Eryk Pruitt's Blog
July 13, 2015
LOVE, LABOUR, AND THE ART OF REJECTION
The artist is the creator of beautiful things.
So wrote Oscar Wilde over a century ago, in the preface of his only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray. This amuse-bouche almost seems out of place in a work that many consider a Victorian horror novel. Oscar Wilde was a man of wit and knew first-hand the fickle whim of societal tastes. He would spend the end of his life exiled from England after serving two years in a British jail for "indecency."
Wilde would later go on to write in that preface: Diversity of opinion about a work of art shows that the work is new, complex, and vital.
And:
Vice and virtue are to the artist materials for an art.
And:
When critics disagree the artist is in accord with himself.
And most importantly:
All art is quite useless.
Oscar, like myself, was not one to suffer fools. Aside from The Picture of Dorian Gray, he went on to pen several standards for the stage. Among them, The Importance of Being Earnest, An Ideal Husband, and the controversial Salome. And that stint in jail I mentioned earlier? No sooner had he been set free than he set fire to his enemies with the epic poem The Ballad of Reading Gaol. Perhaps folks didn't get what he was trying to do, and perhaps they didn't approve.
That doesn't mean it ever stopped him from getting it done.
I also think it was elegantly stated by another gentleman from across the pond.
"Rejection is one thing, but rejection from a fool is cruel."- Stephen Patrick Morrissey
Or if you're looking for something a little more red, white, and blue...
Rejection is something that builds an artist. It adds a thicker layer of skin. It opens one's eyes a little wider to the process and the bullshit. Someone can argue that it adds a different perspective to the work, but what if the work needs to operate in complete ignorance of that perspective? How are we supposed to gauge which criticism is helpful and which is not? Is the criticism pure?
Who gets a say in your work, or the interpretation of your work?
DO NOT GET ME WRONG. I am not saying all criticism should be ignored. There are professional people out there who sincerely wish to see people's work made better. I have received very kind feedback from people who wanted to help me get a leg up and, to these people, I am forever indebted. But sometimes there are mean, petty people out there who come from a very dark place of their own and feel like taking a sledgehammer to other people's work because their own work is shoddy, makeshift, and suspect.
And I know what you are thinking: "But Eryk, what the devil do you know about being rejected? You've got plenty film festival awards and published stories, novels, etc. The world must be handed to you on a silver platter."
Au contraire. I get my fair share of rejections, even still. Ever so often, I still encounter some grumpy, foul troll who steps from beneath his bridge to check the Inbox for submissions and, perhaps he has neglected his medication, perhaps the old pecker isn't firing on all cylinders... Regardless, something's got this guy's knickers in a bunch and, lo and behold, he receives my query and FINALLY he has a proper forum into which he may vent his aggressions! Nothing more could possibly soothe him than to send me curled into the fetal, awash in salty tears.
For those kinds of people, a simple form rejection letter would hardly suffice, would it?
So, with no further ado...
TOP FIVE REJECTION LETTERS I'VE RECEIVED
5. FROM AN AGENT WHO DIDN'T LIKE DIRTBAGS."I really tried to like this, but there was not one single likable character in this book. I also felt the enthusiasm in the book did not match that of your in-person pitch. Furthermore, you told me the book was funny. The situations in this book could hardly be described as 'funny.'"THE REPLY I WANTED TO SEND, BUT DIDN'THey lady, thanks for reading my book. I am a long believer that there's something for everyone in this world, and it turns out DIRTBAGS was not for you. Looking back, I should have divined as much during that in-person interview you referenced. I heard the uppity accent and the way you looked down your nose at me, but I was totally hungover and I thought you didn't like the smell. It was a writer's conference, and this is how I was told to behave. Also, I was completely distracted by your legs, which were quite fit and didn't seem to match the rest of you. Overall, I kept thinking how, with a good honest roll in the hay, you might actually be someone worth having a conversation with in real life, and therefore didn't listen to much of anything you said with your mouth. So I could be excused for misreading your sensibilities, given the circumstances. I am glad I left such an impression on you, however. And furthermore, as far as my book not being "funny," allow my man William E. Wallace to tell you at which platform you may debark.
4. FROM AN UNNAMED FILM FESTIVAL IN AN UNNAMED FOREST COMMUNITY"No."THE REPLY I WANTED TO SEND, BUT DIDN'THey man, I was a little put off by the simple, one word rejection of my film and couldn't help but think there was a little anger boiling behind those two letters. I couldn't, for the life of me, think of why and I decided to google your name to see why on earth you could be so angry at poor little me. I saw we went to the same college, but I still couldn't place you. So I asked an old friend if they knew you and if they knew how we might know each other and all my friend said was:
"Seriously? You really don't remember?"That's never good. Turns out, one night I went trolling for townies and took up with a girl that turned out to be your girlfriend. I'm really sorry about that. I was in Party Mode back in those days and, since I don't remember half of them, really think my behavior ought to be excused. Best I can tell, nobody got pregnant so we should let bygones be bygones. I have another film coming out and I would really like to screen it there, if possible. Is there some way we can settle this before the early deadline?
3. FROM A LITERARY MAGAZINE"This is a great story with great moments, but I really think you could trim it down from its size. I'm
thinking if you get it down to 8000 words, I could find a place for it."
MY RESPONSE: "Excellent. Thanks a lot. Here it is, trimmed from 12000 words to 8000 words. Thank you for your help."HIS RESPONSE:MY RESPONSE: "Hi. It's been one month since I heard from you regarding my story. Were the cuts adequate?"HIS RESPONSE: "Sorry. I thought you new [sic] that by not responding, it meant we were rejecting it."THE REPLY I WANTED TO SEND, BUT DIDN'TI was kind of hoping when you didn't respond it was because someone ripped your head off and stuffed it down your toilet. Just checking.Or maybe you were too busy to reply because you were busy reading that 8000 word story which was later serialized in Pantheon Magazine. Who fucking knows.
2. FROM A ORGANIZATION AWARDING A GRANT"The judge and panel thought your work showed great promise and agreed that working with you might be valuable, but our main concern is the sheer volume of your writing. You work in film and fiction, and we fear that working on so many different projects does not seem to encourage you to find time to really dig deep into the craft of writing."THE REPLY I WANTED TO SEND, BUT DIDN'TPlease thank the panel for their time. Also, please assure them that while many of my rejection letters end up in the wastebasket, this one is going into a frame and will be hanging on my wall. So often, while writing 8-10 hours per day, I find I need a little levity, or a break from taking things too seriously. I believe this letter will serve to do just that.(Note: OK, I lied. I actually sent that one.)
1. FROM A FILM FESTIVAL"Do you have another cut of your film? Perhaps a nine minute version? I see a pretty good film in there, but as it stands, I wonder if this length will allow it more traction. Most films are made in the editing suite, you know. Use the film form to tell this story, don't tell it the way people enjoy reading it!"THE REPLY I WANTED TO SEND, BUT DIDN'TDear Dipshit, I am glad you asked if we had another cut of the film lying around. I didn't know you wanted the nine minute version. It's sandwiched right here between the eight and ten minute version. I don't know what kind of crap-tastic films you've been forcing people to watch, but the ones I make have pictures locked and sound mixed and music scored... I wasn't slick enough to remember that I would have to recut it for entry into your festival. And thanks for the extra tidbit, that movies are made in the editing suite. I had no idea. I was too busy doing things like WORKING ON THE FILM IN THE EDITING SUITE WITH THE EDITOR. Thanks for the e-correspondence film school lessons! I'll get cracking on that alternate cut tout suite!
The above example best illustrates my point. A simple rejection letter would have sufficed. I work hard and have worked hard my entire life. I have sources where I can find constructive criticism and I seek them out. I exhaust them. So many of my most valuable friends have been haunted by me in a late night phone call or a flurry of text messages, begging their opinions of a project. My poor wife, listening as I measure every sentence or piece of dialogue. The kind and generous souls in my writer's group who offer their unrestricted opinions. To all of these people I have trusted and depended upon and they have helped me immensely. I better not start naming names or we will be here all day.
What about my own experience? I have a degree in Literature. How do you like that? Also, a degree in History. I have been reading stories for as long as I can remember and I have developed my own sense of taste. Like Hank III says, "Not everybody likes us..." It's true. I write what I want to read. I make the films I want to watch. If it's not for you, please don't bother with it. I do not have the time to stop and consider your past and your experiences and your body of work and your tastes. I wish to high heaven I knew them before I paid your festival fee or I would have saved the money. I wish I knew not to wait for your reply, because you ain't going to send it. I wish I knew if it was a film or literary professional standing at the gate, or if it was just some clown with an attitude.
Because, based on my experiences, nobody likes a fucking clown with an attitude.
So wrote Oscar Wilde over a century ago, in the preface of his only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray. This amuse-bouche almost seems out of place in a work that many consider a Victorian horror novel. Oscar Wilde was a man of wit and knew first-hand the fickle whim of societal tastes. He would spend the end of his life exiled from England after serving two years in a British jail for "indecency."
Wilde would later go on to write in that preface: Diversity of opinion about a work of art shows that the work is new, complex, and vital.
And:
Vice and virtue are to the artist materials for an art.
And:
When critics disagree the artist is in accord with himself.
And most importantly:
All art is quite useless.
Oscar, like myself, was not one to suffer fools. Aside from The Picture of Dorian Gray, he went on to pen several standards for the stage. Among them, The Importance of Being Earnest, An Ideal Husband, and the controversial Salome. And that stint in jail I mentioned earlier? No sooner had he been set free than he set fire to his enemies with the epic poem The Ballad of Reading Gaol. Perhaps folks didn't get what he was trying to do, and perhaps they didn't approve.
That doesn't mean it ever stopped him from getting it done.
I also think it was elegantly stated by another gentleman from across the pond.
"Rejection is one thing, but rejection from a fool is cruel."- Stephen Patrick Morrissey
Or if you're looking for something a little more red, white, and blue...
Rejection is something that builds an artist. It adds a thicker layer of skin. It opens one's eyes a little wider to the process and the bullshit. Someone can argue that it adds a different perspective to the work, but what if the work needs to operate in complete ignorance of that perspective? How are we supposed to gauge which criticism is helpful and which is not? Is the criticism pure?
Who gets a say in your work, or the interpretation of your work?
DO NOT GET ME WRONG. I am not saying all criticism should be ignored. There are professional people out there who sincerely wish to see people's work made better. I have received very kind feedback from people who wanted to help me get a leg up and, to these people, I am forever indebted. But sometimes there are mean, petty people out there who come from a very dark place of their own and feel like taking a sledgehammer to other people's work because their own work is shoddy, makeshift, and suspect.
And I know what you are thinking: "But Eryk, what the devil do you know about being rejected? You've got plenty film festival awards and published stories, novels, etc. The world must be handed to you on a silver platter."
Au contraire. I get my fair share of rejections, even still. Ever so often, I still encounter some grumpy, foul troll who steps from beneath his bridge to check the Inbox for submissions and, perhaps he has neglected his medication, perhaps the old pecker isn't firing on all cylinders... Regardless, something's got this guy's knickers in a bunch and, lo and behold, he receives my query and FINALLY he has a proper forum into which he may vent his aggressions! Nothing more could possibly soothe him than to send me curled into the fetal, awash in salty tears.
For those kinds of people, a simple form rejection letter would hardly suffice, would it?
So, with no further ado...
TOP FIVE REJECTION LETTERS I'VE RECEIVED
5. FROM AN AGENT WHO DIDN'T LIKE DIRTBAGS."I really tried to like this, but there was not one single likable character in this book. I also felt the enthusiasm in the book did not match that of your in-person pitch. Furthermore, you told me the book was funny. The situations in this book could hardly be described as 'funny.'"THE REPLY I WANTED TO SEND, BUT DIDN'THey lady, thanks for reading my book. I am a long believer that there's something for everyone in this world, and it turns out DIRTBAGS was not for you. Looking back, I should have divined as much during that in-person interview you referenced. I heard the uppity accent and the way you looked down your nose at me, but I was totally hungover and I thought you didn't like the smell. It was a writer's conference, and this is how I was told to behave. Also, I was completely distracted by your legs, which were quite fit and didn't seem to match the rest of you. Overall, I kept thinking how, with a good honest roll in the hay, you might actually be someone worth having a conversation with in real life, and therefore didn't listen to much of anything you said with your mouth. So I could be excused for misreading your sensibilities, given the circumstances. I am glad I left such an impression on you, however. And furthermore, as far as my book not being "funny," allow my man William E. Wallace to tell you at which platform you may debark.
4. FROM AN UNNAMED FILM FESTIVAL IN AN UNNAMED FOREST COMMUNITY"No."THE REPLY I WANTED TO SEND, BUT DIDN'THey man, I was a little put off by the simple, one word rejection of my film and couldn't help but think there was a little anger boiling behind those two letters. I couldn't, for the life of me, think of why and I decided to google your name to see why on earth you could be so angry at poor little me. I saw we went to the same college, but I still couldn't place you. So I asked an old friend if they knew you and if they knew how we might know each other and all my friend said was:
"Seriously? You really don't remember?"That's never good. Turns out, one night I went trolling for townies and took up with a girl that turned out to be your girlfriend. I'm really sorry about that. I was in Party Mode back in those days and, since I don't remember half of them, really think my behavior ought to be excused. Best I can tell, nobody got pregnant so we should let bygones be bygones. I have another film coming out and I would really like to screen it there, if possible. Is there some way we can settle this before the early deadline?
3. FROM A LITERARY MAGAZINE"This is a great story with great moments, but I really think you could trim it down from its size. I'm
thinking if you get it down to 8000 words, I could find a place for it."MY RESPONSE: "Excellent. Thanks a lot. Here it is, trimmed from 12000 words to 8000 words. Thank you for your help."HIS RESPONSE:MY RESPONSE: "Hi. It's been one month since I heard from you regarding my story. Were the cuts adequate?"HIS RESPONSE: "Sorry. I thought you new [sic] that by not responding, it meant we were rejecting it."THE REPLY I WANTED TO SEND, BUT DIDN'TI was kind of hoping when you didn't respond it was because someone ripped your head off and stuffed it down your toilet. Just checking.Or maybe you were too busy to reply because you were busy reading that 8000 word story which was later serialized in Pantheon Magazine. Who fucking knows.
2. FROM A ORGANIZATION AWARDING A GRANT"The judge and panel thought your work showed great promise and agreed that working with you might be valuable, but our main concern is the sheer volume of your writing. You work in film and fiction, and we fear that working on so many different projects does not seem to encourage you to find time to really dig deep into the craft of writing."THE REPLY I WANTED TO SEND, BUT DIDN'TPlease thank the panel for their time. Also, please assure them that while many of my rejection letters end up in the wastebasket, this one is going into a frame and will be hanging on my wall. So often, while writing 8-10 hours per day, I find I need a little levity, or a break from taking things too seriously. I believe this letter will serve to do just that.(Note: OK, I lied. I actually sent that one.)
1. FROM A FILM FESTIVAL"Do you have another cut of your film? Perhaps a nine minute version? I see a pretty good film in there, but as it stands, I wonder if this length will allow it more traction. Most films are made in the editing suite, you know. Use the film form to tell this story, don't tell it the way people enjoy reading it!"THE REPLY I WANTED TO SEND, BUT DIDN'TDear Dipshit, I am glad you asked if we had another cut of the film lying around. I didn't know you wanted the nine minute version. It's sandwiched right here between the eight and ten minute version. I don't know what kind of crap-tastic films you've been forcing people to watch, but the ones I make have pictures locked and sound mixed and music scored... I wasn't slick enough to remember that I would have to recut it for entry into your festival. And thanks for the extra tidbit, that movies are made in the editing suite. I had no idea. I was too busy doing things like WORKING ON THE FILM IN THE EDITING SUITE WITH THE EDITOR. Thanks for the e-correspondence film school lessons! I'll get cracking on that alternate cut tout suite!
The above example best illustrates my point. A simple rejection letter would have sufficed. I work hard and have worked hard my entire life. I have sources where I can find constructive criticism and I seek them out. I exhaust them. So many of my most valuable friends have been haunted by me in a late night phone call or a flurry of text messages, begging their opinions of a project. My poor wife, listening as I measure every sentence or piece of dialogue. The kind and generous souls in my writer's group who offer their unrestricted opinions. To all of these people I have trusted and depended upon and they have helped me immensely. I better not start naming names or we will be here all day.
What about my own experience? I have a degree in Literature. How do you like that? Also, a degree in History. I have been reading stories for as long as I can remember and I have developed my own sense of taste. Like Hank III says, "Not everybody likes us..." It's true. I write what I want to read. I make the films I want to watch. If it's not for you, please don't bother with it. I do not have the time to stop and consider your past and your experiences and your body of work and your tastes. I wish to high heaven I knew them before I paid your festival fee or I would have saved the money. I wish I knew not to wait for your reply, because you ain't going to send it. I wish I knew if it was a film or literary professional standing at the gate, or if it was just some clown with an attitude.Because, based on my experiences, nobody likes a fucking clown with an attitude.
May 12, 2015
BOOK TRAILER: HASHTAG by Eryk Pruitt
I know, I know...
I'm supposed to be posting like a Top Ten List or something on this site, right? Sorry man, but things have been a little hectic. I've been running around trying to finish up the last bits for our upcoming short film "The HooDoo of Sweet Mama Rosa" and attending screenings of our short films "Disengaged" and "Liyana, On Command." There's been readings for DIRTBAGS and, oh... that's right: HASHTAG is on its way as well.
To celebrate the release of HASHTAG, we're throwing a Geeky Writers party and, if you've never been, you have to check it out. It usually involves a lot of booze and a bit of ranting and raving. We're joined by the writers Todd Keisling, Tony Rapino, and Mercedes Yardley, so it's a bang-up good time. Usually, free things are given away because, you know, people like to be bribed.
AND, if you are one of the people who subscribe to this website... guess what:
Your poor eyeballs will be the first to officially watch this book trailer for HASHTAG.
The video was shot and edited by the ever-impressive film wizard Nick Karner. stars as Sweet Melinda Kendall and Michael Howard is Randy, the wine salesman. If this scene smacks a bit familiar, it's because it's featured in the short story "Rather A Nice Finish," which was published in Pantheon Magazine waaaay back in 2012. Actually, Sweet Melinda has been a recurring character of mine for some time now, with appearances in stories by Severest Inks, and an unpublished number "The Return of the Mississippi Hot Mess" in SWILL magazine. I'm proud to finally give her a home in HASHTAG, and I hope you buy it, read it, and enjoy it.
The music was provided by the smoothest bluesman this side of the Delta, Mr. Mel Melton of the Wicked Mojos. Not only am I a big fan of all his music, I'm also a big fan of his gumbo. Trust me, if you ever have a chance to eat his Southern and Cajun cooking... get on it. I can't thank him enough for letting us use "Wicked," the opening song off his Mojo Dream album. It's a mood-setter and one I've often used to get me ready to write some swampy Southern fiction.
And of course this could not have been done without Lana Pierce, Tracey Coppedge, and Meredith Sause. No matter what I find myself getting into, they are always there to help me through it and this is no exception. Lana whipped up vittles for everyone on set while Tracey did makeup and Meredith ran sound.
Special thanks to Piper Kessler who let us borrow sound equipment, and taught us how to use it. Thank you Ismail Abdelkhalek for letting us raid your arsenal and lending the hazer. And thank you to Bob Walters of Local Film Talk for the strong constructive criticism and suggestions.
And thank everyone for watching the trailer and hopefully reading the book!!!
Please let me know what you think about the trailer in the comments below.
Eryk Pruitt is a screenwriter, author and filmmaker livingin Durham, NC with his wife Lana and cat Busey. His short films FOODIE and LIYANA, ON COMMAND have won several awards atfilm festivals across the US. Hisfiction appears in The Avalon LiteraryReview, Pulp Modern, Thuglit, and Zymbol,to name a few. In 2015, he's beennominated for two Pushcart Prizes and is a finalist for the Derringer Award. His novel Dirtbags was published in April 2014, and Hashtag will be published in May, 2015. A full list of credits canbe found at erykpruitt.com.
I'm supposed to be posting like a Top Ten List or something on this site, right? Sorry man, but things have been a little hectic. I've been running around trying to finish up the last bits for our upcoming short film "The HooDoo of Sweet Mama Rosa" and attending screenings of our short films "Disengaged" and "Liyana, On Command." There's been readings for DIRTBAGS and, oh... that's right: HASHTAG is on its way as well.
To celebrate the release of HASHTAG, we're throwing a Geeky Writers party and, if you've never been, you have to check it out. It usually involves a lot of booze and a bit of ranting and raving. We're joined by the writers Todd Keisling, Tony Rapino, and Mercedes Yardley, so it's a bang-up good time. Usually, free things are given away because, you know, people like to be bribed.
AND, if you are one of the people who subscribe to this website... guess what:
Your poor eyeballs will be the first to officially watch this book trailer for HASHTAG.
The video was shot and edited by the ever-impressive film wizard Nick Karner. stars as Sweet Melinda Kendall and Michael Howard is Randy, the wine salesman. If this scene smacks a bit familiar, it's because it's featured in the short story "Rather A Nice Finish," which was published in Pantheon Magazine waaaay back in 2012. Actually, Sweet Melinda has been a recurring character of mine for some time now, with appearances in stories by Severest Inks, and an unpublished number "The Return of the Mississippi Hot Mess" in SWILL magazine. I'm proud to finally give her a home in HASHTAG, and I hope you buy it, read it, and enjoy it.
The music was provided by the smoothest bluesman this side of the Delta, Mr. Mel Melton of the Wicked Mojos. Not only am I a big fan of all his music, I'm also a big fan of his gumbo. Trust me, if you ever have a chance to eat his Southern and Cajun cooking... get on it. I can't thank him enough for letting us use "Wicked," the opening song off his Mojo Dream album. It's a mood-setter and one I've often used to get me ready to write some swampy Southern fiction.
And of course this could not have been done without Lana Pierce, Tracey Coppedge, and Meredith Sause. No matter what I find myself getting into, they are always there to help me through it and this is no exception. Lana whipped up vittles for everyone on set while Tracey did makeup and Meredith ran sound.
Special thanks to Piper Kessler who let us borrow sound equipment, and taught us how to use it. Thank you Ismail Abdelkhalek for letting us raid your arsenal and lending the hazer. And thank you to Bob Walters of Local Film Talk for the strong constructive criticism and suggestions.
And thank everyone for watching the trailer and hopefully reading the book!!!
Please let me know what you think about the trailer in the comments below.
Eryk Pruitt is a screenwriter, author and filmmaker livingin Durham, NC with his wife Lana and cat Busey. His short films FOODIE and LIYANA, ON COMMAND have won several awards atfilm festivals across the US. Hisfiction appears in The Avalon LiteraryReview, Pulp Modern, Thuglit, and Zymbol,to name a few. In 2015, he's beennominated for two Pushcart Prizes and is a finalist for the Derringer Award. His novel Dirtbags was published in April 2014, and Hashtag will be published in May, 2015. A full list of credits canbe found at erykpruitt.com.
February 13, 2015
The new LEAD BELLY: SMITHSONIAN FOLKWAYS COLLECTION Box Set
I can't imagine life without the iPod.
I listen to music across a variety of genres. I love theopportunity to summon a song from a wide spectrum of tone, mood, and spirit. Tohave that itch scratched at a moment's notice.
But imagine all that within one human being. A single,solitary man who absorbed music, tradition, and verse from not just old schoolblues halls or medicine shows, but chain gangs, cotton fields, gospel houses,sukey jumps, New York City concert halls, folk music circles, and jook joints,to name a few. To have captured those spirits and preserved them in amber,untouched by the influence of radio. Andto be able to pick up a twelve-string guitar and call upon music traditionsstretching back into forever.
That's Lead Belly. You can buy all the Lead Belly albums youwant and still probably never hear all his repertoire. Also, you could startwriting today and ten years later, still never cover every artist influenced byLead Belly, whether they know it or not.
However, a good start would be the new Lead Belly: The Smithsonian Folkways Collection box set.
While it is a great starting point for folkswho are new to Lead Belly, a lifelong fan like myself who perhaps already has asignificant collection of Lead Belly music would probably ask if there's a goodreason to drop a chunk of change of this box set.
I would tell them no, there isn't one good reason.
There are ten.
TOP TEN REASONS TO DROP A CHUNK OF CHANGE ON THE LEAD BELLY: THE SMITHSONIANFOLKWAYS COLLECTION
10. THE PHOTOGRAPHS
It doesn't matter if your coffee table is mahogany wood oran upturned cardboard box, the 140-page large format book will look super greatatop it. Girls will want to hang out and flip through the pages and guys willtell you how cool you are for having it. The last generation of music loversprobably got their exposure to Lead Belly through Kurt Cobain's mind blowingperformance of "Where Did You Sleep Last Night" on MTV: Unplugged. Can you imagine beingthe guy to turn on the following generations? These slick photographs should dothe trick.
9. THE ESSAYSI can nerd out on some liner notes, man. The best ever linernotes came off the Dylan album, BringingIt All Back Home. I really love getting four-disc themed box sets thatcover entire sub-genres like rockabilly, western swing, and Detroit blues (allof which are in Lead Belly's wheelhouse). One of the best parts of thecollections are the liner notes. Glossy booklets written by scholars who alsolike to nerd out. The book has two of such essays. One by Robert Santelli, theExecutive Director of the Grammy Museum, and another by Grammy-winningSmithsonian Folkways archivist Jeff Place. The Place essay is very in-depth andcompelling and well worth multiple readings. Especially enlightening is thepiece "Why He Sang Certain Songs" by his niece Tiny Robinson. I'mthis close to tearing that out of my book so I can hang it on my wall.
8. THEY WNYC FOLK SONGS OF AMERICA RADIO SHOWSThis is where it's at. Lead Belly sits in on two radio showsfeaturing his music. Lead Belly spent his later years in New York City in thenascent stages of the folk scene. He enjoyed a fine bit of notoriety andappeared on a couple radio programs. These sets on WNYC run six and sevensongs, and the second one features the Oleander Quartet. This is a treat, man.You can't find that on the internet (yet).
7. LEAD BELLY NARRATIONI'm a sucker for Lead Belly's narration between songs. Thedude's like a walking history book. Not only did he save entire traditions inmusic from history's recycle bin, but nobody explains East Texas life betterthan Lead Belly. Often, he explains his inspiration for the song, or the sourcematerial. In "Rock Island Line," he explains the song's refrain. Hisversion of "Boll Weevil" is a new one, according to the engineer, andit tells the story of one of the South's biggest scourges from the point ofview of a man who picked his share of
cotton. The other scourge is detailed in "ScottsboroBoys," the story of a Civil Rights nightmare, during the days when CivilRights were hardly even a dream. And, we are treated to a white dudetranslating for him before "Ham and Eggs," which I hear wascommonplace back in those days. Get your fingers on "It's Tight LikeThat," which he explains used to get the girls to jumping. If it don't getyou to jumping, there's nothing I can do for you.
6. "NOBODY KNOWS YOU WHEN YOU'RE DOWN AND OUT"Whoa. When I first put on this track, I have to say I wasplenty revved up at the prospect of a track with Lead Belly singing duet withBessie Smith. I mean, can you imagine...? What we get instead is Lead Bellysinging along with a recording off a 78. We hear him listening to a record thesame way we would: singing along with a legend. He is silent, revered, andtouchingly sweet. You can hear the deep respect he holds for Bessie in everybreath and it's amazing. It's not Bessie and Huddie singing together, but man is it aclose second.
5. LINER NOTESI know I alluded to liner notes above, but get ready forliner notes on crack. Not only are you getting five CDs with 108 tracks, buteach of those tracks are given due diligence in the back half of the book. Asyou may know, you can buy 20 different Lead Belly albums and get 22 differentrecordings of "Goodnight Irene" or "Midnight Special." Theliner notes tell you precisely what is unique about the recordings included inthe box set, or offer interesting anecdotes of each one. It's an in-depth,immersive experience.
4. "SILVER CITY BOUND"There's no better example of what Lead Belly does for usthan "Silver City." Entire music traditions would be forgotten today,were it not for Lead Belly keeping them free from the influence of radio (hewas imprisoned during the beginning of radio and the jazz era). He did the samewith the history of the unique terrain in East Texas/West Louisiana. I've got apretty good Lead Belly collection, but the only place I've ever heard"Silver City Bound" was in the excellent film Leadbelly, (Gordon Parks, dir) starring Roger E. Mosley. This boxset has it.
photo credit by Charles W. PruittSilver City was a Texas town that pre-dated the Civil War. Itserved as a bus stop on Lead Belly's days riding a circuit with Blind LemonJefferson. He prefaces the song by describing towns where I grew up –Corsicana, Waxahachie, Waco, Ft. Worth... – as well as his profound love forhis former traveling partner. He tells of their days busking across the EastTexas countryside. If I had three wishes, one of them would be to catch LeadBelly and Blind Lemon Jefferson on the steps of the Silver City post office or busstation.Now Silver City is a sign on the side of the highway and aboarded up gas station. The last census claimed it had a population of 25.However, thanks to Lead Belly, it will be immortalized forever in thiscollection.
3. UNRELEASED SONGSCollect all the Lead Belly albums you want, but the onlyplace to find sixteen of these tracks is on the collection by SmithsonianFolkways. One treat is Lead Belly's interpretation of a friend's interpretationof an old Irish song which became "If It Wasn't For Dicky." Hishaunting story telling behind that bass strum... man, this guy... Or his turnwith Blind Lemon's "One Dime Blues" is amazing. His declaration in"I'm Going to Buy You a Brand New Ford" is worth the price ofadmission, and you won't find the prescient "Been So Long (BellevueHospital Blues)" anywhere else. Andhistorians and fans alike will enjoy "Princess Elizabeth," a songHuddie wrote for the young Royal by putting new lyrics to Bessie Smith's"Aggravatin' Papa."
2. IT'S CAREER-SPANNINGBig-time. Other CDs will focus on a particular aspect ornuance of Lead Belly's career. Perhaps the "20 Greatest" or his "LastSessions" or folk days, or blues songs, or country songs and so on. Thisbox set manages to pull from his entire catalogue. The listener gets thepopular tunes like "Goodnight Irene" and "Where Did You SleepLast Night?," but also gets a sprinkling from all his influences. Thesukey jumps with "Yellow Gal" and "Green Corn," the blueswith "Midnight Special." The folk influence is never more presentthan his song about current events like "Mr. Hitler" or"National Defense Blues." He recounts history with "TheHindenburg Disaster" and "The Titanic." He was paroled twicefrom the toughest prisons in America because he sang to the governor and bothpardon songs are included in this set. We get to hear him when he's young, andwe get to hear him before ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease) took hold of him duringhis final days. Lead Belly was a walking history lesson, a carrier of folktraditions. This box set captures his contributions and saves them for the restof us.
1. LEAD BELLY IS PERSONALEveryone will have their favorite Lead Belly songs, as wellas their favorite version. Some like Creedence Clearwater Revival's version of"Midnight Special" better, some folks think Ram Jam's "BlackBetty" is the superior version. No matter if you prefer sea shanties orwork songs, country or blues. Maybe you discovered him through Nirvana, maybeyou served time with him. Maybe you're like me and you think "Take ThisHammer" is one of the best songs of all time, or perhaps you're more a fanof "Go Down, Old Hannah." Everyonehas their own special relationship to Huddie "Lead Belly" Ledbetter.I suggest you order the box set Lead Belly: The Smithsonian Folkways Collection and come up withten reasons of your own.
Eryk Pruitt is a screenwriter, author and filmmaker livingin Durham, NC with his wife Lana and cat Busey. His short films FOODIE and LIYANA, ON COMMAND have won several awards atfilm festivals across the US. Hisfiction appears in The Avalon Literary Review,Pulp Modern, Thuglit, and Zymbol, toname a few. In 2013, he was a finalistfor Best Short Fiction in Short StoryAmerica and has been nominated for two Pushcart Prizes for 2014. His novel Dirtbags was published in April 2014, and HASHTAG will be published in May, 2015. A full list of credits can be found aterykpruitt.com.
I listen to music across a variety of genres. I love theopportunity to summon a song from a wide spectrum of tone, mood, and spirit. Tohave that itch scratched at a moment's notice.
But imagine all that within one human being. A single,solitary man who absorbed music, tradition, and verse from not just old schoolblues halls or medicine shows, but chain gangs, cotton fields, gospel houses,sukey jumps, New York City concert halls, folk music circles, and jook joints,to name a few. To have captured those spirits and preserved them in amber,untouched by the influence of radio. Andto be able to pick up a twelve-string guitar and call upon music traditionsstretching back into forever.
That's Lead Belly. You can buy all the Lead Belly albums youwant and still probably never hear all his repertoire. Also, you could startwriting today and ten years later, still never cover every artist influenced byLead Belly, whether they know it or not.
However, a good start would be the new Lead Belly: The Smithsonian Folkways Collection box set. While it is a great starting point for folkswho are new to Lead Belly, a lifelong fan like myself who perhaps already has asignificant collection of Lead Belly music would probably ask if there's a goodreason to drop a chunk of change of this box set.
I would tell them no, there isn't one good reason.
There are ten.
TOP TEN REASONS TO DROP A CHUNK OF CHANGE ON THE LEAD BELLY: THE SMITHSONIANFOLKWAYS COLLECTION
10. THE PHOTOGRAPHS
It doesn't matter if your coffee table is mahogany wood oran upturned cardboard box, the 140-page large format book will look super greatatop it. Girls will want to hang out and flip through the pages and guys willtell you how cool you are for having it. The last generation of music loversprobably got their exposure to Lead Belly through Kurt Cobain's mind blowingperformance of "Where Did You Sleep Last Night" on MTV: Unplugged. Can you imagine beingthe guy to turn on the following generations? These slick photographs should dothe trick.9. THE ESSAYSI can nerd out on some liner notes, man. The best ever linernotes came off the Dylan album, BringingIt All Back Home. I really love getting four-disc themed box sets thatcover entire sub-genres like rockabilly, western swing, and Detroit blues (allof which are in Lead Belly's wheelhouse). One of the best parts of thecollections are the liner notes. Glossy booklets written by scholars who alsolike to nerd out. The book has two of such essays. One by Robert Santelli, theExecutive Director of the Grammy Museum, and another by Grammy-winningSmithsonian Folkways archivist Jeff Place. The Place essay is very in-depth andcompelling and well worth multiple readings. Especially enlightening is thepiece "Why He Sang Certain Songs" by his niece Tiny Robinson. I'mthis close to tearing that out of my book so I can hang it on my wall.
8. THEY WNYC FOLK SONGS OF AMERICA RADIO SHOWSThis is where it's at. Lead Belly sits in on two radio showsfeaturing his music. Lead Belly spent his later years in New York City in thenascent stages of the folk scene. He enjoyed a fine bit of notoriety andappeared on a couple radio programs. These sets on WNYC run six and sevensongs, and the second one features the Oleander Quartet. This is a treat, man.You can't find that on the internet (yet).
7. LEAD BELLY NARRATIONI'm a sucker for Lead Belly's narration between songs. Thedude's like a walking history book. Not only did he save entire traditions inmusic from history's recycle bin, but nobody explains East Texas life betterthan Lead Belly. Often, he explains his inspiration for the song, or the sourcematerial. In "Rock Island Line," he explains the song's refrain. Hisversion of "Boll Weevil" is a new one, according to the engineer, andit tells the story of one of the South's biggest scourges from the point ofview of a man who picked his share of
cotton. The other scourge is detailed in "ScottsboroBoys," the story of a Civil Rights nightmare, during the days when CivilRights were hardly even a dream. And, we are treated to a white dudetranslating for him before "Ham and Eggs," which I hear wascommonplace back in those days. Get your fingers on "It's Tight LikeThat," which he explains used to get the girls to jumping. If it don't getyou to jumping, there's nothing I can do for you.
6. "NOBODY KNOWS YOU WHEN YOU'RE DOWN AND OUT"Whoa. When I first put on this track, I have to say I wasplenty revved up at the prospect of a track with Lead Belly singing duet withBessie Smith. I mean, can you imagine...? What we get instead is Lead Bellysinging along with a recording off a 78. We hear him listening to a record thesame way we would: singing along with a legend. He is silent, revered, andtouchingly sweet. You can hear the deep respect he holds for Bessie in everybreath and it's amazing. It's not Bessie and Huddie singing together, but man is it aclose second.
5. LINER NOTESI know I alluded to liner notes above, but get ready forliner notes on crack. Not only are you getting five CDs with 108 tracks, buteach of those tracks are given due diligence in the back half of the book. Asyou may know, you can buy 20 different Lead Belly albums and get 22 differentrecordings of "Goodnight Irene" or "Midnight Special." Theliner notes tell you precisely what is unique about the recordings included inthe box set, or offer interesting anecdotes of each one. It's an in-depth,immersive experience.
4. "SILVER CITY BOUND"There's no better example of what Lead Belly does for usthan "Silver City." Entire music traditions would be forgotten today,were it not for Lead Belly keeping them free from the influence of radio (hewas imprisoned during the beginning of radio and the jazz era). He did the samewith the history of the unique terrain in East Texas/West Louisiana. I've got apretty good Lead Belly collection, but the only place I've ever heard"Silver City Bound" was in the excellent film Leadbelly, (Gordon Parks, dir) starring Roger E. Mosley. This boxset has it.
photo credit by Charles W. PruittSilver City was a Texas town that pre-dated the Civil War. Itserved as a bus stop on Lead Belly's days riding a circuit with Blind LemonJefferson. He prefaces the song by describing towns where I grew up –Corsicana, Waxahachie, Waco, Ft. Worth... – as well as his profound love forhis former traveling partner. He tells of their days busking across the EastTexas countryside. If I had three wishes, one of them would be to catch LeadBelly and Blind Lemon Jefferson on the steps of the Silver City post office or busstation.Now Silver City is a sign on the side of the highway and aboarded up gas station. The last census claimed it had a population of 25.However, thanks to Lead Belly, it will be immortalized forever in thiscollection.3. UNRELEASED SONGSCollect all the Lead Belly albums you want, but the onlyplace to find sixteen of these tracks is on the collection by SmithsonianFolkways. One treat is Lead Belly's interpretation of a friend's interpretationof an old Irish song which became "If It Wasn't For Dicky." Hishaunting story telling behind that bass strum... man, this guy... Or his turnwith Blind Lemon's "One Dime Blues" is amazing. His declaration in"I'm Going to Buy You a Brand New Ford" is worth the price ofadmission, and you won't find the prescient "Been So Long (BellevueHospital Blues)" anywhere else. Andhistorians and fans alike will enjoy "Princess Elizabeth," a songHuddie wrote for the young Royal by putting new lyrics to Bessie Smith's"Aggravatin' Papa."
2. IT'S CAREER-SPANNINGBig-time. Other CDs will focus on a particular aspect ornuance of Lead Belly's career. Perhaps the "20 Greatest" or his "LastSessions" or folk days, or blues songs, or country songs and so on. Thisbox set manages to pull from his entire catalogue. The listener gets thepopular tunes like "Goodnight Irene" and "Where Did You SleepLast Night?," but also gets a sprinkling from all his influences. Thesukey jumps with "Yellow Gal" and "Green Corn," the blueswith "Midnight Special." The folk influence is never more presentthan his song about current events like "Mr. Hitler" or"National Defense Blues." He recounts history with "TheHindenburg Disaster" and "The Titanic." He was paroled twicefrom the toughest prisons in America because he sang to the governor and bothpardon songs are included in this set. We get to hear him when he's young, andwe get to hear him before ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease) took hold of him duringhis final days. Lead Belly was a walking history lesson, a carrier of folktraditions. This box set captures his contributions and saves them for the restof us.
1. LEAD BELLY IS PERSONALEveryone will have their favorite Lead Belly songs, as wellas their favorite version. Some like Creedence Clearwater Revival's version of"Midnight Special" better, some folks think Ram Jam's "BlackBetty" is the superior version. No matter if you prefer sea shanties orwork songs, country or blues. Maybe you discovered him through Nirvana, maybeyou served time with him. Maybe you're like me and you think "Take ThisHammer" is one of the best songs of all time, or perhaps you're more a fanof "Go Down, Old Hannah." Everyonehas their own special relationship to Huddie "Lead Belly" Ledbetter.I suggest you order the box set Lead Belly: The Smithsonian Folkways Collection and come up withten reasons of your own.
Eryk Pruitt is a screenwriter, author and filmmaker livingin Durham, NC with his wife Lana and cat Busey. His short films FOODIE and LIYANA, ON COMMAND have won several awards atfilm festivals across the US. Hisfiction appears in The Avalon Literary Review,Pulp Modern, Thuglit, and Zymbol, toname a few. In 2013, he was a finalistfor Best Short Fiction in Short StoryAmerica and has been nominated for two Pushcart Prizes for 2014. His novel Dirtbags was published in April 2014, and HASHTAG will be published in May, 2015. A full list of credits can be found aterykpruitt.com.
January 1, 2015
2015: The Best is Yet to Come
All things considered, 2014 did not suck.
For one, I accomplished a major goal in life when my debut novel DIRTBAGS was published by Immortal Ink in April. For as long as I could remember, I'd wanted to write a book. I'd gotten over thirty short fiction pieces published, and not to mention the recent work in film, but for the first time, I actually felt like a for-real writer. The best part is, the reviews were great. DIRTBAGS stayed in the Top 100 Rated crime books on Amazon for quite a while. It sold handsomely. There were several online reviews that said very nice things. Overall, I was happy with the experience.
I also organized and took part in two successful events in my community. In June, we held the first-ever NOIR AT THE BAR over at Mike's place at 106 Main. We got top fiction talent when Steve Weddle, Phillip Thompson, Chad Rohrbacher, Charles Dodd White, Grant Jerkins and Peter Farris came out to read and sign books. A few of us got wasted back at my place and... well, let's save that story for another day. Also, we hosted a NIGHT OF LOCAL HORROR at Motorco, screening two films I wrote along with short horror by local auteurs Christine Parker, Christopher G. Moore, Roger Paris, Alan Watkins, Jaysen Buterin, Jeffrey Moore, Dean Garris and Todd Tinkham. The event was emceed by The Lowdown Show, filmed by Local Film Talk and lots of people came out to see what we're up to.
Speaking of film, I directed two of them. That's right. LIYANA, ON COMMAND was filmed in July and snagged a "Best Actor" award for Meredith Sause when it premiered at the Carrboro Film Festival. We also filmed THE HOODOO OF SWEET MAMA ROSA in August, but more on that for 2015... Also DISENGAGED, (director: Christopher G. Moore) a horror short based on my story "A Way Yet to Go" has been winning awards at festivals across the country.
Two Pushcart Prize nominations for short fiction. Yeah, yeah, yeah... I've gotten a few pieces published here and there, but most notably my story "Houston" in Thuglit #10, "The Jack Off" over in Pulp Modern #8, and a turn in both Shotgun Honey and Out of the Gutter. I even got translated into German, for fuck's sake. Take a look on my website for the full line-up, as well as links.
Overall, there is a huge list of people who made 2014 hum for me, but I could not have done a lick of good all year if it weren't for the following people: Lana Pierce, Nick Karner, Tracey Coppedge, Meredith Sause, Jeffrey Moore, Alex Maness, Piper Kessler, Monique Velasquez, Rudy Kraul, Jedidiah Ayres, Mike Bourquin, Raia Mihaylova, Todd Keisling, Zachary Walters, Mike Rollin, and Natalie Pruitt. This list could go on and on, but these folks especially moved heaven and earth for me in 2014. I hope I one day can repay them.
BUT LOOKING FORWARD:
2015 is lined up to rock.
My second novel is being published on May 26th. It's called HASHTAG and it's a humdinger. At present, it weighs in at 100,000 words and follows three people's descent into trouble. Get your shitting britches on, because hopefully this will separate the fat from the cream...
My director's debut, the short film LIYANA, ON COMMAND has been entered into eighteen film festivals so far. Wish us luck. The big project, THE HOODOO OF SWEET MAMA ROSA, based on my Pushcart Prize nominated short story in Zymbol, is currently in post-production and my goal is to have it done before the summer. I'm told it's doable. Again, wish us luck. And I'm most excited about KEEPSAKE, the Southern short film I wrote for Meredith Sause. It was one of the most rewarding film experiences I've ever had, and that translates well on screen. You'll see.
Valentine's Day will have my short fiction piece "Sixteenths" up at YELLOW MAMA. I have a long list of short fiction I hope will be submitted and published this year. Also, this is the year I start shopping my short fiction collection titled LUFKIN. Be on the lookout for news on that.
I've got a WIP entering its last phases. I've got an idea for an epic project I'd like to undertake. I have a month full of meetings to kick off the New Year. I'm wanting to do another NOIR AT THE BAR, god willing.
Like I said, get your shittin britches ready...
For one, I accomplished a major goal in life when my debut novel DIRTBAGS was published by Immortal Ink in April. For as long as I could remember, I'd wanted to write a book. I'd gotten over thirty short fiction pieces published, and not to mention the recent work in film, but for the first time, I actually felt like a for-real writer. The best part is, the reviews were great. DIRTBAGS stayed in the Top 100 Rated crime books on Amazon for quite a while. It sold handsomely. There were several online reviews that said very nice things. Overall, I was happy with the experience.
I also organized and took part in two successful events in my community. In June, we held the first-ever NOIR AT THE BAR over at Mike's place at 106 Main. We got top fiction talent when Steve Weddle, Phillip Thompson, Chad Rohrbacher, Charles Dodd White, Grant Jerkins and Peter Farris came out to read and sign books. A few of us got wasted back at my place and... well, let's save that story for another day. Also, we hosted a NIGHT OF LOCAL HORROR at Motorco, screening two films I wrote along with short horror by local auteurs Christine Parker, Christopher G. Moore, Roger Paris, Alan Watkins, Jaysen Buterin, Jeffrey Moore, Dean Garris and Todd Tinkham. The event was emceed by The Lowdown Show, filmed by Local Film Talk and lots of people came out to see what we're up to.
Speaking of film, I directed two of them. That's right. LIYANA, ON COMMAND was filmed in July and snagged a "Best Actor" award for Meredith Sause when it premiered at the Carrboro Film Festival. We also filmed THE HOODOO OF SWEET MAMA ROSA in August, but more on that for 2015... Also DISENGAGED, (director: Christopher G. Moore) a horror short based on my story "A Way Yet to Go" has been winning awards at festivals across the country.Two Pushcart Prize nominations for short fiction. Yeah, yeah, yeah... I've gotten a few pieces published here and there, but most notably my story "Houston" in Thuglit #10, "The Jack Off" over in Pulp Modern #8, and a turn in both Shotgun Honey and Out of the Gutter. I even got translated into German, for fuck's sake. Take a look on my website for the full line-up, as well as links.
Overall, there is a huge list of people who made 2014 hum for me, but I could not have done a lick of good all year if it weren't for the following people: Lana Pierce, Nick Karner, Tracey Coppedge, Meredith Sause, Jeffrey Moore, Alex Maness, Piper Kessler, Monique Velasquez, Rudy Kraul, Jedidiah Ayres, Mike Bourquin, Raia Mihaylova, Todd Keisling, Zachary Walters, Mike Rollin, and Natalie Pruitt. This list could go on and on, but these folks especially moved heaven and earth for me in 2014. I hope I one day can repay them.
BUT LOOKING FORWARD:
2015 is lined up to rock.
My second novel is being published on May 26th. It's called HASHTAG and it's a humdinger. At present, it weighs in at 100,000 words and follows three people's descent into trouble. Get your shitting britches on, because hopefully this will separate the fat from the cream...My director's debut, the short film LIYANA, ON COMMAND has been entered into eighteen film festivals so far. Wish us luck. The big project, THE HOODOO OF SWEET MAMA ROSA, based on my Pushcart Prize nominated short story in Zymbol, is currently in post-production and my goal is to have it done before the summer. I'm told it's doable. Again, wish us luck. And I'm most excited about KEEPSAKE, the Southern short film I wrote for Meredith Sause. It was one of the most rewarding film experiences I've ever had, and that translates well on screen. You'll see.
Valentine's Day will have my short fiction piece "Sixteenths" up at YELLOW MAMA. I have a long list of short fiction I hope will be submitted and published this year. Also, this is the year I start shopping my short fiction collection titled LUFKIN. Be on the lookout for news on that.
I've got a WIP entering its last phases. I've got an idea for an epic project I'd like to undertake. I have a month full of meetings to kick off the New Year. I'm wanting to do another NOIR AT THE BAR, god willing.
Like I said, get your shittin britches ready...
September 2, 2014
SOUTHERN GOTHIC NOIR in FILM
I like Southern stuff.Those of y'all who've been hanging around the Rectory for a while have heard me talking about my favorite hybrid genre - Southern Gothic Noir - for some time now. Give this kid some Flannery O'Connor or some William Gay or some Clayton Lindemuth or Daniel Woodrell and he could hole up for an entire winter, were it not for the fact that Southerners don't really get winters. I wrote my own book DIRTBAGS in the spirit of what I call "Southern Gothic Noir," which blends elements of noir with those of Southern Gothic. Dirty people doing dirty things in the Dirty South. Well, this summer I decided to up my game a little. I took on a little project called "The HooDoo of Sweet Mama Rosa," a short film based on a short story I had published in ZYMBOL #3 (Currently SOLD OUT). "HooDoo" recruits the elements of Southern Gothic Noir and employs them, same as they would in a book. In our film, Old Poke Billet is a black man who has been mowing yards in a small Southern community for as long as anyone can remember, but little George Sinclair, a 13 yr old white boy, will go to unusual lengths to try and squeeze in on his action. The film stars JW Smith, Rita Gonzalez, Tracey Coppedge, Meredith Sause, Jeffrey Moore and Logan Harrison and is filmed in the Southern town of Durham, North Carolina. It's Southern Gothic Noir through and through.But I am hardly the first person to do this. Check it out.
TOP TEN SOUTHERN GOTHIC NOIR FILMS
10. GEORGE WASHINGTON (2000, directed by David Gordon Green)
This film takes place in an impoverished North Carolina town. It's gritty and surreal and extremely tragic. What's really tragic is the dude that directed this stunning flick went on to direct Pineapple Express, but I guess we're all just squirrels trying to get a nut in the end. Casting Nick Cage for the title character in Joe probably wasn't a great move, either, but he did a damn good job in George Washington so for that I commend him.
9. ANGEL HEART (1987, directed by Alan Parker)
Alan Parker made some pretty good flicks, from Midnight Express to Pink Floyd's The Wall and even another great Southern flick, Mississippi Burning, but this hot, steamy flick will forever be remembered as what got Lisa Bonet kicked off The Cosby Show. This movie is Bad Ass. A detective story about a guy who descends into the depths of Hell... er, New Orleans to find the missing Harry Angel and... well, too many spoiler alerts to continue.
8. SLING BLADE (1996, dir. by Billy Bob Thornton)
It's a strong testament to this film that no human on Earth can watch it all the way through without talking like Billy Bob for the next several hours. The film that gave way to "French Fried Potaters" and "Not Funny Ha-Ha, but Funny Queer" is also well known for its expert use of Southern accents without being farcical. Little Lucas Black kept that accent his entire career and is still working today, bless his heart.
7. THE KILLER INSIDE ME (2010, dir. by Michael Winterbottom)
I've waxed long and hard about how much I love this adaptation of Jim Thompson's novel, especially in this guest post over at Hardboiled Wonderland. This gritty, sociopathic film is steeped heavy in Southern noir tradition. And the darkness and insanity in Lou Ford's head offer a grim hand toward the "grotesque" elements of Southern Gothic. Most folks don't like the movie, but I ain't most folks. And neither are you...
6. BLACK SNAKE MOAN (2006, dir. by Craig Brewer)
This is one of my favorite movies of all time. Hot, gritty, sweaty, sexy... The music is amazing. Samuel L. Jackson actually learned to play guitar on Highway 61 by Northern Mississippi bluesmen... The title is taken from an old Lemon Jefferson song. The mix of race and religion and sex is a lethal recipe for something dangerous and this fuse gets lit at the very beginning of the movie.
5. THE APOSTLE (1997, dir. by Robert Duvall)
In one of the stellar acting performances of all time, Robert Duvall is a fucking dynamo as exiled Pentecostal preacher Sonny aka The Prophet E.F. If this flick comes on, I can't look away until well into the ending credits, as this movie refuses to quit. Catch an early performance by Southern stalwart Walton Goggans, and even an excellent turn from former Angel Farrah Fawcett, but don't kid yourself, this movie is all about Robert Duvall.
4. MUD (2012, directed by Jeff Nichols)
I'm calling it now: Go see everything by Jeff Nichols. After the brilliant Take Shelter and then the soon to be classic Mud, this guy is turning out to be my kind of storyteller. Mud is almost color-by-numbers Southern Gothic, and the Mud and Sam Shepard character are straight-up noir. This movie came at the beginning of the "McConassaince," before True Detective and Dallas Buyer's Club, so it's awesome to see him slumming on an indie film again. And bringing it.
3. FRAILTY (2001, dir. by Bill Paxton)
Wha...What? Two movies in a row starring Matthew McConaughey? What did you expect? This film here is one of my all-time favorites. It's got what you need: grotesques, religion, mystical realism... Questioning right and wrong. Dude, if you've never seen FRAILTY, get thee to a Redbox immediately. I don't want to say anything for risk of spoiler alert.
2. WINTER'S BONE (2010, dir by Debra Granik)
This one has everything you need. Early Jennifer Lawrence, a mess of cast members from Deadwood, and a script based on one of Daniel Woodrell's best novels. The entire film oozes despair and the backstory of the Dolly-Jessup feud could potentially fuel fifteen feature films. John Hawkes plays one of the most terrifying Southern characters and I can't say enough about how kickass this film is.
1. BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD (2012, dir by Benh Zeitlin)
A stunning film and story. I won't ruin it with my words. Go see it and prepare to be blown away.
Eryk Pruitt is a screenwriter, author and filmmaker livingin Durham, NC with his wife Lana and cat Busey. His short film FOODIE won several awards at film festivals across theUS. His fiction appears in The Avalon Literary Review, Pulp Modern, Thuglit,Swill, and Pantheon Magazine, toname a few. In 2013, he was a finalistfor Best Short Fiction in Short StoryAmerica. His novel Dirtbags waspublished in April 2014 and is available in both print and e-formats. A fulllist of credits can be found at erykpruitt.com. SUPPORT HIS LATEST SOUTHERN GOTHIC NOIR FILM "THE HOODOO OF SWEET MAMA ROSA" BY CONTRIBUTING TO THE INDIEGOGO CAMPAIGN:
TOP TEN SOUTHERN GOTHIC NOIR FILMS
10. GEORGE WASHINGTON (2000, directed by David Gordon Green)
This film takes place in an impoverished North Carolina town. It's gritty and surreal and extremely tragic. What's really tragic is the dude that directed this stunning flick went on to direct Pineapple Express, but I guess we're all just squirrels trying to get a nut in the end. Casting Nick Cage for the title character in Joe probably wasn't a great move, either, but he did a damn good job in George Washington so for that I commend him.
9. ANGEL HEART (1987, directed by Alan Parker)
Alan Parker made some pretty good flicks, from Midnight Express to Pink Floyd's The Wall and even another great Southern flick, Mississippi Burning, but this hot, steamy flick will forever be remembered as what got Lisa Bonet kicked off The Cosby Show. This movie is Bad Ass. A detective story about a guy who descends into the depths of Hell... er, New Orleans to find the missing Harry Angel and... well, too many spoiler alerts to continue.
8. SLING BLADE (1996, dir. by Billy Bob Thornton)
It's a strong testament to this film that no human on Earth can watch it all the way through without talking like Billy Bob for the next several hours. The film that gave way to "French Fried Potaters" and "Not Funny Ha-Ha, but Funny Queer" is also well known for its expert use of Southern accents without being farcical. Little Lucas Black kept that accent his entire career and is still working today, bless his heart.
7. THE KILLER INSIDE ME (2010, dir. by Michael Winterbottom)
I've waxed long and hard about how much I love this adaptation of Jim Thompson's novel, especially in this guest post over at Hardboiled Wonderland. This gritty, sociopathic film is steeped heavy in Southern noir tradition. And the darkness and insanity in Lou Ford's head offer a grim hand toward the "grotesque" elements of Southern Gothic. Most folks don't like the movie, but I ain't most folks. And neither are you...
6. BLACK SNAKE MOAN (2006, dir. by Craig Brewer)
This is one of my favorite movies of all time. Hot, gritty, sweaty, sexy... The music is amazing. Samuel L. Jackson actually learned to play guitar on Highway 61 by Northern Mississippi bluesmen... The title is taken from an old Lemon Jefferson song. The mix of race and religion and sex is a lethal recipe for something dangerous and this fuse gets lit at the very beginning of the movie.
5. THE APOSTLE (1997, dir. by Robert Duvall)
In one of the stellar acting performances of all time, Robert Duvall is a fucking dynamo as exiled Pentecostal preacher Sonny aka The Prophet E.F. If this flick comes on, I can't look away until well into the ending credits, as this movie refuses to quit. Catch an early performance by Southern stalwart Walton Goggans, and even an excellent turn from former Angel Farrah Fawcett, but don't kid yourself, this movie is all about Robert Duvall.
4. MUD (2012, directed by Jeff Nichols)
I'm calling it now: Go see everything by Jeff Nichols. After the brilliant Take Shelter and then the soon to be classic Mud, this guy is turning out to be my kind of storyteller. Mud is almost color-by-numbers Southern Gothic, and the Mud and Sam Shepard character are straight-up noir. This movie came at the beginning of the "McConassaince," before True Detective and Dallas Buyer's Club, so it's awesome to see him slumming on an indie film again. And bringing it.
3. FRAILTY (2001, dir. by Bill Paxton)
Wha...What? Two movies in a row starring Matthew McConaughey? What did you expect? This film here is one of my all-time favorites. It's got what you need: grotesques, religion, mystical realism... Questioning right and wrong. Dude, if you've never seen FRAILTY, get thee to a Redbox immediately. I don't want to say anything for risk of spoiler alert.
2. WINTER'S BONE (2010, dir by Debra Granik)
This one has everything you need. Early Jennifer Lawrence, a mess of cast members from Deadwood, and a script based on one of Daniel Woodrell's best novels. The entire film oozes despair and the backstory of the Dolly-Jessup feud could potentially fuel fifteen feature films. John Hawkes plays one of the most terrifying Southern characters and I can't say enough about how kickass this film is.
1. BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD (2012, dir by Benh Zeitlin)
A stunning film and story. I won't ruin it with my words. Go see it and prepare to be blown away.
Eryk Pruitt is a screenwriter, author and filmmaker livingin Durham, NC with his wife Lana and cat Busey. His short film FOODIE won several awards at film festivals across theUS. His fiction appears in The Avalon Literary Review, Pulp Modern, Thuglit,Swill, and Pantheon Magazine, toname a few. In 2013, he was a finalistfor Best Short Fiction in Short StoryAmerica. His novel Dirtbags waspublished in April 2014 and is available in both print and e-formats. A fulllist of credits can be found at erykpruitt.com. SUPPORT HIS LATEST SOUTHERN GOTHIC NOIR FILM "THE HOODOO OF SWEET MAMA ROSA" BY CONTRIBUTING TO THE INDIEGOGO CAMPAIGN:
July 16, 2014
Music for your Piehole - Detroit Rock City
Look, it ain't no secret: I got no love for New York City. One thing that really gets my goat is that anywhere you are in America, some transplanted New Yorker (or worse, someone who spent a weekend in New York and now regards themselves more cosmopolitan than need be) will go all up in arms anytime you try and perform one of the most basic American tasks, which is ordering a pizza.
One of my favorites: "Oh, your from Texas so you don't know what good pizza is."
Want to watch a throwdown? Get some asshole talking New York pizza, then throw someone from Chicago into the mix. You know, "The Windy City" did not get its moniker because of the Lake Michigan breeze, but rather because it's a metropolis chock full of braggarts.
Look man, I just like pizza. I like to put it into my mouth and chew it up and swallow it. Why everytime folks try to eat something it has to be turned into some foodie food blog is beyond me. It makes me wonder if there's something in the water up in New York City that turns everyone into a douchebag so they can ruin grinders or knishes or Reuben sandwiches for the rest of the country. But it's pizza goddammit so please, eat it and quit instagramming it.
But I got news for you. There's another kid on the block and he ain't so much about making noise. He's about being cooked and eaten and he knows New Yorkers and Chicagoans and food bloggers and just plain old douchenozzles will freak out at the mere mention of another type of pizza.
I'm talking about Detroit.
Detroit style pizza is some good stuff fella, and it's the revolution that's quietly taking over the country. Originally cooked in auto parts pans, the pizza is crispy and crunchy and a downright pleasure to put into your face. Best I can tell, it started at Buddy's Rendezvous in Hamtramck at 17125 Conant St. (it's still there today). Other pizzerias caught on, including Cloverleaf, Jet's and the Detroit Style Pizza Co. (to name a few).
But the reach is growing. Jet's has put a few shops around the country, including some over in Raleigh. Speaking of Raleigh, you can order Detroit style pizza off a truck at Klausie's Pizza. But the best is probably found in Louisville at a shop called Loui Loui's, where owner Mike Spurlock took and accountant-slash-mad scientist's approach by systematically studying the best Detroit style pizzas and creating his own award-winning recipe. Seriously, Loui Loui's is where it's at.
So there you have it. I could post pictures of my food, or go on and on about what it tastes like by overusing words such as chewy or cheesy or even use made up words like umami or nom nom but I won't because I am not a food blogger; I'm a for-real writer.
What I will do instead is give you some music that will rock your face off. Unless of course you are from New York City. In that case, I have nothing that will help you.
TOP TEN SONGS ABOUT DETROIT10. "Detroit Rock City" by KISSLet's just get it out of the way. It's the one you've all heard of and folks will flip their lid if it's not somewhere on this list. So here it is. But I'm sticking to my guns re: Eminem and Kid Rock. Now, let's all join the adults at the Big Table. 9. "Detroit City Blues" by Fats Domino
I double-dog dare you to talk about Detroit and not talk about race. Can't do it. Well, maybe you can, kicking it down in the urban sidewalk beaches of Dan Gilbert-ville, under the watchful eye of the video cameras, sipping on an iced latte or pina colada and saying "Ahh, now THIS is the real Detroit." But as living conditions became increasingly intolerable in the Jim Crow South, more African-Americans migrated northward to urban centers. Where most companies employed discrimination tactics, auto companies such as Ford recruited blacks to assist with labor demands, especially during the periods of World War. Songs such as this from Fats Domino sound as if they had been commissioned by the city to encourage folks to move. 8. "Detroit Special" by Big Bill BroonzyThere's a lot of songs about trains with Detroit in the name. It was a coin flip between this one and "Detroit
Arrow" by Shy Guy Douglas but this is the one that had a YouTube video, so there you have it. 7. "John Sinclair" by John LennonThis song rocks. It's about a 60s activist who was given ten years for trying to sell two joints to undercover cops. It got a bunch of people in a tizzy, including former Beatle John Lennon. This may come as a surprise to you, but a lot of other famous people came from Detroit. Like Axel Foley, for instance, the super cop who TWICE saved Beverly Hills from corruption. Also Elmore Leonard, who lived there until he died (of natural causes). Or Sonny Bono. Or Francis Ford Coppola, Roger Corman, Richard Keil, James Earl Jones, George C. Scott, Tom Selleck, Sam Raimi, Aretha Franklin, IGGY POP, Madonna, and Mitch Albom. And my wife and her ancestors.And more. But John Sinclair's the one who had a song about him.Because he sold two joints to cops.6. "Big 3 Killed my Baby" by the White StripesYou know who else is from Detroit? Jack and Meg White, that's who. 5. "Detroit Blues" by Tampa Red
Tampa Red says nobody knows Detroit like he do because he's rambled it through and through. If this was true, then he knows all about Detroit's signature sandwich: The Coney. Yes, back in 1914, Bill and Gus
Keros, Greek immigrants, started the first Coney Island, which is a Michigan "diner." Their restaurant was called American Coney Island. A business dispute caused the brothers to disband, with Gus heading next door to start Lafayette Coney Island. All Coney Islands feature the Coney, an all beef hot dog topped with meat chili (no beans), onions and mustard. Chili cheese fries are the natural accompanyment. You put this in your mouth and chew it. It is good.
All of Detroit is split down the middle by where they like to eat their coney. You are either American or
Lafayette. Unless you are a suburbanite (live beyond 8 mile), then you throw National into the mix. Coneys are good. A little known fact is that the saying originally was "A Coney a day keeps the doctor away" but the apple lobbyists got their fingers on it and history was changed.4. "Motor City" by Neil YoungFor a Southerner to list a Neil Young song on his top ten blog is kind of like admitting that you think Derek Jeter may be a "stand-up guy." Because, you know, we don't need him around anyhow. But man, this song is catchy and has a beat you can dance to. And I'm sure he's teaching us all a lesson. So thanks Neil Young. 3. "Panic in Detroit" by David BowieMan, this song has it all. It's like Bowie read an Elmore Leonard novel then picked up a guitar. If any word captures old-school Detroit, it's "panic." A city with a reputation hard enough to spawn Axel Foley has to have a gritty, crime-fueled song as an anthem and this one will do it.2. "One Piece at a Time" by Johnny CashMan, this is the coolest song ever. You can't talk about Detroit without talking about cars. Blondie does it with "Detroit 442". Reverend Horton Heat does it with "Galaxie 500." Clint Eastwood took a break from talking to chairs to do it during the end credits of the horribly edited Gran Torino. Everybody has been doing it since cars were invented, but it takes a truly revolutionary son of a bitch to talk about creating his own car compiled of pieces stolen off the GM assembly line. I think this song best captures the spirit of a town run by big auto, then let down by them. 1. "The Motor City is Burning" by John Lee Hooker
Well, here we are. By this time, some folks may be pulling out their hair, screaming about me not including anything Motown or hey, where's the Kid Rock or how come you ain't got no Eminem or any of that. While I think "Nowhere to Run" by Martha and the Vandellas is one of the scariest songs ever, I just don't get the Detroit feel to a lot of those songs. When I think of Detroit, I think of cars and the Lions going 0-16 in 2008 and the auto bailouts and crime and the riots of 1967 and the Murder Capital of the World and Pizza Liquor Lotto at the party stores. I think of streets named after miles and Hell Night where it's perfectly legal to set the entire city on fire. I think of Ben Wallace telling Ron Artest you can't act like that around here and the "Malice at the Palace." ("They have gone beserk in Detroit! There's bedlam in Detroit!") The Bad Boys. Ty Cobb telling everyone to go fuck themselves. The banana in the tailpipe. Robocop. How a city built an entire nation of cars and put us in the mix through industrialization and two World Wars, then through corrupt management and corrupt politicians, let it all slip through their fingers and now the entire world is watching and waiting for it to redefine itself and come back from the ashes like a phoenix from this great big fire.
But man, what a fire and how bright it burns.
Did I miss something? There's a place for that, you know. It's called the comments section and it's down yonder.
ERYK PRUITT is a filmmaker, author, and screenwriter living in Durham, NC with his wife Lana and his cat Busey. His short film FOODIE won several awards at film festivalsacross the US. His fiction appears in The Avalon Literary Review, Pulp Modern, Thuglit,Swill, and Pantheon Magazine, toname a few. In 2013, he was a finalistfor Best Short Fiction in Short StoryAmerica. His novel Dirtbags waspublished in April 2014 and is available in both print and e-formats. A fulllist of credits can be found at erykpruitt.com.
One of my favorites: "Oh, your from Texas so you don't know what good pizza is."
Want to watch a throwdown? Get some asshole talking New York pizza, then throw someone from Chicago into the mix. You know, "The Windy City" did not get its moniker because of the Lake Michigan breeze, but rather because it's a metropolis chock full of braggarts.Look man, I just like pizza. I like to put it into my mouth and chew it up and swallow it. Why everytime folks try to eat something it has to be turned into some foodie food blog is beyond me. It makes me wonder if there's something in the water up in New York City that turns everyone into a douchebag so they can ruin grinders or knishes or Reuben sandwiches for the rest of the country. But it's pizza goddammit so please, eat it and quit instagramming it.
But I got news for you. There's another kid on the block and he ain't so much about making noise. He's about being cooked and eaten and he knows New Yorkers and Chicagoans and food bloggers and just plain old douchenozzles will freak out at the mere mention of another type of pizza.
I'm talking about Detroit.
Detroit style pizza is some good stuff fella, and it's the revolution that's quietly taking over the country. Originally cooked in auto parts pans, the pizza is crispy and crunchy and a downright pleasure to put into your face. Best I can tell, it started at Buddy's Rendezvous in Hamtramck at 17125 Conant St. (it's still there today). Other pizzerias caught on, including Cloverleaf, Jet's and the Detroit Style Pizza Co. (to name a few).
But the reach is growing. Jet's has put a few shops around the country, including some over in Raleigh. Speaking of Raleigh, you can order Detroit style pizza off a truck at Klausie's Pizza. But the best is probably found in Louisville at a shop called Loui Loui's, where owner Mike Spurlock took and accountant-slash-mad scientist's approach by systematically studying the best Detroit style pizzas and creating his own award-winning recipe. Seriously, Loui Loui's is where it's at.So there you have it. I could post pictures of my food, or go on and on about what it tastes like by overusing words such as chewy or cheesy or even use made up words like umami or nom nom but I won't because I am not a food blogger; I'm a for-real writer.
What I will do instead is give you some music that will rock your face off. Unless of course you are from New York City. In that case, I have nothing that will help you.
TOP TEN SONGS ABOUT DETROIT10. "Detroit Rock City" by KISSLet's just get it out of the way. It's the one you've all heard of and folks will flip their lid if it's not somewhere on this list. So here it is. But I'm sticking to my guns re: Eminem and Kid Rock. Now, let's all join the adults at the Big Table. 9. "Detroit City Blues" by Fats Domino
I double-dog dare you to talk about Detroit and not talk about race. Can't do it. Well, maybe you can, kicking it down in the urban sidewalk beaches of Dan Gilbert-ville, under the watchful eye of the video cameras, sipping on an iced latte or pina colada and saying "Ahh, now THIS is the real Detroit." But as living conditions became increasingly intolerable in the Jim Crow South, more African-Americans migrated northward to urban centers. Where most companies employed discrimination tactics, auto companies such as Ford recruited blacks to assist with labor demands, especially during the periods of World War. Songs such as this from Fats Domino sound as if they had been commissioned by the city to encourage folks to move. 8. "Detroit Special" by Big Bill BroonzyThere's a lot of songs about trains with Detroit in the name. It was a coin flip between this one and "Detroit Arrow" by Shy Guy Douglas but this is the one that had a YouTube video, so there you have it. 7. "John Sinclair" by John LennonThis song rocks. It's about a 60s activist who was given ten years for trying to sell two joints to undercover cops. It got a bunch of people in a tizzy, including former Beatle John Lennon. This may come as a surprise to you, but a lot of other famous people came from Detroit. Like Axel Foley, for instance, the super cop who TWICE saved Beverly Hills from corruption. Also Elmore Leonard, who lived there until he died (of natural causes). Or Sonny Bono. Or Francis Ford Coppola, Roger Corman, Richard Keil, James Earl Jones, George C. Scott, Tom Selleck, Sam Raimi, Aretha Franklin, IGGY POP, Madonna, and Mitch Albom. And my wife and her ancestors.And more. But John Sinclair's the one who had a song about him.Because he sold two joints to cops.6. "Big 3 Killed my Baby" by the White StripesYou know who else is from Detroit? Jack and Meg White, that's who. 5. "Detroit Blues" by Tampa Red
Tampa Red says nobody knows Detroit like he do because he's rambled it through and through. If this was true, then he knows all about Detroit's signature sandwich: The Coney. Yes, back in 1914, Bill and Gus Keros, Greek immigrants, started the first Coney Island, which is a Michigan "diner." Their restaurant was called American Coney Island. A business dispute caused the brothers to disband, with Gus heading next door to start Lafayette Coney Island. All Coney Islands feature the Coney, an all beef hot dog topped with meat chili (no beans), onions and mustard. Chili cheese fries are the natural accompanyment. You put this in your mouth and chew it. It is good.
All of Detroit is split down the middle by where they like to eat their coney. You are either American or Lafayette. Unless you are a suburbanite (live beyond 8 mile), then you throw National into the mix. Coneys are good. A little known fact is that the saying originally was "A Coney a day keeps the doctor away" but the apple lobbyists got their fingers on it and history was changed.4. "Motor City" by Neil YoungFor a Southerner to list a Neil Young song on his top ten blog is kind of like admitting that you think Derek Jeter may be a "stand-up guy." Because, you know, we don't need him around anyhow. But man, this song is catchy and has a beat you can dance to. And I'm sure he's teaching us all a lesson. So thanks Neil Young. 3. "Panic in Detroit" by David BowieMan, this song has it all. It's like Bowie read an Elmore Leonard novel then picked up a guitar. If any word captures old-school Detroit, it's "panic." A city with a reputation hard enough to spawn Axel Foley has to have a gritty, crime-fueled song as an anthem and this one will do it.2. "One Piece at a Time" by Johnny CashMan, this is the coolest song ever. You can't talk about Detroit without talking about cars. Blondie does it with "Detroit 442". Reverend Horton Heat does it with "Galaxie 500." Clint Eastwood took a break from talking to chairs to do it during the end credits of the horribly edited Gran Torino. Everybody has been doing it since cars were invented, but it takes a truly revolutionary son of a bitch to talk about creating his own car compiled of pieces stolen off the GM assembly line. I think this song best captures the spirit of a town run by big auto, then let down by them. 1. "The Motor City is Burning" by John Lee Hooker
Well, here we are. By this time, some folks may be pulling out their hair, screaming about me not including anything Motown or hey, where's the Kid Rock or how come you ain't got no Eminem or any of that. While I think "Nowhere to Run" by Martha and the Vandellas is one of the scariest songs ever, I just don't get the Detroit feel to a lot of those songs. When I think of Detroit, I think of cars and the Lions going 0-16 in 2008 and the auto bailouts and crime and the riots of 1967 and the Murder Capital of the World and Pizza Liquor Lotto at the party stores. I think of streets named after miles and Hell Night where it's perfectly legal to set the entire city on fire. I think of Ben Wallace telling Ron Artest you can't act like that around here and the "Malice at the Palace." ("They have gone beserk in Detroit! There's bedlam in Detroit!") The Bad Boys. Ty Cobb telling everyone to go fuck themselves. The banana in the tailpipe. Robocop. How a city built an entire nation of cars and put us in the mix through industrialization and two World Wars, then through corrupt management and corrupt politicians, let it all slip through their fingers and now the entire world is watching and waiting for it to redefine itself and come back from the ashes like a phoenix from this great big fire.But man, what a fire and how bright it burns.
Did I miss something? There's a place for that, you know. It's called the comments section and it's down yonder.
ERYK PRUITT is a filmmaker, author, and screenwriter living in Durham, NC with his wife Lana and his cat Busey. His short film FOODIE won several awards at film festivalsacross the US. His fiction appears in The Avalon Literary Review, Pulp Modern, Thuglit,Swill, and Pantheon Magazine, toname a few. In 2013, he was a finalistfor Best Short Fiction in Short StoryAmerica. His novel Dirtbags waspublished in April 2014 and is available in both print and e-formats. A fulllist of credits can be found at erykpruitt.com.
May 12, 2014
April 11, 2014
FIVE SUREFIRE AND INEXPENSIVE WAYS TO PROMOTE YOUR BOOK
Hey newly published writers! Let's face it: unless you've got a crack marketing and promotions team, it's pretty damn difficult to get your new novel in front of people. Facebook can only do so much, Twitter is what it is, and what the hell is Pinterest anyway?
Ask any agent or publisher and they will really drive home the importance of the "platform." Platform is one of the most overused words in publishing right now, just behind "paranormal romance." The idea behind a platform is that, along with your work, you bring with you enough expertise and automatic sales to successfully sell your book. Like say for instance you are a well-known foodie, then you've got a great platform to sell a cookbook.
But there have to be other ways to get the attention necessary to help you sell a new book. I will give this information to you for only $235. only $65. ABSOLUTELY FREE!!!
TOP FIVE WAYS TO INCREASE VISIBILITY FOR YOUR NEW NOVEL 5. A Sex Scandal
Yes, in this day and age, sex still sells. And no kind of sex sells better than the forbidden kind. I mean there sometimes is no better advertisement than getting caught with your dick in something it's not supposed to be in. And even better (for some of you) if there's video proof of said event. But throughout history, there has been no better sales tactic than a good old fashioned sex scandal. Remember that dude General Petraeus, who fought the Taliban and Al Qaeda and a bunch of other heroic shit? His book did so-so after his tours of duty, but after he got caught with saucy emails... BOOM! That book went off like an IED. Can you imagine reading Bill Clinton's book had there been no Monica Lewinsky? I couldn't. So if you want to help increase sales and can't afford a top dollar publicist, then go get your fingers in something. But whatever you do, don't forget to get caught! 4. An iPhone Video of a TragedyMan, these days, no tragedy happens in the world without somebody capturing it on their iPhone or reasonable facsimile thereof. Think about it, if you happen along a burning school bus full of children, whip out your phone and take a picture of it. Better yet, be the ONLY person taking a picture of it. That's right, when Nightline or 20/20 or Al Jazeera show that video on an endless loop, that's your name they have to show in the corner. You can't beat that kind of publicity with a stick. And the bigger the catastrophe, the more visibility you gain from it. So if you're not lucky enough to wander upon a tragedy, consider creating one. After all, aren't you creative to begin with? 3. An Insensitive Tweet or Comment
Think about it. Would you have even known there were Danish cartoonists had they not drawn pictures of the Mohammad? That dude who made the silly video on YouTube got three hundred million more hits than any silly "safe" stuff I'm ever going to produce. No one even remembers liking Mel Gibson in Lethal Weapon II anymore, as his later career has totally upstaged the Mad Max days. The sad truth is that one simple insensitive tweet has got legs. It can give you the traction in todays hyperfast world that good, honest work may not be able to generate. So try it out. There are plenty of pussies out there in the world. Find the group that's right for you to offend. Me, I like going after feminists, because there's usually something stuck up there in the first place. Something like:"Feminism is just a bunch of silly shit a woman said and did in her past that she's ashamed of now that she's settled down and married."Or"Welcome to West Durham, where the women's legs are hairy and the men's aren't."
Or even
"Hey, let's all admit we only fast forward through HBO's Girls to the scenes with Allison Williams."But that's just for me. You may find it easier to say something insensitive about all sorts of groups. Just make sure you get someone rankled enough to give you the attention you crave. 2. Murder Your WifeThis one is tricky. In the state of North Carolina, the wife is technically still classified as your "property," so it is considerably easier to get off the hook for murdering her. HOWEVER, you must be careful, as this is a double-edged sword.ABC-11 is obsessed with wife-killing murder trials. If you don't believe me, tune in. There's a new one every week. When they can't find one around here, they retry one that got away with it in the past, sometimes three or four times. Lately, there's been a dearth of good wife-killers, so we're borrowing the one in South Africa, Mr. Oscar Pistorius. But the fact remains: had ANY one of those bastards written a book, it'd be flying off the shelves right now. They wouldn't have to walk into Barnes and Noble, hat in hand, and ask ever so nicely for their book to be carried in stock, placed on the shelf. No, that thing would be on its second or third printing by now. 1. A Good Old Fashioned Shooting Spree Eryk Pruitt is a screenwriter, author, and filmmaker living in the woods of Durham, NC with his (still alive for now) wife, Lana and his cat Busey. His new novel DIRTBAGS was just released and he is looking for any way in the world to promote it. Perhaps you can help him. It's available in print, e-formats and hopefully in a tolerant bookstore near you. LINK TO PUBLISHER: http://www.immortalinkpublishing.com/books.php?id=34BOOK TRAILER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejEmGlhy2PEGET THE BOOK NOW ON AMAZON: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JGZHXN2
Ask any agent or publisher and they will really drive home the importance of the "platform." Platform is one of the most overused words in publishing right now, just behind "paranormal romance." The idea behind a platform is that, along with your work, you bring with you enough expertise and automatic sales to successfully sell your book. Like say for instance you are a well-known foodie, then you've got a great platform to sell a cookbook.
But there have to be other ways to get the attention necessary to help you sell a new book. I will give this information to you for only $235. only $65. ABSOLUTELY FREE!!!
TOP FIVE WAYS TO INCREASE VISIBILITY FOR YOUR NEW NOVEL 5. A Sex Scandal
Yes, in this day and age, sex still sells. And no kind of sex sells better than the forbidden kind. I mean there sometimes is no better advertisement than getting caught with your dick in something it's not supposed to be in. And even better (for some of you) if there's video proof of said event. But throughout history, there has been no better sales tactic than a good old fashioned sex scandal. Remember that dude General Petraeus, who fought the Taliban and Al Qaeda and a bunch of other heroic shit? His book did so-so after his tours of duty, but after he got caught with saucy emails... BOOM! That book went off like an IED. Can you imagine reading Bill Clinton's book had there been no Monica Lewinsky? I couldn't. So if you want to help increase sales and can't afford a top dollar publicist, then go get your fingers in something. But whatever you do, don't forget to get caught! 4. An iPhone Video of a TragedyMan, these days, no tragedy happens in the world without somebody capturing it on their iPhone or reasonable facsimile thereof. Think about it, if you happen along a burning school bus full of children, whip out your phone and take a picture of it. Better yet, be the ONLY person taking a picture of it. That's right, when Nightline or 20/20 or Al Jazeera show that video on an endless loop, that's your name they have to show in the corner. You can't beat that kind of publicity with a stick. And the bigger the catastrophe, the more visibility you gain from it. So if you're not lucky enough to wander upon a tragedy, consider creating one. After all, aren't you creative to begin with? 3. An Insensitive Tweet or Comment
Think about it. Would you have even known there were Danish cartoonists had they not drawn pictures of the Mohammad? That dude who made the silly video on YouTube got three hundred million more hits than any silly "safe" stuff I'm ever going to produce. No one even remembers liking Mel Gibson in Lethal Weapon II anymore, as his later career has totally upstaged the Mad Max days. The sad truth is that one simple insensitive tweet has got legs. It can give you the traction in todays hyperfast world that good, honest work may not be able to generate. So try it out. There are plenty of pussies out there in the world. Find the group that's right for you to offend. Me, I like going after feminists, because there's usually something stuck up there in the first place. Something like:"Feminism is just a bunch of silly shit a woman said and did in her past that she's ashamed of now that she's settled down and married."Or"Welcome to West Durham, where the women's legs are hairy and the men's aren't."Or even
"Hey, let's all admit we only fast forward through HBO's Girls to the scenes with Allison Williams."But that's just for me. You may find it easier to say something insensitive about all sorts of groups. Just make sure you get someone rankled enough to give you the attention you crave. 2. Murder Your WifeThis one is tricky. In the state of North Carolina, the wife is technically still classified as your "property," so it is considerably easier to get off the hook for murdering her. HOWEVER, you must be careful, as this is a double-edged sword.ABC-11 is obsessed with wife-killing murder trials. If you don't believe me, tune in. There's a new one every week. When they can't find one around here, they retry one that got away with it in the past, sometimes three or four times. Lately, there's been a dearth of good wife-killers, so we're borrowing the one in South Africa, Mr. Oscar Pistorius. But the fact remains: had ANY one of those bastards written a book, it'd be flying off the shelves right now. They wouldn't have to walk into Barnes and Noble, hat in hand, and ask ever so nicely for their book to be carried in stock, placed on the shelf. No, that thing would be on its second or third printing by now. 1. A Good Old Fashioned Shooting Spree Eryk Pruitt is a screenwriter, author, and filmmaker living in the woods of Durham, NC with his (still alive for now) wife, Lana and his cat Busey. His new novel DIRTBAGS was just released and he is looking for any way in the world to promote it. Perhaps you can help him. It's available in print, e-formats and hopefully in a tolerant bookstore near you. LINK TO PUBLISHER: http://www.immortalinkpublishing.com/books.php?id=34BOOK TRAILER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejEmGlhy2PEGET THE BOOK NOW ON AMAZON: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JGZHXN2
February 19, 2014
THE RALEIGH NEWS & OBSERVER SUCKS -- And Other Songs about Things Gone by the Wayside
The dinosaurs. The dodo bird. The Polaroid camera. The Twinkie. Pluto.
In this day and age, perhaps you crave a bit of stability. It's not going to happen. It's a changing world and, in some cases, it changes much faster than you can process. For instance, I sometimes fail to see the necessity to camp out for the latest smartphone because a new one is just around the corner. By the time I get around to upgrading from Vista, I've completely missed Windows 7. And recently I was told "nobody emails anymore."
What???
I look at the speed that things change and I find myself saying the last words a marked man says to the guy come to kill him: "Wait... please wait..."
But there's one thing that is forever and that is music. Since folks first figured out how to record
music, people like Jimmie Rodgers and Lead Belly and The Carter Family have recorded songs that will remain forever and not go away. But while these songs remain, some of the content has faded long ago. And these songs serve as amber encasing these fossilized remains of institutions long past.
Take for example: The Newspaper. Man, nobody loves loved a good newspaper more than me. I grew up in Dallas and watched two daily papers battle it out for business. I even delivered the now-defunct Dallas Times Herald. But since the so-called death of print journalism, I've watched my current paper (The Raleigh News & Observer) get smaller and smaller, while farming content from
around the country, rather than focus on home-grown talent. For instance, what do I care what some asshat from LA thinks about a studio movie? I want to hear a local reviewer. But no, the geniuses at The News & Observer can't justify that paycheck. There's a bottom line and several things get cut at a paper run by the McClatchy Co. Local reporting, content, and above all: CUSTOMER SERVICE.
That's right. In my opinion the true death of print journalism is being heralded by poor customer service. We may be able to tolerate the steadily shrinking newspaper in exchange for increased online coverage (which they don't have). But sneaking in rate hikes to long time customers which dwarf rates quoted to new subscribers is counterproductive. It's like the restaurateur who raises the prices for a plate of shrimp and grits then, one by one, removes one shrimp from the plate per year. No, that's shitty. Then, observe the latest tactics they employ. When you try and cancel the paper due to the sneaky practice of hiking rates (andchanging your ability to adjust your subscription online), they charge you anyway and refuse to take the charge off your card.
With customer service standards like this, it's no wonder print is "dead."
But newspapers aren't the only ones. There are many songs from yester-year that we've known and loved that recall some relic of a bygone era. And what better way is there to celebrate extinction than with a beat you can dance to?
TOP TEN SONGS ABOUT THINGS THAT ARE DEAD 10. "Hanging on the Telephone" by BlondieFuture generations will still dig Blondie, I'm sure of it. And when they hear lines such as "I'm on the phone booth it's the one across the hall/If you don't answer then I'll ring it off the wall," I picture entire generations with mouths agape and sounding a collective "Huh?" Still, at gas stations you can find the poles where phone booths once stood. My mother's tired old nag "Anywhere in America there is a payphone and you can call if you're going to be home late" is just as obsolete. Also, remember the old shit-country song "Here's a Quarter, Call Someone Who Cares?" Well, it stopped costing a quarter years ago, and now a lyric would need to be added about finding a phone in the first place. 9. "Please Mister Postman" by The MarvelettesSure, we still get mail delivered. It's no longer by Pony Express or even Western Union, but USPS has been outmatched by UPS and FedEx in recent years. And one has to wonder what the next step from those big three will be. Personally, as a man who roots for the apocalypse, I can't wait for the return of the Pony Express. But I digress... 8. "c30 c60 c90 Go" by Bow Wow Wow Sigh. An entire generation has no idea what that alphanumeric title recalls. Yes, the cassette suffered a fate worse than the 8 track. The 8 Track signifies the ultimate in 70s bliss, but at least you could skip ahead to a track. Remember rewinding and fast-forwarding? Remember taping over things? Remember the long ribbons of tape spooling out from your cassette, then having to wind it all back up with a pencil but it never, ever sounding the same again? DRAG. No, I hated cassettes. There is no nostalgia there. 7. "Kill Your Television" by Ned's Atomic Dustbin This is happening before our very eyes. As Time Warner Cable and Comcast eat each other out, we're left to ponder higher or lower prices. But the kids have already moved on. The next generations have forgone the expensive cable conundrum with Hulu, Netflix, On Demand, etc. So many people have figured a way to circumvent traditional television that it threatens to change the landscape of programming forever. And judging by the crap that network television shovels out there now, this is not a bad thing. 6. "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record) by Dead or Alive Vinyl is seeing a resurgence. Merch tables all across the land peddle vinyl which honestly makes a much better souvenir than CDs. With vinyl, many bands give you a download code to play the music so that the album is better preserved, which is GENIUS. If only newspapers could find a way to be similarly inventive. 5. "Quaaludes Again" by Shel Silverstein Oh, I just couldn't resist. How many top ten music lists give you Shel Silverstein? Or Quaaludes? While barbies will never go out of style, Quaaludes symbolize 70s/80s drug culture and have been replaced by Xanax, Perkies, or Oxy. But no word better hearkens to mind drugged-out disco than Quaaludes.
4. "Kodachrome" by Paul Simon Granted, the Polaroid suffered a fate more absolute than Kodachrome, but this song says it all. And since I really have no desire to add more to the argument, I'd like to take the opportunity to repeat that the customer service team at The News & Observer really pisses me off. I hope janking my thirty bucks makes you feel good.
3. "Cover of the Rolling Stone" by Dr. Hook
Sure, the magazine is still around, but I haven't bought one since they put Dzhokhar Tsarnaev on the cover. Most of the shit they talk about is music for kids, and I've got no time for that. I'm busy making top ten lists.
2. "Paperback Writer" by The Beatles
This one breaks my heart. As a fiction writer with a forthcoming novel, I have a soft spot in my heart for the written word. My house looks like the inside of a Half-Price Books. My favorite television moment of all time is when Burgess Meredith breaks his glasses at the end of the Twilight Zone (kids, google it), which is the reason I will never purchase a Kindle because when the apocalypse happens, there will be nowhere to recharge your reading material. Think about that.
1. "Yesterday's Papers" by The Rolling Stones
And now we come full circle. Yes, I love you like Yesterday's Papers. What to do now, that we can get our media online? When we can wrap our fish in the Indy Week, which thanks to an informative writing staff with people such as Victoria Bouloubasis, David Fellerath and Lisa Sorg, we finally have challenging content in the Triangle. We can start chimney fires with pretreated logs. At the end of my subscription, the only thing that still mattered was the crossword puzzle. But I'm not going to be treated like a bitch for a crossword puzzle, News & Observer. Do you hear me? I'm like Mouth at the bottom of the well in The Goonies, holding tight to his coins and declaring that I'm taking back my two quarters. I'm taking them all back.
FYI: This entire post was written while on hold with the customer service department of The Raleigh News and Observer. Are there any songs you can think of that describe bygone institutions? Please put them in the comments section below. Eryk Pruitt is a screenwriter, author and filmmaker living in Durham, NC with his wife Lana and cat Busey. His work has appeared in ZYMBOL, PULP MODERN, THUGLIT and THE AVALON LITERARY REVIEW, to name a few. His debut novel DIRTBAGS will be released in March of 2014. A full list of his credits can be found at erykpruitt.com and anyone with hate mail should know he is armed and has no god.
In this day and age, perhaps you crave a bit of stability. It's not going to happen. It's a changing world and, in some cases, it changes much faster than you can process. For instance, I sometimes fail to see the necessity to camp out for the latest smartphone because a new one is just around the corner. By the time I get around to upgrading from Vista, I've completely missed Windows 7. And recently I was told "nobody emails anymore."
What???
I look at the speed that things change and I find myself saying the last words a marked man says to the guy come to kill him: "Wait... please wait..."
But there's one thing that is forever and that is music. Since folks first figured out how to record
music, people like Jimmie Rodgers and Lead Belly and The Carter Family have recorded songs that will remain forever and not go away. But while these songs remain, some of the content has faded long ago. And these songs serve as amber encasing these fossilized remains of institutions long past.
Take for example: The Newspaper. Man, nobody loves loved a good newspaper more than me. I grew up in Dallas and watched two daily papers battle it out for business. I even delivered the now-defunct Dallas Times Herald. But since the so-called death of print journalism, I've watched my current paper (The Raleigh News & Observer) get smaller and smaller, while farming content from
around the country, rather than focus on home-grown talent. For instance, what do I care what some asshat from LA thinks about a studio movie? I want to hear a local reviewer. But no, the geniuses at The News & Observer can't justify that paycheck. There's a bottom line and several things get cut at a paper run by the McClatchy Co. Local reporting, content, and above all: CUSTOMER SERVICE.
That's right. In my opinion the true death of print journalism is being heralded by poor customer service. We may be able to tolerate the steadily shrinking newspaper in exchange for increased online coverage (which they don't have). But sneaking in rate hikes to long time customers which dwarf rates quoted to new subscribers is counterproductive. It's like the restaurateur who raises the prices for a plate of shrimp and grits then, one by one, removes one shrimp from the plate per year. No, that's shitty. Then, observe the latest tactics they employ. When you try and cancel the paper due to the sneaky practice of hiking rates (andchanging your ability to adjust your subscription online), they charge you anyway and refuse to take the charge off your card.
With customer service standards like this, it's no wonder print is "dead."
But newspapers aren't the only ones. There are many songs from yester-year that we've known and loved that recall some relic of a bygone era. And what better way is there to celebrate extinction than with a beat you can dance to?
TOP TEN SONGS ABOUT THINGS THAT ARE DEAD 10. "Hanging on the Telephone" by BlondieFuture generations will still dig Blondie, I'm sure of it. And when they hear lines such as "I'm on the phone booth it's the one across the hall/If you don't answer then I'll ring it off the wall," I picture entire generations with mouths agape and sounding a collective "Huh?" Still, at gas stations you can find the poles where phone booths once stood. My mother's tired old nag "Anywhere in America there is a payphone and you can call if you're going to be home late" is just as obsolete. Also, remember the old shit-country song "Here's a Quarter, Call Someone Who Cares?" Well, it stopped costing a quarter years ago, and now a lyric would need to be added about finding a phone in the first place. 9. "Please Mister Postman" by The MarvelettesSure, we still get mail delivered. It's no longer by Pony Express or even Western Union, but USPS has been outmatched by UPS and FedEx in recent years. And one has to wonder what the next step from those big three will be. Personally, as a man who roots for the apocalypse, I can't wait for the return of the Pony Express. But I digress... 8. "c30 c60 c90 Go" by Bow Wow Wow Sigh. An entire generation has no idea what that alphanumeric title recalls. Yes, the cassette suffered a fate worse than the 8 track. The 8 Track signifies the ultimate in 70s bliss, but at least you could skip ahead to a track. Remember rewinding and fast-forwarding? Remember taping over things? Remember the long ribbons of tape spooling out from your cassette, then having to wind it all back up with a pencil but it never, ever sounding the same again? DRAG. No, I hated cassettes. There is no nostalgia there. 7. "Kill Your Television" by Ned's Atomic Dustbin This is happening before our very eyes. As Time Warner Cable and Comcast eat each other out, we're left to ponder higher or lower prices. But the kids have already moved on. The next generations have forgone the expensive cable conundrum with Hulu, Netflix, On Demand, etc. So many people have figured a way to circumvent traditional television that it threatens to change the landscape of programming forever. And judging by the crap that network television shovels out there now, this is not a bad thing. 6. "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record) by Dead or Alive Vinyl is seeing a resurgence. Merch tables all across the land peddle vinyl which honestly makes a much better souvenir than CDs. With vinyl, many bands give you a download code to play the music so that the album is better preserved, which is GENIUS. If only newspapers could find a way to be similarly inventive. 5. "Quaaludes Again" by Shel Silverstein Oh, I just couldn't resist. How many top ten music lists give you Shel Silverstein? Or Quaaludes? While barbies will never go out of style, Quaaludes symbolize 70s/80s drug culture and have been replaced by Xanax, Perkies, or Oxy. But no word better hearkens to mind drugged-out disco than Quaaludes.
4. "Kodachrome" by Paul Simon Granted, the Polaroid suffered a fate more absolute than Kodachrome, but this song says it all. And since I really have no desire to add more to the argument, I'd like to take the opportunity to repeat that the customer service team at The News & Observer really pisses me off. I hope janking my thirty bucks makes you feel good.
3. "Cover of the Rolling Stone" by Dr. Hook
Sure, the magazine is still around, but I haven't bought one since they put Dzhokhar Tsarnaev on the cover. Most of the shit they talk about is music for kids, and I've got no time for that. I'm busy making top ten lists.
2. "Paperback Writer" by The Beatles
This one breaks my heart. As a fiction writer with a forthcoming novel, I have a soft spot in my heart for the written word. My house looks like the inside of a Half-Price Books. My favorite television moment of all time is when Burgess Meredith breaks his glasses at the end of the Twilight Zone (kids, google it), which is the reason I will never purchase a Kindle because when the apocalypse happens, there will be nowhere to recharge your reading material. Think about that.
1. "Yesterday's Papers" by The Rolling Stones
And now we come full circle. Yes, I love you like Yesterday's Papers. What to do now, that we can get our media online? When we can wrap our fish in the Indy Week, which thanks to an informative writing staff with people such as Victoria Bouloubasis, David Fellerath and Lisa Sorg, we finally have challenging content in the Triangle. We can start chimney fires with pretreated logs. At the end of my subscription, the only thing that still mattered was the crossword puzzle. But I'm not going to be treated like a bitch for a crossword puzzle, News & Observer. Do you hear me? I'm like Mouth at the bottom of the well in The Goonies, holding tight to his coins and declaring that I'm taking back my two quarters. I'm taking them all back.
FYI: This entire post was written while on hold with the customer service department of The Raleigh News and Observer. Are there any songs you can think of that describe bygone institutions? Please put them in the comments section below. Eryk Pruitt is a screenwriter, author and filmmaker living in Durham, NC with his wife Lana and cat Busey. His work has appeared in ZYMBOL, PULP MODERN, THUGLIT and THE AVALON LITERARY REVIEW, to name a few. His debut novel DIRTBAGS will be released in March of 2014. A full list of his credits can be found at erykpruitt.com and anyone with hate mail should know he is armed and has no god.
January 12, 2014
THE END IS NEAR: Top Ten Movies about Pandemics, Epidemics, Plagues and the End of the World
Let's face it: We all have to die sometime, so why not at the same time?
Recently a small bout of H1N1 (swine flu) placed me under quarantine at my house and with plenty of time to study the subject in American cinema. I can't help but think we have it easy, perhaps too easy.
Gone are the days of Spanish Influenza (which ended the first World War) and Bubonic Plague (which changed the diet and trajectory of Western Civilization), when a simple sniffle could instantly blank a third of the planet's human population. What we are left with are watered-down illnesses that couldn't hold a candle to their predecessors... the viral equivalent of Kim Jong Un or Raul Castro.
As our planet bursts at the seams due to overpopulation, we must ask ourselves: Isn't it time for a new pandemic? As the burdens of technology and PROGRESS and civilization threaten to smother us, wouldn't a global reset button be nice? With all the blather and rhetoric about end times around the end/beginning of the millenium, shouldn't we be putting the skates on a new world order?
Don't worry, I'm not a virologist or epidemiologist or anyone who made better than a B in any of my science courses. I've not got a master plan to bring about the end of the world. But don't trick yourself into believing that I'm not ready. Whether it be through zombies, nuclear fallout, or a simple strain of some nasty flu, I'm prepared for the end and I repent daily.
So when you feel that tickle in your throat, draw the shades and get thee to a warm bowl of chicken soup. Hit up the Netflix and learn from your predecessors. There are lots of films out there celebrating sickness at the end of the world, and the good right Reverend has them for you right here.
TOP TEN MOVIES ABOUT PANDEMICS, EPIDEMICS, PLAGUES, and the END OF THE WORLD10. THE HAPPENING (2008) I can see a lot of people getting bent with this choice. Several folks got upset with Shyamalan's lack of explanation, not realizing that we don't care WHAT caused the event, just what happened. If these things were going on, bringing about the end of the world, I probably wouldn't be glued to CNN trying to figure out the science. No, I'd be running for my life. It's called a MacGuffin, y'all.
The great George Romero never explained what caused the Zombie Holocaust. You know why? It wasn't important. And in the midst of it all, we'd never know either and the not knowing increases the terror. Man, this was a great flick.
9. QUARANTINE / [REC] (2008/2007)
[REC] came first in Spain, then the Americans remade it as Quarantine. Both versions are pretty tight, but if I had my druthers, the fella who made the marketing campaign for the American version would be shot up with SARS. For the trailer, THEY INCLUDED THE FINAL SHOT OF THE FILM. What the hell? Who does that? So throughout the movie, you are waiting for that shot of Jennifer Carpenter being dragged away
through night-vision goggles and as the movie ends, you realize they've given you the greatest spoiler of all.
Both versions have sequels and Quarantine 2 isn't half bad. It's the perfect movie to watch as you battle your own cold.
8. CABIN FEVER (2002)
Yes, here's a good one. If you're like me, you think of Eli Roth as the Bear Jew, or the dude who made Hostel. But his first film is certainly one of his finest. Classic premise: kids go camping in the woods. People pair up, some fuck, then suddenly, something uninvited ends up in their camp and one by one they are systematically eliminated.
If it sounds cliche, I am not doing it justice. Trust me, this movie will change the way you look at bottled water forever.
7. MULBERRY STREET (2006)
This here is the best infection movie you've never seen.
I'm well on the record for my belief that, if there's one city in the world that's overpopulated (and overblown), it's New York City. If I lived there, I'd lock my one-room apartment door and not answer when my neighbor came a-pounding, asking for sanctuary from the infection. Say there's something turning people into rat-faced killers? I wouldn't know the difference between the effects of the virus and regular New Yorkers. Better safe than sorry. No, I'd lock the door and stay in and watch the other 7 FILMS TO DIE FOR.
6. RIGHT AT YOUR DOOR (2006)
Ah... for a change of pace, we'll head over to the other overpopulated region of the world: Los Angeles. In this sleeper film, someone's launched dirty bombs and folks need to close off their house from the rest of the world. Seal themselves in. Do not interact with others. Trust me: we could do a lot worse than to seal off L.A.
This one's really good. It moves a bit slow, but your finger won't be hovering over the FF button. And the ending is one you don't actually see coming.
5. BLACK DEATH (2010)
Yes, this will pang the old nostalgia nerve. The Black Death. Bubonic Plague. The granddaddy of all pandemics. So deadly, it was immortalized in a children's nursery rhyme. The good old days, when "a pocket full of poseys" was all that masked the rancid smell of massive death from your nose. As nations battled for power across Europe, there was no greater equalizer than this bloody disease. So wide was its scope, that the human diet was forever changed, as fewer people created abundance and we switched from a grain-based diet to meat. What better way to promote social mobility than to ruin up to fifty percent of your nation's population?
4. THE CRAZIES (2010)
First off, Timothy Olyphant is the Sam Elliot of this generation. Second, it's nearly sacrilege to herald a remake over the original, but this flick blows George Romero out of the water. (no pun intended)
A government plane goes down in a swamp and leaks some shady shit into a small town's water supply. Havoc is wreaked.
There are WAY too many surprise kills in this baby for my own tastes, but this is heart-pounding, white-knuckle horror. Dig it.
3. 12 MONKEYS (1995)
This one's got it all: Time travel, Brad Pitt's Oscar nominated rant about drugs, Pandemics and monkeys. Some folks got their panties in a wad because they didn't feel like the bad guy had enough motive to spread the disease. TO HELL WITH YOU. What more incentive do you need? Honestly, if I got my grubbies on a vial of pandemic juice, I wouldn't hesitate to board the first plane to WhoCares and dump it on the lot of you. What doesn't kill us makes us stronger and brings us closer to God, where we belong.
Or something like that.
2. THE PLAGUE (1992)
This one's a doozy. It's based on the book by Albert Camus, but the setting has been moved to South America. Audiences are treated to a hell of a batch of performances by Robert Duvall, William Hurt and Raul Julia. While it is less commercial horror, like those listed above, this one is more TERROR horror and, in my opinion, is the scariest of the bunch. The treatment of those infected is so realistic and much like what we'd expect to not only see in third-world shitholes, but this first-world shithole as well. As people are packed into a soccer stadium... I should say no more. If you've got the sniffles, you should hit the NyQuil and throw this title into whatever space age movie viewer you choose. No matter how strong the cough syrup, you may not be able to get any sleep.
1. CONTAGION (2011)
I hate this movie the most because it's the perfect outbreak movie. The scale of the pandemic is so severe and horrifying, anyone trying to write about the plague should snap their pencils immediately in two. There is no hope, there is no salvation. A virus has struck the world and we race to find out not only the cure, but the source. I'd be a giant douchecicle if I spoiled the ending, but just know: when it's revealed, I (the writer of FOODIE) am vindicated. I've always known this is how the world would end.
If you watch this movie, you will never get on a plane, visit China, touch another human, or eat in a restaurant ever again.
And if none of this does it for you, watch it just to see Gwyneth Paltrow die. And get her brain cut open. #GOOP
If I sound too callous, don't hold it against me. My entire life has been preparing for the end of times, and just short of the Apocalypse, I have spent my days readjusting. Hopefully it will come in my lifetime. In the event that I am unable to witness it, I have imagined it over and over in fiction. Please check out my dystopian short story "Druthers" in the post-apocalyptic anthology NUCLEAR TOWN USA or "A Way Yet to Go" featured in the anthology BRIEF GRISLYS. That story was adapted to an upcoming horror film directed by Christopher G. Moore of Cinema Fuel Productions, titled "DISENGAGED" and will be out this summer.
I promise not to bore you with stories of hope at the end of the world. Not your daddy's hope, at any rate.
Recently a small bout of H1N1 (swine flu) placed me under quarantine at my house and with plenty of time to study the subject in American cinema. I can't help but think we have it easy, perhaps too easy.
Gone are the days of Spanish Influenza (which ended the first World War) and Bubonic Plague (which changed the diet and trajectory of Western Civilization), when a simple sniffle could instantly blank a third of the planet's human population. What we are left with are watered-down illnesses that couldn't hold a candle to their predecessors... the viral equivalent of Kim Jong Un or Raul Castro. As our planet bursts at the seams due to overpopulation, we must ask ourselves: Isn't it time for a new pandemic? As the burdens of technology and PROGRESS and civilization threaten to smother us, wouldn't a global reset button be nice? With all the blather and rhetoric about end times around the end/beginning of the millenium, shouldn't we be putting the skates on a new world order?
Don't worry, I'm not a virologist or epidemiologist or anyone who made better than a B in any of my science courses. I've not got a master plan to bring about the end of the world. But don't trick yourself into believing that I'm not ready. Whether it be through zombies, nuclear fallout, or a simple strain of some nasty flu, I'm prepared for the end and I repent daily.
So when you feel that tickle in your throat, draw the shades and get thee to a warm bowl of chicken soup. Hit up the Netflix and learn from your predecessors. There are lots of films out there celebrating sickness at the end of the world, and the good right Reverend has them for you right here.
TOP TEN MOVIES ABOUT PANDEMICS, EPIDEMICS, PLAGUES, and the END OF THE WORLD10. THE HAPPENING (2008) I can see a lot of people getting bent with this choice. Several folks got upset with Shyamalan's lack of explanation, not realizing that we don't care WHAT caused the event, just what happened. If these things were going on, bringing about the end of the world, I probably wouldn't be glued to CNN trying to figure out the science. No, I'd be running for my life. It's called a MacGuffin, y'all.
The great George Romero never explained what caused the Zombie Holocaust. You know why? It wasn't important. And in the midst of it all, we'd never know either and the not knowing increases the terror. Man, this was a great flick.
9. QUARANTINE / [REC] (2008/2007)
[REC] came first in Spain, then the Americans remade it as Quarantine. Both versions are pretty tight, but if I had my druthers, the fella who made the marketing campaign for the American version would be shot up with SARS. For the trailer, THEY INCLUDED THE FINAL SHOT OF THE FILM. What the hell? Who does that? So throughout the movie, you are waiting for that shot of Jennifer Carpenter being dragged away
through night-vision goggles and as the movie ends, you realize they've given you the greatest spoiler of all.
Both versions have sequels and Quarantine 2 isn't half bad. It's the perfect movie to watch as you battle your own cold.
8. CABIN FEVER (2002)
Yes, here's a good one. If you're like me, you think of Eli Roth as the Bear Jew, or the dude who made Hostel. But his first film is certainly one of his finest. Classic premise: kids go camping in the woods. People pair up, some fuck, then suddenly, something uninvited ends up in their camp and one by one they are systematically eliminated.
If it sounds cliche, I am not doing it justice. Trust me, this movie will change the way you look at bottled water forever.
7. MULBERRY STREET (2006)
This here is the best infection movie you've never seen.
I'm well on the record for my belief that, if there's one city in the world that's overpopulated (and overblown), it's New York City. If I lived there, I'd lock my one-room apartment door and not answer when my neighbor came a-pounding, asking for sanctuary from the infection. Say there's something turning people into rat-faced killers? I wouldn't know the difference between the effects of the virus and regular New Yorkers. Better safe than sorry. No, I'd lock the door and stay in and watch the other 7 FILMS TO DIE FOR.
6. RIGHT AT YOUR DOOR (2006)
Ah... for a change of pace, we'll head over to the other overpopulated region of the world: Los Angeles. In this sleeper film, someone's launched dirty bombs and folks need to close off their house from the rest of the world. Seal themselves in. Do not interact with others. Trust me: we could do a lot worse than to seal off L.A.
This one's really good. It moves a bit slow, but your finger won't be hovering over the FF button. And the ending is one you don't actually see coming.
5. BLACK DEATH (2010)
Yes, this will pang the old nostalgia nerve. The Black Death. Bubonic Plague. The granddaddy of all pandemics. So deadly, it was immortalized in a children's nursery rhyme. The good old days, when "a pocket full of poseys" was all that masked the rancid smell of massive death from your nose. As nations battled for power across Europe, there was no greater equalizer than this bloody disease. So wide was its scope, that the human diet was forever changed, as fewer people created abundance and we switched from a grain-based diet to meat. What better way to promote social mobility than to ruin up to fifty percent of your nation's population?
4. THE CRAZIES (2010)
First off, Timothy Olyphant is the Sam Elliot of this generation. Second, it's nearly sacrilege to herald a remake over the original, but this flick blows George Romero out of the water. (no pun intended)
A government plane goes down in a swamp and leaks some shady shit into a small town's water supply. Havoc is wreaked.
There are WAY too many surprise kills in this baby for my own tastes, but this is heart-pounding, white-knuckle horror. Dig it.
3. 12 MONKEYS (1995)
This one's got it all: Time travel, Brad Pitt's Oscar nominated rant about drugs, Pandemics and monkeys. Some folks got their panties in a wad because they didn't feel like the bad guy had enough motive to spread the disease. TO HELL WITH YOU. What more incentive do you need? Honestly, if I got my grubbies on a vial of pandemic juice, I wouldn't hesitate to board the first plane to WhoCares and dump it on the lot of you. What doesn't kill us makes us stronger and brings us closer to God, where we belong.
Or something like that.
2. THE PLAGUE (1992)
This one's a doozy. It's based on the book by Albert Camus, but the setting has been moved to South America. Audiences are treated to a hell of a batch of performances by Robert Duvall, William Hurt and Raul Julia. While it is less commercial horror, like those listed above, this one is more TERROR horror and, in my opinion, is the scariest of the bunch. The treatment of those infected is so realistic and much like what we'd expect to not only see in third-world shitholes, but this first-world shithole as well. As people are packed into a soccer stadium... I should say no more. If you've got the sniffles, you should hit the NyQuil and throw this title into whatever space age movie viewer you choose. No matter how strong the cough syrup, you may not be able to get any sleep.
1. CONTAGION (2011)
I hate this movie the most because it's the perfect outbreak movie. The scale of the pandemic is so severe and horrifying, anyone trying to write about the plague should snap their pencils immediately in two. There is no hope, there is no salvation. A virus has struck the world and we race to find out not only the cure, but the source. I'd be a giant douchecicle if I spoiled the ending, but just know: when it's revealed, I (the writer of FOODIE) am vindicated. I've always known this is how the world would end.
If you watch this movie, you will never get on a plane, visit China, touch another human, or eat in a restaurant ever again.
And if none of this does it for you, watch it just to see Gwyneth Paltrow die. And get her brain cut open. #GOOP
If I sound too callous, don't hold it against me. My entire life has been preparing for the end of times, and just short of the Apocalypse, I have spent my days readjusting. Hopefully it will come in my lifetime. In the event that I am unable to witness it, I have imagined it over and over in fiction. Please check out my dystopian short story "Druthers" in the post-apocalyptic anthology NUCLEAR TOWN USA or "A Way Yet to Go" featured in the anthology BRIEF GRISLYS. That story was adapted to an upcoming horror film directed by Christopher G. Moore of Cinema Fuel Productions, titled "DISENGAGED" and will be out this summer.
I promise not to bore you with stories of hope at the end of the world. Not your daddy's hope, at any rate.
