And now a break from our normally scheduled programming: because I was a guest on one of my favorite newsletters, Natalie Guevara’s Mise-En-Scène.
I discovered Natalie’s newsletter a few months ago when I had the pretty terrific idea of inviting writers on Substack to come see Liberation (this is also how I ended up DMing Tina Brown— I am sure Tina will respond any day now). Natalie asks various guests to write about a film/television show and its intersection of aesthetic storytelling and emotional impact. There’s a post on All That Jazz, Somewhere (one of my favorite— and one of the least discussed— Sofia Coppola films), and even Uptown Girls. But the post that really caught my eye was one on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. This seemed fortuitous since I used the MTM opening as a reference for the (now famous) Liberation promo video that I conceived/directed. As it turned out, Natalie is a big theatre fan and had already seen the video and gotten the period specific references (if it wasn’t obvious by now, Natalie has great and expansive taste).
Anyway, to make a long story more about me, I was thrilled to be asked to be a guest on Mise-En-Scène and immediately started making a list of possible films to write about. The shortlist included Pennies From Heaven, Arthur, The Mirror Has Two Faces, and— the runner up— The Object of My Affection (a Jennifer Aniston movie that I love and I think deserves more respect). But, in the end, I went with Holiday. Natalie also asks all of her guests to do five cultural recommendations, which, again, involved me making a long list and narrowing it down.
So click below to read my thoughts on Holiday and more! And then go read some of the other posts and subscribe to Mise-En-Scène because it is truly a well-curated delight.
Stay tuned for our return to normally scheduled programming! Coming soon: my second annual summer recommendations and my attempt to interview new accountants.
