The Projector #2: We Are Rolling, Bob (Patreon)

There’s only one way to start this newsletter: thanks! Our first week of being on Patreon has been thrilling. We appreciate the support and the kind words and we hope you’ve enjoyed the bonus content. (And our apologies: We were planning to post a chat about Stranger Things 3 last week but ran into some technical difficulties. We’re still figuring all this out. Look for it this week, as well as some Midsommar talk.)

Something else to look for this week: our next Original Flavor episode. We’ll be following up our discussion of Todd Haynes Velvet Goldmine with an episode focusing on The Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story, a new documentary-ish look at Dylan’s ragtag 1975 tour of small venues. Like, Velvet Goldmine, it takes a print the legend approach to rock history, but it also throws some stone cold facts in the form of documentary footage from the tour and some breathtaking performances, including an intimate performance of “Coyote” by Joni Mitchell. (Behind the scenes gossip: I* recently listened to an audiobook of Reckless Daughter, a Joni Mitchell biography. “Coyote” was written about Sam Shepard, who was long for the tour working on the film Renaldo and Clara. Also feature on the tour: tons of cocaine.)

This week, we’re still mourning the loss of Rip Torn, a singular presence onscreen and off. Torn’s highest profile roles include his work as Artie on The Larry Sanders Show and as Zed in Men in Black, which we recently highlighted. But the catalog goes way deeper than that. My favorites include Forty Shades of Blue (I wrote about it in a link below), Coming Apart (a film about and apparently made on the edge of sanity), and Payday (in which Torn plays a self-destructive country singer, the quintessential Rip Torn role, in other words). If you have any, write in and share.

Torn’s death also, however accidentally, pointed to some of the limitations of the streaming era. You can’t find Coming Apart or Payday streaming anywhere. I’m frequently reminded of “The Convenience Trap,” a piece Sam Adams wrote for The A.V. Club way back in 2011 that predicted that movies would effectively disappear when they stopped being easy to find. (Incidentally, if anyone wants to buy a video store, there’s a great one for sale in Madison, WI.)

Other stuff: You know what movie’s surprisingly good? Crawl. It’s the woman vs. gators movie you didn’t know you needed. Nothing but highbrow recommendations from your film snob friends at The Next Picture Show.

One more show note: We’re taking the rare week off from the podcast next week due to scheduling difficulties. But we’ll be back after that with episodes pairing… (Genevieve, am I allow to unveil the next double feature for our most loyal listeners? Genevieve says I can.) We’ll be back with episodes featuring Fight Club and The Art of Self Defense, two films about fighting (and much more).

Finally, here’s some recommended reading:

For The Guardian, Scott Tobias reflected on 20 years of American Pie: “‘American Pie’ at 20: why the raucous comedy could never be made today” 

For Pacific Standard, Keith Phipps wrote about Midsommar and why the times make it scarier: 'MIDSOMMAR' OFFERS A VISION OF WHAT AWAITS US AFTER SOCIETY COLLAPSES

For TV Guide, Keith Phipps wrote about Stranger Things 3 and the tricky act of letting its kids grow up: Stranger Things 3 Finds The Series Trying, and Sometimes Struggling, to Grow Up

For Decider, Keith Phipps wrote an appreciation of 40 Shades of Blue: Rip Torn Gave One of His Greatest Performances in a 2005 Movie Hardly Anyone Saw

We Also Like:

Steven Hyden decided to invite the internet’s ire by ranking Tarantino films over at Uproxx: The Definitive Ranking of Quentin Tarantino Movies

At Vulture, Rachel Handler wrote about aaarrrggggghhhhs: An Ode to Meryl Streep and Florence Pugh’s Catharsis Screams

At The Week, Noel Murray sang the praises of The Farewell: The Farewell is one of 2019's best movies

I wasn't alone in liking Crawl. Friend of the show Angelica Jade Bastién also wrote glowingly about it for Vulture.

And if Genevieve's recommendation of Hedwig and the Angry Inch has you eager to read more about that film, you'll find more about it back at the late, lamented The Dissolve, where it served as a Movie of the Week.

*I being Keith Phipps, the usual author of this newsletter