Podcast appearances and mentions of George Plimpton

In this episode of Amazin' Conversations with Jay Horwitz, we revisit one of the greatest hoaxes in sports history: the curious case of Sidd Finch. Jay is joined by Joe Berton — the man who became Sidd Finch — to reflect on the unforgettable 1985 Sports Illustrated April Fools' story that convinced the baseball world a barefoot, French horn-playing pitcher could throw 168 mph. Joe shares never-before-heard stories from spring training, behind-the-scenes shenanigans, and what it was like to live the legend. Whether you were there in '85 or just hearing about Sidd for the first time, this is a Mets moment you won't want to miss.

Don interviews famed sports author George Plimpton on his classic book, Open Net. George talks about trying out for goaltender for the Bruins and missing the biggest brawl in NHL history. 

When Ernest Hemingway was interviewed by George Plimpton in 1958, he listed Johann Sebastian Bach fourth among those forebears he learned the most from. “I should think,” he told Plimpton, “what one learns from composers and from the study of harmony and counterpoint would be obvious.” It isn't. So, to help us understand how Bach influenced Hemingway's writing – in particular the first page of A Farewell to Arms – we welcome organist and Bach scholar, David Yearsley.With an expert to guide us, we explore Bach's biography and connections between these two artistic titans, discussing which of Bach's works Hemingway responded to most powerfully and how the music of “Mr. Johann” finds its way into Hemingway's WWI novel as well as other writings, such as To Have and Have Not. We are also privileged that David Yearsley agreed to play some Bach for us to illustrate counterpoint and other related ideas, so we hope you enjoy this special show!

Louis speaks to Sean Evans, the host of Youtube smash-hit ‘Hot Ones'. Dialling in from New York, the pair swap interview techniques, as well as discussing Sean's upbringing in Chicago and how he utilised chicken wings to create one of the biggest talk shows in the world. Plus, Sean lets Louis know which celebrities were ratings hits and who he'd never have on the show...  Warnings: Strong language.    Links/Attachments:  YouTube: Louis Theroux (me) reacts to his (my) ‘Hot Ones' episode (2025) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_WT5kxyZ1I YouTube Series: Louis Theroux Attacks the Shark While Eating Spicy Wings - Hot Ones (2023)  https://youtu.be/wlL9RUGxXSs?si=sVQYvUdArc4Wr_Dl     YouTube Series: Anthony Rizzo On Chicago Cubs Rivalries & Baseball Superstitions While Eating Spicy Wings - Hot Ones (2015)  https://youtu.be/4iSCOtYs_6Q?si=hA2IVueisoOo4WVG     YouTube Series: Prince Amukamara Talks NFL Salaries & Pre-Game Sex While Eating Spicy Wings - Hot Ones (2015)  https://youtu.be/kmBlwAFRFJU?si=lvE5Ot11dnWkeTnk     YouTube Series: Trick Daddy Prays for Help While Eating Spicy Wings - Hot Ones (2018)  https://youtu.be/SywOj6EpkOc?si=-DHaIisP36RwCQdD     YouTube Series: DJ Khaled Talks Fuccbois, Finga Licking, and Media Dinosaurs While Eating Spicy Wings - Hot Ones (2015)  https://youtu.be/1HYEC_FlgAg?si=CCcTdghBl4ifWjO5     Book: Paper Lion, George Plimpton (1966)    Book: Shadow Box, George Plimpton (1977)    YouTube Series: Conan O'Brien Needs a Doctor While Eating Spicy Wings - Hot Ones (2024)  https://youtu.be/FALlhXl6CmA?si=ZdOg3BD0sCihdUZH      YouTube Series: Sean Evans and Chili Klaus Eat the Carolina Reaper, the World's Hottest Chili Pepper – Hot Ones (2015)  https://youtu.be/9k-SBpElcWA?si=sUU4Ks6k4AqbcXas     Article: In the hot seat: Behind Hot Ones' ambitions to be the future of late-night TV – The Verge (2019)  https://www.theverge.com/2019/10/31/20938739/hot-ones-sean-evans-youtube-guests-gordon-ramsey-idris-elba-late-night-tv     'Chili Klaus & Classical Orchestra

Hay líneas en la vida, que si las cruzas, no tienen vuelta atrás. Asomarse al abismo de nuestro interior, produce vértigo, pero también terror, al descubrir que no tenemos el corazón de oro, que pensamos tener. El ahora centenario Truman Capote (1924-1984) descubrió en Kansas algo de sí mismo, que le hundió en un pozo del que ya nunca pudo salir. Al investigar el incomprensible crimen de la familia Clutter en “A sangre fría” (1966) reinventa el periodismo, pero es incapaz de escribir ningún libro más, sumido en el alcoholismo y un descenso a los infiernos, que le lleva a destruir todas sus amistades. En este programa de radio, "Al Trasluz", escuchamos fragmentos del libro leído por Eugenio Barona, después de la voz del propio Capote leyendo el principio de la novela. Oímos escenas de las película que hizo Richard Brooks sobre la obra en 1967 (A sangre fría), Douglas McGrath sobre la biografía de George Plimpton en 2005 (Historia de un crimen) y de Bennet Miller en 2008 sobre el libro de Gerald Clarke (Capote). Escuchamos también la composición que hizo Peter Gabriel en 1980 (Family Snapshot) y la "Canción para Truman Capote" de Rhett Miller en 1989. La música que suena de fondo a los comentarios de José de Segovia es de la banda sonora original de Quincy Jones para la película de 1967 (In Cold Blood), la de 2005 por Rachel Portman (Infamous) y la de 2008 por Mychael Danna (Capote). El diseño sonoro y la realización técnica es de Daniel Panduro

Ali and Foreman continue to train for their upcoming title fight and the great writers of the day document the progress.  Across the Atlantic, Don King and Hank Schwartz oversee the preparations for the title fight and sweetens the deal by announcing the music festival. On the plane to the mother land, Ali instantly recognizes the significance of this moment. Upon arrival, he instantly wins over the people of Zaire, pitting them against Foreman automatically. When Foreman arrives, an unwitting faux pas seals his fate as the villain.    LITERARY REFERENCES “The Greatest, My Own Story” by Muhammad Ali (autobiography) “The Rumble in the Jungle” by Lewis Erenberg “Ali: A Life” by Jonathan Eig “The Fight” by Norman Mailer “Shadow Box” by George Plimpton  “Ringside: A Treasury of Boxing Reportage” by Budd Schulberg  “Ego: the Life” article by Norman Mailer (Life magazine Cover Story, March 19, 1971)   FILM & VIDEO REFERENCES “When We Were Kings” (documentary, 1996) directed by Leon Gast (available on streaming) “Soul Power” (documentary, 2008) directed by Jeffrey Kusama–Hinte (available on streaming) Richard Nixon resignation speech (CBS News, Aug 8, 1974) (available on YouTube)  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Anne Fulenwider is the co-founder of Alloy Women's Health, a start-up dedicated to helping women receive safe, effective treatment for the symptoms of menopause. From a young age, Anne wanted to be a writer. After college, she landed a job working for the famed writer George Plimpton at The Paris Review. Over the next decade, Anne continued honing her writing and editing skills at publications such as Vanity Fair, Marie Claire, and Brides, and in 2012 took on the role of the editor in chief at Marie Claire. Over her eight-year tenure, she brought her editorial voice to the magazine and created new projects like the Image Maker Awards and Power Trip. In 2016, a devastating personal loss made Anne realize there was still so much work to be done in women's health, and in 2019, she left her post to found Alloy Women's Health with her friend Monica Molenaar. In 2021, they raised $3.3 million in seed funding and launched the company with a telehealth service to allow women access to crucial hormone prescriptions. Over the last five years, they've scaled and expanded Alloy to include in-depth consultations with physicians and customized treatment plans with prescription and over-the-counter products while achieving profitability within just three years.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Jay McInerney: CristalJay discusses cocaine and a proposition from Truman Capote (spoiler alert: he escaped), his pioneering use of the 2nd-person in BRIGHT LIGHTS, BIG CITY, his best moment ever with a glass of wine, the perfect 3-course meal with wine pairing, what Raymond Carver taught him about writing, getting fired from The New Yorker, squatting in George Plimpton's house, waking up in December 2023 with his home covered in his own blood and remembering nothing.

Halloween season 2024 on Tread Perilously is a celebration of witches, and the magical mischief begins with an episode of Bewitched called "To Trick-or-Treat or Not to Trick-or-Treat." When Endora discovers Sam is participating in a Trick-of-Treat For Unicef event that props up stereotypes about witches, the resulting fight with Darren leads her to transform him into the very tropes she despises. Will he be able to pitch a new presentation to an important client while looking more like Tommy Wiseau? Will Larry Tate finally learn the truth about Sam? And will Tabitha ever notice the family discord around her while getting ready to go trick-or-treating as a princess? Erik's appreciation of Endora finds a new dimension. A definitive answer to the Dick York/Dick Sargent debate is reached. An underlying theme of Bewitched is explored, even if the show cannot really dive into it. Justin deploys the best ad men at Sterling Cooper Price. He also has some notes for Tabitha actor Erin Murphy. Erik guesses Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF must've been fairly new when the episode aired. Dr. Leonard H. McCoy once again returns to The Alternative Factor. The pair try to explain the phenomenon that was Tiny Tim and the mystery of George Plimpton is solved.

Don Cherry's Grapevine Podcast description  Podcast Sponsor www.Northstarbets.com Hockey Icon Don Cherry talks hockey and more!  Coach's Closet: https://coopink.ca/collections/coachs-closet Don Cherry's Pet Rescue Foundation : https://www.doncherryspetrescue.org  Twitter: https://twitter.com/CoachsCornerDC  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Doncherrysgrapevine  Podcast available on:  Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/4Mx00CeV9rJRN0C5jfNZ7n?si=_g0b-M0CSROag0qPL8fKSQ  Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-don-cherrys-grapevine-podcast/id1488361243  Podbean - https://doncherrysgrapevine.podbean.com

This week, Roy Scheider pops up for one scene and a couple of lines in PAPER LION, a sports comedy featuring Alan Alda as famed sportswriter George Plimpton along with several real-life players for the 1967 Detroit Lions!

Alan Alda plays George Plimpton in Paper Lion, the 1968 film based on Plimpton's book of the same title.  The book and film chronicle his attempt at joining the Detroit Lions during pre-season training for a story in Sports Illustrated.  Several real life football players appear as themselves in the film inlcuding Alex Karras (who starred two more times on film with Alda in Springtime and M*A*S*H*), Frank Gifford, Joe Schmidt, and Lem Barney.  In the shortest Hot Date to date and after many technical snafus, Dan and Vicky discuss the film along with some recently seen.  New horror Immaculate and Late Night with the Devil get the spotlight but also look for reviews for the new Ghostbusters, Godzilla x Kong, and the reality franchise Traitors on Peacock.  Check us out on all our socials:  hotdatepod.com FB:  Hot Date Podcast Twitter: @HotDate726 Insta:  hotdatepod

The Equalizer Season 4 Episode 15: Starfire Aired on CBS: April 13, 1989 Directed by: Bradford May Written by : Robert Eisele Featuring: Michael Moriarty, George Plimpton, Wendell Pierce, Angela "you're what the french call les incompetents" Goethals Equalizer episode or early precursor to the X-Files? Another superlative episode, the most sci-fi episode to date. This one reinforces once again that audiences have no idea what to expect when they sit down to watch an Equalizer episode. EQ helps a man who calls himself Seti (nudge nudge, UFO nerds) who believes he is part of a large cosmic battle but who is for real being targeted by assassins. That would be enough but this episode just keeps giving - Bunk from The Wire as a psychologist monitoring this odd alien guy; a spacey kaleidoscope; some budget 80s special effects; and another odd inclusion of a young girl in trouble (Angela Goethals not long before Home Alone). Is the show hinting that UFOs are real? Are they in fact real? Chris and Chuck provide conclusive answers to that question and many more in this can't-miss episode. @equalizerspod equalizerspodcast at gmail dot com https://www.facebook.com/equalizerspodcast/

On the dispiriting demise (and end?) of his beloved magazine; on the curious case of Sidd Finch and the decision to tell Michael Jordan to bag baseball; on defending the Swimsuit Issue and a bitter divorce from Frank Deford; on Dan Jenkins and George Plimpton and William Nack and Pat Putnam and Rick Reilly and the world's greatest sports writers.

In his latest book, The Real Work, Adam Gopnik undertakes a George Plimpton-esque journey to master skills as diverse as boxing and drawing, bread baking and driving, dancing and overcoming a mental health illness. Gopnik, along the way, shares three themes of mastery and seven mysteries of mastery. Gopnik has called this book a “self-help book that doesn't help” because it does not prescribe steps or tasks. Instead, readers are inspired by his comic essays and by the masters he introduces. Linny and Nancy discuss new skills they want to learn or continue to sharpen. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/frontporchbookclub/support

In his latest book, The Real Work, Adam Gopnik undertakes a George Plimpton-esque journey to master skills as diverse as boxing and drawing, bread baking and driving, dancing and overcoming a mental health illness. Gopnik, along the way, shares three themes of mastery and seven mysteries of mastery. Gopnik has called this book a “self-help book that doesn't help” because it does not prescribe steps or tasks. Instead, readers are inspired by his comic essays and by the masters he introduces. Linny and Nancy discuss new skills they want to learn or continue to sharpen. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/frontporchbookclub/support

Today's guest, Terry McDonell, is the kind of editor you fear based on reputation, but would probably run through a wall for at 3am on deadline day. As for that reputation, I've never worked with McDonell, but a simple Google search fills the screen with an undeviating set of impressions like these: “he helped define American masculinity”… “a version of manhood inspired by Hemingway”… And “the manliest of literary men.” And indeed, his corps of collaborators includes a rogue's gallery of literary tough guys: Jim Harrison, Edward Abbey, Tom McGuane, George Plimpton, and Hunter Thompson. But missing from all that testosterone, until now, has been the true hero of McDonell's life and career, and the subject of his beautifully-crafted new memoir: Irma: The Education of a Mother's Son. But read his other book, The Accidental Life, and you'll discover a true editorial savant: an engaged partner to his coworkers, whose adventurousness knows no limits. And apparently, neither does his resume. McDonell, an ASME Editor's Hall of Famer, has topped the masthead at more magazines than anybody we know.

Ep 225 Whoa Podcast News Ep 225 Whoa Podcast News Welcome to the Whoa Podcast about Horses and Horsemanship. There's no guest today, just me, and I've got some important news to share about the future of this podcast. So, saddle up and stick around. When I began this journey in 2012, I did not know where it would lead. I had come to horses late in life. I hadn't grown up in the Western culture or in the horse world. I had owned my horse long enough to know how little I actually knew. I needed more. If you've listened long, you'll know I'm a big fan of Clinton Anderson. Clinton says, “If you want it bad enough you'll find a way. If not, you'll find an excuse.” You may not know, but I was also a fan of Adam Carolla around this time. While Adam is known for many quotes, I remember him saying, “Figure out what you want, take a nap, then try to get kinda close.” Podcasts were new. I bought a thirty dollar microphone, downloaded the free version of Audacity, and followed the step-by-step instructions on Podcast411. Now, I had this thing, the podcast, what to do with it. Another quote I like-and by now you know I like quotes- is, “When you don't know where you're going, Go as far as you can see; when you get there, you'll be able to see further.” So, I kept going. The famous horse trainer, Doug Williamson not only didn't know who I was, he had never heard of a thing called a podcast. But, he could see I was interested in horses and wanted to learn more about what he knew, so he invited me to his ranch. After getting to watch him ride a few, we sat in his office surrounded by awards and talked about his amazing life. I ventured a little farther and found ways to get myself invited to Working Equitation events, Horse Expos, and the Horsemen's Reunion where I met and interviewed so many good trainers. Not one of them knew what a podcast was. In 2014, I covered a local mustang makeover event, The Vaquero Heritage Trainers Challenge. When the event struggled to find trainers in 2015, I volunteered and got to start my first horse at age 61. I felt like George Plimpton in Paper Lion. (yes, that's a 1968 reference. Google it). Starting a horse from Scratch changed everything. So many trainers were generous with their time and knowledge. I was exposed to so many facets of the western world I had not seen before. I got to go on gathers, be in the branding pen, and lead trail rides. A highlight for me was riding in the same arena with the Mustang Man Bobby Kerr. I asked him if he would ride my horse and tell me what he thought. I didn't tell him I was having problems with lead changes. I watched in awe as Bobby did things on my horse I didn't think were possible. The podcast wasn't a money generating endeavor. It was an experience generating one. I've told you a little about the guest side, but the listener side is just as amazing. People would help on Patreon, recommend guests, heck, even set up interviews with guests. When I would get stuck and not produce for a while, they would email with encouragement. And, it's hard to imagine, sitting in my little studio, computer on one side, cat on the other, that anyone was listening at all. But, the emails would come from all over the world. It's truly humbling. Our horses have grown up through all this too. They put up with every crazy adventure from Extreme Cowboy Races to Working Equitation to Team sorting and more. I experimented with trainer advice, supplements, and tack. Those guys have seen it all. Our horses are well into their 20s now. They get to just trail ride and graze in the yard. Friends, I'm putting the podcast on a bit of a hiatus. Nearly 300 episodes. I never thought it would go on this long. I'm so happy it did. It truly changed the direction of my life. Now, before you start wondering, this isn't a goodbye. It's more like a 'see you later.' I've found that I've accomplished so much of what I set out to do with this podcast, and the time has come to explore other avenues—especially my growing interest in video and photography. Trust me, my journey with horses is far from over. I'll keep the back episodes on Apple, Google, Spotify and other places, up for the time being. If I come across a story I just can't resist, I'll publish. The Facebook page will still be around. If you're interested in what I'm doing with photography, you can check out my Instagram @johnharrerphotography, My videos are on my YouTube channel, JohnHarrerHorses. And, you can always see what I'm up to on JohnHarrer,com So, one more time, thanks for listening and sharing the podcast with your friends and riding buddies. For Ranae this is John Harrer saying, “Go have some fun with your horses.” Bye bye everybody. Thanks for listening. John & Ranae Episode #225 Support the Whoa Podcast with this Amazon Link. Checkout My YouTube Channel John Harrer & Horses Your Horse Will LOVE This Shampoo                  

Johnny Johnson was one of the early champions in off-road racing. With 112 career victories, and eight Baja 1000's where he proudly claims “l never got out of the car!” Johnson was one of the very very best in the dirt. He was inducted into the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2010. Revered by his fellow racers for his fabrication and tuning skills, it is his humility and willingness to help anyone, anytime, that his friends say is his defining trait. Famed writer, George Plimpton chose Johnson, to star in his 1971 television special “Behind The Wheel.” In the feature, Plimpton interviewed Formula One racer Jackie Stewart at the Monaco Gran Prix before jumping into Johnny's buggy for the Baja 1000. Thanks to Carol Mears, and Lynn Chenowth for arranging this Slow Baja conversation.

The Hunter S. Thompson classic "Fear & Loathing on the Campaign Trail, '72" book was published in 1973, just one of many follow-on impacts of that year on the next. For example one 1973 story involves HST, Franco Harris, ESPN Legend John A. Walsh, George Plimpton and Jann Wenner, Trigger warning: It was a different era in gambling on race.

On this episode, we travel back to 1984, and the days when a "young adult" novel included lots of drugs and partying and absolutely no sparkly vampires or dystopian warrior girls. We're talking about Jay McInerney's groundbreaking novel, Bright Lights, Big City, and its 1988 film version starring Michael J. Fox and Keifer Sutherland. ----more---- Hello, and welcome to The 80s Movies Podcast. I am your host, Edward Havens. Thank you for listening today. The original 1984 front cover for Jay McInerney's Bright Lights, Big City If you were a young adult in the late 1980s, there's a very good chance that you started reading more adult-y books thanks to an imprint called Vintage Contemporaries. Quality books at an affordable paperback price point, with their uniform and intrinsically 80s designed covers, bold cover and spine fonts, and mix of first-time writers and cult authors who never quite broke through to the mainstream, the Vintage Contemporary series would be an immediate hit when it was first launched in September 1984. The first set of releases would include such novels as Raymond Carver's Cathedral and Thomas McGuane's The Bushwhacked Piano, but the one that would set the bar for the entire series was the first novel by a twenty-nine year old former fact checker at the New Yorker magazine. The writer was Jay McInerney, and his novel was Bright Lights, Big City. The original 1984 front cover for Raymond Carver's Cathedral Bright Lights, Big City would set a template for twenty something writers in the 1980s. A protagonist not unlike the writer themselves, with a not-so-secret drug addiction, and often written in the second person, You, which was not a usual literary choice at the time. The nameless protagonist, You, is a divorced twenty-four year old wannabe writer who works as fact-checker at a major upscale magazine in New York City, for which he once dreamed of writing for. You is recently divorced from Amanda, an aspiring model he had met while going to school in Kansas City. You would move to New York City earlier in the year with her when her modeling career was starting to talk off. While in Paris for Fashion Week, Amanda called You to inform him their marriage was over, and that she was leaving him for another man. You continues to hope Amanda will return to him, and when it's clear she won't, he not only becomes obsessed with everything about her that left in their apartment, he begins to slide into reckless abandon at the clubs they used to frequent, and becoming heavily addicted to cocaine, which then affects his performance at work. A chance encounter with Amanda at an event in the city leads You to a public humiliation, which makes him starts to realize that his behavior is not because his wife left him, but a manifestation of the grief he still feels over his mother's passing the previous year. You had gotten married to a woman he hardly knew because he wanted to make his mother happy before she died, and he was still unconsciously grieving when his wife's leaving him triggered his downward spiral. Bright Lights, Big City was an immediate hit, one of the few paperback-only books to ever hit the New York Times best-seller chart. Within two years, the novel had sold more than 300,000 copies, and spawned a tidal wave of like-minded twentysomething writers becoming published. Bret Easton Ellis might have been able to get his first novel Less Than Zero published somewhere down the line, but it was McInerney's success that would cause Simon and Schuster to try and duplicate Vintage's success, which they would. Same with Tana Janowitz, whose 1986 novel Slaves of New York was picked up by Crown Publishers looking to replicate the success of McInerney and Ellis, despite her previous novel, 1981's American Dad, being completely ignored by the book buying public at that time. While the book took moments from his life, it wasn't necessarily autobiographical. For example, McInerney had been married to a fashion model in the early 1980s, but they would meet while he attended Syracuse University in the late 1970s. And yes, McInerney would do a lot of blow during his divorce from his wife, and yes, he would get fired from The New Yorker because of the effects of his drug addiction. Yes, he was partying pretty hard during the times that preceded the writing of his first novel. And yes, he would meet a young woman who would kinda rescue him and get him on the right path.  But there were a number of details about McInerney's life that were not used for the book. Like how the author studied writing with none other than Raymond Carver while studying creative writing at Syracuse, or how his family connections would allow him to submit blind stories to someone like George Plimpton at the Paris Review, and not only get the story read but published. And, naturally, any literary success was going to become a movie at some point. For Bright Lights, it would happen almost as soon as the novel was published. Robert Lawrence, a vice president at Columbia Pictures in his early thirties, had read the book nearly cover to cover in a single sitting, and envisioned a film that could be “The Graduate” of his generation, with maybe a bit of “Lost Weekend” thrown in. But the older executives at the studio balked at the idea, which they felt would be subversive and unconventional. They would, however, buy in when Lawrence was able to get mega-producer Jerry Weintraub to be a producer on the film, who in turn was able to get Joel Schumacher, who had just finished filming St. Elmo's Fire for the studio, to direct, and get Tom Cruise, who was still two years away from Top Gun and megastardom, to play the main character. McInerney was hired to write the script, and he and Schumacher and Cruise would even go on club crawls in New York City to help inform all of the atmosphere they were trying to capture with the film. In 1985, Weintraub would be hired by United Artists to become their new chief executive, and Bright Lights would be one of the properties he would be allowed to take with him to his new home. But since he was now an executive, Weintraub would need to hire a new producer to take the reigns on the picture. Enter Sydney Pollack. By 1985, Sydney Pollack was one of the biggest directors in Hollywood. With films like They Shoot Horses, Don't They?, Jeremiah Johnson, Three Days of the Condor, The Electric Horseman and Tootsie under his belt, Pollock could get a film made, and get it seen by audiences. At least, as a director. At this point in his career, he had only ever produced one movie, Alan Rudolph's 1984 musical drama Songwriter, which despite being based on the life of Willie Nelson, and starring Nelson, Kris Kristofferson and Rip Torn, barely grossed a tenth of its $8m budget. And Pollock at that moment was busy putting the finishing touches on his newest film, an African-based drama featuring Meryl Streep and longtime Pollock collaborator Robert Redford. That film, Out of Africa, would win seven Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director, in March 1986, which would keep Pollock and his producing partner Mark Rosenberg's attention away from Bright Lights for several months. Once the hype on Out of Africa died down, Pollock and Rosenberg got to work getting Bright Lights, Big City made. Starting with hiring a new screenwriter, a new director, and a new leading actor. McInerney, Schumacher and Cruise had gotten tired of waiting. Ironically, Cruise would call on Pollock to direct another movie he was waiting to make, also based at United Artists, that he was going to star in alongside Dustin Hoffman. That movie, of course, is Rain Man, and we'll dive into that movie another time. Also ironically, Weintraub would not last long as the CEO of United Artists. Just five months after becoming the head of the studio, Weintraub would tire of the antics of Kirk Kerkorian, the owner of United Artists and its sister company, MGM, and step down. Kerkorian would not let Weintraub take any of the properties he brought from Columbia to his new home, the eponymously named mini-major he'd form with backing from Columbia. With a new studio head in place, Pollock started to look for a new director. He would discover that director in Joyce Chopra, who, after twenty years of making documentaries, made her first dramatic narrative in 1985. Smooth Talk was an incredible coming of age drama, based on a story by Joyce Carol Oates, that would make a star out of then seventeen-year-old Laura Dern. UA would not only hire her to direct the film but hire her husband, Tom Cole, who brilliantly adapted the Oates story that was the basis for Smooth Talk, to co-write the screenplay with his wife. While Cole was working on the script, Chopra would have her agent send a copy of McInerney's book to Michael J. Fox. This wasn't just some random decision. Chopra knew she needed a star for this movie, and Fox's agent just happened to be Chopra's agent. That'd be two commissions for the agent if it came together, and a copy of the book was delivered to Fox's dressing room on the Family Ties soundstage that very day. Fox loved the book, and agreed to do the film. After Alex P. Keaton and Marty McFly and other characters he had played that highlighted his good looks and pleasant demeanor, he was ready to play a darker, more morally ambiguous character. Since the production was scheduled around Fox's summer hiatus from the hit TV show, he was in. For Pollock and United Artists, this was a major coup, landing one of the biggest stars in Hollywood. But the project was originally going to be Toronto standing in for New York City for less than $7m with a lesser known cast. Now, it was going to be a $15m with not only Michael J. Fox but also Keifer Sutherland, who was cast as Tad, the best friend of the formerly named You, who would now known as Jamie Conway, and would be shot on location in New York City. The film would also feature Phoebe Cates as Jamie's model ex-wife, William Hickey, Kelly Lynch. But there was a major catch. The production would only have ten weeks to shoot with Fox, as he was due back in Los Angeles to begin production on the sixth season of Family Ties.  He wasn't going to do that thing he did making a movie and a television show at the same time like he did with Back to the Future and Family Ties in 1984 and 1985. Ten weeks and not a day more. Production on the film would begin on April 13th, 1987, to get as much of the film shot while Fox was still finishing Family Ties in Los Angeles. He would be joining the production at the end of the month. But Fox never get the chance to shoot with Chopra. After three weeks of production, Chopra, her husband, and her cinematographer James Glennon, who had also shot Smooth Talk, were dismissed from the film. The suits at United Artists were not happy with the Fox-less footage that was coming out of New York, and were not happy with the direction of the film. Cole and Chopra had removed much of the nightlife and drug life storyline, and focused more on the development of Jamie as a writer. Apparently, no one at the studio had read the final draft of the script before shooting began. Cole, the screenwriter, says it was Pollock, the producer, who requested the changes, but in the end, it would be not the Oscar-winning filmmaker producing the movie that would be released but the trio of newer creatives. Second unit footage would continue to shoot around New York City while the studio looked for a new director. Ironically, days after Chopra was fired, the Directors Guild of America had announced that if they were not able to sign a new agreement with the Producers Guild before the end of the current contract on June 30th, the directors were going on strike. So now United Artists were really under the gun. After considering such filmmakers as Belgian director Ulu Grosbard, who had directed Meryl Streep and Robert De Niro in Falling in Love, and Australian director Bruce Beresford, whose films had included Breaker Morant and Tender Mercies, they would find their new director in James Bridges, whose filmography included such critical and financial success as The Paper Chase, The China Syndrome and Urban Cowboy, but had two bombs in a row in 1984's Mike's Murder and 1985's Perfect. He needed a hit, and this was the first solid directing offer in three years. He'd spend the weekend after his hiring doing some minor recasting, including bringing in John Houseman, who won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role in The Paper Chase, as well as Swoosie Kurtz, Oscar-winning actors Jason Robards and Dianne Weist, and Tracy Pollan, Fox's co-star on Family Ties, who would shortly after the filming of Bright Lights become Mrs. Michael J. Fox, although in the film, she would be cast not as a love interest to her real-life boyfriend's character but as the wife of Keifer Sutherland's character. After a week of rewriting McInerney's original draft of the screenplay from the Schumacher days, principal photography re-commenced on the film. And since Bridges would be working with famed cinematographer Gordon Willis, who had shot three previous movies with Bridges as well as the first two Godfather movies and every Woody Allen movie from Annie Hall to The Purple Rose of Cairo, it was also decided that none of Chopra's footage would be used. Everything would start back on square one. And because of the impending Directors Guild strike, he'd have only thirty-six days, a tad over five weeks, to film everything. One of the lobby cards from the movie version of Bright Lights, Big City And they were able to get it all done, thanks to some ingenious measures. One location, the Palladium concert hall on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, would double as three different nightclubs, two discotheques and a dinner club. Instead of finding six different locations, which would loading cameras and lights from one location to another, moving hundreds of people as well, and then setting the lights and props again, over and over, all they would have to do is re-decorate the area to become the next thing they needed. Bridges would complete the film that day before the Directors Guild strike deadline, but the strike would never happen. But there would be some issue with the final writing credits. While Bridges had used McInerney's original screenplay as a jumping off point, the writer/director had really latched on to the mother's death as the emotional center of the movie. Bridges' own grandmother had passed away in 1986, and he found writing those scenes to be cathartic for his own unresolved issues. But despite the changes Bridges would make to the script, including adding such filmmaking tropes as flashbacks and voiceovers, and having the movie broken up into sections by the use of chapter titles being typed out on screen, the Writers Guild would give sole screenwriting credit to Jay McInerney. As post-production continued throughout the fall, the one topic no one involved in the production wanted to talk about or even acknowledge was the movie version of Bret Easton Ellis's Less Than Zero that rival studio 20th Century Fox had been making in Los Angeles. It had a smaller budget, a lesser known filmmaker, a lesser known cast lead by Andrew McCarthy and Jami Gertz, and a budget half the size. If their film was a hit, that could be good for this one. And if their film wasn't a hit? Well, Bright Lights was the trendsetter. It was the one that sold more copies. The one that saw its author featured in more magazines and television news shows. How well did Less Than Zero do when it was released into theatres on November 6th, 1987? Well, you're just going to have to wait until next week's episode. Unless you're listening months or years after they were published, and are listening to episodes in reverse order. Then you already know how it did, but let's just say it wasn't a hit but it wasn't really a dud either. Bridges would spend nearly six months putting his film together, most of which he would find enjoyable, but he would have trouble deciding which of two endings he shot would be used. His preferred ending saw Jamie wandering through the streets of New York City early one morning, after a long night of partying that included a confrontation with his ex-wife, where he decides that was the day he was going to get his life back on track but not knowing what he was going to do, but the studio asked for an alternative ending, one that features Jamie one year in the future, putting the finishing touches on his first novel, which we see is titled… wait for it… Bright Lights, Big City, while his new girlfriend stands behind him giving her approval. After several audience test screenings, the studio would decide to let Bridges have his ending. United Artists would an April 1st, 1988 release date, and would spend months gearing up the publicity machine. Fox and Pollan were busy finishing the final episodes of that season's Family Ties, and weren't as widely available for the publicity circuit outside of those based in Los Angeles. The studio wasn't too worried, though. Michael J. Fox's last movie, The Secret of My Success, had been released in April 1987, and had grossed $67m without his doing a lot of publicity for that one, either. Opening on 1196 screens, the film would only manage to gross $5.13m, putting it in third place behind the previous week's #1 film, Biloxi Blues with Matthew Broderick, and the Tim Burton comedy Beetlejuice, which despite opening on nearly 200 fewer screens would gross nearly $3m more. But the reviews were not great. Decent. Respectful. But not great. The New York-based critics, like David Ansen of Newsweek and Janet Maslin of the Times, would be kinder than most other critics, maybe because they didn't want to be seen knocking a film shot in their backyard. But one person would actually would praise the film and Michael J. Fox as an actor was Roger Ebert. But it wouldn't save the film. In its second week, the film would fall to fifth place, with $3.09m worth of tickets sold, and it would drop all the way to tenth place in its third week with just under $1.9m in ticket sales. Week four would see it fall to 16th place with only $862k worth of ticket sales. After that, United Artists would stop reporting grosses. The $17m film had grossed just $16.1m. Bright Lights, Big City was a milestone book for me, in large part because it made me a reader. Before Bright Lights, I read occasionally, mainly John Irving, preferring to spend most of my free time voraciously consuming every movie I could. After Bright Lights, I picked up every Vintage Contemporary book I could get my hands on. One of the checklists of Vintage Contemporary books listed in the back of a Vintage Contemporary book. And one thing that really helped out was the literal checklist of other books available from that imprint in the back of each book. Without those distinct covers, I don't know if I would have discovered some of my favorite authors like Raymond Carver and Don DeLillo and Richard Ford and Richard Russo. Even after the Vintage Contemporary line shut down years later, I continued to read. I still read today, although not as much as I would prefer. I have a podcast to work on. I remember when the movie came out that I wasn't all that thrilled with it, and it would be nearly 35 years before I revisited it again, for this episode. I can't say it's the 80s as I remember it, because I had never been to New York City by that point in my life, I had never, and still never have, done anything like cocaine. And I had only ever had like two relationships that could be considered anything of substance, let alone marriage and a divorce. But I am certain it's an 80s that I'm glad I didn't know. Mainly because Jamie's 80s seemed rather boring and inconsequential. Fox does the best he can with the material, but he is not the right person for the role. As I watched it again, I couldn't help but wonder what if the roles were reversed. What if Keifer Sutherland played Jamie and Michael J. Fox played the friend? That might have been a more interesting movie, but Sutherland was not yet at that level of stardom. Thank you for joining us. We'll talk again next week, when Episode 95, on the novel and movie version of Less Than Zero is released. Remember to visit this episode's page on our website, The80sMoviePodcast.com, for extra materials about Bright Lights, Big City, both the book and the movie, as well as other titles in the Vintage Contemporary book series. The full cover, back and front, of Richard Ford's 1986 The Sportswriter, which would be the first of four novels about Frank Bascombe, a failed novelist who becomes a sportswriter. The second book in the series, 1995's Independence Day, would win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, as well as the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction, the first of only two times the same book would win both awards the same year. The 80s Movies Podcast has been researched, written, narrated and edited by Edward Havens for Idiosyncratic Entertainment. Thank you again. Good night.  

On this episode, we travel back to 1984, and the days when a "young adult" novel included lots of drugs and partying and absolutely no sparkly vampires or dystopian warrior girls. We're talking about Jay McInerney's groundbreaking novel, Bright Lights, Big City, and its 1988 film version starring Michael J. Fox and Keifer Sutherland. ----more---- Hello, and welcome to The 80s Movies Podcast. I am your host, Edward Havens. Thank you for listening today. The original 1984 front cover for Jay McInerney's Bright Lights, Big City If you were a young adult in the late 1980s, there's a very good chance that you started reading more adult-y books thanks to an imprint called Vintage Contemporaries. Quality books at an affordable paperback price point, with their uniform and intrinsically 80s designed covers, bold cover and spine fonts, and mix of first-time writers and cult authors who never quite broke through to the mainstream, the Vintage Contemporary series would be an immediate hit when it was first launched in September 1984. The first set of releases would include such novels as Raymond Carver's Cathedral and Thomas McGuane's The Bushwhacked Piano, but the one that would set the bar for the entire series was the first novel by a twenty-nine year old former fact checker at the New Yorker magazine. The writer was Jay McInerney, and his novel was Bright Lights, Big City. The original 1984 front cover for Raymond Carver's Cathedral Bright Lights, Big City would set a template for twenty something writers in the 1980s. A protagonist not unlike the writer themselves, with a not-so-secret drug addiction, and often written in the second person, You, which was not a usual literary choice at the time. The nameless protagonist, You, is a divorced twenty-four year old wannabe writer who works as fact-checker at a major upscale magazine in New York City, for which he once dreamed of writing for. You is recently divorced from Amanda, an aspiring model he had met while going to school in Kansas City. You would move to New York City earlier in the year with her when her modeling career was starting to talk off. While in Paris for Fashion Week, Amanda called You to inform him their marriage was over, and that she was leaving him for another man. You continues to hope Amanda will return to him, and when it's clear she won't, he not only becomes obsessed with everything about her that left in their apartment, he begins to slide into reckless abandon at the clubs they used to frequent, and becoming heavily addicted to cocaine, which then affects his performance at work. A chance encounter with Amanda at an event in the city leads You to a public humiliation, which makes him starts to realize that his behavior is not because his wife left him, but a manifestation of the grief he still feels over his mother's passing the previous year. You had gotten married to a woman he hardly knew because he wanted to make his mother happy before she died, and he was still unconsciously grieving when his wife's leaving him triggered his downward spiral. Bright Lights, Big City was an immediate hit, one of the few paperback-only books to ever hit the New York Times best-seller chart. Within two years, the novel had sold more than 300,000 copies, and spawned a tidal wave of like-minded twentysomething writers becoming published. Bret Easton Ellis might have been able to get his first novel Less Than Zero published somewhere down the line, but it was McInerney's success that would cause Simon and Schuster to try and duplicate Vintage's success, which they would. Same with Tana Janowitz, whose 1986 novel Slaves of New York was picked up by Crown Publishers looking to replicate the success of McInerney and Ellis, despite her previous novel, 1981's American Dad, being completely ignored by the book buying public at that time. While the book took moments from his life, it wasn't necessarily autobiographical. For example, McInerney had been married to a fashion model in the early 1980s, but they would meet while he attended Syracuse University in the late 1970s. And yes, McInerney would do a lot of blow during his divorce from his wife, and yes, he would get fired from The New Yorker because of the effects of his drug addiction. Yes, he was partying pretty hard during the times that preceded the writing of his first novel. And yes, he would meet a young woman who would kinda rescue him and get him on the right path.  But there were a number of details about McInerney's life that were not used for the book. Like how the author studied writing with none other than Raymond Carver while studying creative writing at Syracuse, or how his family connections would allow him to submit blind stories to someone like George Plimpton at the Paris Review, and not only get the story read but published. And, naturally, any literary success was going to become a movie at some point. For Bright Lights, it would happen almost as soon as the novel was published. Robert Lawrence, a vice president at Columbia Pictures in his early thirties, had read the book nearly cover to cover in a single sitting, and envisioned a film that could be “The Graduate” of his generation, with maybe a bit of “Lost Weekend” thrown in. But the older executives at the studio balked at the idea, which they felt would be subversive and unconventional. They would, however, buy in when Lawrence was able to get mega-producer Jerry Weintraub to be a producer on the film, who in turn was able to get Joel Schumacher, who had just finished filming St. Elmo's Fire for the studio, to direct, and get Tom Cruise, who was still two years away from Top Gun and megastardom, to play the main character. McInerney was hired to write the script, and he and Schumacher and Cruise would even go on club crawls in New York City to help inform all of the atmosphere they were trying to capture with the film. In 1985, Weintraub would be hired by United Artists to become their new chief executive, and Bright Lights would be one of the properties he would be allowed to take with him to his new home. But since he was now an executive, Weintraub would need to hire a new producer to take the reigns on the picture. Enter Sydney Pollack. By 1985, Sydney Pollack was one of the biggest directors in Hollywood. With films like They Shoot Horses, Don't They?, Jeremiah Johnson, Three Days of the Condor, The Electric Horseman and Tootsie under his belt, Pollock could get a film made, and get it seen by audiences. At least, as a director. At this point in his career, he had only ever produced one movie, Alan Rudolph's 1984 musical drama Songwriter, which despite being based on the life of Willie Nelson, and starring Nelson, Kris Kristofferson and Rip Torn, barely grossed a tenth of its $8m budget. And Pollock at that moment was busy putting the finishing touches on his newest film, an African-based drama featuring Meryl Streep and longtime Pollock collaborator Robert Redford. That film, Out of Africa, would win seven Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director, in March 1986, which would keep Pollock and his producing partner Mark Rosenberg's attention away from Bright Lights for several months. Once the hype on Out of Africa died down, Pollock and Rosenberg got to work getting Bright Lights, Big City made. Starting with hiring a new screenwriter, a new director, and a new leading actor. McInerney, Schumacher and Cruise had gotten tired of waiting. Ironically, Cruise would call on Pollock to direct another movie he was waiting to make, also based at United Artists, that he was going to star in alongside Dustin Hoffman. That movie, of course, is Rain Man, and we'll dive into that movie another time. Also ironically, Weintraub would not last long as the CEO of United Artists. Just five months after becoming the head of the studio, Weintraub would tire of the antics of Kirk Kerkorian, the owner of United Artists and its sister company, MGM, and step down. Kerkorian would not let Weintraub take any of the properties he brought from Columbia to his new home, the eponymously named mini-major he'd form with backing from Columbia. With a new studio head in place, Pollock started to look for a new director. He would discover that director in Joyce Chopra, who, after twenty years of making documentaries, made her first dramatic narrative in 1985. Smooth Talk was an incredible coming of age drama, based on a story by Joyce Carol Oates, that would make a star out of then seventeen-year-old Laura Dern. UA would not only hire her to direct the film but hire her husband, Tom Cole, who brilliantly adapted the Oates story that was the basis for Smooth Talk, to co-write the screenplay with his wife. While Cole was working on the script, Chopra would have her agent send a copy of McInerney's book to Michael J. Fox. This wasn't just some random decision. Chopra knew she needed a star for this movie, and Fox's agent just happened to be Chopra's agent. That'd be two commissions for the agent if it came together, and a copy of the book was delivered to Fox's dressing room on the Family Ties soundstage that very day. Fox loved the book, and agreed to do the film. After Alex P. Keaton and Marty McFly and other characters he had played that highlighted his good looks and pleasant demeanor, he was ready to play a darker, more morally ambiguous character. Since the production was scheduled around Fox's summer hiatus from the hit TV show, he was in. For Pollock and United Artists, this was a major coup, landing one of the biggest stars in Hollywood. But the project was originally going to be Toronto standing in for New York City for less than $7m with a lesser known cast. Now, it was going to be a $15m with not only Michael J. Fox but also Keifer Sutherland, who was cast as Tad, the best friend of the formerly named You, who would now known as Jamie Conway, and would be shot on location in New York City. The film would also feature Phoebe Cates as Jamie's model ex-wife, William Hickey, Kelly Lynch. But there was a major catch. The production would only have ten weeks to shoot with Fox, as he was due back in Los Angeles to begin production on the sixth season of Family Ties.  He wasn't going to do that thing he did making a movie and a television show at the same time like he did with Back to the Future and Family Ties in 1984 and 1985. Ten weeks and not a day more. Production on the film would begin on April 13th, 1987, to get as much of the film shot while Fox was still finishing Family Ties in Los Angeles. He would be joining the production at the end of the month. But Fox never get the chance to shoot with Chopra. After three weeks of production, Chopra, her husband, and her cinematographer James Glennon, who had also shot Smooth Talk, were dismissed from the film. The suits at United Artists were not happy with the Fox-less footage that was coming out of New York, and were not happy with the direction of the film. Cole and Chopra had removed much of the nightlife and drug life storyline, and focused more on the development of Jamie as a writer. Apparently, no one at the studio had read the final draft of the script before shooting began. Cole, the screenwriter, says it was Pollock, the producer, who requested the changes, but in the end, it would be not the Oscar-winning filmmaker producing the movie that would be released but the trio of newer creatives. Second unit footage would continue to shoot around New York City while the studio looked for a new director. Ironically, days after Chopra was fired, the Directors Guild of America had announced that if they were not able to sign a new agreement with the Producers Guild before the end of the current contract on June 30th, the directors were going on strike. So now United Artists were really under the gun. After considering such filmmakers as Belgian director Ulu Grosbard, who had directed Meryl Streep and Robert De Niro in Falling in Love, and Australian director Bruce Beresford, whose films had included Breaker Morant and Tender Mercies, they would find their new director in James Bridges, whose filmography included such critical and financial success as The Paper Chase, The China Syndrome and Urban Cowboy, but had two bombs in a row in 1984's Mike's Murder and 1985's Perfect. He needed a hit, and this was the first solid directing offer in three years. He'd spend the weekend after his hiring doing some minor recasting, including bringing in John Houseman, who won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role in The Paper Chase, as well as Swoosie Kurtz, Oscar-winning actors Jason Robards and Dianne Weist, and Tracy Pollan, Fox's co-star on Family Ties, who would shortly after the filming of Bright Lights become Mrs. Michael J. Fox, although in the film, she would be cast not as a love interest to her real-life boyfriend's character but as the wife of Keifer Sutherland's character. After a week of rewriting McInerney's original draft of the screenplay from the Schumacher days, principal photography re-commenced on the film. And since Bridges would be working with famed cinematographer Gordon Willis, who had shot three previous movies with Bridges as well as the first two Godfather movies and every Woody Allen movie from Annie Hall to The Purple Rose of Cairo, it was also decided that none of Chopra's footage would be used. Everything would start back on square one. And because of the impending Directors Guild strike, he'd have only thirty-six days, a tad over five weeks, to film everything. One of the lobby cards from the movie version of Bright Lights, Big City And they were able to get it all done, thanks to some ingenious measures. One location, the Palladium concert hall on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, would double as three different nightclubs, two discotheques and a dinner club. Instead of finding six different locations, which would loading cameras and lights from one location to another, moving hundreds of people as well, and then setting the lights and props again, over and over, all they would have to do is re-decorate the area to become the next thing they needed. Bridges would complete the film that day before the Directors Guild strike deadline, but the strike would never happen. But there would be some issue with the final writing credits. While Bridges had used McInerney's original screenplay as a jumping off point, the writer/director had really latched on to the mother's death as the emotional center of the movie. Bridges' own grandmother had passed away in 1986, and he found writing those scenes to be cathartic for his own unresolved issues. But despite the changes Bridges would make to the script, including adding such filmmaking tropes as flashbacks and voiceovers, and having the movie broken up into sections by the use of chapter titles being typed out on screen, the Writers Guild would give sole screenwriting credit to Jay McInerney. As post-production continued throughout the fall, the one topic no one involved in the production wanted to talk about or even acknowledge was the movie version of Bret Easton Ellis's Less Than Zero that rival studio 20th Century Fox had been making in Los Angeles. It had a smaller budget, a lesser known filmmaker, a lesser known cast lead by Andrew McCarthy and Jami Gertz, and a budget half the size. If their film was a hit, that could be good for this one. And if their film wasn't a hit? Well, Bright Lights was the trendsetter. It was the one that sold more copies. The one that saw its author featured in more magazines and television news shows. How well did Less Than Zero do when it was released into theatres on November 6th, 1987? Well, you're just going to have to wait until next week's episode. Unless you're listening months or years after they were published, and are listening to episodes in reverse order. Then you already know how it did, but let's just say it wasn't a hit but it wasn't really a dud either. Bridges would spend nearly six months putting his film together, most of which he would find enjoyable, but he would have trouble deciding which of two endings he shot would be used. His preferred ending saw Jamie wandering through the streets of New York City early one morning, after a long night of partying that included a confrontation with his ex-wife, where he decides that was the day he was going to get his life back on track but not knowing what he was going to do, but the studio asked for an alternative ending, one that features Jamie one year in the future, putting the finishing touches on his first novel, which we see is titled… wait for it… Bright Lights, Big City, while his new girlfriend stands behind him giving her approval. After several audience test screenings, the studio would decide to let Bridges have his ending. United Artists would an April 1st, 1988 release date, and would spend months gearing up the publicity machine. Fox and Pollan were busy finishing the final episodes of that season's Family Ties, and weren't as widely available for the publicity circuit outside of those based in Los Angeles. The studio wasn't too worried, though. Michael J. Fox's last movie, The Secret of My Success, had been released in April 1987, and had grossed $67m without his doing a lot of publicity for that one, either. Opening on 1196 screens, the film would only manage to gross $5.13m, putting it in third place behind the previous week's #1 film, Biloxi Blues with Matthew Broderick, and the Tim Burton comedy Beetlejuice, which despite opening on nearly 200 fewer screens would gross nearly $3m more. But the reviews were not great. Decent. Respectful. But not great. The New York-based critics, like David Ansen of Newsweek and Janet Maslin of the Times, would be kinder than most other critics, maybe because they didn't want to be seen knocking a film shot in their backyard. But one person would actually would praise the film and Michael J. Fox as an actor was Roger Ebert. But it wouldn't save the film. In its second week, the film would fall to fifth place, with $3.09m worth of tickets sold, and it would drop all the way to tenth place in its third week with just under $1.9m in ticket sales. Week four would see it fall to 16th place with only $862k worth of ticket sales. After that, United Artists would stop reporting grosses. The $17m film had grossed just $16.1m. Bright Lights, Big City was a milestone book for me, in large part because it made me a reader. Before Bright Lights, I read occasionally, mainly John Irving, preferring to spend most of my free time voraciously consuming every movie I could. After Bright Lights, I picked up every Vintage Contemporary book I could get my hands on. One of the checklists of Vintage Contemporary books listed in the back of a Vintage Contemporary book. And one thing that really helped out was the literal checklist of other books available from that imprint in the back of each book. Without those distinct covers, I don't know if I would have discovered some of my favorite authors like Raymond Carver and Don DeLillo and Richard Ford and Richard Russo. Even after the Vintage Contemporary line shut down years later, I continued to read. I still read today, although not as much as I would prefer. I have a podcast to work on. I remember when the movie came out that I wasn't all that thrilled with it, and it would be nearly 35 years before I revisited it again, for this episode. I can't say it's the 80s as I remember it, because I had never been to New York City by that point in my life, I had never, and still never have, done anything like cocaine. And I had only ever had like two relationships that could be considered anything of substance, let alone marriage and a divorce. But I am certain it's an 80s that I'm glad I didn't know. Mainly because Jamie's 80s seemed rather boring and inconsequential. Fox does the best he can with the material, but he is not the right person for the role. As I watched it again, I couldn't help but wonder what if the roles were reversed. What if Keifer Sutherland played Jamie and Michael J. Fox played the friend? That might have been a more interesting movie, but Sutherland was not yet at that level of stardom. Thank you for joining us. We'll talk again next week, when Episode 95, on the novel and movie version of Less Than Zero is released. Remember to visit this episode's page on our website, The80sMoviePodcast.com, for extra materials about Bright Lights, Big City, both the book and the movie, as well as other titles in the Vintage Contemporary book series. The full cover, back and front, of Richard Ford's 1986 The Sportswriter, which would be the first of four novels about Frank Bascombe, a failed novelist who becomes a sportswriter. The second book in the series, 1995's Independence Day, would win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, as well as the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction, the first of only two times the same book would win both awards the same year. The 80s Movies Podcast has been researched, written, narrated and edited by Edward Havens for Idiosyncratic Entertainment. Thank you again. Good night.  

Sports talk is on deck to start Episode 26. Marty and 'The Man With All The Unusual Answers' Spirited Kenny talk about some of the exciting Sunday football results and the Bombers heading to the championship game. Then Marty explains a bit of his early days as an aspiring hoopster in a sports-minded childhood, and his side-door entry to the wrestling game as a broadcaster. We encourage all listeners to come out to the CWE event on Sunday Nov. 27 in Elmwood, as Marty is an entrant in the annual spectacular, the 50 Man Rumble to Remember. We're going to record a special podcast at the venue and Kenny is prepared to become Winnipeg's new George Plimpton. For tickets, Email martygoldlive@gmail.com 22:00 The post-election office clean up unearthed ... a 2010 column (blog post, actually) about Glen Murray by Kenny's pal, Dan Lett. Hear why it was worthy of review for the predictive nature of what Winnipeg was to endure in the attempted return of Murray to the Mayor's chair. 27:47 The far-left filter of Winnipeg civic issues: where facts and logic come second to feeeelings. We discuss an online spat spurred by uninformed WFP columnist Brent Bellamy about a scandal - parking outside the ex-restaurant on the "iconic" Provencher bridge AT path. It's literally an access road, but don't tell that to the urban know-it-alls! According to the bike lobby, it's doomsday out there! That put Marty in the odd position of somewhat defending the Manitoba Technology Accelerator, whose evasive court antics after being sued by bullied clients a few years ago were a highlight on City Circus on Shaw. 34:20 Who could bemoan the restoration of a Manitoba Housing disaster site to useable downtown housing again? The uninformed far-left called it 'gut-wrenching' that the bedbugs, cockroaches and meth dealers were evicted from 185 Smith. A strange online thread that we dissect. 41:30 We preview next week's episode, a special anniversary show. Thanks to paperwork dug up in the office clean-up, will look back at some of the fun and controversy as TGCTS built a following on 92.9 KICK-FM. Whatever happened to John Wells anyways? We briefly talk about the sad state of commercial radio in Winnipeg and how audiences are being let down. 52:28 Part 2 - A massive - but not in-depth - discussion about mask mandates. Marty Up North is a popular analyst of the Canadian scene on Twitter and he looked at the Covid hospitalization numbers for U-19's from Alberta Health Services. Only 6 schoolchildren went to ICU for Covid out of over 800,000 since September and none died. Using data to assess booster rates and other metrics, he concluded that mask mandates are not effective. Marty and Kenny exchange reasoned viewpoints on mandates, the effects on kids, mask fatigue, and social norms post-pandemic. Here is the thread we talk about - https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1591821242591739906.html 1:16:00 - One more story - as Kenny asks a good question about media coverage, public information, and the difference between King Charles and police chief Danny Smyth. Next Week: 16th Anniversary Special End of November: The Rumble To Remember We are Winnipeg's ONLY public affairs podcast, carrying on the tradition of citizen journalism. Your support ensures we can cover the issues and perspectives MSM won't provide. To advertise, sponsor an event, or send along news tips: martygoldlive@gmail.com Donate via www.paypal.me/MartyGoldMedia

A classic story about a Brooklyn, NY character. Robert "Pudgie" Walsh, was the legendary coach of the semi pro football team, The Brooklyn Mariners.My friend and author Jon Hart spent a season with him. This is the story from the book "Man Vs Ball".  The book has several short stories of Jon's escapades into the sports world.  Think, George Plimpton but funnier. Enjoy.To buy Man vs Ball : https://a.co/d/1OrhNUgYouTube: LOUIE MAX IG: @louiemaxx @grindandpivotWebsite: www.grindandpivot.comMerch: www.louiemax.comFB: Louie MaxTwitter : @grindandpivotPublicity: Moxie Public Relations

Glass Tiger frontman Alan Frew talks about the New Year's Eve name changeover from ‘Tokyo' to Glass Tiger [and how author George Plimpton inspired the new name], opening for Boy George & Culture Club, sharing urinals at the Grammy Awards with Roger Daltrey & Doc Severinson, how being last to the bus gave him his ‘Beatles' moment in Saskatoon, confusion with Rod Stewart about who actually was the first to play SkyDome, Bryan Adams singing backup on Don't Forget Me, knocking out TWO smash hits in their first session with producer Jim Vallance, serving as Corey Hart's stand-in for a music video, speaking out about his 2015 stroke to raise prevention awareness [dangers: high cholesterol & hypertension], and his never-before-revealed hotel check-in alias! TORONTO LEGENDS is hosted by Andrew Applebaum. TORONTO LEGENDS is powered by the Henderson Brewing Company. a locally-owned, award-winning neighbourhood brewery that celebrates Toronto's stories and culture...just like this podcast! You can try this month's limited edition beer “Amelia Red Hefeweizen” [inspired by Amelia Earhart] at their taproom & retail store at 128A Sterling Road along the West Toronto rail path, or order now at HendersonBrewing.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For over five decades, the sportswriter and pioneering participatory journalist earned renown for his accounts of performing stand-up comedy, taking up boxing, and acting alongside John Wayne in a movie, among other activities, and then recording the experience from an amateur's point of view.

The team sits down with Daniel Adams, Director of “The Walk“. This film has its WORLD PREMIERE at the Opening Night (8pm PT) of the 25th annual Dances with Films Festival in Los Angeles. Fandor is a proud sponsor of Dances with Films, a defiantly independent festival. The festival will run from June 9 – 19th, 2022.Daniel Adams grew up in Boston and worked in politics, including two gubernatorial campaigns, a race for attorney general, and a presidential campaign. He also garnered valuable film production experience directing television commercials for a Boston advertising agency. He then co-wrote (w/ Michael Mailer) and directed his first feature film in 1989, “A Fool and His Money” which starred Sandra Bullock, Jonathan Penner, George Plimpton and Jerzy Kosinski, released through Trimark Pictures (now LionsGate). He then went on to write and direct his second feature, the critically acclaimed “Primary Motive,” for Twentieth Century Fox which starred Judd Nelson, Justine Bateman, Richard Jordan, John Savage and Sally Kirkland, produced by Don Carmody. His third feature, which he also wrote and directed, a comedy entitled, “The Mouse,” starring Rip Torn and John Savage, released through Strand Releasing, also received positive reviews. “The Golden Boys,” which he wrote and directed, starring David Carradine, Rip Torn, Bruce Dern and Mariel Hemingway, had a very successful release through Roadside Attractions and Lions Gate Films in 2009. His next film, which he wrote and directed, released in 2010 through New Films Cinema, was “The Lightkeepers” which starred Richard Dreyfuss and Blythe Danner. “Lightkeepers” has been the recipient of many awards, including Best Musical Score for a Comedy in 2010 (Int'l Film Music Critics Assoc), Best Supporting Actor (Bruce Dern, Methodfest), and Best Film (“Golden Angel” award at the CAFF in Los Angeles). It was chosen as the closing night film at the prestigious Palm Springs International Film Festival and opening night film at the Boulder International Film Festival.He directed and co-wrote (with legendary National Lampoon editor Larry “Ratso” Sloman) the satire, “An L.A. Minute” starring Gabriel Byrne, Kiersey Clemons, and Bob Balaban, which was released in theaters through Strand in August 2018. And he wrote the script for the upcoming feature film “Panama” starring Mel Gibson and Cole Hauser.“The Walk” which he directed and co-wrote (with George Powell) has already won many film festival awards including “Best Picture” and “Best Director” and has been chosen as the opening night film at the Boston International Film Festival and Dances with Films.He is currently writing a biography of American patriot James Otis and developing the book into a limited series to be co-written and produced by multi-Emmy winner Jay Kogen. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bob, Chuk and Mike Is there an afterlife? Chris the rainman, Woman president, George Plimpton, Black beauties, Reds, What was in them anyways?,  do the math, not the meth, Bobs rooting for the Celtics? WTF?

This week, Scott continues his discussion with Andy Bellin, this time focusing on his time at The Paris Review. Founded in 1953 by George Plimpton, The Review was among the first to publish V.S. Naipaul, Jack Kerouac, and Rick Bass, among others. This interview offers a rare, behind the scenes look at George and at an iconic American magazine.

He grew up breathing Kannada literature -- and he also embraced the globalised world. Sugata Srinivasaraju joins Amit Varma in episode 277 of The Seen and the Unseen to discuss this confluence of the old and the new, the near and the far, his society and the world.  Also check out: 1. Sugata Srinivasaraju in Outlook, ToI/Mumbai Mirror, New Indian Express, The Wire, Mint, Twitter and his own website. 2. Furrows in a Field -- Sugata Srinivasaraju. 3. Pickles from Home: The Worlds of a Bilingual -- Sugata Srinivasaraju. 4. Keeping Faith with the Mother Tongue -- Sugata Srinivasaraju. 5. Sugata Srinivasaraju on his father, Chi Srinivasaraju: 1, 2, 3. 6. Maharashtra Politics Unscrambled -- Episode 151 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Sujata Anandan). 7. Dodda Alada Mara (Big Banyan Tree). 8. GP Rajarathnam, AR Krishnashastry, P Lankesh and KS Nissar Ahmed on Wikipedia. 9. The Tell Me Why series of encyclopedias -- Arkady Leokum. 10. Stendhal, Honoré de Balzac, Victor Hugo and Charles Baudelaire on Amazon. 11. Rayaru Bandaru Mavana Manege -- The KS Narasimhaswamy poem Sugata translated. 12. Phoenix and Four Other Mime Plays -- Chi Srinivasaraju (translated by Sugata Srinivasaraju, who tweeted about it here.). 13. Ahobala Shankara, V Seetharamaiah, Roland Barthes, Michel Foucault, Jacques Derrida, KV Narayana, Noam Chomsky, DR Nagaraj, Jorge Luis Borges and Tejaswini Niranjana. 14. Lawrence Weschler on how Akumal Ramachander discovered Harold Shapinsky. 15. AK Ramanujan and Gopalakrishna Adiga. 16. The Penguin Book of Socialist Verse -- Edited by Alan Bold. 17. Gandhi as Mahatma: Gorakhpur District, Eastern UP, 1921-22 -- Shahid Amin. 18. Kraurya -- Girish Kasaravalli. 19. Deconstructing Derrida -- Sugata Srinivasaraju. 20. Yaava Mohana Murali -- Gopalakrishna Adiga's poem turned into a song. 21. Ram Guha Reflects on His Life -- Episode 266 of The Seen and the Unseen. 22. Understanding Gandhi. Part 1: Mohandas — Episode 104 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Ram Guha). 23. Understanding Gandhi. Part 2: Mahatma — Episode 105 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Ram Guha). 24. Modern South India: A History from the 17th Century to our Times -- Rajmohan Gandhi. 25. Ki Ram Nagaraja at Book Brahma. 26. A Map of Misreading -- Harold Bloom. 27. The Singer of Tales -- Albert Lord and David Elmer. 28. ಪಂಪ ಭಾರತ ದೀಪಿಕೆ: Pampa Bharatha Deepike -- DL Narasimhachar. 29. The Open Eyes: A Journey Through Karnakata -- Dom Moraes. 30. Dom Moraes on DR Bendre's love for numbers. 31. DR Bendre, Kuvempu, Shamba Joshi, MM Kalburgi, Shivaram Karanth, VK Gokak and Chandrashekhar Patil. 32. Da Baa Kulkarni, Sriranga, Nabaneeta Dev Sen, Bhisham Sahni, Kartar Singh Duggal and HY Sharada Prasad. 33. His Will Was His God -- Sugata Srinivasaraju on HY Sharada Prasad. 34. Jeremy Seabrook on Amazon. 35. Aakar Patel Is Full of Hope -- Episode 270 of The Seen and the Unseen. 36. The Rise and Fall of the Bilingual Intellectual — Ramachandra Guha. 37. The Life and Times of Mrinal Pande -- Episode 263 of The Seen and the Unseen. 38. Sara Rai Inhales Literature -- Episode 255 of The Seen and the Unseen. 39. The Art of Translation -- Episode 168 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Arunava Sinha). 40. Negotiating Two Worlds, Bilingualism As A Cultural Idea -- Sugata Srinivasaraju delivers the HY Sharada Prasad Memorial Lecture. 41. Karunaalu Baa Belake -- A Kannada version of 'Lead, Kindly Light'. 42. Liberal impulses of our regional languages -- Sugata Srinivasaraju. 43. Why Resisting Hindi is No Longer Enough -- Sugata Srinivasaraju. 44, The Indianness of Indian Food -- Episode 95 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Vikram Doctor). 45. Steven Van Zandt: Springsteen, the death of rock and Van Morrison on Covid — Richard Purden. 46. Roam Research and Zettelkasten. 47. Sixteen Stormy Days — Tripurdaman Singh. 48. The First Assault on Our Constitution — Episode 194 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Tripurdaman Singh). 49. Nehru's Debates -- Episode 262 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Tripurdaman Singh and Adeel Hussain). 50. Speaking of Siva -- Ak Ramanujan's translations of the Vacanas. 51. Not Waving but Drowning -- Stevie Smith. 52. Pictures on a Page -- Harold Evans. 53. Notes From Another India -- Jeremy Seabrook. 54. Good Times, Bad Times -- Harold Evans. 55. John Pilger on Amazon. 56. Sugata Srinivasaraju's pieces in Outlook in 2005 on the Infosys land scam: 1, 2. 57. ‘Bellary Is Mine' -- Sugata Srinivasaraju. 58. Deca Log: 1995-2005. A history in ten-and-a-half chapters, through the eyes of Outlook -- Sugata Srinivasaraju. 59. The Sanjay Story: From Anand Bhavan To Amethi -- Vinod Mehta. 60. Lucknow Boy: A Memoir -- Vinod Mehta. 61. Remembering Mr. Shawn's New Yorker -- Ved Mehta. 62. Off the Record: Untold Stories from a Reporter's Diary -- Ajith Pillai. 63. A Town Offers Its Shoulder -- Sugata Srinivasaraju. 64. Superforecasting: The Art and Science of Prediction -- Philip Tetlock and Dan Gardner. 65. Dhanya Rajendran Fights the Gaze -- Episode 267 of The Seen and the Unseen. 66. The Story of an Income Tax Search — Dhanya Rajendran on Instagram. 67. George Plimpton, 76; 'Paper Lion' author, longtime literary editor, amateur athlete -- David Mehegan. 68. Does The Paris Review Get a Second Act? -- Charles McGrath on literary magazines as "showcases of idealism." 69. My Father's Suitcase -- Orhan Pamuk's Nobel Prize lecture. 70. Gandhi's Assassin: The Making of Nathuram Godse and His Idea of India -- Dhirendra K Jha. 71. Harmony in the Boudoir -- Mark Strand. 72. Of Human Bondage -- W Somerset Maugham. 73. Man's Worldly Goods -- Leo Huberman. 74. Autobiography -- Bertrand Russell. 75. Graham Greene, Joseph Conrad, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Jorge Luis Borges, Honoré de Balzac, Gustave Flaubert, Victor Hugo, Charles Dickens and George Orwell on Amazon. 76. Madame Bovary -- Gustave Flaubert. 77. Reflections on Gandhi -- George Orwell. 78. The Tyranny of Merit -- Michael Sandel. 79. Home in the World: A Memoir -- Amartya Sen. 80. Living to Tell the Tale -- Gabriel Garcia Marquez. 81. Ayodhya - The Dark Night and Ascetic Games by Dhirendra Jha. 82. Team of Rivals -- Doris Kearns Goodwin. 83. My Last Sigh -- Luis Bunuel. 84. Interview with History -- Oriana Fallaci. 85. Ryszard Kapuscinski on Amazon. 86. Journalism as Literature -- Salman Rushdie on Ryszard Kapuscinski. 87. Mallikarjun Mansur, Bhimsen Joshi and Kumar Gandharva on Spotify. 88. Vachanas sung by Mallikarjun Mansur and Basavaraja Rajguru. 89. Outlander, Knightfall and Money Heist on Netflix. 90. Sugata Srinivasaraju's Twitter thread on the songs of DR Bendre. This episode is sponsored by The Desi Crime Podcast. You'll find them on all podcast apps. Check out Amit's online course, The Art of Clear Writing. And subscribe to The India Uncut Newsletter. It's free! The illustration for this episode is by Nishant Jain aka Sneaky Artist. Check out his work on Twitter, Instagram and Substack.

[A September 2017 archive re-release favorite with the production wizard behind behind early network TV coverage of the World Football League & North American Soccer League of the 1970s!] On January 20, 1968, a frenzied crowd of 52,693 packed the Houston Astrodome to witness the #2-ranked University of Houston Cougars nip the #1 (and previously undefeated) UCLA Bruins in a college basketball spectacle that legendarily became the sport's “Game of the Century.”  In addition to the record-sized gate, it was the first-ever college game to be televised nationally in prime time – and it was sports entrepreneur Eddie Einhorn's scrappy little independent network of affiliated stations called the TVS Television Network that brought it to millions of TV viewers.  Calling all the shots from the production truck was veteran TV sports director Howard Zuckerman – who quickly became the backbone for the fledgling ad hoc network's subsequent coverage of not only college hoops, but also two of the most colorful pro sports leagues of the 1970s – the World Football League and the North American Soccer League.  Zuckerman joins host Tim Hanlon to recount some of his most memorable (and forgettable) moments in TVS history, including: Surviving a power outage in the middle of the WFL's first-ever national telecast from Jacksonville; Managing a motley crew of rotating guest commentators for WFL broadcasts, including the likes of George Plimpton, Burt Reynolds and McLean Stevenson; Hastily reorienting weekly WFL production travel plans as teams suddenly relocated or folded; Faking on-field injuries during NASL telecasts to allow for ad hoc commercial breaks; The origins of the specially-composed TVS theme song and its orchestral big band sound; and Post-TVS work, including the Canadian Football League's Las Vegas Posse, and the worldwide music landmark event Live Aid. 

Michael Mailer has been working extensively in the independent film world since graduating Harvard University. His first feature film, A Fool And His Money, starred Sandra Bullock and George Plimpton. Since then, Mailer has gone on to produce over 25 features. His father is the American novelist, Norman Mailer.  Nick Griffin has appeared on Conan, The Late Late Show, in his own half-hour Comedy Central special and was featured on The Late Show with David Letterman eleven times. He is a Comedy Cellar regular. 

Michael Mailer has been working extensively in the independent film world since graduating Harvard University. His first feature film, A Fool And His Money, starred Sandra Bullock and George Plimpton. Since then, Mailer has gone on to produce over 25 features. His father is the American novelist, Norman Mailer.  Nick Griffin has appeared on Conan, The Late Late Show, in his own half-hour Comedy Central special and was featured on The Late Show with David Letterman eleven times. He is a Comedy Cellar regular. 

In this episode, we get back to a more 'traditional' format, with our Welcome, Feedback and News segments.  Lots of new Intellivision homebrews are discussed this time around.  You'll also hear about Paul's computer dying, mid-recording (yikes!), and the new Intellivision FAQ.  George returns, and we've got some fun outtakes at the end. So hop on the bus to Homebrew City and press play!   0:00:00 - Turn on the TV and fire up the Intellivision! 0:00:05 - George: Episode rundown 0:01:23 - "Intellivisionaries Theme" by Nurmix 0:02:56 - Welcome - part 1 0:53:48 - George: Thank you listeners! 0:54:12 - Ji Wen Tsao promo 0:54:28 - Welcome - part 2 1:38:52 - Steve C. promo 1:39:15 - Retro Gaming Roundup promo 1:39:25 - Welcome - Extended Session 1:47:04 - Carol Shaw promo 1:47:13 - Intellivision FAQ 1:49:21 - $50 Intellivision Rebate - TV commercial 1:49:49 - Feedback 2:29:22 - The death of Paul's recording PC? 2:32:50 - Ten Pence Arcade promo 2:33:05 - George: Rick needs a puzzle 2:35:00 - UK Mike / RGR promo 2:35:18 - News 3:57:46 - Intellivisionaries promo 3:57:54 - Barky Barkington 3:59:15 - Wrap Up / "Treasured" by Nurmix 4:03:12 - Outtakes (extended)

Arcade board mobility has coinop spooked George Plimpton is pimping Intellivision & The youth of America sees pro-gaming as their future These stories and many more on this episode of the Video Game Newsroom Time Machine This episode we will look back at the biggest stories in and around the video game industry in October of 1981. As always, we'll mostly be using magazine cover dates, and those are of course always a bit behind the actual events. Get us on your mobile device: Android: https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly92aWRlb2dhbWVuZXdzcm9vbXRpbWVtYWNoaW5lLmxpYnN5bi5jb20vcnNz iOS: https://podcasts.apple.com/de/podcast/video-game-newsroom-time-machine And if you like what we are doing here at the podcast, don't forget to like us on your podcasting app of choice, YouTube, and/or support us on patreon! https://www.patreon.com/VGNRTM Send comments on twitter @videogamenewsr2 Or Instagram https://www.instagram.com/vgnrtm Or videogamenewsroomtimemachine@gmail.com Links: 7 Minutes in Heaven: Video version - https://www.patreon.com/posts/57968609 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qix https://www.mobygames.com/game/arcade/qix Corrections: September 1981 Ep - https://www.patreon.com/posts/56209373 7 Minutes in Heaven - Castle Wolfenstein - https://www.patreon.com/posts/56209208 https://www.mobygames.com/game/frogger-ancient-shadow Jerry Jewell Interview - https://www.patreon.com/posts/57602735 1941: Judges denounce Pinball as Gambling https://www.nytimes.com/1941/10/09/archives/judges-denounce-pinball-as-gambling-but-reserve-decision-in-jersey.html?searchResultPosition=1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinball#1947:_Flippers_introduced https://www.nytimes.com/1941/10/19/archives/nickel-monte-carlo-the-pinball-box-cashes-in-on-a-love-of-gadgets-a.html?searchResultPosition=2 https://www.mobygames.com/game/snes/flintstones-the-treasure-of-sierra-madrock https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6aguUfV2XQ 1961: Satellite positioning system underway https://www.nytimes.com/1961/10/08/archives/star-substitutes-satellites-to-replace-heavenly-bodies-as-guides.html?searchResultPosition=24 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transit_(satellite) 1981: US Arcade industry hesitant about interchangeable kits Play Meter Oct. 1 1981 pg. 22 https://segaretro.org/Sega_G80 Taito's Moon Shuttle introduces continuous play Replay Oct. 1981, pg. 56 https://www.mobygames.com/game/moon-shuttle https://www.denofgeek.com/games/the-origins-of-the-video-game-continue-screen/ Atari and GCC drop suits Replay Oct. 1981 pg. 16 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Computer_Corporation Atari settles with Cinematronics Play Meter Oct. 15, 1981 pg. 148 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinematronics Williams revenues double Replay Oct. 1981, pg. 14 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WMS_Industries Coleco signs licensing deal with Midway Toy & Hobby World Oct. 1981 pg. 16 https://archive.org/details/hh_cpacman https://www.miniarcade.com/coleco/coleco.php https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/sunset-bowl-in-ballard-will-close-in-april/ Michael Katz Interview - https://www.patreon.com/posts/35169258 https://archive.org/details/hh_cdkong https://christmas.musetechnical.com/ShowCatalogPage/1982-Sears-Christmas-Book/0003 https://christmas.musetechnical.com/ShowCatalogPage/1982-Sears-Christmas-Book/0636 https://christmas.musetechnical.com/ShowCatalogPage/1982-Sears-Christmas-Book/0646 George Plimpton to promote Intellivision sweepstakes Toy & Hobby World Oct. 1981 pg. 58 https://wearethemutants.com/2017/05/18/george-plimpton-advertisements-for-intellivision-1980-1983/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPUMfUvRAOE https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Plimpton February 1980 Jump - https://www.patreon.com/posts/34288179 Imagic enters the game publishing fray https://www.nytimes.com/1981/10/08/business/advertising-imagic-account.html?searchResultPosition=2 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imagic They Create World Imagic ep - https://www.patreon.com/posts/mysteries-of-57377105 Byte takes a first look at the IBM PC https://archive.org/details/eu_BYTE-1981-10_OCR/page/n25/mode/1up https://archive.org/details/eu_BYTE-1981-10_OCR/page/n31/mode/1up https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_Personal_Computer Atari muscles in on Apple's educational turf https://archive.org/details/1981-10-compute-magazine/page/n5/mode/1up https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atari_8-bit_family https://ataripodcast.libsyn.com/ Nasir Gebelli goes it alone https://archive.org/details/softalkv2n02oct1981/page/39/mode/1up Jerry Jewell Interview - https://www.patreon.com/posts/57602735 Computers can win big at chess tournaments https://archive.org/details/eu_BYTE-1981-10_OCR/page/n305/mode/1up Coining of phrase arcade-adventure https://archive.org/details/softalkv2n02oct1981/page/55/mode/1up The Dirty Book is looking for your raunchy software creations https://archive.org/details/softalkv2n02oct1981/page/80/mode/1up https://archive.org/details/TheDirtyBookV2N1/page/n3/mode/2up?q=the+dirty+book The Gamemaster beckons you to enter his mansion https://archive.org/details/softalkv2n02oct1981/page/82/mode/1up http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/issues/softline_3.2.pdf https://books.google.de/books?id=-dgDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA10&lpg=PA10&dq=harlow+stevens+jr&source=bl&ots=UxMV-u2BB_&sig=ACfU3U0VAEzuFq0DpEWWDkGS07PAFMjsqw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjSpdOb_MfzAhWrgP0HHQHgCLsQ6AF6BAgUEAM#v=onepage&q=harlow%20stevens%20jr&f=false Mike Blanchet profiled in New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/1981/10/25/magazine/video-games-star-war.html?searchResultPosition=1 http://www.ataricompendium.com/archives/articles/blanchet/blanchet.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polybius_(urban_legend) Recommended Links: The History of How We Play: https://thehistoryofhowweplay.wordpress.com/ Gaming Alexandria: https://www.gamingalexandria.com/wp/ They Create Worlds: https://tcwpodcast.podbean.com/ Digital Antiquarian: https://www.filfre.net/ The Arcade Blogger: https://arcadeblogger.com/ Retro Asylum: http://retroasylum.com/category/all-posts/ Retro Game Squad: http://retrogamesquad.libsyn.com/ Playthrough Podcast: https://playthroughpod.com/ Sound Effects by Ethan Johnson of History of How We Play and Enzo Maida.

In this new episode of the Football Film Review series, Aron reviews Paper Lion, the 1968 movie based on the non fiction book of the same name that follows author George Plimpton's experiences as the last string quarterback for the duration of Detroit Lion's training camp in 1963. The picture stars Alan Alda and Lauren Hutton, along with numerous Lions players such as Joe Schmidt, John Gordy and Alex Karras.  https://www.thefootballodyssey.com/  https://www.thefootballodyssey.com/book-reviews/paper-lion-george-plimpton https://twitter.com/FootballOdyc  https://www.instagram.com/thefootballodyssey/  https://sportshistorynetwork.com/podcasts/ --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

This week, Steve and Dana are joined by Karen Han. First, Slate's music critic Carl Wilson chimes in to discuss Todd Haynes's new The Velvet Underground documentary, which he wrote beautifully about for Slate. Next, the panel (minus Dana) is joined by Slate staff writer Rebecca Onion to review Mike Flanagan's newest Netflix horror series, Midnight Mass—which she also wrote lovingly about. Finally, the panel (minus Dana) is joined by Vulture senior editor and host of the Good One podcast, Jesse David Fox, to discuss the Dave Chappelle controversy. In Slate Plus, the panel discusses media they loved when they were younger that they have since outgrown. Email us at culturefest@slate.com. Endorsements Dana: The book equivalent of Todd Haynes's documentary, the first oral history Dana ever read and still one of the best she's ever read to this day: Edie: American Girl by Jean Stein and George Plimpton. The oral history tells the story of actress and model Edie Sedgwick completely through testimony from people that were there, without any interstitial material.  Karen: New World, the Korean crime drama film from Park Hoon-jung that stars Squid Game's Lee Jung-jae. The film features Lee as an undercover cop who is tasked with infiltrating the mob, but ends up caught between two worlds. It also stars a slew of great Korean actors including Hwang Jung-min and Song Ji-hyo.  Steve: First, Netflix's series The Chestnut Man, a dark, taught crime drama which takes place in Copenhagen. Then, a whole genre of YouTube videos taking you from raw audio of rehearsal to mastertape of Elvis's songs, including “And The Grass Won't Pay No Mind”—though, Neil Diamond's version of that one is better. Podcast production by Cameron Drews. Production assistance by Nadira Goffe. Outro music is “I'll Be Your Mirror” by The Velvet Underground. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Steve and Dana are joined by Karen Han. First, Slate's music critic Carl Wilson chimes in to discuss Todd Haynes's new The Velvet Underground documentary, which he wrote beautifully about for Slate. Next, the panel (minus Dana) is joined by Slate staff writer Rebecca Onion to review Mike Flanagan's newest Netflix horror series, Midnight Mass—which she also wrote lovingly about. Finally, the panel (minus Dana) is joined by Vulture senior editor and host of the Good One podcast, Jesse David Fox, to discuss the Dave Chappelle controversy. In Slate Plus, the panel discusses media they loved when they were younger that they have since outgrown. Email us at culturefest@slate.com. Endorsements Dana: The book equivalent of Todd Haynes's documentary, the first oral history Dana ever read and still one of the best she's ever read to this day: Edie: American Girl by Jean Stein and George Plimpton. The oral history tells the story of actress and model Edie Sedgwick completely through testimony from people that were there, without any interstitial material.  Karen: New World, the Korean crime drama film from Park Hoon-jung that stars Squid Game's Lee Jung-jae. The film features Lee as an undercover cop who is tasked with infiltrating the mob, but ends up caught between two worlds. It also stars a slew of great Korean actors including Hwang Jung-min and Song Ji-hyo.  Steve: First, Netflix's series The Chestnut Man, a dark, taught crime drama which takes place in Copenhagen. Then, a whole genre of YouTube videos taking you from raw audio of rehearsal to mastertape of Elvis's songs, including “And The Grass Won't Pay No Mind”—though, Neil Diamond's version of that one is better. Podcast production by Cameron Drews. Production assistance by Nadira Goffe. Outro music is “I'll Be Your Mirror” by The Velvet Underground. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we talk about Atari's only real competition in the home video game market....Mattel. It sounds strange that they tried to enter the video game market but they did and today we talk about Intellivision, George Plimpton and everything surrounding the system with the better specs and the worst controller...behind the Atari 5200... --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/intheshadeofan80sarcade/support

It's the start of another N.F.L. season, the time of year Americans turn on their televisions to watch their favorite teams make spectacular plays and their favorite players commit incredible acts of athleticism. But is America's favorite pastime actually its guiltiest pleasure? Can fans ethically enjoy watching a football game?The effects of the tackles on players' brains is one reason you might feel guilty for watching. The injuries come on top of long-running disagreements between players and the league. How do you balance the brutality of the sport with the athleticism and beauty?Steve Almond gave up watching football because of the values he sees it embracing. Kevin Clark watches football as part of his job as a writer and reporter at The Ringer.Mentioned in this episode:“Paper Lion: Confessions of a Last-String Quarterback” by George Plimpton (1966)“Against Football: One Fan's Reluctant Manifesto” by Steve AlmondKevin Clark's recent reporting at The Ringer

Billy Collins '63 was U.S. Poet Laureate in 2002 when Congress gave him what seemed like an impossible assignment: commemorate the nearly 3,000 victims of 9/11 in a poem. In the inaugural episode of the Holy Cross Magazine Podcast, Collins talks about why he balked at first and why he changed his mind, and details how he wrote the historic piece, "The Names." More on Collins and "The Names" Collins profile: “The Making of an American Poet" Holy Cross Magazine, Summer 2020 Collins' website Collins' Facebook page, home of his live broadcasts Collins' "The Names" notebooks and drafts The Paris Review Interview with George Plimpton, Fall 2001 Podcast interview with Cheryl Strayed, May 2020 Holy Cross Remembers Lost Alumni on Anniversary of Sept. 11, September 2016 Transcript of this episode: Melissa Shaw: Hello and welcome to the Holy Cross Magazine Podcast. I'm your host Melissa Shaw, Editor of Holy Cross Magazine. This podcast takes a deeper dive into stories covered in our latest quarterly issue or examines a timely topic in between publication. In this episode, we'll be focusing on the latter with the man the New York Times has called the most popular poet in America, Billy Collins, class of 1963. Collins was serving as Poet Laureate of the United States on September 11th, 2001, and was later asked by the Library of Congress to write a poem to commemorate the victims of the attacks. Melissa Shaw: He read the resulting poem, The Names, at a special joint session of Congress in September 2002. It was a work the best-selling writing doesn't discuss much. But today, in light of the 20th anniversary of the September 11th attacks, Collins reflects on the assignment and the poem with writer Marybeth Reilly-McGreen, class of 1989, who profiled the native New Yorker and former New York Poet Laureate in the summer 2020 issue of Holy Cross Magazine. Here are Billy Collins and Marybeth Reilly-McGreen. Marybeth Reilly-McGreen: Thank you, Billy Collins, for being here today. And we are anticipating the 20th anniversary of 9/11, the attacks on America. At the time of the attacks you were U.S. Poet Laureate. Billy Collins: Correct. Marybeth Reilly-McGreen: You were asked to write a poem, The Names, which you then presented to a joint session of Congress on September 6th, 2002. If you would, we would love it if you would read it for us now. Billy Collins: Right. I'd be happy to read it then we can... and even happier to talk about it. The poem is called The Names and there is a parenthetical epigram below the title, and it reads, for the victims of September 11th and they're survivors. Yesterday, I lay awake in the palm of the night. A fine rain stole in, unhelped by any breeze. And when I saw the silver glaze on the windows, I started with A, with Ackerman, as it happened. Then Baxter and Calabro, Davis and Eberling, names falling into place as droplets fell through the dark. Names printed on the ceiling of the night. Names slipping around a watery bend. Twenty-six willows on the banks of a stream. Billy Collins: In the morning, I walked out barefoot among thousands of flowers heavy with dew like the eyes of tears, and each had a name. Fiori inscribed on a yellow petal. Then Gonzalez and Han, Ishikawa and Jenkins. Names written in the air and stitched into the cloth of the day. A name under a photograph taped to a mailbox. Monogram on a torn shirt, I see you spelled out on storefront windows and on the bright unfurled awnings of this city. I say the syllables as I turn a corner, Kelly and Lee, Medina, Nardella, and O'Connor. When I peer into the woods, I see a thick tangle where letters are hidden as in a puzzle concocted for children. Billy Collins: Parker and Quigley in the twigs of an ash. Rizzo, Schubert, Torres, and Upton, secrets in the boughs of an ancient maple. Names written in the pale sky. Names rising in the updraft amid buildings. Names silent in stone or cried out behind a door. Names blown over the earth and out to sea. In the evening, weakening light, the last swallows, a boy on a lake lifts his oars. A woman by a window puts a match to a candle, and the names are outlined on the rose clouds, Vanacore and Wallace, let X stand, if it can, for the ones unfound. Then Young and Ziminsky, the final jolt of Z. Billy Collins: Names etched on the head of a pin. One name spanning a bridge, another undergoing a tunnel. A blue name needled into the skin. Names of citizens, workers, mothers and fathers, the bright-eyed daughter, the quick son. Alphabet of names in green rose in a field. Names in the small tracks of birds. Names lifted from a hat Or balanced on the tip of the tongue. Names wheeled into the dim warehouse of memory. So many names, there is barely room on the walls of the heart. Billy Collins: To talk about the poem a little bit, I was asked by Congress, well, not everyone at once, in Congress, but I was, I received a phone call I was appointed Poet Laureate in June of 2001. And, of course, that was not too far away from September. And so being the Poet Laureate then, Congress, it wasn't Congress, it was really a group of people who were organizing this event, which was a congressional event. Congress was meeting outside of New York City, extremely rare in the history of the country. I think, maybe the second or third time that it happened. One of them occasion by the British, when the British burned down the capital. That's something we might not think of when we're buying Burberry raincoats and stuff. Billy Collins: But anyway, so they asked me if I'd write a poem to read to Congress and I balked. I mean I was sort of, "A homina, homina homina." I didn't know what to say. I wanted to say, "No, I don't think so." Because my poems are about such small things, such small matters, leading to larger matters. But this was just facing a larger matter head on, instead of telling it slant, instead of finding a way into a topic. This was facing the topic head on. And that's sort of the nature of an occasional poem, a poem that's on a certain subject, a certain event, really. Billy Collins: So I said, I did say, "No." I didn't say wouldn't show up, because you really can't say that to Congress. But I said, "I don't think I could write a poem like that." I kind of bargained my way out of it, but it took a while. I said, "I'm honored to attend and I will read something. I will find something appropriate to read and powerful." And I thought, "Walt Whitman will somehow come to my aid." But then they continued, I thought that would be the end of the conversation. They being at least three people on this conference call. Billy Collins: One of them said, "Well, if you did, just saying, if you did right upon, please include the heroism of the first responders." Another person said, "Well, yeah, if you happen to change your mind, please mention something positive about the future of our country." I mean, it's on and on like that. So the more they kind of jumped on me with all these parts that I should, the more I thought I couldn't write that poem. But one morning, like a week or so later, I woke up, startlingly, about five in the morning, it was still dark. And I thought I really should get off the bench here. I mean, this was the duty of all poets laureate in the past. Billy Collins: The reason to have a poet laureate, and is a British condition and invention, which is about 370 years old at this point. The whole idea of having a poet laureate was to preserve in writing, in rhyme and meter, which were the preservatives of ice and salt, that Yeates calls rhyme and meter, preserving sentiment and preserving national events. We didn't have videotape cameras, recorders, any of that. So the poet was to store in the national memory some event rendered in poetry. So that sort of, thinking of that at five in the morning, got my attention. That I would join this sort of noble tradition of poets laureate who wrote occasional poems. Billy Collins: But then I figured out, and this is sort of more interesting for people who write poetry than not, I figured out a way to do it. I figured out a strategy, because I was writing on demand and I figured out two things. I figured out I could write an elegy, so that's a specific genre and English literature and literature. And if you're an English major, if you get to graduate school anyway, you'll know by heart the probably six or seven great elegies in the English language. By choosing the elegy, that meant I could circumscribe the fields of my endeavor or play. It's a poem for the dead. That's what an elegy is. Billy Collins: That's why the little epigram, for the survivors, that's there, because it declares that the poem is an elegy. So I could stay within these elegy boundaries without dealing with geopolitics, the uncertainty. I mean, by then we were at war. I mean, war was declared, I think, nine or 10 days after September 11th. It was a pretty hair trigger response. And who knows where that war was going to go? Well, we know something about that now. The other thing, the other device I used was I could use, going through the dead, I could use one letter of the alphabet to stand for, to symbolize, to represent all the people, all the victims, the 3,000-and-something victims of 9/11 by the letter of their surname. Billy Collins: So there, I had two things to hold on to, the enclosure of the elegy, where I'm writing a poem for the dead and then the alphabet, and then this whole sense of the tolling of the bell of the names. I haven't counted it up, but the word names must appear 30 times in that poem. It's kind of names doing this, names doing that. That kind of repetition, as it turned out, created this rhythm in the poem. Marybeth Reilly-McGreen: Talking about the repetition of the names, I remember, in watching C-SPAN, watching you give the poem to America really. But in watching you read it, Senator Moynihan looks spellbound. He looks absolutely enraptured. His mouth is a little bit ajar and he just looked so, so attentive. Billy Collins: Yeah. Well, he's crying. Marybeth Reilly-McGreen: Mm-hmm (affirmative). So there was that- Billy Collins: His eyes were watering up. Marybeth Reilly-McGreen: And Jack Reed and John McCain are sitting next to one another. You could see, there was something happening in that room. It was magical. Billy Collins: For some. Marybeth Reilly-McGreen: For some. Billy Collins: I mean, it was a very strange occasion. I'm kind of poetry reading hardened, or a veteran, I've done hundreds of poetry readings. But this is before everyone in Congress, and so you see, and you stand among, of these people that usually just see on television. And what happened was there were a number of speakers, of course, and they were senators and they were giving serious speeches, of course, to fit the occasion. They were speeches about, they mentioned, there was a kind of recycled vocabulary. Billy Collins: I mean, the words, tragedy, and national interest, and protecting our, et cetera. And when I got up to read, it was very formal. And, "Blah, blah, blah, Poet Laureate of the United States," or something, and I got up and started. As you've just heard, the poem starts with, "It's nighttime and it's raining." And, "What's this? We're supposed to be talking about 9/11 and this guy's talking about how he's lying awake at night and it's raining." Well, that's poetry. It starts with imagery. Billy Collins: It starts with, at least my poems, tend to start with a place and even weather and a time of day, some kind of locator from which to begin. And at that point, as I've said before, many of the people in Congress were cocking their heads as sort of like a border collie hearing a whistle or something. They just couldn't place it, they were... And then it became clear that it's a poem. And then at that point, the audience kind of divided into two sections. Those who were actually interested in hearing a poem and those that kind of checked out and deployed their anti-poetry shields that have been installed in high school, or at some point. Billy Collins: It made a very strong point in my mind about the difference between political and poetic language. And you're right, whenever I had some doubts, I would always look over to Senator Moynihan. On a scale of one to paying attention, he was paying a lot of attention. Marybeth Reilly-McGreen: He was. He was. Cheryl Strayed drew you out on her podcast talking about this poem, and you said that it was nerve racking. You can't see that on the C-SPAN tape, that there's any, your delivery is classic you, very controlled. I'm just wondering, was that an unusual experience for you to be keyed up and nervous? Because I've never seen you, and I've seen you live many times, I've never seen you look nervous. Billy Collins: You haven't seen me get on a roller coaster. A lot of things make me nervous. But no, my heart was racing. I was holding it together. I think I pulled it off. I mean, I've looked at the tape and I seem to be in control. I believed in the poem, I think. I revised the poem a lot, I read it out loud a few times, and I believed in the correctness of the poem. And I believed in the, if I can say this modestly, the strength of the poem. And so I had that in front of me. It wasn't like I was trying... I didn't have to make anything up on the spot. The poem was there and it was solid. And that kept me going, but I was glad when I was over. Marybeth Reilly-McGreen: Did this one take longer from conception to finished form? Billy Collins: It was done pretty quickly, actually. I didn't have the list of the dead before me, and I made up names as I went along, just as they occurred to me. I was trying to aim for some diversity. But later, it was odd, when I got the list of the names, which was available on the internet, I had picked some common ones that were represented there. Once I had the elegy and the alphabet, it really didn't take that long. I think I wrote the poem in a number of hours that morning. But I went back and meticulously went through every line, and mainly for say ability, and rhythm, and sound ability. Billy Collins: Like even in the beginning when I say the glaze on the windows. I'm awake, and then blaze and rain. And then I started with A and Ackerman, and happened, and then Baxter and Calabro, right, how it's all that A, A, A. So I was going for trying to make it sound and rhythm made sense there. But yeah, it was nerve wracking. It was a pretty tough audience. Marybeth Reilly-McGreen: Well, yes. And so I went to the Ransom Center to look at your notebooks, and saw the pages, and the asterisks by certain names. Billy Collins: Right. Marybeth Reilly-McGreen: One of which was Quigley, which is, I believe, the name of Beth Quigley who was a Holy Cross graduate. Billy Collins: Oh, I didn't know that. Marybeth Reilly-McGreen: Yeah. What I'm wondering is it, after you read this, and it had its circulation on the internet, did you hear from any families or- Billy Collins: I heard from two families. And frankly, it was long time ago, I forget the names. But I should remember, but they're probably in with my other papers. But I did hear from them and they were very happy to be included. Marybeth Reilly-McGreen: You also [crosstalk 00:18:52]- Oh, sorry. Billy Collins: That seemed to be something they did at Ground Zero, was the all the names were read to a tolling bell. In many instances, it's not a very difficult thing to come up with. I mean, what else are you going to do with it besides say their names. If you have over 3,000 people that need mourning, they can't be named individually. And even here, I only mentioned 26 names actually or 25 actually, because the X, there was no one whose name began with X. So I said, "Let X stand, if it can, for those un-found." And as we know, 20 years later, there are still people whose remains are being uncovered just on last night's news. Billy Collins: Then that's another odd thing about... or thinking about 9/11 now, which we are, because it's the 20th anniversary. But now, we see that we've had the, well, the embarrassment of this shabby ending to the war, which is so reminiscent of the helicopter leaving the rooftop of the hotel in Saigon. We've spent I think $2 trillion. $2 trillion is 2,000 billion dollars. Trillion is a little beyond our reach I think of our imagination, but 2,000 billion. We've suffered losses. I mean, 1,000s of people will have been lost in the war. I think something like they estimate 47,000 Afghan citizens, and the Taliban are back, and have reclaimed the entire country in a way that they didn't even have that kind of power before. Billy Collins: Well, I guess for my sake, I'm saying... I'm thinking, I'm not saying, but I will say it now, that choosing [inaudible 00:21:03] was a very smart play, because I did not get into politics, didn't want to get into too, "Let's get back, serve any note of revenge," which really was the emotion that drove us into Iraq. Getting back at the terrorists. I don't see... Where did that get us? Well, there's arguments that we get into with friends. Billy Collins: We got Osama bin Laden, et cetera. Now, we're closing [inaudible 00:21:35] and we're also getting out of Afghanistan. Afghanistan, as we know, always had the reputation of the I think it's called the burial ground of empires, because no one gets it. No one wins in there. We had the Russians as an immediate example just prior to us, and they didn't get anything, it's where are you go to lose a war. But that's something we didn't know then and that just kind of puts all of this into a greater perspective. Marybeth Reilly-McGreen: One of the things I remember in a very early conversation that we had is you told me you don't read the names that often. Billy Collins: Well, no, I don't, I don't make a habit of it. I was reading out of a book... I think since the poem was written, I published maybe three books of poems, maybe even four, probably three. I didn't put it in any of those books and I didn't read it. I was at a school on I guess maybe it was the third anniversary of September 11th. I read it then. I've read it a couple of times, but I didn't... I finally thought, well, this book was published in 2013. It's called Aimless Love and I waited over 10 years to publish it, because as I say, I didn't want to make just another poem in my reading. I would have felt that I'm kind of disrespecting the dead and making it part of my poetry show. It was a very special poem for me and it seemed completely and inextricably tied to that occasion. I still don't read it. Marybeth Reilly-McGreen: It holds a place of honor in “Aimless Love.” It is the very last poem. Billy Collins: Yes, that was really intentional, that it's not trying to make it not part of the other poems, but having that special place. Marybeth Reilly-McGreen: When you received this request, this was only I think you told me the second or third commissioned poem you had ever... Billy Collins: Yeah, there was one poem on the 300th anniversary of a school in New York, the Trinity School. I can't think of another one that I've... I've rarely written on demand. I think anyone who ends up being a poet or chooses to be a poet does so because you will never be asked to write. It's the opposite of on demand, there are no deadlines, no one's waiting for your next poem. It's a very... It changes... I mean, the main thing about writing on demand is you have to stick to the topic. That's something we learn as students in writing compositions, the five paragraph composition, introduction and conclusion, three something's in the middle, three points. Billy Collins: You have to stick to the topic. With an occasional poem, it's the same thing. If it's a poem about the death of the Queen Mother in England, you can't just drift off in the middle of that and talk about how your dog has fleas or something, whereas you can do that in a poem that's not on demand. It's fun to always drift away from the topic in poetry, for me at least, and to discover a topic in the process of writing. That's the imaginative freedom that poetry graces us with or allows you. You don't have that in writing an occasional poem or a poem on demand. However, once I found the word names, and the analogy, and all that, I did have enough imaginative freedom so that I could talk about seeing a name on a monogram on a torn shirt, or seeing a blue name needled into the skin, going into tattoos. Billy Collins: Names silent in stone, like on a gravestone, or the opposite of silent in stone, or cried out behind a door. I kind of charged myself with coming up with one good image after the other. The only one I regret is I think going out of the morning. Also, the poem has a diurnal organization, you might call it. It begins at night, and then this morning, and then in the evening. It kind of goes through an imaginary day, but that line about the flowers heavy with dew like the eyes of tears, I'd like to get rid of that. Marybeth Reilly-McGreen: Really? Billy Collins: Yeah. Well, there's just too much there. Eyes, tears, and dew, there's too much going on. Marybeth Reilly-McGreen: It's funny that you should bring up that line, because when I read the names, and still, I think of I wandered lonely as a cloud, and I know that you're an expert in words worth, and there are... I have always wondered and never asked you if you thought about the poet laureate of 1842 as you thought about writing this poem. Billy Collins: No, I don't think so. I don't think I was thinking of anybody in particular. I was born in New York, and I was a New Yorker then, and I was thinking of the imagery of New York. I have bridges, and tunnels, I have storefront windows, and the awnings, the unfurled awnings of the city. That was names rising in the updraft among buildings. So there's quite a bit of kind of urban imagery. Billy Collins: Now, I just have, in the evening, weakening like the last swallows, a boy on a lake lifts his oars. That has nothing to do with it. I can't just say the names in every line, so let this boy lift his oars in the evening. There's a moment of thoughtfulness there. It was actually pleasurable to write in that once I had the grid and the alphabet, it was, I don't want to say fill in the blanks, but indeed, there was a grid I was filling in with lines, and that made it very readable. Whereas when I got the phone call from Congress, it seemed like a totally impossible task. Marybeth Reilly-McGreen: I can't even imagine being in that situation and my response would have been, "No, I don't..." I wouldn't have known how I could approach such a... It's an impossible ask. Billy Collins: Well, that was why I said I couldn't do it, but I figured out... But once the poem was underway, and once I'd figured out these constraints, then it rolled, because once it got moving, it rolled right to the end just about. I got to the final jolt of z, I could've ended it there, but I had more. I wanted names etched on the head of a pin, just an image of that. Then citizens, workers, mothers, names in the small tracts of birds goes back to that kind of Chinese myth I think about writing being invented by a man who watched the tracks of birds in the snow, or in the dirt, and saw those forums as a way of writing. Names lifted from a hat gets at the kind of randomness of who was killed there. Billy Collins: It's like a lottery. Some people I know, a friend of a friend, had to have... Her watch was broken, and she stopped in a jewelry shop to have her watch fixed, and it took a little while. Otherwise, she would have been on the 92nd floor of the World Trade Center. It was very much who was sick that day? Who was late for work? Where the plane happened to strike. It's still horrifying. I mean, we watched just the other night this Day in America, I think it's called. It's a long documentary, many part documentary, that's solely about 9/11. It does take you back to the shock of it. But remember that if you teach high school or even college, most of your students, and almost all of your students in high school, weren't born then. Billy Collins: Even many of your college students were toddlers. For a lot of us, it's really in the fabric of our unforgettable parts of our lives. We all remember being overwhelmed by it with fear and uncertainty. For me, it was the two towers had been hit, but then there was... they cut to Washington, and there was a correspondent with a microphone. Well in the background, because he didn't want to get near it, was the Pentagon on fire. That was really a mind blower, because now, it's not new... It was sort of a New York thing, if you will, but now it's the nation that's under attack. The last plan that was forced down, heroically, they still don't know if that was going for the Capitol or the White House, but it could have gone right into the Capitol of the White House. Marybeth Reilly-McGreen: Were you in the city that day? Billy Collins: No, I was at home in Westchester County to the north, walking the dog. Usually drove the dog for her walk around this lake. So I was back in the car with the dog going back home, just a few miles, and NPR was on, and there was a fire in one of the Twin Towers, just a fire. That's all I knew. I have a really antiquated idea of what an office is. I thought somebody threw a match into a wastebasket, I don't know why I had that image, and that started a fire in some of the offices. When I got home, I didn't think anymore of it. Then, somebody, I forget who, called me and said, as your mother said, "Turn on the television." That's all they said, they just hung up. Marybeth Reilly-McGreen: I don't know when exactly it was published, but you had just given George Plimpton a long interview. I have it in front of me, of course, where you talked about commemorative poetry and about the roots of commemorative poetry. Then you find yourself. That, to me, is a stunning coincidence that you should be actually having a conversation with George Plimpton. It was issue 159, came out in the fall of 2001, and then- Billy Collins: I'll look it up, I forgot that coincidence. I never realized that was a coincidence. The other coincidence was that the night before 9/11, September 10th, there was I'd say a pretty big book party for me at George Plimpton's house. My book, Sailing Alone Around the Room, had just come out. Paul McCartney was there and all sorts of interesting people. There was a terrible thunder and lightning storm that night and Plimpton's apartment was right on the East River, on 72nd Street. Billy Collins: The storm was so violent that the party actually kind of quieted down. Many people went over to the windows, and were watching this strobing lightning, and the glass and the windows actually trembling. That storm clear things out so that the next day was crystal clear, beautiful fall, autumn day in New York. For a while, it was called terrorist weather. I think pilots have a word for it. It's like super clear or ideal flying conditions, I guess. Then, many of my friends, I called them during the day of September 11th. They said, "That's the last party people are going to go to for a while." And it was. Marybeth Reilly-McGreen: Returning to the poem just for a moment. I just want to read this line again, "Let X stand, if it can, for the ones unfound." And just a couple of other lines, "The bright eyed daughter, the quick sun, names wheeled into the dim warehouse of memory, so many names, there's barely room on the walls of the heart." Those lines, they make me choke up. And I'm I'm wondering in the writing, do you have moments where a line stops you? Billy Collins: Yeah. I mean, it does and I don't know where parley is, I don't know where the line comes from exactly. Once a poem is really underway, I think, personally, I feel my mind is on in a way that's it's not on, it's not fully on, and just walking around the house. And that on-ness of the mind really... things do come to you. I just thought sons and daughters, those are the big losses I think, and bright eyed and quick, just wanted to give a sense of what the vitality of a living person, quick, quick on his quick thinker. Athletically quick, but also like the quick in the dead. Quick means alive. And bright eyed is the same thing, a sign of life and also a sign of, well, vitality. I'm not thinking of any of that, the line just... it rolled out. I don't think... It's not exactly like thinking for us. What are some good images of vitality? They just rolled out and later you see what they mean. Marybeth Reilly-McGreen: You also said to that you were very careful in the language that you chose for this poem or maybe in what you didn't choose. Billy Collins: I was walking a thin line. I mean, I'm using very basic imagery of named stitched into the cloth of the day. What else? Names outlined on the clouds. I'm avoiding political language, I'm avoiding words like terrorism or freedom. I'm avoiding the big language of politics and the big language of the big Latinate words of public language. I'm sticking with what poets know, which is green rows and fields, small tracts of birds, a hat, the tongue, the warehouse of memory, needles, pins. Notice that the word needle is two lines away from the word pin. Tunnel and bridge. So I'm using concrete language. I chose them carefully, but it's the natural language of poetry. I mean, James Wright I think said big words like constitution and independence, they just scare him. He finds them scary because they're so vague and can be used so loosely. Marybeth Reilly-McGreen: You said to her, "It was picture languages, Emerson calls it. It was the language of the world, of rain, and windows, and reality." Billy Collins: Right. Well, that's good. Marybeth Reilly-McGreen: That is good. It sounds good. Billy Collins: Who said that? Yeah, it's picture language. Children like picture language. It's the language that... It's that part of your growing up when you don't understand concepts. You understand train, plain, sun, toy, oatmeal. For me, poetry, I like to read poetry that returns to that simple language of childhood now that we are adults that understand more difficult things. Paradoxically, the best way to access those difficult, complex human thoughts, if you will, is really through the language of nature, the language of ordinary things. Billy Collins: The shovel, the toaster, the bookend, the glass of water. Yeah, the one thing you don't want to do is, in a poem like this, or maybe any poem, is to make the language emotional, because that's why the line about the tears I think is a little too emotional. You want the language to be very, very calm, very assured of itself. You don't want to get emotional, you want to make the reader emotional, but you can't do that by being emotional yourself. That actually creates a distance between you and the reader. You can just lure the reader in with more images, more pictures, one picture after the other. Marybeth Reilly-McGreen: You say you follow a poem to its end, as opposed to if you come at a poem as, "I'm going to I have an idea and I'm going to write about it in a poem," you should just write an email. Billy Collins: Right. Marybeth Reilly-McGreen: Right. Billy Collins: And don't send it to anybody. Marybeth Reilly-McGreen: No, I would not do that. But did the ending surprise you? Billy Collins: Well, it's got to end somewhere. Names lifted from a hat, balance on the tip of the tongue, I could've kept going from there or not, maybe I'm running out of imagery at that point too, where you're just writing on rims, you've run out of rubber. But something summative had to be said at the end, I thought. You don't want to say in conclusion, but I thought names, plural, and now they're being stored away. They're no longer at play. In my imagination, they are being wheeled into this dim warehouse. Billy Collins: We're seeing them kind of get packaged and stored. Then, it's just so many names. Now, I mentioned 25 names, 25 letters. Well, I don't know how many names I mentioned. Yeah, I mentioned one for each letter, so exactly 25 names. But there are nearly 3,000 who lost their lives. I wanted to make sure that was said, there's so many names that have not been mentioned in this poem. So many it seems. The pro's way to put that would be to say so many names, it's emotionally overwhelming. The poetic way to say it is so many names, there's barely room on the walls of the heart. Marybeth Reilly-McGreen: That's a beautiful way to end, unless you have other parting thoughts? Billy Collins: No, I thank you for giving me this opportunity to reflect on the poem, and to think a little bit about the 20 years that have passed since then, and how much has changed, and how much has not changed, really. So I'm very happy to talk about it, especially to a Holy Cross audience or people with Holy Cross interests. Marybeth Reilly-McGreen: Well, it's my honor, and we look forward to your next book, and to watching you on the on the on the broadcast. Billy Collins: Great. Oh, thank you very much. It's been a pleasure. Melissa Shaw: Thank you, Billy, and thank you, Marybeth. In the show notes for this episode, you will find links to Collins's notebooks and notes he used while writing The Names, the 2020 Holy Cross magazine profile of Collins, his website, and his popular Facebook page. Thank you for joining us today. I'm Melissa Shaw.

Elis James, Mike Bubbins and Steff Garrero talk about Nigel Havers, JPR Williams, Patagonia and the food needed to be a British Strongman.You can get in touch with the team on social media https://twitter.com/distantpod https://facebook.com/distantpod https://instagram.com/distantpod You can find the clips from the Episode on our playlist https://www.youtube.com/thesociallydistantsportsbarElis: Ali and Frasier on the Dick Cavett Showhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LU8XBaMTX7g Steff: Brian Shaw and Eddie Hall on diets https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QXNZ0Lhtww Mike: Wales team celebrating England loss.https://youtu.be/SfIDJqrL0MQDOCUMENTARYSteff's choice: Gati v Ward Legendary Nights https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K171-qQaqcs&t=221s Mike: JPR https://youtu.be/YgenDR1IFGgSteff: Australian Speedskater Gold https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYUjmEH9NNk Elis: Manchester Utd 3 Barcelona 0, ECWC 1984 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nD0jekbsQ44BOOKSElis: Das Reboot by Raphael Honigstein https://amzn.to/3gy1Cww Steff: The Art of Resilience by Ross Edgley https://amzn.to/3gso8qw Mike: Paper Lion by George Plimpton https://amzn.to/2VNUZyg

We've entered a moment where the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases is a celebrity. You can buy donuts with his face on them. A petition to make him People's Sexiest Man Alive has more than 13,000 signatures. And, yes, sales of Dr. Anthony Fauci bobblehead dolls have raised more than $100,000. At the same time, how do we find community in this time of COVID and quarantine and social distance? And then: The Plot Against America is HBO's miniseries based on Philip Roth's novel. It's an alternative history written 16 years ago -- and set 80 years ago -- with undeniable echos of our present politics. Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take: Al Kaline, Detroit Tigers legend, dies at age 85 John Prine, Hero Of 'New' Nashville, Dies After Developing COVID-19 Symptoms Mort Drucker, Master of the Mad Caricature, Is Dead at 91His illustrations of celebrities for Mad magazine's movie and television satires inspired countless cartoonists. Actors, politicians and others knew they had made it when he drew them. Lee Fierro, 'Jaws' Actor, Dies of Coronavirus at 91 David Driskell, 88, Pivotal Champion of African-American Art, DiesAn artist himself, Professor Driskell recognized the role of black artists in the broader story of American art. He died of the coronavirus. Hal Willner, 'SNL' Staple And Acclaimed Music Producer, Has Died Thank god for the internetWhat the hell would be happening now without it? When All the Zingers Were Fit To PrintIn 1978, a mischievous band of writers that included George Plimpton and Nora Ephron teamed up to create a spoof of The New York Times. Turns out, Times journalists were among them. Rules for Using the Sidewalk During the CoronavirusGoing outside is still a joy. But we all need to do more to walk and run while social distancing. What to Stream: Forty of the Best Movies on Netflix Right Now Why Animal Crossing Is the Game for the Coronavirus MomentWith the world in the grip of a pandemic, the wildly popular game is a conveniently timed piece of whimsy, particularly for millennials. Trump order encourages US to mine the moonExecutive order says US will oppose any international effort to bar it from removing chunks of moon, Mars or elsewhere in space Radiohead to Stream Classic Concert Films on YouTube During Quarantine GUESTS: Rich Hollant - Principal at CO:LAB, founder of Free Center, and commissioner on cultural affairs for the city of Hartford Irene Papoulis - Teaches writing at Trinity College Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today's podcast of The Writing Bull offers you a two-fer: Years ago I had the opportunity to interview one of the founders and the editorContinue reading

“Rewind – Interview with George Plimpton. Author, journalists, amazing man. Original air date was in 2000 On this show you will hear Jamie, Brian, Mark, & Dr. Trish Madsen ignore the phone number it is old. We have started a Pateron page. Thanks for considering supporting us. www.patreon.com/AnimalTalkRadio Animal Talk, it's America's Pet Show! Jamie...

EPISODE #144-- We're back to our regularly scheduled program with the Peter Yate's coming of age/biking moving "BREAKING AWAY." We also talk Mean Streets, Italian cinema, Jackie Chan, and Netflix. Get it. Follow James on Twitter @kislingtwits and on Instagram @kislingwhatsit. You can watch Cruz and show favorite Alexis Simpson on You Tube in "They Live Together." Thanks to our artists Julius Tanag (http://www.juliustanag.com) and Sef Joosten (http://spexdoodles.tumblr.com). Donate to the cause at Patreon.com/Quality. Review us on iTunes. Tell a friend. Warn an enemy.

George  gives an auction winner a star-studded walk through the legendary NYC eatery Elaine's and Isobel discovers she has a heart condition at age six. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Corey Levitan : Who Is This A-Hole Thanks for asking! I'm a writer known for such intellectual pursuits as riding a public bus in a photo-realistic naked suit, spending an entire day covered from head to toe in sexual lubricant and inviting every Facebook friend I don't know to dinner.The degree to which I'm less rich and famous than Dave Barry, Mike Rowe and Joel Stein probably does not reflect how much less funny and original I am than they are. However, I need to stop complaining, especially in a freaking bio. I've had many career highlights that few writers can boast of -- such as throwing out the first pitch for a Cubs-Mariners exhibition game, appearing as a Howard Stern guest for my journalism and having this Huffington Post story written about me. (Oh, also getting sexually harassed by Angelina Jolie.)If you do know my name, it's probably because you have a good memory for articles that ran in Playboy that you seriously didn't want to take to the bathroom with you. I was the magazine's resident stunt pickup artist from 1999 to 2004, the year I met my wife and had to stop or probably die alone.You may also know me as the most popular humor columnist in the history of Sin City. "Fear and Loafing" ran 176 times in the Las Vegas Review-Journal from 2006-2011, and this Wikipedia entry about it wasn't even written by me. I washed the windows at the top of the Stratosphere, go-go danced in a gay bar and delivered a Sunday sermon as a Lutheran minister. It was a sort of Dirty Jobs thing where I sampled different occupations, except with humiliation and fear in addition to dirt. And it actually began two years before that reality show, at a Los Angeles newspaper, so if you're going to accuse me of ripping anyone off, it should be George Plimpton (with George Costanza's attitude).But I seriously doubt you even know me from that, because most newspaper readers don't use computers. They are generally senior citizens who like to approach me in public to tell me how much they loved my column and then, when I invite them to visit this website, tell me how proud they are of never using computers. (“You see this?” they say, pointing to their heads. “This is all the computer I need, right here!”)Also, you clicked on a link titled “WHO IS THIS A-HOLE?” So that kinda tells me something right there.So thanks for stopping by! Make yourself at home, tool around my favorite columns and "ooh" and "ahh" at my abject self-degradation. I've suffered for my work; now it's your turn.By the way, can anyone hook me up with Dave Barry, Mike Rowe or Joel Stein?This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/1198501/advertisement

It's time for some guilty pleasures! Yes, the two of us — Pete Wright and Andy Nelson — dig up some films that we love but are generally not considered the greatest of movies. This week, it's Andy's turn with his guilty pleasure — Nicholas Meyer's 1985 Peace Corps comedy “Volunteers.” That's right, more Tom Hanks action from Andy, proving he's just about ready to go Annie Wilkes on ol' Tom. In this week's episode, we talk about what Andy loves in this movie while also looking at it through serious eyes, analyzing what in the film really is causing it to be generally considered a bad film. In this particular case, most of the burden falls on Hanks in his performance of the pompous rich boy Lawrence Bourne III. We compare that with what works well in the film, most notably John Candy in yet another hilarious turn from the 80s. We also look at the other actors in the film — Rita Wilson, Tim Thomerson, Gedde Watanabe, George Plimpton and more — and talk about what they bring to the table. We touch on comments Ken Levine, one of the writers, wrote on his 2009 blog about the scene that ruined the movie, and Andy takes the writer to task for possibly thinking too highly of his own script. And we chat about a few people behind the camera — Meyer at the helm and James Horner composing a wonderful score. It's a fun romp, albeit problem laden, that is high on Andy's list of fun movies to watch but not likely one Pete will be returning to, even if he did find a few things to enjoy in the movie. So check it out then tune in!

It's time for some guilty pleasures! Yes, the two of us — Pete Wright and Andy Nelson — dig up some films that we love but are generally not considered the greatest of movies. This week, it's Andy's turn with his guilty pleasure — Nicholas Meyer's 1985 Peace Corps comedy “Volunteers.” That's right, more Tom Hanks action from Andy, proving he's just about ready to go Annie Wilkes on ol' Tom. In this week's episode, we talk about what Andy loves in this movie while also looking at it through serious eyes, analyzing what in the film really is causing it to be generally considered a bad film. In this particular case, most of the burden falls on Hanks in his performance of the pompous rich boy Lawrence Bourne III. We compare that with what works well in the film, most notably John Candy in yet another hilarious turn from the 80s. We also look at the other actors in the film — Rita Wilson, Tim Thomerson, Gedde Watanabe, George Plimpton and more — and talk about what they bring to the table. We touch on comments Ken Levine, one of the writers, wrote on his 2009 blog about the scene that ruined the movie, and Andy takes the writer to task for possibly thinking too highly of his own script. And we chat about a few people behind the camera — Meyer at the helm and James Horner composing a wonderful score. It's a fun romp, albeit problem laden, that is high on Andy's list of fun movies to watch but not likely one Pete will be returning to, even if he did find a few things to enjoy in the movie. So check it out then tune in!