4. Development Heck

For the past few weeks, we’ve been tracking the career of filmmaker Whit Stillman, a writer and director who entered the scene with 1990’s  Metropolitan. The film, which was truly independent in its financing and production, became an unlikely success, launching several careers from its cast of unknowns and earning Stillman an Oscar nomination for its screenplay. This was a unique moment in American cinema, a time where independent became not just an economic condition but a brand. Stillman became a symbol of authentic, personal cinema with his subsequent films, Barcelona and The Last Days of Disco, with each carrying a bigger budget than the last until Disco became Stillman’s first financial failure. 

Because he’d made three witty, funny, romantic comedies about a certain type of upper class white American, that was what he was expected to keep making. The problem was: he didn’t particularly want to. In this episode, Stillman discusses the difficulties of both the lost momentum following Disco's release and his struggle to break out of the brand he'd created for himself with his 90s trilogy. In addition to conversations with Stillman, this episode features interviews with critic Fran Hoepfner and author Girish Shambu.

The Entertainment is a production of KIOS 91.5 FM Omaha Public Radio. It is produced and edited by Courtney Bierman. Today’s show featured music and clips from The Last Days of Disco, Damsels in Distress, and Metropolitan.

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