CulturePulp.

'cortandfatboy is dead': the final, live episode.

So here's the video of the final "Cort and Fatboy" show -- recorded Friday, Dec. 7 at the Bagdad Theater in front of a live audience. 

Starring Cort, Fats, Robert Wagner, Lisa and Brian Wood, Leia Weathington, Big Jim Willig, Ryan Fleming, Jefferson Smith, Erik Henriksen, Courtenay Hameister, Byron Beck, David Walker, and yrs. truly. Video by Doc Normal and his camera crew.

I turn up about 2 hours in with a slideshow I drew for the occasion (thanks to Bill Mudron and Adrian Wallace for the last-minute art assists).

You can find video and audio versions of the show and (buried in the comments) a downloadable PDF of my slideshow right here.
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cortandfatboy is dead (Friday, Dec. 7, 2012) [ iTunes feed ]

 

CORT AND FATBOY: My final studio episode. (Plus: Movies we liked, 2006-12.)

So the Friday, Nov. 30 "Cort and Fatboy" podcast was my final sit-down in our studio space above the Roseway Theater. Instead of getting all maudlin about how much I loved being on their show most Fridays for six-and-a-half flippin' years, we just talked for 90 minutes about movies, Coppola, Wes Anderson and for some reason "Leonard McCoy: Frontier Doctor."

I also provided a massive, unsorted list of a bunch of movies I dug that came out during my 2006-12 run on the show. It's reproduced here and also after the jump.

'Cort and Fatboy' ends Dec. 7. But hey, at least the book's on sale.

Poster design by The Thomas Wilson.

So yeah,  Cort Webber and Bobby "Fatboy" Roberts have decided to end their five-day-a-week podcast, on which I've appeared most Fridays for the last six-and-a-half years.

I've definitely had some of the Emotions about the announcement. The show changed my life in lots of big and small ways. I'm really going to miss the Midnight Movies, and the show introduced me to pockets of Portland I never would have encountered otherwise.

But I also understand the boys' logic: Better to go out like "Bloom County" than "Peanuts."

Anyway. We're closing out the show on Friday, Dec. 7 with a big fat live performance at the Bagdad featuring all the regular guests. And I'm holding a going-out-of-business sale.

As a thank-you to listeners, "Cort and Fatboy in: The Secret of the Buried Unicorns" -- the world's first and maybe only podcast tie-in storybook -- is now just THREE LOUSY BUCKS at my online store. Made my money back on these a while ago, and there are fewer than 100 left, so if you ever wanted one, now's the time.

• "cortandfatboy is dead" -- Dec. 7, Bagdad Theatre [ buy tickets ]
• Cort and Fatboy in: The Secret of the Buried Unicorns (CulturePulp BigCartel store)

 

Podcast catch-up: 'Skyfall,' 'Twilight,' 'Back to the Future,' an interview for 'Notebook on Cities and Culture' and a special annoucement.

Catching up with some recent podcast appearances:

• During the Friday, Nov. 16  "Cort and Fatboy" podcast, I sort of went off on "Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 2," sorry. Also: Bond, competing "Prometheus" scripts, the Internet cottage-industry economy, and a liquor-store beef. Show-notes in the comments.

• On the Friday, Nov. 9 "Cort and Fatboy," we talked about "Skyfall" (which is pretty damn terrific) and riffed on a variation of The Avengers made entirely of comic-strip-characters (Hagar the Horrible as Thor, Billy from Family Circus as The Hulk, etc.). We may have also reminisced about the long, winding, multi-building history of the show.

• The Friday, Nov. 2 "Cort and Fatboy" deals in Huey Lewis, bad dancing, James Bond, the Disney/Lucasfilm deal,  and vague-tweeting -- this last topic for reasons detailed below...

• On Thursday, Nov. 1, we also recorded our final "Midnight Movie Commentary," this one for "Back to the Future." Featuring Cort, Fats, Dave Walker, Erik Henriksen and yrs. truly. What's that? "Final," you say? Well, fun fact: Immediately after we finished recording this, Cort and Fats informed us that they were canceling their show. More on the live Dec. 7 series finale here.

• Oh, and finally, if you go in for that sort of thing, the v. nice Colin Marshall interviewed yrs. truly about my "CulturePulp" non-fiction comic, fan cultures, "The Sabertooth Vampire" and more for his "Notebook on Cities & Culture" podcast. In a hilarious ironic twist, I spend a bunch of the interview talking about my history with "Cort and Fatboy" and the communities to which it introduced me.

(BTW, I highly recommend checking out Marshall's other "Notebook" episodes -- his interviews with Geoff Dyer, "Hollywood" Steve Huey and Karina Longworth are excellent.)
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• Cort and Fatboy [ iTunes feed ]
• C&F Midnight Movie Commentaries [ iTunes feed ]
• Notebook on Cities and Culture S2E17: Grueling Whittling with Mike Russell

CORT AND FATBOY: 'Cloud Atlas'

That's Hugh Grant up there. Really.

So "Cloud Atlas" boldly jumps right off the damn cliff and the result is surprisingly beautiful and huge-hearted. We had a good long jaw about the movie during the Friday,  Oct. 26 "Cort and Fatboy" podcast. (We even got into that whole "yellowface" controversy that's erupted in some quarters.)

Cort and Fatboy (Friday, Oct. 26, 2012)

[ iTunes feed ]

CORT AND FATBOY: Skaaaaarsgåaaaaard

Special guest Ryan McCluskey joined us on the Friday, Oct. 12 "Cort and Fatboy" podcast to reminisce, hilariously, about the time he got punked by Stellan Skarsgård and Jonathan Pryce.

Cort and Fatboy (Friday, Oct. 12, 2012)

[ iTunes feed ]

CORT AND FATBOY: 'Looper,' 'The Master,' 'Taken 2' and a 'Poltergeist' yack-track

During the Friday, Oct. 5 "Cort and Fatboy" podcast, we talked "Taken 2," "The Master," "Looper," museum-y new Bond themes, and all the uh-oh in that new "Lone Ranger" trailer.

Also online: a commentary track for Cort and Fatboy's Oct. 5 Midnight Movie, "Poltergeist" -- featuring Cort, Fats, Erik Henriksen, David Walker & yrs. truly. Fun fact: It's Erik's first time seeing the movie.

Useful show-notes struggling with the true directorial authorship of "Poltergeist" can be found here.

Poster by The Thomas Wilson.
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• Cort and Fatboy (Friday, Oct. 5, 2012)
  [ iTunes feed ]


• Poltergeist: The Midnight Movie Commentary
  [ iTunes feed ]

 

Three quick sketches

Cort and Fatboy aren't sure what to make of the Sabertooth Vampire

The Sabertooth Vampire takes a flight

Cort, Fatboy, the Sabertooth Vampire, and light falconry

 

10 Things I'd Tell My Younger Self After Reading the Angst-Journal I Kept During A Eurail Vacation 20 Years Ago

During the Friday, Sept. 15 "Cort and Fatboy" podcast, I shared some recent mortification.

Twenty years ago, I went on a tour of Europe with two pals. We were e-mailing each other about the anniversary, so I dug out the journal I kept during the trip. Figured I'd share a few written memories with the other guys.

I  hadn't read this thing since I scribbled it on various trains and barstools from London to Corfu.

I opened it. Oh, the cringing that ensued. Here's a sample passage, from page 23:

ANGSTY ANGST ANGST SELF-LOATHING MYOPIC SHALLOW INSIGHT marginally amusing riff or description ANSGTY ANGST ANGST BONEHEADED ROMANTIC GESTURE CHRONICLED EARNESTLY ANGSTY ANGST Eurail pass ANGST.

As soon as I extract three sentences worth sharing with my two pals, I am killing this thing with fire.

Anyway, during Friday's podcast, I thought I'd try and turn my cringing into  "teachable moments" for any C&F listeners of relevant age and constitution. A more considered text version of this can be found after the jump.

CORT AND FATBOY: 'Raiders' in IMAX, 'Batman' at the beer theater

During the Friday, Sept. 7 "Cort and Fatboy" podcast , I agonized over the way watching "Raiders of the Lost Ark" in IMAX briefly turned me into an obsessive hi-fi nerd. Expectations, marketing, screen sizes, sound mixes, background details, and fond memories of scratchy prints discussed at length, if not with pinpoint accuracy. An unusual single-topic episode.

Also: As a tie-in with our Sept. 7 screening, evidently we recorded a "Midnight Movie Commentary" for the still-quite-entertaining "Batman" (dir. Tim Burton, 1989). Feat. Cort Webber, Bobby Roberts, Ted Douglass, David Walker, Erik Henriksen & yrs. truly.
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Cort and Fatboy (Friday, Sept. 7, 2012) [ subscribe in iTunes ]

Batman: The Midnight Movie Commentary [ subscribe in iTunes ]