta superstitious about that devil stuff. He was always catching lizards and snakes, something was going on in that child's mind.” Years later, Baldwin testified he first was placed on probation when he was 11. As juvenile records are closed and Baldwin has been stingy with details, the facts surrounding this encounter with the law are not clear. In a letter to girlfriend Heather Cliett written from lockup, Baldwin wrote: “I have never been in jail before, except for once and I was only there for one hour that was nothing.” Most 16-year-olds would count a trip to jail as a life-defining moment, but for Baldwin getting into trouble was “nothing” and going to jail re- ally didn't count as going to jail. His thinking lacked proportion and betrayed a pervading sense of unfairness, hence his complaint that “they keep me locked up in my cell for 24 hours a day. while the other prisoners get to get out of their cells all day long to play games, eat steaks, and all kinds of stuff.” He made it sound as if he was not allowed to go to summer camp. At age 12, Jason, his brother Matt and several other boys broke into a building and went on a destructive spree vandalizing the antique cars stored inside. They broke out the windows on several autos and wrecked the place. They were caught jumping on the cars by two men who called the police. The boys were charged with breaking and entering and criminal mischief. The incident often has been framed as harmless adolescent mischief, but prosecutor John Fogleman was concerned enough to recommend that the boys be placed in reform school for two years. They were all placed on probation. Gail Grinnell was ordered to pay a fine of $450 each for her boys. Typically, family members portrayed this as an unfair burden on poor, hard- working Mom, who only paid $30 of the fine. Jason got into trouble again, at age 15, when he shoplifted potato chips and M&Ms from the Walgreens in West Memphis. He was placed on diversion of judgment for a year with the stipulations that he stay in school and out of trouble. That court order was one reason why Baldwin did not skip school on the day of the murders or the day after. Meanwhile, his family life was in turmoil. Jason's mother, known today as Angela Gail Grinnell Scheidmiller, had been involuntarily committed to the East Arkansas Regional Mental Health Center in February 1992. There had been four trips to the emer- gency room at Crittenden Memorial Hospital in January 1992, where Mrs. Grinnell was treated for self-inflicted wounds to the neck and arms, according to “Blood of Innocents.” Probate records indicated she was admitted for a period of up to 45 days because of “paranoid delusions,” including “hallucinations of a male voice” and the fear that she was dying of AIDS. Records indicated she had been abusing drugs since her teens. Around this time, dad Charles Baldwin, long absent, showed up for a visit with his two sons. According to “Dark Spell,” the boys so enjoyed their visit that they told their mother they would consider living with their dad for a while. This reportedly prompted a suicide attempt via cutting her wrists. Jason called 911 and his mother survived. This may have been the incident that prompted Jason to write in a school assignment in April 1993: “Once my mother tried to commit suicide and I know how I felt when that happened it was pretty devastating since I was the one who found her and called 911 and kept her alive, but …. my mother is well and happy now and so am I.” Despite Jason's sunny spin, his mother was neither well nor happy. In another writing assignment, Jason described a violent fight with his younger brother: “I am usually a calm person, and can take mostly of anything. But sometimes I get angry, when I do get angry it is usually not a pretty site. One time I had to babysit my two little brothers, one is 8, and the other is 13. I let Matt, the 13 year old go outside to play, or whatever he want, and I let Terry the 8 year old have some friends over. That was a mistake. I let them go in my room and play Super Nintendo, while I watched T.V. in the living room, I thought I had everything under control, but I was wrong. Those kids got to fighting over the game, and tore everything up in my room, it was a mess.  I couldn't believe it. I made them clean everything up and leave. Then Matt got home griping as usual, and started aggravating me. He would run up and hit me and say ‘You can't hit me back, I'll tell mom' so I said tell mom boy, cause you're fixing to get it. I ran over there and grabbed him into a choke hold and held him there until his face turned bright red and then let him go.  I said mess with me again and it'll be worse, so he pick up a broom and tried to hit me with it I grabbed the handle pulled it a little ways then pushed and it knocked him down, he didn't do nothing else but say ‘I'm still telling' I said ‘so' and he did and I got ground- ed for nothing.” Several key points: Jason tended to bottle up his anger until it exploded; Jason was deeply resentful over having to babysit his brothers and be “the man of the house”; there was a family pattern of violence with Matt not hesitating to attack with a broom after being choked by Jason until his face turned red; Jason was used to handling defiant younger children; Jason often felt he was not treated fairly, a complaint that has cropped up again and again in his public statements; Jason expressed no remorse about overreacting to Matt's provocation — he “got grounded for nothing” except chok- ing and knocking down his little brother. A typical psychopath is “usually a calm person” but when a psychopath does get angry, “it is usually not a pretty site.” Psychopaths are prone to retaliating over petty grievances that they view as affronts to their grandiose vision of themselves. They never take responsibility for anything unless there is a significant tradeoff in benefit to them. Their view of their own role in their misdeeds is grossly disproportional. Psychopaths expe- rience few qualms about their ruthless disregard for others, and they are highly adept at hiding their lack of normal, healthy humanity behind a superficially pleasing mask. His family life did nothing but exacerbate Jason's antisocial tendencies. Their mother's marriage to stepfather Terry Ray Grinnell had long been shaky, marked by violent arguments over Terry's habitual drinking on weekends. Jason often had to call the police, according to “Dark Spell,” and his stepfather often slapped not only their mother but Jason and Matt. A few weeks before he killed three little boys, Jason took a baseball bat to his stepfather during an argument and drove him from their home, according to Leveritt's book. “I took that little bat, and … I hit Terry with it. He hit the ground. I opened the door and said ‘leave,'” Baldwin told Leveritt in “Dark Spell.” Soon, a new boyfriend named ‘Dink' Dent would move in briefly. Dent had a lengthy rap sheet that included multiple counts of larceny, burglary and auto theft. The relationship did not last long. Grinnell and Dent broke up the very evening that Jason murdered three little boys. Dent gave key evidence that Jason was not home at the time of the murders. By the time of the arrests, the stepfather was back on the scene.  When officers raided their home on June 3, 1993, Gail angrily accused Terry of turning in their son for the reward money. Asked by John Fogleman in September why she had reacted with that accusation, she said, “I don't know why I would have said that.   In a case full of inarticulate, lying, confused and confusing witnesses, Gail Grinnell was notably incoherent. Among her problematic actions was her appearance along with “Mr. Grinnell” at the Hobbs home on the evening of May 6, after the bodies were found, according to a June 9 statement from Pam Hobbs, who had recognized Gail at the preliminary hearing. Terry Hobbs also identified her as a visitor that evening. There was no explanation as to why the Grinnells would have been at the Hobbs home, as they were not friends with the family, or why “Mr. Grinnell” would have accompanied her, as she had just broken up with Dent (who had not yet moved out) and was separated from her husband. Intended as a sympathetic account of Jason's life, Mara Leveritt's “Dark Spell” inadvertently paints a fascinating portrait of the young killer as a savvy street-smart wheeler-dealer with an eye for the main chance. The book is rich in such ridiculous fictions as that Baldwin was an often-disappointed believer in old-fashioned truth, justice and virtue who, despite little evident interest in religion, had learned just what Jesus would do and then did that. Because his mama raised him right. Baldwin quickly adapted to the brutal Arkansas prison system, figured out how to work his way into the trust of prison officials and worked every angle to always put himself in the most positive light.  He has portrayed his agreement to get out of prison as a selfless act, saying he agreed to the Alford plea because he feared Damien would die from unspecified causes while incarcerated. Baldwin's years in prison stand in stark contrast to Echols' story, which endlessly whined about how Damien was sick, lonely and scared. Baldwin quickly learned that he could show no weakness. He survived near-daily assaults for years until he established a solid reputation among inmates and guards as a tough little fighter and standup guy. Psychopaths often do relatively well in prison, an environment based on who can most effectively wield power. They often do well in other aggressive environments where they quickly size up opportunities. They charm and manipulate others when they can and ruthlessly crush those resistant to their act. As a convicted child killer facing uncommonly hostile guards and fellow prisoners, Baldwin never backed down, taking “power” as his byword; from the first to the last, he was a cool customer, far from the “Paradise Lost” image of a powerless child. Baldwin had a knack for duping others into believing he was trustworthy; he projected an air of innocence, easily fooling old ladies in the trailer park into thinking he was a nice boy. His air of assumed humility and guise of open-hearted sincerity pervade “Dark Spell.” But who is Jason Baldwin? Those who believe he was guilty see a child killer who claimed he was innocent when his sentence was being handed down. They see no shame, no regret, no doubt, no remorse. Even those who believe him innocent will acknowledge that he was Damien's best friend. What does that tell us about Baldwin? Contrary to cliches about “nice guy” killers, long- time criminologist Stanton Samenow in “The Myth of the Out of Character Crime” states that any crimes that a person commits are in keeping with his character. He notes that “what a person presents publicly often differs radically from what he is like privately.” Echols was grandiose to an extreme. Echols lied with abandon, seeming to spin untruths just because he could. Lying offered an illusion of control. Echols enjoyed playing cat and mouse with the police, though his arrogance and blatant falsehoods were key to his conviction. On the surface, Baldwin could not have been more different. From the first, he said little to authorities and what he said did not implicate him in any way. His whole defense was built around saying nothing, hoping he would be exonerated because of the paucity of evidence. Like Echols, Baldwin had an arrogant illusion of control but he had a better grasp of reality. Echols talked and talked, as did Misskelley, but Baldwin was tightlipped from the start, with one possible, crucial exception. Another detainee in juvenile lockup, Michael Carson, testified in gruesome detail about Baldwin's confession to him while they were in custody. The testimony offered a foundation for finding Baldwin guilty. The key to his guilt was his association with Echols. Read “Dark Spell” and then wonder how a straight-arrow regular fellow who professes adherence to Christian values and the American way could have been blood brothers with a blood-drinking boogeyman. Baldwin acknowledged that Echols and his mother were mentally ill; what he didn't explain was his easy camaraderie with a boy viewed by everyone as weird and sinister. Echols has the childish view that the only thing worth doing is the thing that is forbidden, and he flaunts his contempt for mainstream values. By feigning his embrace of those values, Baldwin has made his own lie, behind a perpetual smile. The two are mirror opposites, one as sick as the other. “… The normal are inclined to visualize the psychopath as he is in mind, which is about as far from the truth as one could well get … These monsters of real life usually looked and behaved in a more normal manner then their actually normal brothers and sisters, they presented a more convincing picture of virtue than virtue presented of itself — as the wax rosebud or the plastic peach seems more perfect to the eye, more what the mind thought a rosebud or a peach should be, than the imperfect original from which it had been modeled.” — William March, “The Bad Seed,” as quoted in “Without Conscience: The Disturbing World of the Psychopaths Among Us”  by Robert D. Hare, PhD. Hare explained in his preface: “Psychopaths are social predators who charm, manipulate, and ruthlessly plow their way through life, leaving a broad trail of broken hearts, shattered expectations, and empty wallets. Completely lacking in conscience and in feelings for others, they selfishly take what they want and do as they please, violating social norms and expectations without the slightest sense of guilt or regret.” There you have the link between Echols and Baldwin: two of a kind. Echols had psychological problems, such as depression and anxiety, since early childhood. In addition he displayed many qualities of the classic sociopath, or psychopath, a label he embraced. According to Hare, “These often charming — but always deadly — individuals have a clinical name: psychopaths. Their hallmark is a stunning lack of conscience; their game is self-gratification at the other person's expense. … The most obvious expressions of the psychopath — but by no means the only ones —- involved flagrant criminal violation of society's rules. … These pieces of the puzzle form an image of a self-centered, callous, and remorseless person profoundly lacking in empathy and the ability to form warm emotional relationships with others, a person who functions without the restraints of conscience.” That describes Echols well enough. Jason has shown a similar though more lighthearted ability to disregard the consequences of his actions. Criminologist Stanton Samenow found that habitual lawbreakers feel that they are different from other people, that the usual rules do not apply to them and that they will continue in their evil ways unless highly motivated to change. Samenow has explained that many parents use the excuse that their suddenly delinquent child fell in with the wrong crowd. Not so. “Criminals seek out one another for their own purposes,” said Samenow in “Inside the Criminal Mind.” “In radar-like fashion, they hone in on others who have similar interests. They are not enticed into crime against their will. If a basically responsible youngster makes an unwise choice and misjudges another youth who he discovers is up to no good, he will eventually extricate himself from that situation and most likely from the entire relationship.” Contrast the actions of Murray J. Farris and Baldwin. Despite a common interest in witchcraft, Farris and his good friend Chris Littrell quickly and consistently kept Echols at arm's length; they were not drawn into crime. Similarly, Deanna Holcomb, despite deep romantic ties to Echols and their shared belief in “magick,” broke cleanly from him when the full implications of his plans to ritually sacrifice their possible child became clear. By contrast, Baldwin, with no apparent interest in witchcraft, was easily drawn into Damien's world, a world totally at odds with Baldwin's public statements. Also contrast Baldwin's seemingly guileless lack of remorse with the criminally inclined Misskelley, who expressed shock, shame and disgust over his involvement in the killings. Misskelley, though often cruel, hardened and callous, was capable of empathy, guilt and shame, unlike his partners in crime. Psychopaths are smooth liars who bend and break the truth in breathtaking fashion and continue to lie even when exposed. Drawing heavily upon the research of Hervey Cleckley in the classic psychiatric text “The Mask of Sanity,” first published in 1941, Hare notes: “Phrases such as ‘shrewdness and agility of mind,' ‘talks entertainingly,' and ‘exceptional charm' dot Cleckley's case histories” … as well as media presentations of Damien  and Jason. Cleckley stated: “The (psychopath) is unfamiliar with the primary fact or data of what might be called personal values and is altogether incapable of understanding such matters.” Despite this lack, psychopaths are experts at weighing circumstances for maximum self-advantage and then saying or doing whatever is necessary to fit their purposes. They are masters of manipulation. With Baldwin, there is a pervading sense of “something's wrong here but I can't quite put my finger on it,” which is how Hare describes a characteristic impression of the psychopath. As described in “Dark Spell,” Baldwin's journey through some of the roughest prisons in the United States was that of a cold-blooded opportunist who seized upon the feelings of others, such as the jail workers who left illicit food for him or the series of prison officials who found him relatively cushy jobs. Baldwin quickly sussed out the “soft touches,” just part of his special knack. Hare said of psychopaths: “To some people … they seem too slick and smooth, too obviously insincere and superficial. Astute observers often get the impression that psychopaths are play-acting, mechanically ‘reading their lines.'” Mechanically reading their lines, such as in these quotes from Baldwin in “Dark Spell”: “I didn't think there was any possible way they could find us guilty when we didn't do it. Not in America. … People thought we did drugs because we looked wild, but we didn't. We didn't need them. … Jesus didn't judge peo- ple. He pretty much forgave everybody, unless they were misusing religion or being hurtful. It was all about the love. That's what Jesus uses. You've supposed to love people, to uplift people, to make people better. That's what I learned from Jesus's teaching. That's why he's the guy. He's the big radical. … I tried to forgive them because I knew that if they knew I was innocent— if they knew the truth —- they wouldn't be reacting to us that way. And knew that that was the purpose of this trial: to get to the truth of it. … I did my best to show them that I wasn't afraid, that no matter what, we must stick together as a family, to not lose hope and to have faith in God and what is right. … Our love would get us through this, and God would work out a miracle for us. … I can see where they might think I'm in a cult because I wear Metallica T-shirts and stuff like that, but I'm not into nothing like that. I couldn't kill an animal or a person.” Baldwin consistently delivers this sort of hypernormal spiel with the smile of the practiced prison scammer. Concerning Echols' highly incriminating answers to police questioning and incriminating testimony, Baldwin said: “They took what he said in innocence and twisted it on him, and they did it because he was Damien.” About a possible plea deal, he said, “I was not tempted. It was wrong. It was against everything I was brought up to believe in.” And in “Dark Spell,,” Baldwin described his first day in prison: “… My mantra is born: ‘I am tough.' I say that out loud. … The old man is looking at me again and smiling that dirty smile. I tell him he better get me some boxers that fit and do not play any games with me because I do not play … He says that I do not look like a killer to him. I tell him that is what I am in here for so he better not mess with me. I wasn't lying. … It works and he gets me some boxers that fit.” Thus did a 16-year-old kid establish his dominance over the first longtime inmate he encountered. As he said, “I never wanted to incur any disrespect or loss of respect.” Offered a romance novel, the connoisseur of horror movies and the heaviest of heavy metal offered a “by gosh” memory: “I can't read this stuff. A kid going through puberty? No. I didn't need to be reading that.” Early on, Baldwin refused a prescription of the antidepressant Zoloft from a Department of Corrections psychologist because “there wasn't anything wrong with me.” He already had decided that he would rather risk being placed in general population rather than the Diagnostic Unit or the Suicide Prevention Unit. He sup- posedly told prison officials, “I refused to be so doped up that I cannot even think about fighting for my freedom.” Baldwin claimed he did not allow himself to experience fear over the prospect of prison life. He told Leveritt: “I'd already experienced so much in my short little life —- so much bad — that I'd ceased to be afraid. And I'd ceased to be shocked.” One defining trait of psychopaths is the absence of fear. Explaining that he deferred going to school in prison, instead earning the respect of the guards and inmates on work details, he said, “As limited as my choices were, I wasn't going to make one that would reduce my chances around here.” After being beaten unconscious, he supposedly pulled a “Cool Hand Luke” and walked out of the infirmary with an untreated fractured skull and broken collarbone after regaining consciousness. After being robbed by a fellow inmate, Baldwin, again in “Dark Spell,” said, “So being the hothead that I was, I went into the dayroom and started kicking things over, like big stacks of plastic chairs. I yelled, ‘All right, you bitches, you're going to wake up!' I went over to the first rack and yelled ‘This is a shakedown!' Then I went to the second rack, and lo and behold, I saw a bunch of my stuff there. I said to the guy, ‘All right, you and I are going to the shower and we're going to fight.'” Thus stood revealed the hard man hidden in the waif with the ruddy cheeks. As for his relationship with Echols, it was reminiscent of two other devotees of the cult of the black raincoat, Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris. The shooting spree of Klebold and Harris at Columbine High School in 1999 that left 13 dead and 20 injured was the culminating atrocity of a dynamic duo not unlike the unnatural bond of Baldwin and Echols. As the myth of the poor, persecuted trailer park “throwaway kids” persisted and grew in the West Memphis case, the Columbine killers have been portrayed as misunderstood, picked-upon teens who lashed out in frustration at their tormenters. In both cases, the killings were carefully planned by cold-blooded killers hoping to leave their mark upon the world. After the murder-suicides of Klebold and Harris, the often-ignored truth appeared in their writings — Eric Harris was a grandiose psychopath carrying out his fantasies of killing for pleasure while Dylan Klebold was a depressive with cripplingly low self-esteem who often fantasized about suicide. Harris was often described as intelligent, well-spoken and even “nice” — much like Baldwin. Harris was a cool customer able to slaughter acquaintances and classmates in a detached manner, taunting them as they begged for mercy. Similarly, Baldwin had no problem knifing, beating and drowning helpless children and then, a few hours later, dickering with a friend over music tapes. Meanwhile, Echols was exhibiting bizarre behavior and insane thought patterns. Back in 1992 and 1993 he was consistently diagnosed with various forms of depression, much like Klebold. Dave Cullen, in an excellent book on the Colorado case, “Columbine,” explained the Klebold-Harris pairing as a dyad, “murderous pairs who feed off each other,” citing such other similar pairs as Bonnie and Clyde, Leopold and Loeb and the Beltway snipers. Other well-known examples would be Fred and Rose West, the Hillside Stranglers, the Menendez brothers, Charles Starkweather and Caril Fugate, etc. Cullen writes: “Because dyads account for only a fraction of mass murderers, little research has been conducted on them. We know that the partnerships tend to be asymmetrical. An angry, erratic depressive and a sadistic psychopath make a combustible pair. The psychopath is in control, of course, but the hotheaded side- kick can sustain his excitement leading up to the big kill.” If there ever was “an angry erratic depressive,” Damien Echols would be one. Consider the likelihood that Echols was never “the ringleader,” a role he clearly relished, but merely “the hotheaded sidekick” who kept his cool-headed little buddy on track toward a long-planned, very special evening in Robin Hood Hills. As Deanna Holcomb explained, Damien was too much of a coward to do the killing himself. In the May 5 attack, Echols exhorted Misskelley and Baldwin to beat their captives but it was Baldwin who pulled out his knife and began carving up Little Stevie and Chris. According to the only first-hand witness who has talked, it was not clear that Echols did more than beat, truss, sexually molest and drown the boys. Baldwin viciously mutilated two of them. As John Fogleman described the utter lack of conscience at the heart of the case: “You see inside that person, and you look inside there, and there's not a soul in there."      https://www.amazon.com/Blood-Black-Against-Memphis-Killers/dp/0692802843/ref=sr_1_fkmrnull_1?keywords=gary+meece&qid=1557710855&s=gateway&sr=8-1-fkmrnull   https://www.amazon.com/Case-Against-West-Memphis-Killers-ebook/dp/B07C7C4DCH/ref=sr_1_fkmrnull_2?keywords=gary+meece&qid=1557710880&s=gateway&sr=8-2-fkmrnull https://www.amazon.com/Blood-Black-Against-Memphis-Killers-ebook/dp/B06XVT2976/ref=sr_1_fkmrnull_3?keywords=gary+meece&qid=1557710880&s=gateway&sr=8-3-fkmrnull https://www.amazon.com/Where-Monsters-Go-Against-Memphis-ebook/dp/B06XVNXCJV/ref=sr_1_fkmrnull_4?keywords=gary+meece&qid=1557710880&s=gateway&sr=8-4-fkmrnull https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0753HJZ1P/?ie=UTF8&keywords=gary%20meece&qid=1557710880&ref_=sr_1_fkmrnull_6&s=gateway&sr=8-6-fkmrnull https://eastofwestmemphis.wordpress.com https://www.facebook.com/WestMemphis3Killers/

“I want to be a vampire. I kind of want to be evil.” - Kim Kardashian Miami Blues - 1990 - George Armitage Cockfighter - 1974 - Monte Hellman Sponsor: peoplewatching.ca Email: allunitspodcast@gmail.com Subscribe on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/all-units/id1241776225?mt=2

Rowan Petty is a conman down on his luck. He's flat broke, living out of cheap hotels, and wondering how it all went wrong. His car quits on him in Reno, and he takes a job there on the bottom rung of a lousy phone scam. When he's not swindling lonely widows, he tries to turn nickels into dimes at the poker table. One snowy night, he crosses paths with a sweet-talking hooker who's tired of the streets, and sparks fly. When an old friend of his turns up spreading a rumor about two million dollars in army money smuggled out of Afghanistan and stashed in an apartment in Los Angeles, it seems like a chance at the score of a lifetime. So Petty and the hooker head south, and straight into trouble. A wounded vet, a washed-up actor, and Petty's estranged daughter are all players in the dangerous game they find themselves caught up in. For the winner: a fortune. For the loser: a bullet to the head. Praise for Richard Lange "Lange writes of the disaffections and bewilderments of ordinary lives with as keen an anger and searing lyricism as anybody out there today. He is Raymond Carver reborn in a hard cityscape. Read him and be amazed." -- T.C. Boyle, author of The Harder They Come "When you find yourself rooting for the killer in a grisly crime novel, you know you're in the hands of a real writer. Every character feels like flesh and bone."-- Marilyn Stasio, New York Times Book Review "Lange is incapable of creating a character that isn't memorable. Even the most minor are indelibly sketched.... The zone where literary fiction meets genre fiction is a crowded borderland these days. Lange proves himself comfortable on both sides of the line."-- Antoine Wilson, Los Angeles Times "Richard Lange is a natural-born storyteller."-- Ron Rash, author of Above the Waterfall "Make all the comparisons you like-Cormac McCarthy, Dennis Lehane, Martin Scorsese-but Richard Lange is a force of his own, the high standard for crime fiction." -- Benjamin Percy, author of Red Moon, The Wilding, andRefresh, Refresh "Lange stands out as the greatest young crime writer of his generation, precisely because he doesn't write crime - he writes literature." -- Jerry Stahl, author of Permanent Midnight and Bad Sex on Speed "The Smack just might be Mr. Lange's best yet, and that's saying something. His Los Angeles tableau of concrete and graffiti and neon is as sharp as razor wire. The characters are authentic down to the bone, the dialogue pitch-perfect believable, the desperation palpable, the situation urgent, the story riveting. Simply put, The Smack wallops you upside the head with its bad-ass-ness."-- Tom Cooper, author of The Marauders "If Elmore Leonard and Dennis Cooper collaborated on a novel, they might produce something as exciting, harrowing and emotionally powerful as The Smack. Call it a literary thriller or call it thrilling literature--Richard Lange is emerging as the master of a new kind of novel: One that delivers breathless, gripping action while anchored in the authentic troubles of the real world. The Smack arrives like a genuine miracle--that rare thriller that will jack your pulse even as it breaks your heart."-- Adam Sternbergh, author of Shovel Ready "The Smack is much more than a crime novel. It is a novel about life itself. The secret to great writing isn't just to observe. It's to create a world that readers understand at least as well as they do their own. Richard Lange has accomplished this, and more. His sensitivity and pacing are reminiscent of Raymond Carver, Charles Willeford, and Jim Thompson." -- Gerald Petievich, author of To Live and Die in L.A. and The Sentinel "It's hard to imagine Richard Lange wasn't, in some previous life, a hustler from Reno with a girlfriend named Tinafey he met on a professional date who goes to LA to steal a fortune from a one-legged soldier home from Afghanistan and a host of other terrifying individuals. The characters are real and satisfying, the relationships will warm your heart and break it at the same time. The Smack is convincing, hectic and terrific fun."-- Joe Ide, author of IQ Event date:  Thursday, July 20, 2017 - 7:30pm

Based on a hard-boiled novel by Charles Willeford, this sweaty, sultry film has us questioning hedonism and the struggle between order and chaos. Between writer/director George Armitage, a very shirtless Alec Baldwin and killer performances by Jennifer Jason Leigh and Fred Ward... we've got plenty to talk about. Interested in the media we discussed this episode? Please support the show by purchasing it through our affiliate store: Miami Blues (the film) Miami Blues (the book) Grosse Point Blank Spartan Cast A Deadly Spell Tremors The Killing Top of the Lake Additional Resources: Interview: George Armitage Pinkerton, N. (2015). PRINCE OF PULP. Sight & Sound, 25(7), 98. Fisher, M. J. (2000). The Unlikely Father of Miami Crime Fiction. Atlantic, 285(5), 117-121. Olson, Kirby. Comedy after Postmodernism: Rereading Comedy from Edward Lear to Charles Willeford . Lubbock, TX: Texas Tech University Press, 2001 When Satire Fails Miami Blues The New Cult Canon: Miami Blues Pastel Noir: George Armitage’s MIAMI BLUES Miami Blues The Overlooked Sunshine Noir ‘Miami Blues’ Finally Hits Blu-Ray  

Screenwriter and author Scott Frank talks to Sean Tuohy about making the transition from scripts to novels for his recently debuted thriller Shaker. Frank also discusses his screenwriting career, adapting Elmore Leonard and Charles Willeford to the big screen, why he decided to tackle a western for Netflix, and why writers can never give up.

Episode 63-- We have reached another totally canonical solo episode. In this one James Kislingbury, general layabout, tackles the polarizing Oscar nominated film "Beasts of the Southern Wild." Does he think it's good? Does he think it's bad? Is he right? Yes, of course. Give it a listen, won't you? Follow us on Twitter @goldenagecruz and @kislingtwits. You can follow James on IG @kislingwhatsit. You can read James' ramblings at Gildedterror.blogspot.com. E-mail us at AQualityInterruption@gmail.com. Support our Patreon at Patreon.com/quality. Review us on iTunes. Tell a friend. And, yes, the critic I was thinking about was Michael Phillips. . . . Oh, wait. Rousseau. That's what that Lost reference was, wasn't it?

Guest author Jim Gavin joins us for the strange journey that is Charles Willeford’s novel, The Woman Chaser, a book that confounds as much as it entertains. LA noir, postmodern pulp, and somehow, existential ennui are all squeezed into one little, psychotic book. But first, a Bookshelf Revisit that includes two nature poets, one of whom you probably know, the other you probably don’t. And in a special bonus interview, Rider talks Finnegans Wake with Joyce scholar Michael Seidel. Given his years of studying and teaching Joyce, can he make the book more accessible for those of us engaged in Finnegans Wake-Up? And for those of you who would never want to read it (like um, Tod), you may still be surprised by the nature of Joyce’s project. Click here to purchase from an independent bookseller Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Real badge. Real gun. Fake cop. That's Miami Blues in six words but there's so much more than that to this terrific adaptation of Charles Willeford's work by George Armitage.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Real badge. Real gun. Fake cop. That's Miami Blues in six words but there's so much more than that to this terrific adaptation of Charles Willeford's work by George Armitage.

A tragically overlooked and underrated film adaptation of Charles Willeford's psychotic look at the movie industry through the eyes of used car salesman Richard Hudson, this film was the toast of the indie movie scene in 1999.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A tragically overlooked and underrated film adaptation of Charles Willeford's psychotic look at the movie industry through the eyes of used car salesman Richard Hudson, this film was the toast of the indie movie scene in 1999.

Hollywood has a rich history of turning great pieces of literature into fantastically mediocre movies. Today we discuss some of our favorite books that, given the right treatment, would shine on the silver screen, but more likely would wilt under a coat of Hollywood gloss, sheen and superstardom. Discussed will be Charles Bukowski's Ham on Rye, Charles Willeford's The Burnt Orange Heresy, Judy Blume's Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret, and Chester Himes' Cotton Comes To Harlem.