Oscars, People!
Obviously today you won’t hear me talk about the Oscars because we put together the show earlier. Maybe Thursday. I am about to watch them as I write this. I still get excited. Weird.
Some part of me loves the spectacle of show business. Some part of me can’t stand it. That part is still smaller. As I talk to more actors and directors and people involved in the creative undertaking of making stuff I realize they are all just people but I’m still sort of in awe and feel smaller than the people on TV in the fancy clothes.
As I’m watching I’m having a realization. It really is about art, creativity and yes, commerce, but it’s about making amazing things. I can be pretty dismissive about major achievements in cinema but I also know what it takes to make a movie and to deliver a performance. It’s fucking magic, really. For it all to come together, magic.
I’m not sure David Byrne is hitting the notes as a watch right now. It’s okay. It looks cool.
So much of my life, doing what I do, was fueled by being an outsider and having the luxury of spite. I think some of that was astute but much of it was petty. I can feel it now. Sometimes I talk shit and it’s correct. But is it necessary and is it a good thing for me to do? How does it make me look? I really need to keep the focus on my own creativity. Though some of it is still spiteful and fueled by spite. I’m a spite artist. It’s one of my colors.
I am still kind of an outsider but I’ve sort of found my level and am able to work in a lot of different mediums.
It has actually been a great honor to talk to some many of the people I respect in this business. I kind of take it for granted now or see it as just what I do. It is still exciting and I am excited to see all of my former guests in the room at the Oscars. Sure, I’d like to be there but only if I am supposed to be for one reason or another.
Today I talk O’Shea Jackson Jr. about his dad (Ice Cube) and his life being that guy’s son and coming into his own. On Thursday I have a conversation with comedian Ashley Barnhill, who used to work for me, about the life-threatening accident that caused her to need a new skull. I also talk to Jason Woliner about his bizarre, provocative masterpiece that consumed years of his life, Paul T. Goldman.
Enjoy!
Boomer, Monkey and LaFonda live!
Love,
Maron
Magic.
