How does a genius make the worst film of all time? Well, she doesn’t. She didn’t. And the world is finally ready not only to embrace Ishtar as a worthwhile movie, but Elaine May into the pantheon of American auteurs. And in light of her ongoing re-evaluation, we are launching a four part series on the films, life, and legacy of May. In this first episode, we’ll hear from Carrie Courogen, author of the upcoming Miss May Does Not Exist: The Life and Work of Elaine May, Hollywood’s Hidden Genius, which will be available wherever you get books on June 4th.

Then The New Yorker’s Richard Brody explains the genius he finds in May’s first film, A New Leaf—something he wrote about last year. And finally we hear from Maya Montañez Smukler, head of UCLA Film and Television Archive Research and author of Liberating Hollywood: Women Directors and the Feminist Reform of 1970s American Cinema about the legacy of May’s debut both in its initial context and today.

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Tune in next week for our episode on The Heartbreak Kid.

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16. Elaine May's Genius