Returning to Watch With Jen this week, we have my very talented friend and an official (and very popular) friend of the show. William Boyle is the acclaimed novelist behind such titles as Gravesend, The Lonely Witness, A Friend is a Gift You Give Yourself, City of Margins, and Shoot the Moonlight Out. In addition to crafting these wonderfully humanistic Lumet-like character-driven ensemble crime epics, Bill is quite the pop culture buff and one hell of a good movie trivia game player as well. 

Someone with whom I frequently discuss great character actors - such as Jennifer Jason Leigh and Nicolas Cage - in this thoughtful feature-length conversation, we take a look at the films, themes, actors, and style of the work of writer-director John Sayles. 

A humanistic sociologist of sorts with a passion for exploring human relationships among largely hardworking, blue-collar characters, while Sayles has a career that's spanned several decades, we opted to zero in primarily on his prolific, acclaimed '80s and '90s output via the films Matewan, Eight Men Out, City of Hope, Lone Star, and Limbo.

Notes from the Episode: In case you wondered if Bill & I were in sync on movies, in this episode, we oddly both cited the exact same section of a book where John Sayles compares the rhythm of various films to different styles of music. Bill mentions it & I go right to my marked passage, haha. Another fun thing about Bill is that whenever we Zoom, whether it's for the podcast or a game night hang with friends, his adorable daughter will frequently sneak in the back of the room to check out what her dad is doing - sometimes with Bill's wife bringing her back - & it's always a joy!

Referenced & Related:

William Boyle on Twitter & Official Website

Bill's Past Episodes on Jennifer Jason Leigh, Nicolas Cage, David Morse, & Mickey Rourke

Books Cited: Sayles on Sayles, Thinking in Pictures: The Making of the Movie Matewan, & John Sayles: Interviews (affiliate links - support the show)

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