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This week on Slate Plus, the critics debate which actor they would cast to play them in a movie about their lives.
On this week’s Slate Culture Gabfest, the gabbers discuss Channing Tatum and Magic Mike XXL. Does the sequel live up to the original? Next up, they debate the effectiveness of the documentary about Nina Simone’s life and legacy, What Happened, Miss Simone? Finally, Terrence Rafferty says the U.S. is facing a shortage of under-40 leading men in “The Decline of an American Actor.”
Links to some of the things we discussed this week follow:
- Magic Mike XXL
- Magic Mike
- Slate’s Culture Gabfest on the original Magic Mike
- A. O. Scott’s review of Magic Mike XXL in The New York Times
- American Gigolo
- Shampoo
- Dana Stevens’ assessment of Channing Tatum’s career in Slate
- What Happened, Miss Simone?
- “Mississippi Goddam” by Nina Simone
- Nina Simone’s Little Girl Blue
- Before Sunset
- The White Album by Joan Didion
- Maya Angelou on Nina Simone in Redbook, Nov. 1970
- Terrence Rafferty’s “The Decline of the American Actor” in the Atlantic
- Selma
- Jesse Eisenberg as Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network
- Oscar Isaac performing in Inside Llewyn Davis
- The Godfather
- Keanu Reeves as Don Jon in Much Ado About Nothing
- Amy Winehouse’s Back to Black
- Senna
- Belle and Sebastian’s Tigermilk
This week’s Gabfest is sponsored by Boll & Branch, which makes buying sheets cheap, easy, and devoid of hype. Boll & Branch cuts out the middleman, so you’re not paying for department markups, and their sheets are certified Fair Trade. Visit BollandBranch.com to get $50 off of a set of sheets and free shipping when you use the promo code CULTURE.
Endorsements:
Dana: Amy
Mike:
- His kids’ cute Jurassic World commentary: Milo, on a sneak attack by a pterodactyl, “I guess the P really is silent.” And Emmett, on Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard’s ill-timed make-out session, “Why are you kissing?! There’s a pterodactyl attack!”
- A Field Guide to Awkward Silences by Alexandra Petri
- Spoiled Brats by Simon Rich
Steve: Looper and In the All-Night Café by Stuart David
Outro: “Just In Time” by Nina Simone
You can email us at culturefest@slate.com.
This podcast was produced by Ann Heppermann. Our interns are Lindsey Albracht and Marissa Visci.
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