CulturePulp.

'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 ]

 

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 ]

 

CORT AND FATBOY: Clint Eastwood vs. the Female Expendables

Above: artwork by Brandon Bird. You can buy it as a print or a lunchbox.

The Friday, Aug. 31 "Cort & Fatboy" podcast was one big weird free-associative brainstorming session, really. Clint Eastwood. Forever 21. Meat Twinkies. Batman. The Female Expendables. "Movie: The Movie." Also, I reviewed films largely by doing impressions of their stars today, which was kind of a departure. (This practice incurred the wrath of my pal Becky Ohlsen.)

Show-notes here.

Cort and Fatboy (Friday, Aug. 31, 2012)

[ subscribe in iTunes ]

CORT AND FATBOY: The Glare of Olmos

I spent much of the Friday, Aug. 17 "Cort and Fatboy" podcast confusing Michael Shannon with Michael Sheen with Martin Sheen, to the great consternation of the hosts.

Also discussed:

• The legend of Edward James Olmos' glare, and the special lighter he gives you if you've pleased him;
• What we might trade to get Chicago-style pizza in Portland;
• That damned addictive-as-hell PSY "Gandam Style" music video;
• Crossfit;
• The gorgeously animated "Paranorman";
• Some groovy local screening events;
• A dopey thing David Cronenberg said about Christopher Nolan;
• The buzz on the "Robocop" remake script; and
• The appearance of the Sabertooth Vampire in another issue of Dark Horse Presents.

Show-notes here.

Cort and Fatboy (Friday, Aug. 17, 2012)

[ subscribe in iTunes ]

CORT AND FATBOY: Bourne and the brass eagle

During the Friday, Aug. 10 "Cort and Fatboy" podcast, we posited a triple-feature of "Red Dawn," "THX 1138" and "They Live"; feared the brass eagle on John Milius' desk; promoted a bunch of cool local screenings; and talked about the weird addiction/recovery stuff Tony Gilroy snuck into "The Bourne Legacy." Among other things.

Extensive show-notes here.

Cort and Fatboy (Friday, Aug. 10, 2012)

[ iTunes feed ]