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This week, we take a little break from politics to bring you one of our favorite people — writer/director Whit Stillman, who’s new movie Love & Friendship is in theaters now. We talk Jane Austen (the movie is based on Austen’s novella Lady Susan), his writing process, and some of Stillman’s favorite films. Then, Charles C.W. Cooke, newly minted National Review Online Editor (and co-host of the wildly popular Mad Dogs and Englishmen podcast) stops by to discuss the seemingly endless Brexit fallout. Also, Ricochet member Brian Wolf’s Confessions of an #AlmostNeverTrumper … And What Could Make Me Change My Mind makes our podcasters confess what might change their mind.
We’re off next week. Have a great 4th, everyone!
Music from this week’s episode:
Living In America by James Brown
The brand new opening sequence for the Ricochet Podcast was composed and produced by James Lileks.
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Rob: Hilarie makes ME very nervous.
And I suspect if you were in my position, you would be very nervous at the prospect of Commander in Chief Hilarie Clinton.
Everyone cares about the troops. They don’t care how the troops vote and who the troops would prefer as president and commander in chief … but everyone “cares”.
Wonderful podcast.
Love Whit Stillman for his writing chops and retro sensibility. How retro? Stillman thinks American cinema peaked sometime prior to 1942. Now that’s retro.
Incidentally, that larger-than-life producer Stillman was talking about, Merrion C. Cooper? The guy who was pals with John Ford? He’s most famous for helping to create a movie that single-handedly saved the studio that financed it and wound up changing motion pictures forever.
The studio: RKO.
The movie: KING KONG.
I watched love and friendship about two weeks ago. It was so hilarious.
In the Peter Jackson version, when Jack Black is running through a list of all the actresses he might hire for his movie, mentions Fay Wray, but she is unavailable because she’s busy on “Cooper’s movie”.
Had a chuckle at Europeans looking at a dank future. Dank means good now, bud.
I believe Obama is leasing Lockhart’s home, not purchasing it. Evidently, even presidents can’t afford to buy houses owned by former presidential press secretaries.
(Sorry. Posted before I listened to Yeti’s correction.)
Rob trusts Hillary!!!! As James says Trump has the right instincts, whatever he might say in the blather stage when it comes to the actual decision a reasonable common sense would prevail. I’m sure in the talking stage of hotel / golf course design he might put forward impractical wish lists but when the professionals lay out the problems and possibilities these get pared down. The Benghazi hearings show that Hillary is ALL political calculation all the time even while people are dying in real time. She would not care if we lost a city or a carrier task force as long as it could plausibly be blamed on Republicans.
No, he said that Hillary doesn’t make him nervous, as Trump does. That’s an important difference. Come to think of it, she is the devil we know. Trump is more of a blank canvas than when Obama ran for office, sweet talking his sympaticos into doltish obsequiousness.
It’s the difference between living with the usual corruption endemic to a Democrat “machine politician”… and elevating to power an unhinged, bigoted, reactionary thug.
The first option stinks, sure. But the second option is absolutely unacceptable. Not to mention terrifying.
And what we know is too awful for me. And she is a determined awful
I’ve seen all of Stillman’s films and enjoyed each one, but my favorite remains “Metropolitan”. Chris Eigeman’s character and lines still make me laugh no matter how many times I watch it. If Whit Stillman were to have his own podcast on Ricochet talking about films and cinematic history, I’d be all for it. Until then, I’ll content myself with that Criterion list and “The Awful Truth” for movies I’ll watch next.
Movies I have recently watched for the first time (unrelated to Stillman’s suggestions) are “The Spy Who Came In From The Cold” (1965), “Double Indemnity” (1944), “The Killing” (1956), and “Sunset Boulevard” (1950).
Lastly, James Lilek’s joke about Kraftwerk’s “Europe Endless” was perfect – have to remember/steal that one.
At about the 1:10 mark, Peter bemoans Trump not giving the kind of speech that Peter wants to hear.
It’s too bad none of you guys know any writers who can take a shot at writing such a speech.
Same thought.
The Clintons view the country as a sheep to be shorn. As terrible as this is, at least they only want wool and not mutton.
If that’s all it was, I could live with it. But she also intent on cementing leftism into the country beyond any hope of erasure, and with eight years of Supreme picks, she’s likely to accomplish that.
Hillary makes me very nervous, dear lord look at the world around you. religious liberty is in jeopardy, any limits on abortion are in jeopardy. After the Benghazi report and the that just came out where she left our embassy out to dry for political purposes, which proves that she puts her own political and monotary ambitions ahead of the country’s national security and she doesn’t make you nervous. Wow that is amazing
Well, Stalin-in-a-pantsuit’s 2019 re-education camps make me pretty nervous.
If they take me alive I’ll be the guy in the cooler bouncing the baseball off the wall all day and night.
Thunk-thunk-thwack.
Thunk-thunk-thwack.
Thunk-thunk-thwack.
Sounds like the “reasonable center-right” folks believe they’ll get along OK in Hillary Land.
Count me out.
Note:
Edited section allows for some wiggle room, avoids the epithet.Dear Trumpkins.
Forget “shooting someone on Fifth Ave” loyalty. Trump could choose Charles Manson for VP, and [some Trump supporters] will still push the same arguments.
To what end?
To see what effect it might have on Trump.
Peter, Rob, James, Troy, and a dozen more contributors are prominent enough that a serious piece they wrote would likely come to Trump’s attention.
I think Peter is adult enough to be serious and honest. Some unnamed contributors would write a sputtering TDS-infested piece derangedly hawking various open-borders crowd misrepresentations, etc.
I’ll give an example. In my opinion, Trump overemphasizes Chinese “currency manipulation” and, in highlighting the iPhone, picks an industry not at the forefront of Chinese trade barriers against the US. It would be interesting to see if one could refocus Trump’s attention on those sectors where Chinese trade barriers really adversely affect US industry. That would tell us something about Trump’s ability to adapt as President.
Peter’s sincere exercise would have zero effect on Trump. Isn’t that why his supporters love him?
I am proposing a test of that.
His supporters support him. I do not know how many love him and any who do may have manifold reasons.
I doubt any would unsupport or unlove him if he changed position in accordance with my particular or similar example.
I really enjoyed it also. I have a weakness to British wit and I love Austin wit. My only issue with the movie was the dialog was to fast for me. It was hard to follow and I felt the Candace and timing of the dialog was not the greatest when it comes to comedic timing. If they could of just slowed it down and maybe 10 minutes but I could of enjoyed it even more.
You’re proposing test #49277. Rejecting solid advice. It’s what he’s always done. How many times must he sting you before you see he’s a scorpion?
I’d listen to a Stillman On Cinema podcast too, although I doubt he’d want to listen to me. Why? Because I watched THE AWFUL TRUTH last year and found it highly overrated. Mediocre even. (The truth hurts, gang, especially when it’s awful!)
I had the same reaction to Lubitsch’s “legendary” caper comedy TROUBLE IN PARADISE. I thought it was pretty bad.
DOUBLE INDEMNITY, on the other hand, is a movie I could watch every week.
Trouble in paradise is not great; but The awful truth is. If you don’t like it, that’s that. But if you’re interested in some more thoughts on it–Mr. Stanley Cavell wrote a book about screwball comedies called Pursuits of happiness. It’s pretty great.
Found this interesting post by Amanda Carpenter: https://www.conservativereview.com/commentary/2016/07/why-trump-would-rather-grovel-to-socialists-than-woo-conservatives
I have various news stories that show Trump going “his own way.” http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/06/trump-asks-sanderss-supporters-to-feel-the-don.html
Who’s supporters will help Trump build an even more powerful state? Cruz or Sanders? That’s Trump’s play.
Yes, the Trumpkins and alt-right hit Ms. Carpenter in grotesque fashion a few months ago. However, what she, and others describe, none of this is new. Trump’s been a scorpion since I was a NYC’er in the mid 80’s. It’s isn’t derangement that lead so many of us to reject the petty narcissist.
My using “Scorpion” to describe Trump has more to do with the fable I heard in the “The Crying Game” movie:
It’s in his nature, despite your best wishes that it be otherwise.
I haven’t seen Trouble In Paradise, but I did just finish watching The Awful Truth last night. As an early (I think?) example of a romcom, it was pretty good, but I would agree, not as great as Stillman might think it is. There was something about the pacing of the movie that was jarring. I’m still mulling it over, but it seems like a good first attempt movie that still working out the kinks of the genre. My favorite part of The Awful Truth, however, was the scene where Cary Grant barges into his wife’s concert and proceeds to lean back too far in his chair, upending the table over and over again – but I’m a sucker for pratfalls and physical comedy.
It’s an incredibly sophisticated movie. Screwball used to be.
So let me give you a few examples. Y’all know Bringing up baby? Kattie Hepburn, Cary Grant, & the leopard? Well, jaguar, I though… Anyway, it starts & ends with movie shots of Rodin sculptures. It turns out, they’re both funny & they speak to the plot…
In the case of The awful truth, the movie works the way it does because the woman is so sophisticated; the relationship between woman & man is sort of like the relationship between Leo McCarey & America. She’s a singer–one day, the all-American Ralph Bellamy sings Home on the range. She wants to harmonize with him–he’s unused to such sophisticated music, so he rejects it. There’s a joke about home & about his range there. Cary Grant at least does admire her superior achievement. Of course, Irene Dunne really was a superb singer, so that helps…
So it takes a kind of interest in these other kinds of things: Romantic comedy never improved from this level–anymore than romances in popular music are anywhere near as sophisticated as in the days of Cole Porter…
First of all, the assertion that because Clinton changed her rhetoric to match Trump’s renders them the same is laughable. We know she is lying. We’re not sure about Trump.
Much of the bad things about Trump’s cronyist Democrat past were perfectly valid primary issues. They don’t create reasons to not vote for him in the general election.