WEBVTT 1 00:00:05.120 --> 00:00:07.960 Oh gee, folks, it's showtime. 2 00:00:08.640 --> 00:00:10.599 People say good money to see this movie. 3 00:00:10.919 --> 00:00:13.560 When they go out to a theater, they want closed sodas, 4 00:00:13.880 --> 00:00:15.080 pop popcorn in. 5 00:00:15.160 --> 00:00:17.239 No monsters in the Projection Booths. 6 00:00:17.359 --> 00:00:19.199 Everyone for tend. Podcasting isn't boring? 7 00:00:20.239 --> 00:00:38.119 Got it off? 8 00:00:40.439 --> 00:00:43.479 Hey, folks, Welcome to a special episode of The Projection Booth. 9 00:00:43.520 --> 00:00:46.200 I'm your host Mike White. On this episode, it is 10 00:00:46.240 --> 00:00:48.880 the return of Alicia Malone. We talked with her a 11 00:00:48.920 --> 00:00:51.240 few years ago about one of her previous books. We 12 00:00:51.280 --> 00:00:54.640 also had her on the episode all about Deep End, 13 00:00:55.560 --> 00:00:59.719 and now she is back with a new book, tcm Imports, Timeless, 14 00:00:59.719 --> 00:01:03.600 Favorit's and Hinde Gems of World Cinema. The book includes 15 00:01:03.679 --> 00:01:07.760 fifty two reviews of some amazing films from around the world, 16 00:01:07.959 --> 00:01:09.920 including a lot of titles that you might not have 17 00:01:10.159 --> 00:01:13.239 expected to see. Is that your typical eight and a 18 00:01:13.280 --> 00:01:16.599 half lestrata type of book. It actually digs a little 19 00:01:16.640 --> 00:01:19.680 bit deeper, shows you a whole lot of great movies 20 00:01:20.280 --> 00:01:25.000 and Alicia's writing is just fantastic, very very pleasurable to read. 21 00:01:25.400 --> 00:01:28.439 Highly recommended. I know it's April when we're talking about this. 22 00:01:28.439 --> 00:01:30.280 This is going to be a great Christmas gift if 23 00:01:30.319 --> 00:01:32.159 you haven't bought it for yourself or a friend by 24 00:01:32.159 --> 00:01:34.640 the end of the year. But I would say, go ahead, 25 00:01:34.799 --> 00:01:37.680 pick this up. You're really gonna enjoy it. Thanks so 26 00:01:37.760 --> 00:01:39.680 much for listening, and I hope you enjoyed the interview. 27 00:01:40.200 --> 00:01:42.760 I'm trying to remember when we did that Deepend episode. 28 00:01:42.799 --> 00:01:44.239 That's been a few years. 29 00:01:44.519 --> 00:01:46.680 It's been a while, and I was just looking at 30 00:01:46.680 --> 00:01:49.239 it in my David eight collection the other day. I 31 00:01:49.280 --> 00:01:51.799 was like, oh, yeah, Deepend. I forgot about that movie. 32 00:01:51.799 --> 00:01:54.640 But that was back when I lived in La Now 33 00:01:54.680 --> 00:01:58.840 I'm over in May. All different worlds, cold but beautiful. 34 00:01:59.480 --> 00:02:02.000 I'm excited to talk to you about your latest book. 35 00:02:02.079 --> 00:02:03.879 This is the fourth one, I think. 36 00:02:04.200 --> 00:02:06.359 Fourth book, but first one with TCM. 37 00:02:06.959 --> 00:02:09.560 How did you get this assignment and how did you 38 00:02:10.080 --> 00:02:12.159 decide what movies you were going to cover for this? 39 00:02:13.039 --> 00:02:16.759 Yeah, that was the interesting thing because I was approached 40 00:02:16.759 --> 00:02:21.240 by Running Press, who do the TTM Library books, to 41 00:02:21.599 --> 00:02:24.759 come up with a book I could do for their library, 42 00:02:24.759 --> 00:02:26.800 and I thought I wanted to do something based around 43 00:02:26.800 --> 00:02:29.560 foreign film because of the TCM Imports section that I 44 00:02:29.599 --> 00:02:30.560 host on TCM. 45 00:02:31.000 --> 00:02:32.960 But the hard part was how do you. 46 00:02:32.960 --> 00:02:35.960 Narrow it down what kind of lens do you give 47 00:02:36.039 --> 00:02:38.639 this book? And I didn't want to do the greatest 48 00:02:38.680 --> 00:02:41.680 films of all time? So I thought about the way 49 00:02:41.719 --> 00:02:45.159 that I liked to watch films, and that is really seasonal. 50 00:02:45.199 --> 00:02:49.439 I love watching four films in fall and Christmas films. 51 00:02:49.080 --> 00:02:51.879 At the end of the year. So I thought about 52 00:02:51.879 --> 00:02:52.520 doing it that way. 53 00:02:52.560 --> 00:02:55.960 That was how they programmed TCM imports, and in doing so, 54 00:02:56.039 --> 00:02:58.400 I ended up with a real eclectic list of films 55 00:02:58.400 --> 00:03:01.960 that aren't necessarily all my favorite, but they're really interesting 56 00:03:02.159 --> 00:03:04.800 and wide ranging, and that's what I like about it, 57 00:03:05.159 --> 00:03:06.639 the strange list, and I like it. 58 00:03:07.280 --> 00:03:09.680 I would be hard pressed to think of a movie 59 00:03:09.759 --> 00:03:13.319 like Bicycle Thieves and say this belongs in the summer, 60 00:03:13.560 --> 00:03:14.560 the spring, and the fall. 61 00:03:15.159 --> 00:03:17.439 Some were like more obvious and than some were just 62 00:03:17.479 --> 00:03:18.639 like the vibe. 63 00:03:19.360 --> 00:03:21.479 And I love this whole idea too, that you are 64 00:03:21.520 --> 00:03:25.080 a PCM import, so what you consider foreign film is 65 00:03:25.199 --> 00:03:27.439 way different than what I consider foreign film. 66 00:03:27.719 --> 00:03:28.479 Yeah, exactly. 67 00:03:28.479 --> 00:03:31.280 I would say Hollywood films are foreign films for me 68 00:03:31.759 --> 00:03:35.639 growing up in Australia. But I tried to think about 69 00:03:35.639 --> 00:03:38.479 it in terms of international cinema rather than just foreign 70 00:03:38.560 --> 00:03:41.080 film because I didn't want it to be non English 71 00:03:41.120 --> 00:03:44.759 speaking films only. I had to include some from Australia, 72 00:03:44.960 --> 00:03:49.400 some from the UK, from a New Zealand, so basically 73 00:03:49.400 --> 00:03:50.960 it's just non Hollywood films. 74 00:03:51.759 --> 00:03:54.000 Yeah, that must have been a little difficult to think 75 00:03:54.039 --> 00:03:57.000 of your native Australia as being a foreign land. 76 00:03:57.120 --> 00:03:59.599 Yeah, exactly. It doesn't feel foreign to me. 77 00:04:00.680 --> 00:04:03.080 And that was the great part about growing up in 78 00:04:03.400 --> 00:04:07.599 Australia was that I felt like we had access to 79 00:04:07.719 --> 00:04:11.479 world cinema at your local movie theater. It wasn't just 80 00:04:12.400 --> 00:04:16.839 Hollywood films, although Hollywood definitely dominate all the movie theaters 81 00:04:16.839 --> 00:04:20.639 in Australia, but we had French films and German films 82 00:04:20.720 --> 00:04:24.120 and a lot of films from the UK. And also 83 00:04:24.160 --> 00:04:27.480 growing up in Australia, out television was all British television 84 00:04:27.800 --> 00:04:31.399 or American television and a little bit of Australian television. 85 00:04:31.480 --> 00:04:35.000 So just always had that feeling that the world was 86 00:04:35.079 --> 00:04:38.399 bigger than where I lived, Whereas when I moved to 87 00:04:38.439 --> 00:04:41.079 America it felt like America is the center of the 88 00:04:41.120 --> 00:04:44.560 world and everything else is feign and far away. 89 00:04:44.800 --> 00:04:46.360 You don't hear that much about it. 90 00:04:47.079 --> 00:04:49.800 You definitely shed some light on some films that I 91 00:04:49.839 --> 00:04:51.720 was not familiar with at all. Of course, we all 92 00:04:51.720 --> 00:04:53.680 have our own lists of shame as far as things 93 00:04:53.680 --> 00:04:55.920 that we should have seen, but we have it. But 94 00:04:56.000 --> 00:04:58.199 then there are movies that you covered that I really 95 00:04:58.759 --> 00:05:00.879 haven't heard of before. So how did you even come 96 00:05:00.959 --> 00:05:01.920 up with your list for this? 97 00:05:02.720 --> 00:05:02.920 Yeah? 98 00:05:03.040 --> 00:05:05.399 I started with some of the obvious ones that I 99 00:05:05.439 --> 00:05:09.000 wanted to include, and I also made rules for myself 100 00:05:09.319 --> 00:05:13.120 being trying to cover movies from as many countries as possible, 101 00:05:13.160 --> 00:05:15.360 although I ended up with a lot of French films 102 00:05:15.399 --> 00:05:20.560 because France has really created some amazing movies in film history. 103 00:05:20.600 --> 00:05:24.800 But I also wanted to just choose one film per filmmaker, 104 00:05:25.160 --> 00:05:27.839 so you could easily do a seasonal book about Eric 105 00:05:27.920 --> 00:05:31.079 Rohmer's films. Ingrid Bergman has made many films that fit 106 00:05:31.120 --> 00:05:35.680 into seasons, so that was tricky in thinking about how 107 00:05:35.720 --> 00:05:39.319 to pick just one film from directors such as them. 108 00:05:39.519 --> 00:05:42.879 And then I wanted to push my own boundaries because, 109 00:05:43.040 --> 00:05:45.759 as you say, we all have blind spots. We all 110 00:05:45.800 --> 00:05:48.680 have favorite films that we returned to time and time again, 111 00:05:49.199 --> 00:05:52.240 and our film can get smaller and smaller when we're 112 00:05:52.279 --> 00:05:55.399 just talking about the same films. So I asked a 113 00:05:55.439 --> 00:05:59.480 lot of different people, especially the programmer of TCM Imports 114 00:05:59.519 --> 00:06:03.560 he runs. She has a really good sense of cinema 115 00:06:03.600 --> 00:06:05.600 from all over the world, and she helped me with 116 00:06:06.040 --> 00:06:08.879 particularly South Asian films that I might have a blind 117 00:06:08.879 --> 00:06:12.720 spot too, And I asked some of my just weird 118 00:06:12.800 --> 00:06:16.680 cinophile friend but if they had suggestions, especially when it 119 00:06:16.680 --> 00:06:19.600 came to Christmas movies, like what are some other Christmas 120 00:06:19.600 --> 00:06:22.680 movies that I'm not thinking of? And one that I'd 121 00:06:22.720 --> 00:06:25.680 never seen before that is actually hard to find, so 122 00:06:25.759 --> 00:06:28.839 I feel a little bad including it is Paris pick Up. 123 00:06:29.000 --> 00:06:32.240 It's a great French film noir set around Christmas time. 124 00:06:32.560 --> 00:06:34.439 And that was a film I'd never heard of before, 125 00:06:34.920 --> 00:06:37.240 and I watched it, really enjoyed it, and I was 126 00:06:37.279 --> 00:06:40.519 happy I could include it. So hopefully there is something 127 00:06:40.959 --> 00:06:44.439 for everyone to use that tired expression. Whether you've seen 128 00:06:45.160 --> 00:06:47.560 any foreign films, you've seen a lot of foreign films, 129 00:06:48.199 --> 00:06:50.959 there will be one or two titles that you've never seen, 130 00:06:51.040 --> 00:06:54.439 or maybe you've been meaning to see you haven't yet. 131 00:06:54.759 --> 00:06:56.920 Besides Paris pick Up, what were some of those other 132 00:06:57.319 --> 00:06:59.240 treasures that you uncovered along the way? 133 00:07:00.079 --> 00:07:02.680 Yeah, Spring in a Small Town was another film. 134 00:07:02.720 --> 00:07:06.079 It's a Chinese film that I had never heard of before, 135 00:07:06.360 --> 00:07:08.399 and it was one of those movies that was lost 136 00:07:08.399 --> 00:07:11.680 for many years, and I found it literally by looking 137 00:07:11.759 --> 00:07:14.639 up some Spring movies and I was looking for anything 138 00:07:14.720 --> 00:07:18.759 with Spring in the title, and I found copy of 139 00:07:19.000 --> 00:07:21.160 that film on YouTube. But I watched it, and it's 140 00:07:21.160 --> 00:07:25.519 actually a very poetic movie about this woman who's in 141 00:07:25.560 --> 00:07:29.800 an unhappy marriage and then her ex lover comes to 142 00:07:29.879 --> 00:07:32.800 stay with her and her husband, and she's deciding whether 143 00:07:32.839 --> 00:07:34.920 to run off with him or stay in her marriage. 144 00:07:35.199 --> 00:07:38.519 And that's what I love about film, and particularly foreign 145 00:07:38.519 --> 00:07:40.680 film and world cinema, is that there's so much to 146 00:07:40.759 --> 00:07:45.800 discover and there's so many surprises to be found. The 147 00:07:45.839 --> 00:07:48.879 film that I hadn't heard of now becomes one of 148 00:07:48.920 --> 00:07:52.079 my favorite movies and one that I'm glad I get 149 00:07:52.079 --> 00:07:53.000 to share with people. 150 00:07:53.759 --> 00:07:56.000 And it's always the trick, isn't that trying to spread 151 00:07:56.040 --> 00:07:58.600 the wealth and say, like, there's this thing over here 152 00:07:58.600 --> 00:08:00.839 that you really need to pay attention too, and you 153 00:08:00.920 --> 00:08:02.560 kind of have to lead people to it. So I 154 00:08:02.639 --> 00:08:05.120 love with your entries with each one of these films 155 00:08:05.120 --> 00:08:08.000 that you give us some history. We talked about the 156 00:08:08.040 --> 00:08:10.639 filmmakers as much as you can and just even having 157 00:08:10.680 --> 00:08:13.519 those little what would you call those sidebars on most 158 00:08:13.519 --> 00:08:15.879 of those little piles where it says, like other good 159 00:08:15.879 --> 00:08:18.600 things by this director or other things that fit into 160 00:08:18.639 --> 00:08:21.399 this particular area. I love that. I think it was 161 00:08:21.439 --> 00:08:22.800 really smart the way you did that. 162 00:08:23.519 --> 00:08:23.839 Thank you. 163 00:08:23.920 --> 00:08:26.000 Yeah, it's hard to include all the films that you 164 00:08:26.040 --> 00:08:29.040 want to include, and of course doing any kind of 165 00:08:29.160 --> 00:08:32.279 list book when it comes to film is very contentious 166 00:08:32.320 --> 00:08:35.080 and dangerous because everyone will have ideas of what should 167 00:08:35.080 --> 00:08:37.679 be included, what shouldn't be included. Is so I wanted 168 00:08:37.679 --> 00:08:40.279 to find as many ways as I could to add 169 00:08:40.320 --> 00:08:43.399 more titles in there. So sometimes I've got more titles 170 00:08:43.399 --> 00:08:46.840 by that same director, sometimes more from that country, or 171 00:08:46.840 --> 00:08:50.360 sometimes more of that on that same theme, and then 172 00:08:50.399 --> 00:08:54.080 I hope that people can continue to go deeper and find. 173 00:08:53.799 --> 00:08:55.480 Some other films to watch. 174 00:08:55.759 --> 00:08:58.039 It was also really fun to get to talk about 175 00:08:58.679 --> 00:09:01.360 not only, as you said, the filmmaker and the making 176 00:09:01.399 --> 00:09:03.919 of the film and the film itself, but what was 177 00:09:03.960 --> 00:09:07.559 happening in the country at that time. People say keep 178 00:09:07.639 --> 00:09:10.240 politics out of films, but I think that's impossible because 179 00:09:10.360 --> 00:09:14.440 every movie is an all time capsule of when it 180 00:09:14.519 --> 00:09:17.440 was made and where it was made, and particularly when 181 00:09:17.480 --> 00:09:19.799 it comes to a lot of the cinematic movements like 182 00:09:19.840 --> 00:09:23.200 the French New Wave, Italian Near Realism, the Czech New Wave, 183 00:09:23.639 --> 00:09:26.919 they all came from a political place of people wanting 184 00:09:27.000 --> 00:09:30.200 to stand up and speak the truth to power, and 185 00:09:30.240 --> 00:09:32.720 that fuels a lot of I got to learn a 186 00:09:32.720 --> 00:09:36.240 lot about world history and politics as well as the 187 00:09:36.279 --> 00:09:37.639 films and the filmmakers. 188 00:09:38.159 --> 00:09:39.759 To the man, how long did it take you to 189 00:09:39.799 --> 00:09:40.120 write this? 190 00:09:40.879 --> 00:09:42.799 I only had a couple of months. 191 00:09:42.919 --> 00:09:45.440 As you may know, when you write a book, you 192 00:09:45.840 --> 00:09:47.919 hear when the book is going to come out, and 193 00:09:47.960 --> 00:09:51.120 you think, okay, April twenty twenty five, I have a 194 00:09:51.120 --> 00:09:53.000 long time. I have a year to write this book, 195 00:09:53.320 --> 00:09:57.120 and then it gets shorter and shorter because printing deadlines 196 00:09:57.200 --> 00:10:03.360 and editing deadlines design deadlines. So I wrote it probably 197 00:10:03.399 --> 00:10:06.399 in about four months, and of course I wish I 198 00:10:06.440 --> 00:10:10.240 had a lot longer, but there's something nice about having a. 199 00:10:10.200 --> 00:10:12.799 Deadline because you'll always get it done. And it forced 200 00:10:12.879 --> 00:10:15.120 me to make some decisions, and. 201 00:10:15.200 --> 00:10:17.600 You're doing your regular job at the same time. 202 00:10:18.000 --> 00:10:21.799 Yes, So I figured out that last year I probably 203 00:10:21.879 --> 00:10:25.240 wrote around three hundred thousand. 204 00:10:24.759 --> 00:10:26.399 Words about film Wow. 205 00:10:26.440 --> 00:10:29.799 Because I write my own scripts for TCM, so I 206 00:10:29.840 --> 00:10:33.360 write about four hundred intros and four hundred outros a 207 00:10:33.440 --> 00:10:37.240 year for TCM, and each one is different. You may 208 00:10:37.320 --> 00:10:39.559 reuse a couple of the same stories if there's not 209 00:10:39.720 --> 00:10:43.279 too much material in existence about the making of that film, 210 00:10:43.279 --> 00:10:47.639 but I try to write each film fresh. So that 211 00:10:47.840 --> 00:10:49.480 was a real challenge, and I felt like I was 212 00:10:49.519 --> 00:10:52.960 going cross sits some days writing about movies. But I 213 00:10:52.960 --> 00:10:54.960 also got to draw on a lot of research that 214 00:10:55.000 --> 00:10:57.559 I'd already done for some of the films that had 215 00:10:57.600 --> 00:11:00.679 played on TCM imports, so I'd already written about them. 216 00:11:00.720 --> 00:11:04.360 I already had materials that I could start when so 217 00:11:04.440 --> 00:11:07.240 that definitely helped with some of the tight time frames 218 00:11:07.240 --> 00:11:09.679 that I had and some of the films I've also 219 00:11:09.720 --> 00:11:12.320 written about in my previous books. I always liked to 220 00:11:12.360 --> 00:11:16.360 include movies made by female directors, especially some of my favorites, 221 00:11:16.440 --> 00:11:21.320 like My Brilliant Career from Australia or Jehan Dumont from Belgium, 222 00:11:21.320 --> 00:11:24.120 which is named the greatest film of all time on 223 00:11:24.279 --> 00:11:28.519 the BBC site and Sound Poll quite recently. So some 224 00:11:28.600 --> 00:11:31.600 of them I had already written about, and the challenge 225 00:11:31.639 --> 00:11:34.919 was not to copy myself, but try to write about 226 00:11:34.919 --> 00:11:35.840 them in a fresh way. 227 00:11:36.519 --> 00:11:39.879 I just like that each entry feels so different from 228 00:11:39.919 --> 00:11:42.600 every other one, Like sometimes you'll start with the filmmaker, 229 00:11:42.679 --> 00:11:45.440 sometimes you'll start with the history. And just the way 230 00:11:45.440 --> 00:11:48.120 that you lead us through these stories. Each entry in 231 00:11:48.159 --> 00:11:50.840 the book feels like a different story and a different 232 00:11:50.879 --> 00:11:54.279 approach to it. And yeah, to read like you're talking 233 00:11:54.320 --> 00:11:56.799 about my brilliant career and just like, Okay, how's she 234 00:11:56.840 --> 00:11:58.960 going to approach this one? Or I really liked her 235 00:11:59.120 --> 00:12:00.919 Entreon angel I might table and the way that you 236 00:12:01.000 --> 00:12:03.759 took us through like the career of the filmmaker, and 237 00:12:03.799 --> 00:12:07.360 just how this started off as the three different stories 238 00:12:07.720 --> 00:12:10.000 or three parts of it and then came together as 239 00:12:10.080 --> 00:12:14.080 one instead of a mini series. I love that mixing 240 00:12:14.120 --> 00:12:17.120 of the history with the actual telling of the tale. 241 00:12:17.159 --> 00:12:20.519 And you're so right about the politics behind so many things, 242 00:12:20.559 --> 00:12:23.799 and just the politics behind how few women directors have 243 00:12:23.919 --> 00:12:25.919 been over the years, and I love that you put 244 00:12:25.919 --> 00:12:27.039 that thought light on them. 245 00:12:27.519 --> 00:12:28.200 Yeah, thank you. 246 00:12:28.279 --> 00:12:30.159 That's always the challenge when it comes to a list 247 00:12:30.200 --> 00:12:33.039 book is how to not make every entry feel the 248 00:12:33.080 --> 00:12:35.679 same as the one that came before it, and particularly 249 00:12:35.759 --> 00:12:38.519 when there are these trends that happened in world cinema, 250 00:12:38.639 --> 00:12:41.440 such as with female directors that you don't see that 251 00:12:41.519 --> 00:12:45.799 many female directors prior to the nineteen sixties. And then 252 00:12:46.039 --> 00:12:48.440 with the all the various new waves that happened around 253 00:12:48.720 --> 00:12:52.039 the world that sort of opened the gates for new voices, 254 00:12:52.120 --> 00:12:55.480 particularly women, to come shining through. And then of course 255 00:12:55.519 --> 00:12:57.799 the men in those new waves usually the ones that 256 00:12:57.879 --> 00:13:00.679 end up with the spotlight. So that's to be able 257 00:13:00.759 --> 00:13:04.080 to say women were there, they had more obstacles to overcome, 258 00:13:04.120 --> 00:13:06.519 but they were making films at the same time. But 259 00:13:06.600 --> 00:13:09.960 again to try not to feel too repetitive, so I'm 260 00:13:10.000 --> 00:13:12.960 glad I didn't do that. And I also like doing 261 00:13:12.960 --> 00:13:15.519 that when it comes to the TCM intros because I 262 00:13:15.600 --> 00:13:19.000 do so many scripts. How do I get into each 263 00:13:19.039 --> 00:13:21.039 film in a slightly different way? 264 00:13:21.399 --> 00:13:22.279 What's the angle? 265 00:13:22.759 --> 00:13:25.559 Honestly, the fun part of my job is doing the 266 00:13:25.600 --> 00:13:28.720 research about all of these movies and you come across 267 00:13:28.759 --> 00:13:31.240 one little nugget in a book and you're like, that's it. 268 00:13:31.399 --> 00:13:33.120 That's the book, and that's what I'm going to base 269 00:13:33.120 --> 00:13:35.600 the whole story around, and to try to tell a 270 00:13:35.639 --> 00:13:40.440 cohesive story with a beginning, middle, and end, and not academic. 271 00:13:40.519 --> 00:13:41.840 I'm not a film scholar. 272 00:13:41.919 --> 00:13:45.039 I didn't study films, so I don't naturally have that 273 00:13:45.080 --> 00:13:48.519 way of writing or speaking anyway. But I definitely wanted 274 00:13:48.559 --> 00:13:52.919 this book to feel more accessible because foreign films can 275 00:13:53.000 --> 00:13:55.759 be very daunting to people not knowing where to start 276 00:13:55.840 --> 00:13:57.840 and feeling like they have to have a film degree 277 00:13:58.039 --> 00:13:59.080 to be able to follow them. 278 00:14:00.039 --> 00:14:03.480 You may not come at it from an academic point 279 00:14:03.480 --> 00:14:05.480 of view, but I disagree with that as far as 280 00:14:05.519 --> 00:14:07.519 the way that you will paint that picture, as far 281 00:14:07.559 --> 00:14:09.919 as what the world was like at that particular time. 282 00:14:10.200 --> 00:14:12.360 That's such an academic thing to do to really give 283 00:14:12.399 --> 00:14:14.360 you more of that context, and I think that was 284 00:14:14.440 --> 00:14:17.600 super valuable where you could, because, like you said, some 285 00:14:17.679 --> 00:14:20.039 of these films are very tough to find out information. 286 00:14:20.879 --> 00:14:24.679 Paris Pickup, which we spoke about before, has very little information. 287 00:14:25.360 --> 00:14:27.559 So how to write about that film in a way 288 00:14:27.559 --> 00:14:29.799 that just doesn't feel like you're drawing it out? And 289 00:14:29.960 --> 00:14:33.320 some entries a little bit longer than others, but I 290 00:14:33.360 --> 00:14:36.840 always tried to ground it in context where possible. Don't 291 00:14:36.879 --> 00:14:41.000 think context is key to understanding where the film came from. 292 00:14:41.240 --> 00:14:44.240 It just didn't come out of nowhere. It came from 293 00:14:44.440 --> 00:14:48.200 a movement or a history or a political movement at 294 00:14:48.200 --> 00:14:51.559 the time. And I learned so much by writing this book. 295 00:14:51.840 --> 00:14:55.639 And again the great thing about film, always more to see, 296 00:14:55.679 --> 00:14:57.679 always more to learn, there's never an end. 297 00:14:58.519 --> 00:15:01.279 You talked about the preponngerance of and I didn't feel 298 00:15:01.279 --> 00:15:03.519 that it was too much, and I feel like you 299 00:15:03.600 --> 00:15:06.559 balance it out with many other cinemas around the world 300 00:15:06.600 --> 00:15:08.759 that it doesn't feel like, Oh, this is a real 301 00:15:08.799 --> 00:15:12.000 Francophile that wrote this. I was really happy to see 302 00:15:12.360 --> 00:15:16.120 you write about DDLJ, just to see a really brilliant, 303 00:15:16.879 --> 00:15:20.840 super popular but yet not that well known to Western 304 00:15:20.879 --> 00:15:24.279 white people like me. I love that you were able 305 00:15:24.320 --> 00:15:27.840 to go to that place because that's such a fantastic movie. 306 00:15:28.279 --> 00:15:30.320 Yeah, it is a fantastic movie. And I have to 307 00:15:30.360 --> 00:15:33.799 credit him, Ronnie Viaz from t them Imports, for leading 308 00:15:33.840 --> 00:15:36.039 me to that one. I knew I wanted to include 309 00:15:36.080 --> 00:15:38.240 a Bollywood film, but where do you start when it 310 00:15:38.279 --> 00:15:42.279 comes to Bollywood. The Hindi language section of Indian cinema 311 00:15:42.480 --> 00:15:44.600 is twice as big as Hollywood in terms of the 312 00:15:44.639 --> 00:15:48.639 output every single year. It's way more profitable. It's very popular. 313 00:15:48.960 --> 00:15:52.159 There's so many films to choose from, and she said 314 00:15:52.200 --> 00:15:55.360 you should try DDLJ because it is one of the 315 00:15:55.399 --> 00:16:00.440 most popular Bollywood romantic musicals of all time. And I 316 00:16:00.480 --> 00:16:02.519 write about it in the book that there's this one 317 00:16:02.600 --> 00:16:06.159 movie theater in India that's Save for the Pandemic has 318 00:16:06.200 --> 00:16:09.799 played the film almost every day since it came out 319 00:16:10.200 --> 00:16:13.600 thirty years ago, and it still draws an audience every 320 00:16:13.639 --> 00:16:16.720 single day. People go and watch it over and over again. 321 00:16:16.799 --> 00:16:19.279 It's a real comfort film for them, and it's a 322 00:16:19.320 --> 00:16:23.559 film that explores interesting themes when it comes to arranged 323 00:16:23.600 --> 00:16:30.399 marriages versus love marriages, female autonomy in Indian society, the 324 00:16:30.440 --> 00:16:34.720 westernization of the younger generation. These two characters, the boy 325 00:16:34.759 --> 00:16:37.360 and the girl, live in London, so they have more 326 00:16:37.360 --> 00:16:40.919 of a western view and their parents are much more traditional. 327 00:16:41.440 --> 00:16:43.679 So you've got that tension between the old ways and 328 00:16:43.720 --> 00:16:46.039 the new ways. And then just a lot of dancing, 329 00:16:46.399 --> 00:16:49.159 a lot of color, a lot of songs, a lot 330 00:16:49.200 --> 00:16:52.960 of comedy, and it's fun to watch. So hopefully that'll 331 00:16:53.000 --> 00:16:55.840 make people curious to explore more Bollywood films. 332 00:16:56.080 --> 00:16:57.879 I know I need to see way more than I have. 333 00:16:58.840 --> 00:17:01.559 Yeah, having a tour guide through the world cinema, and 334 00:17:01.559 --> 00:17:03.639 that's what I feel that your book is doing. Quite 335 00:17:03.639 --> 00:17:05.880 a bit is taking me by the hand and take 336 00:17:06.000 --> 00:17:08.440 me around all of these different countries to show me 337 00:17:09.000 --> 00:17:10.000 here's what you're missing. 338 00:17:10.759 --> 00:17:11.000 Yeah. 339 00:17:11.079 --> 00:17:13.880 I know you are such a cinephile and you're very 340 00:17:13.960 --> 00:17:17.359 experimental in what you watched. But some people that don't 341 00:17:17.359 --> 00:17:19.160 know where to start when it comes to films that 342 00:17:19.240 --> 00:17:22.359 aren't American, or maybe feel daunted by the fact that 343 00:17:22.400 --> 00:17:25.599 there's subtitles, or they think it'll be boring or hard 344 00:17:25.640 --> 00:17:29.880 to relate to. But actually you discover that there are 345 00:17:29.920 --> 00:17:32.880 so many similarities between American films and films from around 346 00:17:32.880 --> 00:17:36.599 the world, and the characters are human and we can 347 00:17:36.640 --> 00:17:39.000 all relate to that. Plus, I think right now it 348 00:17:39.119 --> 00:17:41.680 just feels fun to be able to travel around the 349 00:17:41.680 --> 00:17:46.759 world virtually and to escape America absorb ourselves in many 350 00:17:46.799 --> 00:17:49.400 different other cultures from around the world. 351 00:17:50.000 --> 00:17:52.839 Some escapism, then virtual travel yet. 352 00:17:53.519 --> 00:17:55.799 And then yeah, the whole seasonal thing. Like I said, 353 00:17:55.839 --> 00:17:58.319 I think that was brilliant, And that's something I talk 354 00:17:58.400 --> 00:18:01.079 about on the show a lot. As far as if 355 00:18:01.119 --> 00:18:04.440 you're releasing the movie that that in the wintertime and 356 00:18:04.519 --> 00:18:07.920 at Christmas or around Christmas, may be released it around 357 00:18:07.960 --> 00:18:10.160 that time of the year. Like the idea of releasing 358 00:18:10.200 --> 00:18:13.440 the thing dead center in the summer didn't make any 359 00:18:13.640 --> 00:18:14.599 sense to me at all. 360 00:18:14.720 --> 00:18:17.319 Why don't you do that exactly? 361 00:18:17.359 --> 00:18:20.440 I know. I love watching winter films in winter and 362 00:18:20.519 --> 00:18:24.359 summer films in summer. Be in to fall, especially now 363 00:18:24.400 --> 00:18:27.440 I live in New England, the leaves are turning and 364 00:18:27.480 --> 00:18:29.079 I just want to curl up on the couch with 365 00:18:29.200 --> 00:18:32.319 a blanket and a cup of hot apple cider and 366 00:18:32.359 --> 00:18:35.119 watch a film that's set around that time. And like 367 00:18:35.160 --> 00:18:38.400 I said, some movies are very obviously set during that time, 368 00:18:38.480 --> 00:18:42.079 like Purple Noon, for example, the French adaptation of the 369 00:18:42.119 --> 00:18:45.279 talent in Mister Ripley is very obviously set. It's summer, 370 00:18:45.519 --> 00:18:49.480 and it feels like summer. It's bright, it's colorful, it's sweaty. 371 00:18:50.160 --> 00:18:52.359 And then you have films that I just like more 372 00:18:52.400 --> 00:18:55.680 of a mood of the season. D DLJ takes place 373 00:18:55.920 --> 00:18:57.880 many different seasons, but I felt like that was a 374 00:18:57.920 --> 00:19:00.960 spring movie because it's New Loves. 375 00:19:00.279 --> 00:19:02.000 New Journeys and rebirth. 376 00:19:02.559 --> 00:19:04.759 And then I have films like All About My Mother 377 00:19:05.039 --> 00:19:08.400 at Mother's Day and so each films if you wanted to, 378 00:19:08.440 --> 00:19:11.240 you could watch one film a week for an entire 379 00:19:11.400 --> 00:19:15.240 American calendar year and it should match up to whatever 380 00:19:15.279 --> 00:19:18.279 holiday is happening. If people wonder why there's a lot 381 00:19:18.279 --> 00:19:22.039 of film noir in fall, that's because of Noir November, 382 00:19:22.079 --> 00:19:25.160 which has become a big movement among cinophiles to watch 383 00:19:25.440 --> 00:19:28.319 film noir in November. So it's fun again to play 384 00:19:28.319 --> 00:19:31.359 around with things like that and just force me to 385 00:19:31.440 --> 00:19:34.799 stretch my own list and knowledge. And I'm glad you 386 00:19:34.799 --> 00:19:37.160 said it doesn't feel too French because it's funny even 387 00:19:37.240 --> 00:19:39.759 films like I was like, oh okay, the Double Life 388 00:19:39.759 --> 00:19:42.839 of Varani, that feels like a full film and it's Polish. 389 00:19:42.920 --> 00:19:45.880 Oh wait, it's set in France and mostly in French. 390 00:19:46.279 --> 00:19:49.160 Or Black Girl from Santagal. I love showing that film. 391 00:19:49.480 --> 00:19:52.799 That's a wonderful film and that it's summer. But oh 392 00:19:52.920 --> 00:19:57.240 chie in France and Singalese French, So I couldn't escape 393 00:19:57.240 --> 00:19:59.240 the French as much as that, right, And. 394 00:19:59.319 --> 00:20:02.400 It's good to know so that there's another Christmas Noir 395 00:20:02.480 --> 00:20:04.920 film as well. I'm always into those. I'm a big 396 00:20:05.279 --> 00:20:08.359 Blast of Silence fan, so having another Noir to watch 397 00:20:08.480 --> 00:20:10.440 around Christmas time is going to be a good thing. 398 00:20:11.039 --> 00:20:11.359 Yeah. 399 00:20:11.400 --> 00:20:14.279 And Eddie Muller, who hosts the Noir Eli on TCM 400 00:20:14.359 --> 00:20:17.079 was very happy that I included Paris Peak up plus 401 00:20:17.079 --> 00:20:19.279