That Brad Pitt piece in GQ – as I wrote last week, this was a solid appeal to the base. But if you’re not part of the base… were you rolling your eyes? Duana and I go through the eye-rolly parts. And those eye rolls brought us to “Make Brad Pitt Great Again”. You know who writes for GQ though? Taffy Brodesser-Akner. And Caity Weaver. Would there have been as many eyerolls if Brad Pitt had been their assignment? We get into the work process of writing these kinds of profiles and of course the work that goes into being the subject of them. Then…we hit on the metaphor.
So we’re almost at the halfway mark of The Handmaid’s Tale, a series that… neither one of us can binge-watch. Elisabeth Moss even said she wouldn’t binge-watch it. Is that your experience? Also, if you’ve read the book, what do you think of some of the creative changes between the source material and the show? I pick Duana’s brain about the work that goes into an adaptation and the creative decisions that follow. We also get into Alexis Bledel and how this role is what she and we have been waiting for.
While Brad Pitt was covering GQ, Chris Rock is on the cover of the new issue of Rolling Stone. There is so much work in this article we could have done an entire episode of Show Your Work just on Chris and the life of a professional comedian. Even for Chris Rock, who is arguably one of the most successful comics in the business, he still has to work out the work at the clubs. For comics, the process doesn’t change, no matter how famous they get. I find this fascinating. Brad Pitt, in GQ, called his troubles “self-inflicted”. That’s where a comic lives.
And finally…
Duana and I were in New York together two weeks ago for Hamilton. We got all your messages and tweets asking for our thoughts. Here’s what happens when you go see Hamilton with Duana: you must then pass a Hamilton oral exam. I took my exam on the podcast. Do you think I passed?
Thank you so much, so f-cking much!, for supporting Show Your Work. We knew there would be an audience of a podcast about work but it’s been so rewarding and encouraging to read your feedback, to hear about your work experiences, and to (virtually) meet those of you who are just as obsessed with work as we are.
Catch us weekly on iTunes and Google Play, and hit us up on Twitter at @laineygossip and @duanaelise
