Biopic: A Podcast Story

Episode 45: Lisztomania with Special Guest Elana Levin from the Graphic Policy Podcast

Happy birthday to Rena and Roger Daltrey! We’re delighted to be joined by the brilliant Elana Levin from the Graphic Policy podcast (https://graphicpolicy.com/radio/, on Bluesky @Levin) for the completely bananas, wildly original Lisztomania, Ken Russell’s 1970s musical biopic on the first rock star, Franz Lizst. 
In this super-sized episode, we’re talking about birthday boy Roger Daltrey, a Roger Daltrey voodoo doll, phallus-laden musical numbers, Ringo Starr as the pope, neglected children, a room filled with butt sconces, a gold-dipped Frankenstein, a Richard Wagner-Hitler-vampire hybrid, a gorgeous score by prog rock el divo Rick Wakeman, and the most beautifully literal Deus Ex Machina in the history of the world. And that’s only scratching the surface.
Naturally, there are corpse capers, because why wouldn’t there be? 
Buckle up: You haven’t seen one like this before. 
Lisztomania is directed by Ken Russell and scored by Rick Wakeman, and stars Roger Daltrey as Franz Liszt, Paul Nicholas as Richard Wagner, Sara Kestelman as Princess Carolyn, Ringo Starr as the Pope, Veronica Quilligan as Cosima, Fiona Lewis as Marie, and Nell Campbell as Olga Janina. 
Sources: 
Franz Liszt: Musician, Celebrity, Superstar, by Oliver Hilmes.
Being Wagner: The Story of the Most Provocative Composer Who Ever Lived, by Simon Callow.
The Biographers podcast six episode series on Franz Liszt.
 
Find Elana here: https://graphicpolicy.com/radio/ 
Spoiler Warning: We spoil everything. And we enjoy it.
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Episode 44: Shirley, Starring Regina King as Shirley Chisholm!

We buckle up for the inspiring but also totally depressing story of Shirley Chisolm, the fearless Brooklynite who became the first major-party female candidate for President. Shirley is inspiring because she has class, style, incredible smarts, and is a preternaturally gifted politician. Shirley totally bummed us out because [gestures around at the trash-fire trainwreck that is 2025, and Americans’ racism and misogyny and how they got us to said trash-fire trainwreck]. Outside of the lamentable place in time in which we exist, we are nevertheless inspired by Shirley Chisholm, the trails she blazed, and the spaces she made at the table for the women who followed.
Other topics of discussion: The halcyon days of Richard Nixon’s genteel corruption, John Ridley and Regina King’s casual brilliance, how Shirley Chisholm used her powers to change George Wallace, and how men will always protect each other from a woman leader.
We introduce two new segments, “Greenbook Greenlight,” and “Sara Managed to Wedge in Jonestown, Somehow.”
 
References: 
Slate.com
Smithsonian Magazine Unbought and Unbossed, by Shirley Chisholm
Unbought and Unbossed, the documentary about Shirley Chisholm
“227” Theme Song 
 
Spoiler Warning: We spoil everything. And we enjoy it.
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Episode 43: Straight Outta Compton, the Story of N.W.A.

Responsible for this podcast’s existence and our term “Eazy-E Crying,” Straight Outta Compton is a straight-up delight — a biopic about the seminal rap group NWA whose excellence defies “and-then-i-ness,” that gets inside the joy of the creative process and manages to do non-cloying fan service. While the film is not without flaws (glossing over some pretty intense misogyny and some pretty serious abuse allegations), it’s pretty great. 
Between unpacking a set of star-making performances and outstanding direction, we discuss whether an under-the-influence-of-Ambien Tipper Gore is writing all of the film’s negative reviews on IMDB, why you should never start a rap beef with Ice Cube, how neither of us know anything about the strength of street knowledge, whether Paul Giamatti is playing history’s greatest monster, and Sara’s fear of pool parties.  
Straight Outta Compton is directed by F. Gary Gray and stars O’Shea Jackson as Ice Cube, Corey Hawkins as Dr. Dre, Jason Mitchell as Eazy-E, Neil Brown Jr. as DJ Yella, Aldis Hodge as MC Ren, Marlon Yates as D.O.C., R. Marcus Taylor as Suge Knight, and Paul Giamatti as Jerry Heller. 
Spoiler Warning: We spoil everything. And we enjoy it.
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Episode 42: 42, Starring Chadwick Boseman as Jackie Robinson

Description: Black History Month continues, and numerical kismet isn’t the only thing we love this week: We LOVE 42, the 2013 biopic about Jackie Robinson’s first year as the first Black Major League Baseball player. The late, great Chadwick Boseman is, of course, brilliant, but so is Harrison Ford as sportsball manager Branch Rickey, a man committed to desegregating MLB. Which, spoiler alert, is what happens as Jackie Robinson joins the Brooklyn Dodgers and changes the game forever.
There are roadblocks, mainly a number of white men whose use of the n-word is, shall we say, Quentin Tarantino film-level liberal in this movie. We also discover Chris Meloni is too sexy for the managerial work of pro baseball, Alan Tudyk sure can let the evil fly when he feels like it, and Hamish Linklater is a dreamboat as the legendary ballplayer and product-of-prolific-parents Ralph Branca. 
And sad warning: We know nothing about baseball. 
ALSO ALSO: We’ve got promo codes for Academy Award® Nominee for Best Original Screenplay, SEPTEMBER 5 is now on Digital. Based on true events at the 1972 Olympics and the hostage crisis that changed media coverage forever. Starring Peter Sarsgaard, John Magaro, Ben Chaplin, and Leonie Benesch. BUY OR RENT SEPTEMBER 5 on Fandango at Home NOW! Rated PG. From Paramount Pictures. HIT US UP for a promo code (while supplies last) to watch the movie at home for free, at any of our places below. 
 
Spoiler Warning: We spoil everything. And we enjoy it.
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Episode 41: Harriet, Starring Cynthia Erivo as Harriet Tubman

It’s our first episode in Black History Month, and we’re starting with a bang – the story of one Harriet Tubman. Ms. Tubman is among the historical figures whose life most closely resembles that of a Marvel hero, so her moment was long overdue. But if you have to wait, at least you get the superlative talents, brilliance, and star power of one Cynthia Erivo playing Harriet. 
While witnessing the unfathomable courage of Harriet Tubman, we consider issues like: how long should you wait to get remarried after your wife is presumed dead? Why are you here, Joe Alwyn? What’s the right color coat to wear when you are rescuing your entire family? Can we build an entire movie around the image of Janelle Monae teaching Cynthia Erivo to aim a pistol? 
We have a lot of uncomfortable questions with easy answers since we are living through the trash fire of the year of our Lord 2025: Why did it take so long for Harriet Tubman to get the proper big screen treatment? Why isn’t she on our $20 bills yet? Why isn’t anyone in the Clarke Peters business? 
ALSO ALSO: We’ve got promo codes for Academy Award® Nominee for Best Original Screenplay, SEPTEMBER 5 is now on Digital. Based on true events at the 1972 Olympics and the hostage crisis that changed media coverage forever. Starring Peter Sarsgaard, John Magaro, Ben Chaplin, and Leonie Benesch. BUY OR RENT SEPTEMBER 5 on Fandango at Home NOW! Rated PG. From Paramount Pictures. HIT US UP for a promo code (while supplies last) to watch the movie at home for free, at any of our places below. 
Spoiler Warning: We spoil everything. And we enjoy it.
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Episode 40: A Complete Unknown, Starring Timothee Chalamet as Bob Dylan!

How DOES it feel to be a total genius? It’s a burden for our dear friend Bob Dylan. A Complete Unknown is a big hit and is nominated for a billionty-five Academy Awards, so we went to the theaters to experience what might be the most sincere, prestige-y portrait of a ridiculously talented douchebag in the history of filmmaking.
Sara and Rena mostly love this, because of America’s high school English teacher Pete Seeger and his sincere embrace of the composting toilet, the brilliant, no-nonsense Joan Baez, the music, and the sensible but elegant direction and writing. However, its Fail/Safe-level “Will he or won’t he go electric at the Newport Folk Festival” tension does elicit some mockery.
Also discussed: How many decades, exactly, have we been in this emotionally abusive relationship with the original negging pickup artist Bob Dylan? Who are the baby boomers and why hasn’t the media done a better job documenting their fascinating history? Could there be a more labored and nonsensical metaphor for Pete Seeger than his “buckets and seesaw” speech? Why doesn’t Toshi Seeger have her own movie? Was calling Bob Dylan “Judas” for plugging in his guitar an under-reaction?
 
Spoiler Warning: We spoil everything. And we enjoy it.
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Episode 39: Trumbo, Starring Bryan Cranston as Dalton Trumbo!

In honor of Sara’s natal day, we attempt to deconstruct her weird obsession with character actors as we enjoy this delightful film about the blacklist and one of its central heroes, Dalton Trumbo. Absent from the film are twin douchenozzles Joe McCarthy and Roy Cohn, but present are douchenozzles like real-life blacklisting masturbator Louis CK and a bowdlerized version of nightmare gossip hack Louella Parsons (she was even worse IRL!). 
Do we wrongly credit Kirk Douglas for breaking the blacklist when it should be Frank and Hymie King (ne Kozinsky) of The King Brothers Productions? Is John Wayne the worst? Is there anything more appealing than seeing a functional addict and workaholic have his Christmas ruined by Otto Preminger? Have fun with this far-too-timely movie about moral relativism and choosing between ideals and functioning in society! Happy January 2025, everyone! 
Trumbo was directed by Jay Roach and written by John McNamara and Bruce Cook, and stars Bryan Cranston as Dalton Trumbo, Diane Lane as Cleo Trumbo, Helen Mirren as Hedda Hopper, Michael Stuhlbarg as Edward G. Robinson, David James Elliott as John Wayne, Alan Tudyk as Ian McLellan Hunter, Roger Bart as Buddy Ross, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as Virgil Brooks, Elle Fanning as Niki Trumbo, John Goodman as Frank King, and Stephen Root as Hymie King.  
Sources: 
Hedda Hopper’s Hollywood: Celebrity Gossip and American Conservatism by Jennifer Frost
Trumbo by Bruce Cook
Blacklisted: Hollywood, the Cold War, and the First Amendment by Larry Dane Brimner
You Must Remember This podcast, season 6, episodes about the blacklist
Behind the Bastards, series on John Wayne 
Spoiler Warning: We spoil everything. And we enjoy it.
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Episode 38: Marie Antoinette with Special Guest Belle from Silhouettes: A Fashion History Podcast

How gorgeous is Sofia Coppola’s delicious, vibes-filled Marie Antoinette? So gorgeous that we brought on a special guest, Belle, the host of Silhouettes: The Fashion History Podcast, to discuss.
In addition to Belle’s deep expertise around the era, we discuss Kirsten Dunst’s perfection, the meta-level brilliance of Sofia’s cast (who better to play Louis XV than Rip Torn, a madcap actor with a secret family?), how Marie Antoinette created cottage-core, wigs, and the nightmarish ennui of the mid-aughts. Also, what is the appropriate way to correct the reproductive techniques of a king? 
Marie Antoinette was written and directed by Sofia Coppola, and stars Kirsten Dunst as Marie Antoinette, Jason Schwartzman as Louis XVI, Rip Torn as Louis XV, Steve Coogan as Ambassador Mercy, Judy Davis as Comtesse de Noailles, Asia Argento as Comtesse du Barry, Rose Byrne as Duchesse de Polignac, Marianne Faithfull as Empress Maria Theresa, Jamie Dornan as Count Axel Fersen, and a blink-and-you-miss-him baby Tom Hardy, who already exudes star power.
 
Sources: 
Silhouettes: A Fashion History Podcast: https://linktr.ee/silhouettespodcast?utm_source=linktree_profile_share&ltsid=5495ec93-ea02-430a-b1d1-c54895893449 
Marie Antoinette: The Journey by Antonia Fraser.
Marie-Therese, Child of Terror by Susan Nagel.
Marie Antoinette's Head: The Royal Hairdresser, the Queen, and the Revolution by Will Bashor.
Spoiler Warning: We spoil everything. And we enjoy it.
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