Author: Smokler

"I always figured we were born to fly, one way or another." — Ray Bradbury

Puppeteering hurts. A lot. You have to compartmentalize the pain. Literally, you want to just whine, but you have to say, “I’ll whine later. Right now I’m gonna be this character.” And it does require extreme tension and extreme relaxation at the same time. You have to be incredibly tight and precise and also loose and spontaneous.

I got to interview original Muppeteer Dave Goelz for Splitsider! 

— How to order the steps of a huge creative project

— 90s Los Angeles hip-hop that I first became aware of in the documentary This is the Life. 

– Telephone poles thanks to the work of Eula Biss. 

— Having enough time. 

— When we will start seeing meaningful change in Hollywood and the kinds of movies that get made thanks to #metoo, and #timesup

— If the likes of Jordan Peele, Saorsie Ronan, Greta Gerwig, Lupita Nyongo Emily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani form a kind of "next Generation" of movie makers and cinematic movers and shakers. 

— Immigration will begin to seem like a solvable problem if we fund the system of enforcement and processing adequately. You don't get Cadillac results with Pino parts under the hood. 

— What does being "stuck" creatively actually mean? Like neurologically speaking? 

— Will tonight's Oscar winners make a real difference with regards to #MeToo, #TimesUp and Hollywood in general as a regressive, culturally stuck place to work and make art?

— Are there different conceptions of "the weekend" in other parts of the world? 

— Where do hardworking people who also do political and social activism find the time? 

— Is difficulty in doing the thing you are best at part of a the game or what they call in sports, a slump? 

Kool and the Gang for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Whose with me????

— Kevin Smokler (@Weegee) January 5, 2018