Pretend It's A City w/ Fran Lebowitz & Martin Scorsese *

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by Jeff Kent, Jan 17, 2021.

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  1. Jeff Kent

    Jeff Kent Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Mt. Kisco, NY
    Airing now on Netflix. It should be required viewing for all New Yorkers. I think it's the second episode where she talks about music and tells a couple great Charles Mingus stories.

    [​IMG]
     
  2. notesfrom

    notesfrom Forum Resident

    Location:
    NC USA
    Great show. Just the right amount of movement, flashback, present-tense, interview-ese, and a dash of Marty here and there. Half an hour long. Very edifying. Only seven episodes, however.

    How long were the Public Speaking shorts from ten years ago? (I didn't know those existed until yesterday.) This new show takes on that same format, just ten years on.
     
  3. George Blair

    George Blair Senior Member

    Location:
    Portland, OR
    Loved this, and would like to see Public Speaking, but it doesn't seem to be streaming or otherwise available to watch.
     
  4. ralphb

    ralphb "First they came for..."

    Location:
    Brooklyn, New York
    Wonderful, perfect Lebowitz, she and Scorsese work very well together. Loved the stories about Charles Mingus and Jerome Robbins and others which I won't spoil. She knows/knew everybody and has the acid wit and snark of a true New Yorker. The seven episodes went by too fast, wish there were more.
    Perfect love letter to NYC, much needed at this time.
     
  5. nicholas029

    nicholas029 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Oregon
    Too bad she eschews computers and can't type. Would be great to have her here.
     
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  6. ralphb

    ralphb "First they came for..."

    Location:
    Brooklyn, New York
    She would get permanently banned in a day.:laugh:
    Too bad she didn't repeat her story about getting the job writing for Interview again. Pretty sure it's on Public Speaking.
     
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  7. ralphb

    ralphb "First they came for..."

    Location:
    Brooklyn, New York
    Apropos of nothing other than there's a NY Dolls thread up, here's a photo of Fran and David Johansen.
    [​IMG]
     
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  8. carrick doone

    carrick doone Whhhuuuutttt????

    Location:
    Vancouver, Canada
    Watched the first episode and really enjoyed it. What is special about Public Speaking over this series?
     
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  9. JohnG

    JohnG PROG now in Dolby ATMOS!

    Location:
    Long Island NY
    Mingus chasing a 19 year old Fran down the streets of Manhattan is quite an image.
     
  10. ralphb

    ralphb "First they came for..."

    Location:
    Brooklyn, New York
    Public Speaking has different anecdotes, more excerpts from her speaking engagements. Not too much overlap between the two. Personally, I can never have enough of Fran Lebowitz.
     
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  11. Jeff Kent

    Jeff Kent Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Mt. Kisco, NY
    Is it just me, or are most of her books put of print...?
     
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  12. bartels76

    bartels76 Forum Hall Of Fame

    Location:
    CT
    I don't get what this series is supposed to be about.
     
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  13. jbmcb

    jbmcb Forum Resident

    Location:
    Troy, MI, USA
    I really liked the episode about NYC proper, but the next episode she kind of meanders around a bunch of topics, and I lost interest.
     
  14. ralphb

    ralphb "First they came for..."

    Location:
    Brooklyn, New York
    Looks like you're right. Just did a quick check on Amazon and not even The Fran Lebowitz Reader is in print. Even the paperbacks of Social Studies and Metropolitan Life go for insane money. Strange to be sure.
     
  15. bartels76

    bartels76 Forum Hall Of Fame

    Location:
    CT
    Yeah I saw a preview on Netflix and was like "I don't get it."
     
  16. Jeff Kent

    Jeff Kent Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Mt. Kisco, NY
    I can see that. Maybe it's a New Yorker thing...then again, she's not for everyone.
     
  17. ralphb

    ralphb "First they came for..."

    Location:
    Brooklyn, New York
    It's probably a combination of the two. Although, both her collections were bestsellers, so someone outside of the 5 boroughs must have bought them.:)
    I've found that if you like Dorothy Parker or Robert Benchley you'll like her. Then again, how many people like those two?
     
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  18. bostonscoots

    bostonscoots Forum Resident

    Location:
    Boston, MA
    As someone who's lived in cities all his adult life, I find Fran Lebowitz very funny. Maybe not as funny as Martin Scorsese does, but I can relate to Fran's monologues about stinky subway trains or the difficulty of finding a good, affordable apartment. Still - I always find myself wondering if Fran translates well to people who don't live in New York City (or any city, for that matter). To someone living in suburban Texas or rural Nebraska is Fran the East Coast version of Jeff Foxworthy ("You Might Be A Cynical East Coast Leftist Intellectual If...you spend a half hour complaining about the L Train.")?
     
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  19. ralphb

    ralphb "First they came for..."

    Location:
    Brooklyn, New York
    Doubt it would translate for the folks you mention, she is very New York City-centric. Also, if you've read her books, they're very gay-centric, the subject matter, the turns of phrase, those books came out in '78 and '81 and consist of a lot of the writing she did for Interview Magazine and had a huge gay following. The Lebowitz you get in Pretend It's A City and Public Speaking is different, still a snarky, sparkling smart curmudgeon, and some of what she says in those will be familiar to her readers, but it's toned down just a smidge.
    As far as the bolded part, yeah, that's me.:) Although these days it would be the A train.
     
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  20. Old Mac

    Old Mac Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brady Montana USA
    Hey, I live in Montana and she speaks to me, not only as a New Yorker, but as a human being.
     
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  21. Waterloo17

    Waterloo17 Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    I really enjoyed it. If you don’t get it in the first ten minutes of the first episode, it’s probably not your thing.
     
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  22. mBen989

    mBen989 Senior Member

    Location:
    Scranton, PA
    I think there was a run on the book due to Netflix so I'd give it a month or two to get back in stock.
     
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  23. DigMyGroove

    DigMyGroove Forum Resident

    I’m loving this series which I’m watching with my wife and our 14 year old daughter here in L.A. I’m the native New Yorker, but in recent years my family has regularly visited the city to spend time with me when I work there for long periods. Given that exposure they’re appreciating the show in a way I think it might be hard to do otherwise. It’s been fun watching them react and laugh (a lot).
     
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  24. carrick doone

    carrick doone Whhhuuuutttt????

    Location:
    Vancouver, Canada
    Fran is so passionate, articulate and precise about her opinions they are delightful.
    BTW I loved Fran's bit about the cost of New York. I identify. We have the same attitude in Vancouver. Just live here - yes, you can't afford it.
     
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  25. AlecA

    AlecA Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Hampshire, USA
    Always liked Fran Lebowitz's intelligence and point of view. I don't have Netflix, so I'll have to wait to see this.

    When I saw ralphb's post about her books going for insane money, I decided to cash in and auction my second-hand hardcovers. We'll see what they fetch!

    Usually this board costs me $$$!!

    Thanks to this thread and ralphb!
     
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