Episode 87 – Steven Spielberg's Musical(…Sequence)s

After 32 features, Steven Spielberg has finally directed his first full-fledged musical! From the director whose camera has visually danced compositionally on screen more than any other for almost 50 years, it all begs the question: Why did it take so long? And what other attempts at the musical form has he made over the years? I’m joined by Ted Haycraft as we discuss:

• Why the most obviously salvageablely revelatory sequence from 1979’s 1941 is its musical “Jitterbug” dance sequence;

• the cut-off Busby Berkeley opening for Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom with its reverse dance shots;

• and why the key to good musicals, from stage to screen, is musical numbers that advance the story or theme forward.

Also:

• Why 1991’s Hook should have committed to its original conception as a musical;

• Spielberg’s intention of stuffing other musical sequences into A.I. or The Terminal;

• the debate over whether the new 2021 West Side Story and the 1961 original, universally considered one of the greatest movies ever made, should have have been remade,

• and if the 2021 version, with all its updating, might legitimately be superior.

The 2021 West Side Story is currently available in theaters for who knows how long. It’ll likely end up streaming on Disney+ eventually. 1941 is available on DVD and Blu-ray; as is Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom in streaming and physical media, and Hook DVDs and Blu-rays.

Episode 45 – Annie Baker's 'The Flick'

As movie theaters across the country are about to go through another metamorphosis point after having been largely empty this last year, now seems as good a time as any to revisit the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Drama winning play about three workers at a single-screen movie theater in New England. On this episode I’m joined by journalist and former guest, Tyler Coates, and actor Eric Gilde, to talk about:

• the play,

• Baker’s career,

• her collaboration with director Sam Gold,

• and her creative usages of prosceniums, pauses, and Georges Delurue music.

Also:

• How the French New Wave and her Criterion top 10 list informs the play,

• her only produced film/television work on one episode of Amazon’s I Love Dick,

• speculation about what a film she writes and directs might be like,

• and how much the play nails about working in a movie theater during the film to digital transition.

Tyler Coates is currently writing for the Hollywood Reporter, while past work has appeared in The Awl, Brooklyn Magazine, Esquire, GOOD, Gothamist, Nylon, Out, Town & Country, and the Village Voice. He interviewed Baker in 2013 about The Flick for BlackBook Magazine and also reviewed her play John for Slate.

Eric Gilde is a New York-based actor, playwright, and podcaster. He co-hosts the Take Me In to the Ballgame podcast with his wife, actor and baseball commentator Ellen Adair.

The Flick is available to read or perform from Samuel French, Inc.