Errata is a web journal written by Robert Davis who has neither spent a night in a ghost town nor pulled a turnip from the earth. He doesn't even know if turnips grow in the ground. Perhaps on trees, like candy corn. Therefore, Errata is a non-commercial project.

Observation #1: It may be appropriate, when leaving a movie theater, to say "mysterious."

Observation #2: It may be appropriate, when leaving a movie theater, to say "mysterious" at the top of your lungs. Bring your eyebrows together before you say it. Effective!

Observation #3: Same for books. Even at libraries.

There is a prize for people who correctly guess the thing about Metropolis, Nevada.

Except where the text specifically states otherwise, Errata's vagaries are indicated vaguely and its authors are indistinct in the traditional way of the Internet, except where the authors lay claim to their work. In some cases Robert Davis lays claim to work that is not his own but has been abandoned like so many ghost towns. Except where held presently, fistfuls of dirt are suspended via dispersal, or dispersed via suspension (in the air), and thus their dissolution is their transcendence, or their transcendence is their dissolution. And yet our eyes tear, and our vision is impaired, demonstrating for the umpteenth time that one entity's gain is another's fit of sneezes. Except where indicated, storms shall outlive the clay upon which they rain, unless storms are improperly delimited by their clouds, which dissolve, rather than by their inevitable return. Thus the clay loses, unless the clay is said to own the storm, to use it to make itself heavy, to make itself cling to white garments, refuse dispersal, cake upon the facades of abandoned buildings, and sit like Man [sic] upon the earth where it is pelted by a storm that it owns. In which case the clay still loses, if you ask us.

Some of the above is legally binding and should be considered a mental contract between Errata and those upon whom it acts. The bit about the prize should be considered an overstatement insofar as prizes differ from dirt and prize dispersal differs from dirt dispersal. Please recall that ownership is a weight and, therefore, hope that you do not win the prize.

One day Errata or its representatives will call upon you for a favor. It is expected that you will hop-to without delay.

You may contact Robert Davis by email unless it's about the rock that was thrown in anger. The rock is more properly called a clod. Why do you continue to raise the topic?

9 July 2007 — Episode 001

Interview: Guy Maddin's Brand Upon the Brain!

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Photo: Guy Maddin, courtesy San Francisco International Film Festival

Welcome to the very first episode of the Errata podcast, an audio program of movie chit-chat. This first episode features a conversation with filmmaker Guy Maddin about his new silent film, Brand Upon the Brain!, which is being presented in various cities this summer as a live extravaganza, with an orchestra, foley artists, a soloing castrato, and a different celebrity interlocutor at each stop.

Listen Now or Subscribe in iTunes (it's free)
Duration: 37:17

In case you'd like to read more about the films and figures mentioned in this episode, we've assembled a convenient list of...

Films and Figures Mentioned in This Episode

Maddin's Feature Films

• Brand Upon the Brain! (2006)
• Cowards Bend the Knee (2003)
• The Saddest Music in the World (2003)
• Dracula: Pages From a Virgin's Diary (2002)
• Tales From Gimli Hospital (1988)

Maddin's Shorts, Incomplete Projects, and Writings

• My Dad is 100 Years Old (2005)
• Sombra Dolorosa (2004)
• Sparklehorse It's a Wonderful Life (2002) [via Sparklehorse]
• The Heart of the World (2000)
• BBB: Banning Barbara and Beauty (incomplete)
• From the Atelier Tovar: Selected Writings of Guy Maddin

Other People and Other Movies

• Footlight Parade (with Jimmy Cagney)
• My Last Sigh (Luis Bunuel's autobiography)
• Joan Chen
• Isabella Rossellini
• Geraldine Chaplin
• Lou Reed
• P.T. Barnum
• Baz Luhrman
• Gustav Mahler
• Sparklehorse
• The Hoax (with Richard Gere)
• Scott Rudin
• The Queen
• Wes Anderson
• P.T. Anderson
• Dumbo
• Nacho Libre
• Santo
• Blood Money (with Frances Dee)
• Day of Wrath (Carl Dreyer)
• Flowers of St. Francis (Roberto Rossellini)
• Jackson Pollack
• The Hairy Ape (with William Bendix, based on Eugene O'Neill)
• Douglas Sirk
• The Patsy (Jerry Lewis, with Peter Lorre)
• The Bellboy (Jerry Lewis)
• Tarnation (Jonathan Caouette)
• The Brothers Quay
• Vertigo (with Kim Novak)
• Citidel (Atom Egoyan)
• Maddin on Blue Velvet (David Lynch)
• The Elephant Man (David Lynch)
• benshi

Posted by davis | Link | Other Episodes

Listener Comments

July 9, 2007, 08:23 AM

Darren

Nicely done, Rob! I'd given up all hope on the oft-mentioned podcast coming to life. Very cool.

July 9, 2007, 08:44 AM

davis

Yeah, I've been moving at a snail's pace on this site for a couple of, uh, years, but I'm still determined. Thanks for checking it out!

July 10, 2007, 09:38 AM

HarryTuttle

Great interview, Rob. And an excellent listenning quality.
I also find it very useful to add in written form the references (and complementary links) from the audio. This way it can be found by search engines. And the listener can have the correct spelling handy, which is usually a pain to figure sometimes in audio feeds (multiple possible spellings or incomplete references by the interviewee). Great job.
I hope there will be more of them.

July 10, 2007, 12:40 PM

davis

Thanks, Harry. There are indeed more episodes in the queue.

July 10, 2007, 03:49 PM

Girish

Nice work, Rob. You're quick on your feet and free of all nerves. I'd have turned into a basketcase, put in a spot like that, but you're a natural at it.

I look forward to future episodes.

July 11, 2007, 11:40 AM

davis

Thanks, Girish, but I have a feeling you'd be more calm in an interview than I am. I'm a bundle of nerves.

July 13, 2007, 03:30 PM

HarryTuttle

I agree with Girish, you sound very confident on mic. You should consider doing a talk show online. Seriously. There isn't enough of that.

July 16, 2007, 10:08 AM

davis

That's only because I edited out the nervous laughter.

August 2, 2007, 06:40 PM

Brian

Finally found myself with the time at an appropriate computer to sit down and listen to this (and your other recent podcast). Great conversations, both. I especially loved hearing Maddin describe his evolving shooting style.

August 2, 2007, 06:45 PM

davis

Thanks, Brian. A choice quote from Maddin: "Quite often, I don't even look through the camera. I find that I get-- by forcing accidents to happen-- I have far better luck. You get a lower batting average on images, but a higher slugging percentage."

(By the way, sorry about the hiccups that happened while you were posting your comments. Dreamhost is not so dreamy this evening. I think I've sorted things out, but let me know if you see any errors.)

Other Recent Posts

Other Recent Episodes

Favorite Films

Films and Figures Mentioned in This Episode

Maddin's Feature Films

Maddin's Shorts, Incomplete Projects, and Writings

Other People and Other Movies