Shoot This Now

The Anti-'Citizen Kane': How Art Beal Built Nitt Witt Ridge, a House Made of Trash in the Shadow of Hearst Castle


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Fifteen miles south of Hearst Castle, home of "Citizen Kane" inspiration William Randolph Hearst, is perhaps a more impressive dwelling: Nitt Witt Ridge, the house that former garbageman Art Beale constructed by hand from cast-off beer cans, shells, and other cast-off materials.


Beal, who once had a job hauling refuse from Hearst Castle, began work on Nitt Witt Ridge after his attempt at a normal life passed him by. In the 1050s, his neighbors mocked him as a "nitwit" as they watched him carve out his home with only a shovel and a device he called an "idiot stick."


But by the 1970s, he had started to gain recognition as a non-conformist hero. And Nitt Witt Ridge, a monument to his artistic genius, still stands today.


This week, we talk about why it's time to make a movie of Art Beal's life. And why only one actor can play him. (Okay, maybe two.)


Here are the fascinating videos we mention in this episode:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAp3GPUo3sM


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTwg9JFOIuc&t=8s


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Shoot This NowBy Tim Molloy

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