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Episode | Date |
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Lost in New York
54:13
We thought it would be fun to do a nice, light Christmas episode, focusing on one of the many beloved Gotham holiday movies. Just take it easy for an episode, right? Kinda phone it in?
So we settled on Chris Columbus and John Hughes’ 1992 smash "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York" – and ended up talking about Rudy Giuliani, Donald Trump, “Broken Windows,” the Central Park Five, and 9/11, along with the film’s total geographical inconsistency and the spectacular tonal failure of its violence.
Our guests are “Close-Ups: New York Movies” author Mark Asch, Pitchfork senior editor Jillian Mapes, “You’re Wrong About” co-host Sarah Marshall, and freelance film writer Anya Stanley. Happy holidays!
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Dec 11, 2020 |
No Wave Women
59:48
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, a combination of factors – including low rents in abandoned neighborhoods, new and more affordable technology, a cross-pollination of media, and a punk-influenced DIY spirit – collided on Manhattan’s Lower East Side to create a scene, commonly known as “No-Wave,” that dominated music, visual art, and film. And, unique among American independent cinema movements, there were just as many women in downtown NYC making movies as men.
What was it about this scene that made it possible for women filmmakers to not only thrive, but dominate? To find out, we talked to three of them: Susan Seidelman (“Smithereens”), Bette Gordon (“Variety”), and Lizzie Borden (“Born in Flames”), as well as contemporary film and fashion writer Abbey Bender.
Go to funcitycinema.com for more information.
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Oct 30, 2020 |
Starring the NYPD
01:14:33
How the New York cop movies of the 1970s sculpted (and whitewashed) the public perception of the NYPD
The New York movie and the New York cop movie are inextricably intertwined – so much so that the first major studio picture of the talking era to be shot in New York, The Naked City, was a cop movie. But in the years following the protests and policing reforms of the 1960s, Gotham cop movies like The French Connection and The Seven-Ups focused on a specific kind of New York cop, who could only clean up the mean streets if he bent those pesky rules. This episode contrasts the NYPD of film and television to the real department – one that was, in the same era, rife with graft, corruption, and worse – and reexamines that messaging within the current national conversation about policing.
Our guests are MSNBC’s Chris Hayes, The Undefeated’s Soraya Nadia McDonald, and film writer Zach Vasquez, with a special appearance by Karina Longworth.
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Sep 23, 2020 |
Fight the Power - B-side
01:18:27
We're pleased to present our very first bonus episode, in which we talk a bit about making "Fight the Power," expand on some of the themes within it, preview our next installment, and share our full, one-hour interview with author Brandon Harris ("Making Rent in Bed-Stuy").
These bonus episodes will only be available to Patreon subscribers starting next month, but we decided to drop one on the main feed so you get a sense of what's coming down the line.
On that note, we tease our September bonus episode. You see, this spring, when Jason interviewed Martin Scorsese for the book, the filmmaker shared a sacred document: his list of 60+ essential New York movies. This is (as far as we can tell!) a Fun City Cinema exclusive.
So we're going to walk through that list with you next month, with the help of film critic and historian Glenn Kenny, author of https://www.amazon.com/dp/1335016503/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_x_FJrsFb91RF01V (Made Men: The Story of 'Goodfellas,') - which is also out next month, coincidentally enough (not coincidentally).
So that's what's on the horizon. Here's the bonus episode. Hope you enjoy it.
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Aug 31, 2020 |
Fight The Power
01:16:36
Spike Lee’s 1989 film “Do the Right Thing,” shot on location in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, is now considered not only a classic of modern cinema, but a clarion call to social justice, frequently connected with current acts of racist violence.
But “Do the Right Thing” is inspired by specific historical events in New York City in the years before its release – and a general atmosphere of racial tension and police brutality, much of it empowered by the casual racism of Mayor Ed Koch. This episode connects the film to those incidents and to that atmosphere, and looks back at its initial (and fraught) reception. We also connect Lee’s iconic work to current events, and ask how we can carry its lessons into the current struggle.
Our guests are “New York Times” culture / op-ed editor https://www.nytimes.com/by/aisha-harris (Aisha Harris), “Making Rent in Bed-Stuy” author https://www.amazon.com/kindle-dbs/entity/author/B0748JGZ6N?_encoding=UTF8&node=283155&offset=0&pageSize=12&searchAlias=stripbooks&sort=author-sidecar-rank&page=1&langFilter=default#formatSelectorHeader (Brandon Harris), indie film guru (and “Spike, Mike, Slackers, and Dykes” author) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KALM6PG/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_x_SU2iFbM9Q1HQ7 (John Pierson), and “Rolling Stone” senior writer https://www.rollingstone.com/author/jamil-smith/ (Jamil Smith).
Check out our https://www.funcitycinema.com/ (website) for more information.
Thanks for listening!
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Jul 31, 2020 |
Sneak Peek: Fight the Power
04:16
Our first episode drops this week, so we wanted to give you a taste of what’s to come. “Fight the Power” tells the story of Spike Lee’s “Do the Right Thing,” now considered not only a classic of modern cinema, but a clarion call to social justice, frequently connected with current acts of racist violence.
But “Do the Right Thing” is inspired by specific historical events in New York City in the years before its release – and a general atmosphere of racial tension and police brutality, much of it empowered by the casual racism of Mayor Ed Koch.
For more information check out our website - funcitycinema.com.
Thanks for listening!
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Jul 28, 2020 |
Introducing Fun City Cinema
05:29
New York City is one of the most important and recognizable locations in motion pictures – like a character itself, as countless films and filmmakers have tiresomely insisted. And though first American films were shot in New York at the end of the 19th century, the industry moved West in the 1910s and rarely came back.
And when, thanks the Herculean efforts of city government, filmmakers finally brought their cameras back to Gotham in the mid-1960s, they did so just in time to capture a city in crisis, a cesspool of crime, decay, and conflict.
So the movies that were shot in New York in those years aren’t just telling their stories. They’re telling the city’s story – and one that’s still being told.
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Jul 28, 2020 |