We talk a lot on the podcast about film as historical artifacts- depictions of moments in time that can tell us as much about the audience as the topics themselves. This week is no exception as we dive into 1982's Tootsie, starring Dustin Hoffman. However, what makes this episode unique is that we are joined by Justin Rawlins to talk about the craft of filmmaking, particularly method acting. We get into Hoffman's performance (as well as his legendary battles with director Sydney Pollack) as well as talk about other famous method actors such as Daniel Day-Lewis, Robert DeNiro, Natalie Portman, Jared Leto, and Christian Bale. We also get into the controversy surrounding Bradley Cooper's upcoming performance as Leonard Bernstein, and question if Tootsie could even be made in 2023.
About our guest:
Justin Rawlins is Associate Professor of Media Studies and Film Studies at the University of Tulsa. He has an upcoming book from the University of Texas Press called Imagining the Method: Reception, Identity, and American Screen Performance, which you can find on preorder for 40% here: https://utpress.utexas.edu/9781477328507/imagining-the-method/
You can find his website at https://justinowenrawlins.com/ and on twitter at @j_o_rawlins