Radio In The Movies

This richly detailed examination of two branches of American entertainment focuses on the various ways that radio stations and air personalities have been depicted in motion pictures, from 1926's The Radio Detective to more recent films like 2006's A Prairie Home Companion. Cinematic portrayals of various aspects of radio are covered, including disc jockeys, sports broadcasts, religious programs, and the talk-radio format. Such films as The Big Broadcast (1932), Reveille with Beverly (1943), Mister Rock and Roll (1957), WUSA (1970), Radio Days (1987) and Private Parts (1997) provide fascinating insights not only into their own times, but also into the historical eras that some of these films have endeavored to recreate. A chronological filmography of more than 600 titles is included.

“Eric Bogosian’s Talk Radio is just about the best theatrical expression of our fucked-up culture that I know.” -- John Hellpern, New York Observer “A gut-grabbing revival. Live Schreiber is playing Barry Champlain, an abrasive radio talk show host who, as another character puts it, has seen the face of God ‘in the mirror.’ In the course of one eventful night, Barry will be forced to confront another, less august image of himself… the most lacerating portrait of a human meltdown this side of a Francis Bacon painting. Like the original production, which starred Mr. Bogosian as Barry, it allows the star to grab an audience by the lapels and shake it into submission.” -- Ben Brantley, New York Times “More timely today than it was twenty years ago… Radio crackles with intensity.” -- Joe Dziemianowicz, New York Daily News “Hypnotic! Both as an actor’s tour-de-force and a stinging cultural analysis.” -- David Rooney, Variety This is the fully revised version of Eric Bogosian’s Talk Radio, his breakthrough 1987 Public Theater hit, which was named a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, was adapted to film by Oliver Stone, and was revived on Broadway in 2007 in celebration of the play's twentieth anniversary. One of America’s premier performers and most innovative and provocative artists, Eric Bogosian’s plays and solo work include suburbia (Lincoln Center Theater, 1994; adapted to film by director Richard Linklater, 1996); Sex, Drugs, Rock & Roll, Pounding Nails in the Floor with My Forehead; Griller; Humpty Dumpty; 1+1; Skunkweed; Wake Up and Smell the Coffee; Drinking in America; Notes from Underground and Talk Radio (Pulitzer Prize finalist; New York Shakespeare Festival, 1987; Broadway, 2007; adapted to film by director Oliver Stone, 1988). He has starred in a wide variety of film, TV and stage roles. Most recently, he created the character of Captain Danny Ross on the long-running series Law & Order: Criminal Intent. In 2014, TCG published 100 (monologues), a collection that commemorates thirty years of Bogosian’s solo-performance career.

This richly detailed examination of two forms of American entertainment focuses on the various ways that radio stations and air personalities have been depicted in motion pictures, from 1926's The Radio Detective to more recent films like 2022's Halloween Ends. Newly updated and revised chapters cover the cinematic portrayals of various aspects of radio, including disc jockeys, sports broadcasts, religious programs and abnormal personalities on the air. Such films as The Big Broadcast (1932), Reveille with Beverly (1943), Mister Rock and Roll (1957), WUSA (1970), Radio Days (1987), Private Parts (1997), We Are Marshall (2006) and Straight Outta Compton (2015) provide fascinating insights into not only their own times but also the historical eras that some of these films have attempted to recreate.

* ABA "Indie Next List" pick for March 2022. * 2022 Best Young Australian Novelists awards, Winner. * Readings Prize for New Australian Fiction, Shortlist. * "A Best Book of 2022" —NYLON, Glamour, Refinery29 UK, Harpers BAZAAR UK * "A Most Anticipated Book" —Lit Hub, The Millions New Animal is a poignant, darkly comedic look at human connection from a biting and original new voice in Ella Baxter. Amelia Aurelia is approaching thirty and her closest relationships — other than her mother — are through her dating apps. She works at the family mortuary business as a cosmetic mortician with her eccentric step-father and older brother, whose throuple’s current preoccupation is with what type of snake to adopt. When Amelia’s affectionate mother passes away without warning, she is left without anchor. Fleeing the funeral, she seeks solace with her birth-father in Tasmania and stumbles into the local BDSM community, where her riotous attempts to belong are met with confusion, shock, and empathy. Hilarious and heartfelt, New Animal reveals hard-won truths as Amelia struggles to find her place in the world without her mother, with the help of her two well-intentioned fathers and adventures at the kink club.

Comic Book Movies explores how this genre serves as a source for modern-day myths, sometimes even incorporating ancient mythic figures like Thor and Wonder Woman’s Amazons, while engaging with the questions that haunt a post-9/11 world: How do we define heroism and morality today? How far are we willing to go when fighting terror? How can we resist a dystopian state? Film scholar Blair Davis also considers how the genre’s visual style is equally important as its weighty themes, and he details how advances in digital effects have allowed filmmakers to incorporate elements of comic book art in innovative ways. As he reveals, comic book movies have inspired just as many innovations to Hollywood’s business model, with film franchises and transmedia storytelling helping to ensure that the genre will continue its reign over popular culture for years to come.