Illiterate

A revisionist western from an award winning writer/director, after a decade away. So where did this adaptation come from? Who is the author Thomas Savage, and what from his life made its way into the story? Listen and learn! The Power of The Dog is on Netflix, written and directed by Jane Campion.

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trailer, The Power of the Dog

article, on cinematographer Ari Wegner

article, life of Thomas Savage (U of Montana)

article, life of Thomas Savage (Montana Magazine 2008)

video interview, Jane Campion

video interview, J. Campion, B. Cumberbatch, K. Dunst, K. Smit-McPhee, A. Wegner

An epic 8 hour journey into the creation of an album. And yet - where has this footage been all these years? How did Peter Jackson become the one to make it? Wait - wasn’t this already made into a film before? Come learn the answers to the process behind the documentary, and the process behind the Beatles.

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trailer, Get Back (2021)

article, creation of Get Back (Vanity Fair)

trailer, They Shall Not Grow Old (WW1 documentary)

Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus (Michael Lindsay-Hogg doc)

video, Hey Jude promo film

song, Paul McCartney & 1982’s “Here Today” on John Lennon

app (Spleeter) for audio editing, isolating sounds

video, Things We Said Today podcast interview with PJ

clip, McCartney composing “Get Back”

A beloved, merchandise-laden property, with very few movies to its name - why is that? What took so long? And why is Dan Aykroyd’s family so into ghosts? Come learn the twisty-turvy spooky history of the Ghostbusters franchise.

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trailer, Ghostbusters: Afterlife

book, Peter Aykroyd’s “A History of Ghosts”

ILLITERATE episode, The Conjuring

trailer, Abbot and Costello’s Hold That Ghost (1941)

pilot, 1970’s The Ghost Busters original live action show

song, Huey Lewis’ “I Want a New Drug”, similar to theme song

pilot episode, “The Real Ghostbusters”

video, Filmation’s “Ghostbusters” cartoon intro

article, why the Ghostbusters video game is the third film

article, the history of Ghostbusters production

We know the massive lovable pooch, but why did he become such a staple of children’s literature? Who is responsible, and is there any psychology or science to his appeal?

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photo, the original Clifford artwork

trailer, Clifford (2021)

article, history of Scholastic

article, history of Clifford books

illiterate episode, on Dr. Seuss

article, science of Clifford’s appeal

article, CGI puppeteers interview

video, tik tok “clifford horror puppet”

video, baby’s color vision development

The story of a man, almost forgotten, after changing the way we see cats. Who was he, why did he disappear, and what can he tell us about artists and their process? Louis Wain is on Prime Video, with Benedict Cumberbatch and Claire Foy.

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Extras:

trailer, The Electrical Life of Louis Wain (2021)

rare footage, Louis Wain (1921)

artwork for sale, Louis Wain

antiques roadshow, Louis Wain early sketches

pottery, Louis Wain cat vases

article, Toxoplasma gondii parasite

article, history of cats

article, biography of Louis Wain

film, Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me (2014)

This hit Netflix series only gets bigger, but was it actually a Netflix show? How does the author’s books affect the story? And why do people let a killer kill…for love?

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Extras:

trailer, You season 3 (2021)

article, showrunner Sera Gamble

article, actor Penn Badgley

interview, author Caroline Kepnes

interview, author Caroline Kepnes (2018)

roundtable conversation, Caroline, Sera, and Penn

video, Evan’s film with Dylan Arnold

AT LAST, the truly epic tale is getting a film…series? What’s the big deal about the sweeping story? Why couldn’t it be adapted well? And how did it change filmmaking without even getting a proper chance on screen? Let’s learn!

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trailer, Dune (2021)

video, analysis of Frank Herbert’s writing style

interview transcript, Frank Herbert (1969)

interview transcript, Frank Herbert (1977)

article, the usage of the word “jihad” in Dune

trailer, documentary on Jodorowsky’s Dune (2014)

trailer, Dune (1984)

trailer, Dune miniseries (2000)

Come dive in as we learn the history of manga, and this particular series by Kohei Horikoshi. What is his mysterious past and creative process, and why is this series blowing up internationally? What more can be said about superheroes? Let’s learn!

a correction in the episode: the genre Shōjo manga should be pronounced more like (SHOW-JOE) than (SHOW-JOO). Apologies!

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Extras:

article, brief history of manga

trailer, My Hero Academia: World Heroes’ Mission (2021)

trailer, Your Name anime film (2016)

interview, Weekly Shonen Jump Editor in Chief

article, original 12th century “manga”

interview, editors of My Hero Academia

interview, creator Kohei Horikoshi

page, One Piece creator supporting Horikoshi

free first issue, My Hero Academia chapter 1

video, Horikoshi’s other manga works

Follow along our jam-packed look on what made the Bond series progress, decade after decade. Why did the actors and tone of the films keep changing? What is the story behind the spy genre? Who was responsible for it all? And - can we predict what the future of the series will hold? Listen and learn!

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Extras:

trailer, No Time To Die (2021)

data, Bond box office tracking

article, copyright battle for Thunderball

book, the history of the bikini

article, the “anti-Bond” Harry Palmer series

article, tidbits on all Bond films

The longest running film series in history…what was it BEFORE any of that? Let’s learn about the creator, the reason for making Bond, where his quirks come from, and what he was originally like before the films.

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Extras:

article, JFK’s recommendation of 007

trailer, No Time to Die (2021)

article, job history of Ian Fleming

video, Casino Royale TV movie (1954)

article, list of real-life James Bond inspirations

book, Ian Fleming biography