issue 28// vol 47

Podcast spotlight: ‘Blockbuster:
The Story of James Cameron’

» An overview of ‘Titanic’ director's early mishaps and accomplishments

Jonathan Pabico
Senior Columnist

 

f youre a movie buff that really loves

podcasts about film history, I can gladly
recommend Blockbuster: The Story of
James Cameron. Creator Matt Schrader
began this show with its first season of six
episodes that skillfully mapped out the
early movie careers of directors George
Lucas and Steven Spielberg during the
19708. Season two continues the fun with
new and familiar stories about its titular
subject.

The podcast is a 10-part miniseries
that covers legendary filmmaker James
Cameron during his own career in the
1980s and 1990s. It unravels the director's
hardships and successes in making several
of his now beloved movies, especially his
most ambitious film Titanic.

Blockbuster’s voice cast did a
remarkable job of re-enacting Cameron’s
surreal, everyday encounters with soon-to-
be-famous actors from the late Bill Paxton
to Arnold Schwarzenegger. Cameron’ life
narrative is grounded immensely with the
humble beginnings of people we now look
up to as film icons.

As for Marquand, he captures
Cameron's vocal cadence that reflects his
child-like passion of chasing his dreams.
Yet, every pause, nervous stutter, and
timid tone evoke Cameron’s surprising
uncertainties during his youth and tensions

with his father. Marquand also presents
the director as a frustrated perfectionist via
mean, intimidating dialogue. The script
pulls no punches in exploring Cameron’s
infamous work ethic among his casts, film
crews, and producers.

The story’s audio is truly superb due
to brilliant sound mixing and editing.
This technical craft balances the narrator
describing the challenges on every film
with the voice cast’s dialogue recordings.
Background noises of bustling activity
from movie set workers or city traffic
further make the sound design eclectic
and convey the exciting, busy world of
entertainment.

What is obviously the best part of the
podcast is Cameron’s experiences making
Titanic. Media scrutiny, overbudgeting, and
even an incident on set involving drugged
soup are just some of the facets that frame
this story with such a surprising lens.

However, the most self-defining
part of Cameron’s time with this classic
romantic drama is his friendship and
collaboration with late music composer
James Horner. Encapsulating this arc is
the composer’s monumental creation of
Céline Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On” for
the movie. Cameron being touched by this
music for the first time emphasizes how
incredibly moving the song will always be
to listeners both past and present.

The miniseries provokes you to
go back and watch Cameron's films,
appreciating his movies even more in

arts // no. 13

ORIGINAL

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MINISERIES

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knowing just how close each project was
to falling apart. In the end, season two is
a highly captivating narrative that keeps

Oscar analysis: ‘Nomadland’

>» A houseless woman on the road

 

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Jerrison Oracion
Senior Columnist

 

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lot of progress has been made

hroughout history, and for that to
continue there have to be changes in the
work industry. Everyone that is laid off due
to the pandemic will have to find new jobs
and this often involves learning new skills
and exploring a variety of jobs until one
can find the position that is right for them.
The film Nomadland explores these themes
of unemployment and finding new jobs.

Chloé Zhao’s Nomadland—based
on the book by Jessica Bruder—takes
place in 20n where an industry town in
Nevada called Empire is erased from the
map after the local gypsum plant is shut
down because low demand. Everyone in
the town is now unemployed including
Fern (Frances McDormand) who recently
lost her husband. She is now a nomad:

a person that travels around the country
without a house or fixed address and does
a variety of jobs, and in her case, being an
Amazon warehouse worker, a concierge in
a RV park, a waitress, and working in a beet
plant.

During her trips, she gets used to
being a nomad with the help of seasoned
nomads that she meets along the way
including Linda May, Swankie, and

CAMERON —

Blockbuster logo via Epicleff Originals

listeners informed without boring them.
You can watch Blockbuster on Spotify,
Apple Podcasts, and other platforms.

nomad expert Bob Wells. Fern is friendly
and helpful to the people that she meets
and her purpose in being a nomad is to
remember her husband, though she could
have instead lived with a relative of hers.
The nomad lifestyle is like workers in

the gig economy except they have to doa
variety of jobs in their local community
instead of going around the country.

We see scenic shots of America
throughout a year as well as long tracking
shots of Fern walking in dark lighting in
some scenes which describes the style of
Zhao’s films. There were a lot of jumpcuts
in the film to speed it up and make
Fern’s journey more straightforward. The
difference between nomads and pioneers is
shown in the second half of the film where
pioneers have successful jobs and live in
the suburbs.

The movie was filmed before the
pandemic began and it is relevant to what
is happening right now as a lot of people
are trying to find work. It shows various
industries being phased out because of
improvements in technology; the film
highlights that everyone should learn a
lot of new skills just in case they may lose
their job. Having a fresh start after losing
a job can allow you to adjust to anew
environment, explore career options, and
maybe get back on track in Nomadland.

See you down the road. Nomadland is
available on Disney+.