Johnny Firecloud Reconsidered + David Fincher Alert
Programmer and filmmaker Adam Piron joins an episode of the podcast, and a special offer for paid subscribers
Earlier this year I had the pleasure of editing a wonderful essay by Adam Piron about indigenous cinema in the U.S. I had assigned the piece not just because of Adam’s expertise in the subject but also probably because he was clearly watching an appealingly omnivorous selection of movies. So I was delighted to do a podcast with him, and he did not disappoint, jumping into the deep end with some titles from the cult distributor Something Weird Video. He offers some lovely reflections on Los Angeles on screen as well as a mind-blowing story about making a personal discovery about his family while watching a 1920 silent movie.
SHAMELESS PITCH TIME! I interviewed director David Fincher and his production designer Don Burt, who have worked together on Zodiac, The Social Network, and Mank, to name but a few. If you want to listen, please click on the subscribe button and choose one of the paid subscription options. You’ll receive an exclusive complete preview of the conversation. It’s a fascinating glimpse into the art and craft of an extraordinary director and production designer. I’d like to offer more interviews like this, so your support for this special feature and the usual weekly podcast and goodies is greatly appreciated.
Thank you to everyone who has supported the podcast so far—a regular space for a wide-ranging discussion of movies, including the L.A. bank that keeps getting robbed on screen.
NEW PODCAST NOTES
Episode 36: Johnny Firecloud, Straight Time, Bless Their Little Hearts with Adam Piron
Titles/topics discussed: Something Weird Video, Johnny Firecloud (1975), No Country for Old Men (2007), Indecent Desires (1968), My Brother’s Wife (1966), Russ Meyer and Joe Sarno, Straight Time (1978), Los Angeles on screen, Reservoir Dogs (1992), Bless Their Little Hearts (1983), The Exiles (1961), The Daughter of Dawn (1920), “COUSIN Collective Presents Cycle” in Documentary Fortnight at MoMA
Adam Piron is a filmmaker and member of the Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma. He is also the Associate Director of Sundance Institute’s Indigenous Program and a member of the short film programming team for the Sundance Film Festival.
Terms & Conditions: On Indigenous Cinema Within the United States by Adam Piron
COUSIN Collective Presents Cycle, in Documentary Fortnight at MoMA
The Films of Doris Wishman, edited by Peggy Ahwesh (Inpatient Press and Light Industry)
My “That Guy” piece, featuring M. Emmet Walsh (P.S. I would not personally classify Bruce Dern as a “that guy.”)
Bless Their Little Hearts director Billy Woodberry interviewed in Filmmaker
This episode is also available on iTunes.
For more information on the intro music by The Minarets (gratefully used with permission):
Instagram: @theminaretsmusic
https://www.facebook.com/TheMinaretsMusic
THIS CRITIC’S PICKS
Memories of Murder (Criterion) Bong Joon-ho + Song Kang-ho
A Sunday in the Country (Criterion) R.I.P. Bertrand Tavernier
Fight Club (MUBI) Correct.
Below Sea Level (MUBI) Good for Nomadland viewers to check out. Wrote about it some years back.
Ron Rice’s The Queen of Sheba Meets The Atom Man (Anthology Film Archives)
THE END
Here I might end with a song.
ABOUT ME
Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw newsletter and podcast (one of Sight & Sound’s Top Ten Film Podcasts). This is my way of staying in touch and sharing what I’ve been up to. By way of introduction, I’m a writer and an editor. I’ve worked as the editor-in-chief of Film Comment, where I assigned and edited both web and print, hosted its podcast and talks and screenings, learned from brilliant writers, curated Film Comment Selects, and wrote a lot myself. Film Comment was subsequently awarded the Film Heritage Award by the National Society of Film Critics (an honor historically awarded to the Museum of Modern Art and other institutions). Besides Film Comment, my features, interviews, and reviews have been published in The New York Times, Artforum, Sight & Sound, and dearly departed publications such as The Village Voice, Stop Smiling, The New York Sun, and The L Magazine.
I miss going out to the movies, especially repertory cinemas, and milling about and chatting, and so the natural response is to inflict a podcast on friends and strangers alike.
As always, feel free to contact me re: writing, editing, moderating, podcasting, etc.
nicolas.rapold@gmail.com