At the movies

S1: Now playing on the Parker Edison project.

S2: Even if it's maybe a predominantly black film , a lot of times you're going to be in mixed spaces and there is still different ways that different people consume their entertainment.

S1: That's up next on the Parker Edison Project.

S3: You are listening to the Parker Edison Project on Kpbs with my main man , Parker Edison , P.E. , The Great. Great.

S1: Good morning and welcome to the season three finale of the Parker Edison Project. If you've been with me the last 11 weeks , you know the theme of this season is geopolitics. How does this app fit ? Well , geographically speaking , this EP is at the movies. See what I did there ? Every EP , I get 2 or 3 questions in the DMS of the p p on Kpbs Twitter page. That's the p p on Kpbs. On Twitter , Of course , the number one subject is rap facts. People always want to talk about that. But the second thing I get is movie questions. Which ones do I like ? Favorite genres ? A lot of requests for movie recommendations. So for this EP , I'm going to answer some of those Q's and get you a couple titles. So pull this up right now. I'm going to write to my phone. Hold up. Give me a sec. You find one of these. All right. I'm going to mix up a little bit of the Twitter handles just so that , you know , these people get their little anonymity. Uh , Andy Bird , 91 , asks , What's the goat movie ? Goat means greatest of all time. I have two answers. Casablanca and Fargo. Both are short , the unique. They're beautifully shot stories. They got this whole timeless quality. That's it. Let's say Jennifer with the G. Jennifer with the G asks , What's your guilty pleasure in parentheses ? Something you'd be ashamed to admit Me ? Mean girls. It's mean girls Mean girls. Uh , Tina Fey. Amy Poehler is hysterical. I've probably seen that 100 times. Got a ton of quotable. It's so fetch. Do one more. North Carolina asks , What movie would I watch on Desert Island ? That's a good one.

S4: Uh , 51st.

S1: Dates with Adam Sandler. It might be too on the nose , but so be it. And we'll do one more. Let's , let's say lit thimble. Ask for a movie that resonates with me. She says hers is lost in translation. She relates to feeling alien. I fully understand that. Again , good question. Lit thimble. Actually , a friend of mine just suggests something dope. So yeah.

S2: I am the Director of Arts Engagement and in-house casting at La Jolla Playhouse.

S1: Holy smokes.

S2:

S1:

S2: One versus the other one. You are able to sit back and relax and just watch on the screen. Whereas one , you have to be an engaged audience member and be very aware of yourself , your surroundings and knowing that the people on the stage can see and hear you.

S1: Oh , that's deep. That is absolutely deep. It is interactive in that way.

S2: It is. Even when you're not actually interacting , it's interactive and knowing they can see me.

S1: Um , Ms.. Kitchen , I'm asking people to tell me about a film or a movie moment that really resonated with them.

S2: Mm It was phenomenal. This is a satirical horror movie , but it is unapologetically black , black , black , black. And it made for a very pleasant moviegoing experience for this light skinned girl who is also been described as unapologetically black , black , black , black.

S1: As a moviegoer.

S2: And a lot of times , even when you're in mixed spaces , when you're in the movies and even if it's maybe a predominantly black film , a lot of times you're going to be in mixed spaces and there is still different ways that different people consume their entertainment. And there was something about being in this unapologetically black space that just allowed for more freedom. I will say I clapped out loud during the movie and not in that , Oh , that was a beautiful moment. But in that yes , kind of clap , I definitely found myself whispering to my theater going companion. This was about to happen. There was a moment. I don't want to spoil the moment for future moviegoers , but there was a moment where the audience , based on how it was presented on the film , was highly encouraged to have a musical moment together. And it was. Freezing and satisfying in ways that I would not have imagined. And it was also clever and witty , and you had to be paying attention and leaning into everything or you would miss something. There was definitely a moment where I guffawed out loud and I was the only person in the theater that did. There are so many little seeds that are planted throughout the film that once you see what was cultivated from that scene , just perfection.

S1: What's the name of the movie again ? The Blackening Jackal clearly dug the viewing experience as much as the movie itself , and I understand why being in the same place physically with people who are in the same place as you are mentally makes it so much easier to enjoy the moment for decades now. Late night screenings of the Rocky Horror Picture Show of galvanized that kind of camaraderie. It's one of my favorite parts of the cinema experience , but everyone gets something different. For instance , I'd say my next guest is into the meaning or philosophy of the stuff he's watching.

S5:

S1: What do you do for a living , sir ? I'm a photographer.

S5: And just general artist. I would say I do a lot of editorial photography for New York Times and GQ , that kind of stuff. How did you get.

S1:

S5: And so I would just walk around while I was doing my deliveries and just take photos of like all the random shit I would see. So my boss hated me , though , because I would be late from all my deliveries and I'm like , I'd be like , Sorry , You know , I just found a piece of trash that looked really cool and like , I had to photograph it. So I started on my iPhone and one of my friends , who was a really good photographer , she was like , You should start doing portraits of people I really didn't know what the hell that meant , but I was like , Let me try it. So I started photographing my friends and my friend's band and stuff because I was playing music at the time. It kind of just snowballed from there. And right before the pandemic , I had my first editorial assignment of this rap group , Griselda. It was a shaky one because they're like just some rough dudes. Like they were yelling at me and it was a wild shoot , but was like , okay , if I can make it through this shoot , I think I'll be fine. So I was like , I need to figure out how to become a professional photographer. And that's around the time I started shooting for New York Times , and it just snowballed from there. Yeah. So it's been like three years of doing that full time and I love it.

S1: I love how you just mentioned Griselda , like they're not the new Wu-Tang , like they're not like the most prominent rap movement , definitely out of the Buffalo , New York area right now.

S5: They're incredible and I love their music. They were just mean to me. We have beef , but it's all good.

S1: It lines up that lines up. I don't I don't want Conway to be a super nice guy like that. Doesn't go with the rap flow to me.

S5: Like it's hard to get them all together. Like if you look online , there's not that many photos of them all together. But yeah , like one was like an hour late. The second one was two hours late , the third one was three hours late. And so it was just like me awkwardly sitting in a hotel room with them. They didn't want to talk to me. They were just like doing their own thing. But what side gun was like , Why the fuck are we shooting at a hotel ? But like , they picked the location and it's like this nice , nice hotel. And he was like , I'm not nice , I'm not a nice guy. He had like a videographer with him. So that footage exists somewhere of West Side Gun yelling at me.

S1: Is that one of your standout moments ? Do you have a piece of work or an accomplishment that really still resonates with.

S5: You in general ? It's just cool to be put in those situations , even though it was like a little scary. It was like , okay , this is a once in a lifetime weird thing that happened and think , you know , shooting with people like Samuel L Jackson , truly iconic and yeah , getting to meet all these people that I grew up watching or listening to. Got to shoot with Mike Judge. He did , you know , Beavis and Butthead and King of the Hill and stuff. And like , I got to go to his house and hang out with him. There's just like all these little special moments that are really cool and like , I know my younger self would be like , What the hell ? Like , how do you do that ? But then also the past year I've gotten more into photojournalism. This story just came out in New York Times about a dance class in a prison called Words Uncaged. And so I got to photograph that. It was just a mind blowing experience walking into a prison , first of all , and then going to this dance class , because basically at the beginning of it , they all write something , whether it's like a letter to a loved one or a poem or just whatever. Hearing them tell their stories and like of how they ended up in prison , like most of them are lifers. So they'll probably just be there for the rest of their lives. But hearing them talk about the transformation that they've gone through with being in this class and like , yeah , so it was beautiful. I think being able to create like positive imagery of these people was really important to me because I think photography is used to subjugate these people especially. With , you know , like mug shots or whatever. It's like , okay , they're photographing them at their lowest. And so if they go to the appeals court , it's like they're stuck in time at their lowest point. And like , you know , it doesn't show their transformation or their their growth as a person. So to be able to document them in a positive light and show that transformation was just a beautiful experience.

S1: When you point out the juxtaposition of what you're doing to the mug shot that floors me , bro , because that's wow , that is one of the ways that they kind of keep them in that stigma freeze framed in the crime that got them put. They're like , Wow , that's heavy , sir. Yeah.

S5: Yeah. Even just seeing them dancing together because it's like kind of modern dance. And so they're having to , like , you know , touch each other , like pick each other up and like , be really intimate with each other. It was just incredible to see. You can check out that piece. I'll attach it to this episode.

S1: And then on on a lighter segue , Heard you're a movie fan. Yes.

S5: No , absolutely is.

S1: Do you think there's a connection ? Because historically , you know , photos and movies , they go together like Forrest and Bubba Gump.

S5: I think a lot of documentary purports itself to be like , this is the truth , but it's always , you know , framed through someone's eyes and someone's perspective. And I think it's a fine line that as artists and filmmakers , photographers , whatever , we have to , you know , be conscious of and realize that it is a lot of responsibility to make art and to , you know , try to represent something that is real. What I've been thinking about as far as , you know , moving into filmmaking. So that's kind of what got me into photography is I , I wanted to go to film school. I didn't get in because I just had straight CS getting into photography , I was like , okay , let me figure out how to frame a shot. At least let me just figure out the basics of that. And then yeah , that kind of just took over my life for a while. So now I'm regrouping and figuring out how to make films. So I've been writing a bunch of stuff and trying to figure out my next moves. With that , I'm.

S1: Asking Guess for a movie moment that still resonates with them.

S5: And so they're filming in the jungles of Peru , I believe , because they're basically trying to get this steamboat over a mountain , which seems impossible. And so they hired local tribes to , you know , work for them. But at that time , there was like a civil war going on between these factions there. And like there was a plane crash that happened and a bunch of the crew got badly injured. Two of the boats sank while they were filming. They lost their star like Mick Jagger had to go back to America. Everything was going wrong. They were like battling , you know , the weather in the jungle , basically. There's a scene where Herzog says , If I abandon this project , I'd be a man without dreams. And I don't want to live like that. I live my life and my life with this project that was just so palpable because there was just all these this confluence of terrible things happening , like he couldn't get the funding for it and he was just like stuck in the jungle. But he's like , I can't give up. And so for me , that resonated just because I'm like , Oh yeah , we need to bleed for our art. We really need to give everything , even if we freaking die , you know , it's like to uncover this , like , ecstatic truth of life. We must give it all that really resonated with me.

S1: Am I going to have to go home and watch a freaking Werner Herzog movie again ? Michael two Interesting for people not to look you up. Give me a social media handle so they can find.

S5: Yeah , I'm just at Michael Tyrone Delaney It's just my name on Instagram. Yeah.

S1: I'm from the same school of thought as Michael on this. Art is the truest depiction of the human experience. It's of the utmost importance that some of us , the designated trailblazers , go to whatever lengths necessary to maintain this brilliance. These are the things that will describe us to future generations. So even if I don't want to , the fact that I can relate to the director's dedication will make me watch Michael's recommendation. I don't want to. I'm gonna tell you what , let's go to break real quick so I can complain about it to see. Right. Be right back.

S6: Stay tuned for more of the pep. Pep.

S7: Hello , good listeners. My name is Adam Greenfield and I'm the host and creator of the written podcast. In it , I have in-depth and admittedly sometimes shallow conversations about writing with writers and artists of all kinds. We talk path process and what the artist's life is like , for better or worse. So subscribe and listen now on Apple Podcasts , Spotify or wherever you consume podcasts.

S8: Hello , my name is Trevor and I am the president of Powder Clothing Company and we are known for our super soft , highest grade fleece cotton hoodies , organic materials and no chemicals are used. They're super comfortable and we feel that our hoodie is one of the best out there. We can be found on social media , on Instagram , at Powder Underscore LA as well as powder-la.com.

S3: This is a real three. And now back to the Pep on Kpbs , Kpbs.

S1: Three years ago and our first episode ever , I talked about the impact of the Almighty Wayans family. You like that ice cream joke in Eddie Murphy's stand up comedy classic Delirious ? Ever notice how much it sort of sounds like a Damon Wayans joke ? Hm. The Wayans and Robert Townsend had a big hand behind the scenes in that flick. But I digress. I did Six Degrees of separate Wayans as a way of mainstreaming an observation that had been said forever at black barbecues and barbershops. Now that idea is accepted across the board. So today I take great pleasure in officially retiring the game segment. Six Degrees of Super Wayans. This is very , very cool. I also said in that first episode that I got the concept for this segment because every other morning my old roommate and I would hang out in the kitchen and play six degrees from Kevin Bacon. But with black people , the Wayans family kept coming up , so eventually we just changed the title. Super grateful. He allowed me to use the concept and I had to hit him to have him play at least one time before I put it away forever.

S9: We're brothers.

S1: Just so they know.

S10: We're a man of many names , but most people call me rich. It's a rich prophet. Dick Baker. Dick Diego. Richie Cunningham. Opie Taylor.

S1: I'm filling you , Mr. Dynamite. All right. Well , for the listeners who are familiar , this is.

S10: Six degrees of separate.

S1: Weigh ins and the Almighty Wayans family , as Rich said , it's so prominent in Hollywood and their roots run so deep. And every so often I like to to find a fantastic , intelligent guest and have them try and stump me with the name of somebody that I won't be able to connect to the magnificent Wayans dynasty. And no one ever does. But maybe Rich. Ken. Rich , Give me your first name , man.

S10: I got to throw in the stipulation as need you to find the way to Don Cheadle through Burt Reynolds.

S1: Oh , geez , that's easy. Don Cheadle is in Boogie Nights.

S10: With Burt Reynolds with Burt Reynolds.

S1: Burt Reynolds is with Adam Sandler in the Longest Yard remake.

S10: And Nice.

S1: Adam Sandler was on SNL where Damon Wayans was.

S10: Oh , okay.

S1: Yeah , yeah , yeah , yeah.

S10: I got another one that plays off of that. So you got an away game ? I was gonna say the whitest lady in show business. So white. Her last name is white.

S1: I think to this.

S10: Let me see. Let me see me see. Um. Okay , then. White. Definitely. You're gonna like this Just because you know TV movies , you know , you like and we're , you know , we're of that vintage , that particular vintage where this will hit.

S1: Well , I got a I got to tap out on this one , man. I got to tap out on who's so.

S10: Starring as herself. Right. Vanna White was on la la la la , created by Mister Steven Bochco , who created NYPD Blue. And believe it or not , Paris Barclay , director of the South Central Drinking , is using the hood , directed a bunch or at least a handful of episodes of NYPD Blue. So from Keenan to Paris to NYPD Blue to Steven Bochco to LA Law to Vanna White as as herself. Sipowicz You got what's in there ? Yeah. Dennis Franz , who also was on a Hill Street Blues , which was Steven Bochco , think his first big hit.

S1: Oh , man.

S10: Okay , so last one , last mask for third one is a charm. So Morgan Freeman , without the obvious backdoor of Jim Carrey , Bruce Almighty , you know , in living color. Morgan Freeman. Um , I just found this jewel today.

S1: Can we do some math real fast ? I'm going. I'm going. Well , Morgan Freeman was in the movie Lean on Me and Lean On Me. Has Robert Guillaume in it ? I'm the head in in charge. And that is sampled by Prodigy of Mobb Deep. And Havoc has worked with Method Man. Method Man is not but Kappa Donna from Wu-Tang. Okay.

S10: Okay.

S1: When it was on the soundtrack of Don't Be a Menace , that's a stretch , but that's my six.

S10: So check this out. And Keenan Ivory and Robert Townsend starred in a bit called Rock Cuts. Back in the day. Robert Townsend was in Meteor Man with James Earl Jones. James Earl Jones was in Field of Dreams with Kevin Costner. Kevin Costner was in Thieves with Morgan Freeman. My work here is to run , Get my guy a.

S1: Round of. Applause.

S10: Applause. Everybody , please give me the cock. All I did was keep uncovering another layer. And another layer. Another layer. Pretty awesome. And it goes back to a movie called The Hollywood Shuffle. It's really cool to see how things have progressed for black people , African Americans , however you want to put it in modern entertainment , that the family has grown so prominent , so successful , so prolific. Prolific.

S1: Prolific. And I love I love Hollywood Shuffle , bro. I love it. The big boss , Rich Baker , appreciate you.

S10: Yeah , Be good. Be great.

S9: Little brother.

S1: Oh , yo , it's gorgeous out this piece. Oh. Oh , E3.

S3:

S1: Yo , what you are g. What you doing , man ? Oh , man.

S3: You know , I'm just enjoying the day and all that , man. What are you up to ? Are you doing ? I'm.

S1: I'm going to go catch a loud mic. And I'm doing this this episode on movies , and I'm asking cats for recommendations. In fact , you ahead , bro.

S3: There was a scene recently in Amsterdam by Christopher Nolan with Denzel Washington's son and Margot Robbie when they reunited after. I'll let you all watch that. But I'm telling you , that scene right there when you see it , you know what I'm talking about.

S1:

S3: It's Christopher Nolan , dude. He did Batman. And he did Tenet. Yeah , I definitely suggest people check that out. You know what I mean ? For sure.

S1: I'm gonna do that. I'm a huge Christopher Nolan fan. He fire. He fire all the time. We fire all the time. But , yo , would you working on these days ? I know you always got your hands in something. You know.

S3: I told you I wanted to get up with you about that. That one mixtape. I remaster some of your joints and also threw in some stuff with an invisible ponchos talking and tall shadow with knee Hubbert emphasize ammo atlas. They also definitely wanted to include the scatterbrain tributes to both LPs. D with Back at You with the Realness and and sketch Etch a Sketch with Vertical Joyride two very personal friend of ours , you know what I mean ? So the name of the mixtape is Dswd , which stands for Dead Homies Sell Dope. And I was just motivated to make it because , you know , approaching 50 years of hip hop in everything , we lived long enough to see a lot of our good friends pass on and whatnot , and a lot of times they made really dope music. So secretly dead homie , so dope. It's dead , homie. Sell dope music. There's a lot of our homies that have passed on that that made a lot of dope music , and I just want to raise awareness to that.

S1: Hey , just real fast. Telling me your name bro.

S3: G3 , also known as the real DJ three on Instagram and other social media , San Diego all the way.

S1: Hey , that's my guy , you dig ? Yada Dude is my favorite mixtape DJ in the city. Always has been. He recommended Christopher Nolan's Amsterdam , which I got to see. Other movie Wrecks were the Blackening by Tim Story , Burden of Dreams by Les Blank , and I'm adding Winter's Bone by Debra Granik and Glass Onion by Ryan Johnson. That should keep you busy for at least the weekend E Threes mixtape will be available on the Parker Edison Project. It's full of local talent. I've been running it like the last two months and it's bona fide fire , he Namechecked one of the artists that caught my ear. So I hit that cat up to see if we could get him and spin the track for you right now. What's your name ? Where are you from ? Boston. My name is Diego Fats.

S11: I'm from San Diego , California. Born and raised right off of metal. Willie James Jones , three blocks from Lincoln High School.

S1: Nice , Nice. I want to talk to you about music , but before I do this episode , it's about movies and I'm asking everyone for one of their favorite movie scenes , but I'm going to flip it on you , man. What's a movie that you never.

S11: Like put on ? Terrible. One of the worst movies I've ever seen in my life without a shadow of a doubt. Every time somebody said Bad movie , that worst movie I've ever seen.

S1: Bro , you had that one in the chamber like that. Okay.

S11: Top five worst movies I've ever seen in my life.

S1: I'm not bad at that , man. That sounds about right. I don't want to leave you hanging out there , so I'm gonna put myself in the same category , and I'm gonna put Will Smith's Gemini , man , when he plays two of himself.

S11: I watched it , and I didn't really watch it , so I could say it probably was not that good a movie since I toned out on it. But yeah.

S1: I'll get you your money back too. Yeah.

S11: Oh , no , I definitely didn't pay for it. That was on TV. It was free.

S1: Yeah , yeah , yeah. A friend of mine , he was telling me he put together this mix tape and it features a bunch of local artists. And you're one of the cats that's on there.

S11: Of course we're work.

S1:

S11: And I was just talking about the struggle , man. A common struggle that I think transcends race , age , everything. You know , if you grew up in any kind of struggle , at some point you ate ramen noodles.

S1:

S11:

S1: Hey , do me a favor. Do an intro real fast , and I'm gonna jump into it.

S11: What's up , everybody ? This is Dago Fats , and you're about to listen to chicken flavored by me.

S9: With me. There was a pack.

UU: Of chicken flavor , ramen noodles. All I ever.

S9: Needed was a pack.

UU: Of chicken flavor , ramen noodles. All I ever needed was a pack of chicken flavor , ramen noodles. All I ever needed was a pack of chicken flavor. Ramen noodles.

S12: Story time. Look.

S1: I used to be on my last leg with my last pack.

S12: I was half fed. Money was Peter of Bank Ledge. I was Covid. Bonds didn't have bread I used to borrow with my wife. We was Netflix and the jail spread. But I talked smooth so my demon friends always played cool and me hellish. It was all cool , even though it wasn't hopped down my ways , I was so reluctant. Said on Being an Angel was so incumbent. Zap his pizza in gym when my older cousin used to cut off my legs. But that wasn't nothing. Had the vision. You might just be onto something. And that's what's missing from smoking and politicking while we fish. And I hopped in that driver's seat and I was driving old. No , since the fourth grade. That's what I be doing. Throw me your shade. So I'm used to it. All that new hate that they're throwing missing like I've been here before because after that rent was paid in the car notes and insurance saved. I was dead broke coming off the slave know would I be getting once I walked in the store like all.

UU: I ever needed was a pack of chicken flavor ramen noodles. All I ever needed was a pack of chicken flavor. Ramen noodles. Hey.

S12: Mama said , do you want.

UU: Me for chicken noodles ? All I ever needed was a pack of chicken. You know. Birth. Mama. Mama , Mama. All I ever.

S9: Needed was a pack.

UU: Of chicken flavor. Ramen noodles.

S1: Hey , thanks for stopping in the park. Edison Project is produced and hosted by yours truly , Parker Edison. And of course , the good people at platform collection. Be sure to subscribe and catch the next episode on Apple , Spotify or wherever you get your podcast. If you have any questions or comments , visit the Park or Edison Project or hit us on Instagram at. You know what ? I only want to finish the credits.

S13: Liza Jane Morris said as operation manager and John Decker is the associate general manager for this content. This program is made possible in part by the KBS Explorer Content Fund. I love saying that because it reminds me of Sesame Street. Y'all stay safe out there.

S1: Hey , wait. Before you go , what's your name ? Hi , Della. Thanks , Della.