E18 | Peaky Trivia, Period Drama News & BOMB

We kick off our miniseries on period Musicals with a conversation about Newsies–a now cult Disney musical about the real life Newsboy strike at the turn of the 19th century in New York City. We discuss the nostalgia of real looking people starring in movies, our emotional connections to these songs, and how Newsies stacks up to the actual history of the strike and Teddy Roosevelt on labor issues. Please note we had originally planned to leave curse words out of this episode, but we failed. Newsies is just too f***ing awesome!

We round up our series on period films exploring Creative Genius with the 2002 film Frida, starring Salma Hayek as the truly unparalleled artist and revolutionary, Frida Kahlo (1907-1954) and Alfred Molina as her husband and fellow artist, Diego Rivera (1886 - 1957). It's hard to capture someone so counter culture in a mainstream Hollywood Film, especially when her work has already been usurped by the tentacles of capitalism. We explore what we enjoyed about the film, what we thought was missing, and discuss the indefinable woman that the film centers on: Frida Kahlo. Further Reading: COMRADE FRIDA: 8 THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT KAHLO & RUSSIA Frida Kahlo (Left) and Diego Rivera (Right) from Wikipedia.

Michelle and Casey discuss the Western epic The Big Country, released in 1958 and based on the novel Ambush at Blanco Canyon by Donald Hamilton (later renamed The Big Country). This film adaptation was directed by William Wyler and notably stars Gregory Peck, Charlton Heston and Burl Ives. All the actors in this film have standout performances. The Big Country lacks specific historical references unlike other Westerns, but Casey and Michelle still found historical details to discuss, including the House Un-American Activities Committee, as well as 1958-style movie-making magic such as choices about location, music, editing, and more. Show Notes: (1) The Big Country soundtrack, score by Jerome Moross (2) You Must Remember This Podcast by Katrina Longworth Her episode on William Wyler's later career films Her season on the Hollywood Blacklist

The 2004 film The Libertine stars John Malkovich as Charles II and Johnny Depp as real life poet, The Earl of Rochester aka John Wilmot (lots of Johns!). We are once again exploring the theme of "creative genius" in the 17th century, but Wilmot's demise is the most elaborate of the main characters in the biopics we've discussed to date. Wilmot's real life poems were satyrical smut, and he seemed to live close to the lines he penned, dying at just 33 years old. Yet this film also explores themes of feminism and pokes fun at the idea of aristocracy, not unlike Wilmot's poems. Samantha Morton shines in this film as Elizabeth Barry, and Rosamund Pike plays Wilmot's wife, Elizabeth Malet (lots of Elizabeths!). The movie was written as a play first and at times feels more play like film like, but as far as transporting the viewer to another time, this move nails it. Show Notes: The Poetry Foundation: John Wilmot Earl Of Rochester https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/john-wilmot Portrait of John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester (1647-1680). Private Collection. Artist : Huysmans, Jacob (c. 1633?1696). (Photo by Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

Set in 1932, the film 'Sinners' brings History through the lens of music, vampires, and the Black Southerner experience. We dive into this award-winning layered masterpiece for our 20th episode of the podcast. Join us as we talk about the significance of the creative choices by director Ryan Coogler for Sinners–the most Oscar-nominated film of all time. Links to media mentioned in the podcast: