Fight Club Afterbirth and QT on Strangulation

Advantage of having the whole world on your side, a la Conan O'Brien? A kickass roster of interviewees who are actually interesting in addition to being famous. The past week alone saw Jeff Bridges, Ricky Gervais, Martin Scorsese, Colin Firth, Joel McHale of "The Soup" fame, and Adam Sandler (why is it that comedians are so much funnier than the movies they star in? It's like they forget the beauty of improvisation the moment they step on set). And the interviews were rich fodder for useless-trivia geeks like me. Apparently, Jeff Bridges talks to dolphins and Martin Scorsese is a near agoraphobic. You know what they say about geniuses..

One of the best interviews was Tarantino, who at one point reduced Conan into a minute of stunned, nervous chuckles, and I was in the same state. One of the most violent mainstream directors of all time, talking about his great skill with little kids? Tarantino-colored glasses can be quite frightening to peep into. 

(Kenneth the Page sees the world in muppets and Jack Donaghy sees the world in dollar signs. Wonder how QT sees the world? I'd rather not stray into that territory)

But thankfully, Conan actually seemed to be interested in the man's skill, not just his perverse social perspective, and so we got a nice little insight into QT's work. BTW, Tarantino just *has* to be on Inside the Actor's Studio someday. Think about it - James Lipton's meticulously researched, analytical probing + QT's enthusiastic, personal insights = cinematic bliss. 

I cringed when they veered into the topic of strangulation, but QT's take on it turned out to be oddly fascinating. I love how immersed he is into every psychological detail of a physical act. In this video review of "There Will Be Blood", he talks about the opening scene where Plainview breaks his legs, and about the implications of the unseen aftermath on the character. Here on Conan, he talked about how strangulation is unique to humans alone (opposable thumbs), and how the face-to-face intimacy is precisely what makes it such an inhumane and shockingly violent act. 

 =  ??? Cracked.com article on "6 Insane Fan Theories That Actually Make Movies Better". I don't mind analysis and parallels; some of these are actually pretty good, especially the Ferris Bueller-Fight Club allegory. Overanalysis can be fun, as long as it stays within the realm of casual conversation, and not insistence on the fan's part that his theory was the director's "original intent all along".