You are reveling in CultureWag, the best newsletter in the universe, edited by JD Heyman and written by The Avengers of Talent. We lead the conversation about culture: high, medium and deliciously low. Drop us a line about about any old thing, but especially what you want more of, at jdheyman@culturewag.com “If you aren’t reading the Wag, you’ll never get anywhere when it comes to quantum electrodynamics.” —Richard Feynman Hello Smarty, It's Your Weekly Recs!Cannes Craziness, Billboard Queens, Argentine Whodunits, and More ...
Dear Wags, Two of our civilization’s greatest philosophers, Alan Thicke and Gloria Loring, wrote, You take the good, you take the bad, you take them both, and there you have the facts of life. You’ve mainlined a lot of bad news—we hardly need innumerate all the ways our world is barreling toward oblivion. Wag Industries knows this is vexing, and we’re staffing up as fast as we can (thanks to pots and pots of VC money) in an effort to keep your spirits up. If this were the Blitz, we’d be Vera Lynn, singing White Cliffs of Dover to those huddled in the Aldwych tube station. Which is to say: chin up, carry on, there are hopeful signs all around. And for God’s sake, when it’s on offer, take the good. We felt this as jets soared over Boulevard de la Croisette in Cannes, streaking the sky with the French tricolor. Tom Cruise, genuine icon, wowed the locals by saying the right things. Would he have considered a streaming-first option for Top Gun: Maverick? Non, non et non! Why does he do his own stunts? Pourquoi Gene Kelly danse-t-il? Now that, mes amies, is a movie star answer. And one that gives us hope, for art, artists and a battered culture. Some other good things: Wag Suprema Eva Longoria in a dress of shimmering mirrors, on a red carpet where people are allowed to kiss, but not take selfies. Genuine Hero Volodmyr Zelensky, stealing the show in a recorded message at the opening ceremony, quoting Charlie Chaplin in The Great Dictator: The hate of men will pass, and dictators die, and the power they took from the people will return to the people. And so long as men die, liberty will never perish. He said this right before the audience was mauled by Coupez! a zombie comedy from Michel Havanavicius. Why, nothing could be more Cannes than that. That mishmash is the enduring attraction of our way of life. We are free to be serious, and also to be silly. We are free to be messy, to bicker, and to have atrocious taste. Olivier Assayas is free to reboot Irma Vep, starring Alicia Vikander, for HBO, and you are free to pay attention to a ridiculous film festival (now without Russian oligarchs) or ignore it entirely. These are not small things. For all that is wrong with us, it speaks to why people from all over the world still want to be part of the show. Take a moment to be grateful, then throw yourself back into the fray! And now, a few more delights. Amitiés,
In MemoriamWag bids goodbye to a lantern-jawed Icarus, who flew close to the sun, with a Glock in his carry-on. Not only did Madison Cawthorn look like an evil frat boy from One Tree Hill, he played the part with gusto! The writers crammed so much in — phony cover story, insider trading, key bumps of cocaine, sexual get-togethers, homoerotic videos, even a field trip to the Berchtesgaden— it would be have been parody in the hands of less confident performer. We’ll miss you, Mads, but perhaps OAN is in the market for a climate change denying weatherman? Do write when you get work. — Donald J. Penobscott
SeriesAngelyne (Peacock). Before reality stardom, Ronia Tamar Goldberg figured out how to grab public attention without too much talent getting in the way, which if you think about it, is an enormous talent. By inventing a cheesecake persona and promoting herself on billboards across L.A., she became a weird Hollywood symbol, and a harbinger of the future. Emme Rossum walks a mile in her very high heels, and introduces us to the tough, lonely woman behind the hype. Do you get déjà vu, watching The Time Traveler’s Wife (HBO)? Maybe you’ve been transported back to 2003, when Audrey Niffenegger’s bestseller was published, or 2009, for the movie version. Wag is slightly mystified by the eternal appeal of this story of a woman who loves a man who keeps skipping eras. Still, the reboot has Lovely Rose Leslie in it, saying more than Jon Snooooow (Game of Thrones joke). We’d watch her … any time. Badumchaaa! Doc SeriesThe Photographer: Murder in Pinamar (Netflix). Pinamar is the Hamptons of Argentina, a getaway for the elite. When the body of photographer José Luis Cabezas was pulled from his charred car not far from the town’s storied beaches, the hunt for the killer implicated some of the country’s most powerful people. It’s a thriller worthy of Costa-Gavras. Love on the Spectrum (Netflix). The U.S. version of the Australian docuseries follows adults with autism looking for love. If neurotypical people were this endearing, the world would have more happy endings. Proper Piss- UpGirls5eva (Peacock). The first season of Girls introduced us to the unsettling idea of early-aughts nostalgia. Once you shake of the chill of your own mortality, you’ll laugh and laugh. Paula Pell, Sara Bareilles, Renée Elise Goldsberry, and Busy Philipps return as a reunited pop act, trying to make an album in midlife. Did you know that STEM stands for selfies, TikTok, emojis and memes? Genius Meredith Scardino deserves a Nobel for that.
FictionKorean War vet Harry Ingram is hustling in 1960s L.A., working as a news photographer and process server. Racial tensions are running high on the eve of a visit by Dr. Martin Luther King, and as a Black man, he’s at risk every time he shoots a crime scene. When he picks up news of a car wreck on his police scanner, he realizes the vehicle belongs to an old army buddy. With his wits and a Colt .45, he sets out to solve the mystery of his pal’s death, tangling with a host of only-in-LA types in the process. One Shot Harry puts Gary Phillips in good company, alongside Ellroy, Himes & Chandler. Gruesome fun. NonfictionGood urbanists object to skyscrapers. They can be soulless hulks that cast great cities in shadow. Yet, we keep reaching higher — in the years since 9/11, America’s great contribution to architecture has gone global. Stefan Al chronicles the rise of these behemoths in Supertall: How the World’s Tallest Buildings are Reshaping Our Cities and Our Lives. Towers can be symbols of egoism and inequality, but they are also monuments to human ingenuity, and every so often, objects of dizzying beauty. — Bernadette Fox
True CrimeWe’ve gone over this: Canada is darker than you think! Fearless David Ridgen gets this, and in Someone Knows Something, he digs into unsolved mysteries on both sides of the border. This season, he tackles The Abortion Wars, with journalist Amanda Robb, whose uncle, Dr. Barnett Slepian, was murdered in 1998 for helping women terminate pregnancies. Twenty years later, they uncover a global network linked to that crime and other acts of violence. It’s chilling, and timely. Tween AngstMiddle School is hell. But it’s less hellish when Wag Penn Badgley reads your tales of adolescent woe. Educators Nava Kavelin and Sophie Ansari join him in discussing listener horror stories. Special guests include Leighton Meester, Rainn Wilson, and Ayo Edebiri. —Dawn Wiener
Wag Emeritus Julius Eastman was so far ahead of his time, we still haven’t caught up to him. A brilliant composer, musician, and vocalist, he was a bright star of the 1970s experimental music scene. Eastman died in 1990 at only 49, homeless and forgotten. Because he didn’t keep records of his scores (he handed instructions to orchestras in notes) his work was nearly lost. Thankfully, the ensemble Wild Up has brilliantly resurrected his piece Stay On It (1973). It’s strange, wildly ambitious art—a swirl of vocals and instruments that is both hypnotic and energizing. How lucky we are they stayed on it, and delivered magic to a new generation of listeners. Tell me why/Does it always seem like what you need/Comes after what you want? Tell Me Why from Brooklyn indie rockers Wet is simple, strummy song about heartbreak. We wish we knew why, but sometimes it feels good to be sad. — Clementine Kruczynski
Wag’s AAPI m in Hollywood continues with Mira Nair’s Mississippi Masala (1991). Immigrant stories are as much about loss as gain, and Nair’s tale of South Asians expelled from Uganda by Idi Amin is a story of sojourners who must rebuild their lives as motel owners in the Deep South. Jay (Roshan Seth) can’t quite let go, while his daughter Mina (Wag Sarita Choudhury) has grown up American, and falls for local Demetrius (Denzel Washington). Nair was able to secure funding for her project because of Washington, and filmed on location in Greenwood, Mississippi. It’s both an affecting tale of diaspora and a very pretty romance. — Devi Vishwakumar Questions for us at CultureWag? Please ping intern@culturewag.com, and we’ll get back to you in a jiffy. For Covid-safe hosted events, contact JDHeyman@culturewag.com. CultureWag celebrates culture—high, medium, and deliciously low. It’s an essential guide to the mediaverse, cutting through a cluttered landscape and serving up smart, funny recommendations to the most hooked-in audience in the galaxy. If somebody forwarded you this issue, consider it a coveted invitation and RSVP “subscribe.” You’ll be part of the smartest set in Hollywood, Gstaad, Biarritz and Bumpass, Virginia, which was founded by Jack Bumpass, silly. “Glory is fleeting, but the Wag is forever.”―Napoleon Bonaparte
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