Book Vs. Movie: Ghost World The 1997 Daniel Clowes Graphic Novel vs. the Terry Zwigoff 2001 Film The Margos are feeling very moody and isolated, discussing the 2001 film Ghost World starring Thora Birch and Scarlett Johansson as best friends Enid and Rebecca, who are perfect early 00’s angsty and unimpressed with the world and was catnip for audiences and critics alike. Based on chapter five’s “ Hubba Hubba” by Daniel Clowes , the original 1997 graphic novel series Eightball, the story of two lo...
Oct 01, 2023•1 hr 9 min
Book Vs. Movie: The Lorax The Dr. Seuss 1971 Children’s Book Vs. the 2012 Adaptation The Margos close out “Banned Books Month” with a visit with Dr. Seuss and The Lorax , a tale of environmental conservation and the dangers of rampant deforestation. Theodore Seuss Geisel was known for his colorful characters, accusations of racism , and having some of his books pulled for outdated notions or controversial take on capitalism. The Lorax (first published in 1971) was written after a recent trip to ...
Sep 25, 2023•56 min
Book Vs. Movie: The Bridge to Teribithia The 1977 Classic YA Novel Vs. the 2007 Adaptation Bring out your tissues! The Margos continue Banned Books Month with the 1977 classic by Katherine Paterson -- Bridge to Teribithia . The story of Jess Aarons, a fifth-grade kid who grows up lonely and poor but with an artistic temperament that helps him imagine other places and realities. His life changes when he becomes friends with a new kid, Leslie Burke, a fellow dreamer and misfit who encourages his a...
Sep 17, 2023•1 hr 11 min
Book Vs. Movie: Fahrenheit 451 The Ray Bradbury 1953 Classic Novel Vs. the 2018 HBO Adaptation The Margos turn up the heat (get it?) with a look at the 1953 literary classic Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury --a banned book for decades. Inspired by the Cold War and the House of Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) investigating actors, artists, and writers claiming communism, Bradbury’s work has been controversial since its publication over its depiction of an America that embraces book burning ...
Sep 10, 2023•1 hr 19 min
Book Vs. Movie: Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret JUDY BLUME Y’ALL!!!!! The Margos begin our annual “Banned Books Month” as always, loving the books and hating why we must feature them. Judy Blume is one of the most successful authors of all time, and her books, some of the most requested to be removed from libraries, make our hearts hurt and fill us with rage! Are You There, God? It’s Me Margaret is a story about an 11-year-old girl, Margaret Simon, who is dealing with issues many of us rea...
Sep 04, 2023•1 hr 17 min
Book Vs. Movie: Smoke Signals The Sherman Alexie Short Story Vs. the 1998 Movie In this episode, the Margos delve into the acclaimed indie film Smoke Signals , released in 1998. This film was based on a series of short stories by Sherman Alexie in 1993, titled The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven . The story follows two young men, Victor Joseph and Tom Builds-the-Fire , who grew up on a Spokane Indian Reservation . It explores the interconnectedness of their families, the perception of ...
Aug 27, 2023•1 hr 5 min
Book Vs. Movie: Three Days of the Condor The James Grady Book Vs. the Robert Redford-Starring Movie The Margos talk about the paranoia-soaked 70s with a discussion about the novel & film Three Days of the Condor starring a dreamy Robert Redford and a luminous Faye Dunaway . The story is about a man who loves to read and works for the CIA and gets sucked into a life-threatening chase between himself and outside forces of the government. Published in 1974 (the same year Richard Nixon resigned ...
Aug 20, 2023•1 hr 26 min
Book Vs. Movie: Special Guest, Author Kristen Lopez " But Have You Read the Book? " Our special guest, Kristen Lopez , is the film editor for The Wrap and the author of But Have You Read the Book? In this episode, we talk about her favorite book-to-movie adaptations, how she came across this fun project, the latest on the SAG AFTRA strike, the world of Turner Classic Movies, the hotness of Ben Mankiewicz , and the Warner Brothers private collections. Book Vs. Movie is part of the Frolic Podcast ...
Aug 13, 2023•57 min
Book Vs. Movie “The Exorcist” RIP William Friedkin (1935-2023) Replay of the DEC 2018 episode. The Margos revisit the 1971 novel The Exorcist written by the very interesting William Peter Blatty. Based on a true-ish story about a boy possessed by a demon in the 1950s, Blatty changed some key details to create this fiction classic. Director William Friedkin in 1973 just came off an incredible spate of box office successes, including 1971’s The French Connection earning him an Academy Award for Be...
Aug 07, 2023•1 hr 4 min
Book Vs. Movie: The Red Shoes The Hans Christian Anderson Fairy Tale vs. the 1948 Classic Film The Margos (and a special guest star!) put on their dancing shoes with the Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale “ The Red Shoes ” along with the 1948 adaptation that is considered a ballet/film classic with some of the most beautiful sequences along with a meditation on “art versus life.” Published in 1845, The Red Shoes appears in “New Fairy Tales” and tells the story of Karen, a vain and selfish girl w...
Aug 07, 2023•1 hr 22 min
Book Vs. Movie: The Swimmer The 1964 John Cheever story vs. the 1968 Burt Lancaster Film Burt Lancaster always claimed that his 1968 film The Swimmer was his best work, and we are here to show you exactly why! The John Cheever short story that appeared in the July 18, 1964 issue of The New Yorker is a surrealistic tale of an alcoholic man ( Neddy Merrill ) who journeys to his home through suburban New York via swimming pools. Along the way, he realizes that the life he thinks he is leading (high...
Jul 30, 2023•1 hr 21 min
Book Vs. Movie: Ode to Billy Joe The 1967 Song Vs. the 1976 Movie It was a hot and steamy summer day when we recorded this episode, so we decided to go as far south as we could get here in the USA with the tale of Billie Joe Macallister (named Billy Joe for the movie adaptation) and why he may have jumped to his death off the Tallahacthie Bridge. Mississippi native Bobbie Gentry wrote the song in 1967 for her first album, and it became a huge sensation. The song is written from the viewpoint of ...
Jul 24, 2023•1 hr 4 min
Book Vs. Movie: The Killers The 1927 Ernest Hemingway Short Story Vs. the 1946 Classic Film The Margos are discussing Ernest Hemingway for the first time on the podcast after nine years of producing, which is shocking! His 1927 short story, The Killers, was first published in 1927 for Scribner’s Magazine and is a return of his character Nick Adams who appears in several short stories. Set in Summit, Illinois, Adams has to deal with a couple of hitmen looking to take out a boxer named “Ole Anders...
Jul 15, 2023•1 hr 29 min
Book Vs. Movie: Valley GirlsThe Frank & Moon Zappa Song Vs. the 1983 Classic Film We know that Frank Zappa did not authorize using the song Valley Girl (co-written with his 14-year-old daughter Moon Unit in 1982.) But we had to cover this movie because if there was ever a song that influenced the culture of the early 80s --this was it. Moon Zappa is the oldest child of the late Frank Zappa, and after spending most of her childhood waiting for her dad to make time for her, she reached out to ...
Jul 09, 2023•1 hr 10 min
Book Vs. Movie: Rumble Fish The 1975 Novel Vs. the 1983 Movie Rusty James is a 14-year-old kid in Tulsa, Oklahoma, who lives a troubled life in 1975’s Rumble Fish , written by former teen sensation S.E. Hinton who published her first work (the YA classic The Outsiders while a freshman in college in 1967. James spends his days getting into fights, hanging out with best friend Steve, trying to find time for his girlfriend Patty, and, most of all, idolizing his older brother, The Motorcycle Boy. Th...
Jul 05, 2023•1 hr 10 min
Book Vs. Movie: The Children’s Hour The 1934 Play Vs. the 1936 ("These Three") & 1961 Adaptation Lillian Hellman’s first play, The Children’s Hour , caused a sensation in 1934 when it debuted on Broadway with the tale of two schoolteachers accused of being lesbians when homosexuality was illegal in much of the U.S. The show was so scandalous that a Chicago run was canceled. Hellman always stated that the play's moral was about the power of lies and how they can affect an entire community. In...
Jun 26, 2023•54 min
Book Vs. Movie: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof The 1955 Play Vs. the 1958 Classic Film The Margos are feeling very Southern in this episode devoted to the work of Tennessee Williams and his personal favorite work-- Cat on a Hot Tin Roof . The 1955 play was based on his 1952 short story “Three Plays of a Summer Game” and won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama during its Broadway debut. The story of the Pollitt family in the Mississippi Delta and their personal grievances and torturous secrets was considered inc...
Jun 19, 2023•1 hr 21 min
Book Vs. Movie: Strangers on a Train The 1950 Novel Vs. the 1951 Classic Film The Margos return to Alfred Hitchcock with his classic thriller Strangers on a Train , based on Patricia Highsmith’s debut novel. The story of two men meeting up and deciding to commit double murder in just a few hours may strain credulity--but it is a fun story ride! In the novel, budding architect Guy Haines meets wealthy gadabout Charles Anthony Bruno (called Bruno throughout the book) on a train ride to Texas. Guy ...
Jun 12, 2023•1 hr 18 min
Book Vs. Movie: The Last Picture Show The Larry McMurtry 1966 Novel Vs. the 1971 Peter Bogdanovich Film The Margos put on a Texas-sized episode of Book vs. Movie with The Last Picture Show --both the 1966 novel by Larry McMurtry and the 1971 film by Peter Bogdanovich. Both tell the tale of lonely people living in a forgotten Texas city with barely enough room for their hopes and dreams. McMurtry was a native of Archer City, Texas , born in 1936. When he was young, his family did not own many boo...
Jun 05, 2023•1 hr 22 min
Book Vs. Movie: Blow-Up The Julio Cortazar Short Story Vs. the Michelangelo Antonio Movie The Margos are feeling very mod today with this particular episode. We talk about Michelangelo Antonini , one of the most revered directors of the 1960s & 1970s, with a Palm d’Or, the Golden Lion, the Golden Bread, and the Golden Leopard among his film accomplishments. 1966’s Blow-Up is his biggest English language hit, and it captured the New Wave movement in modern filmmaking. The original story is fr...
May 29, 2023•1 hr 17 min
Book Vs Movie: “What’s Love Got to Do With It” (1993) Tina Turner’s 1986 Autobiography “I, Tina” Vs. the Angela Bassett Film RIP Tina! (1939-1983) With Tina Turner finally being nominated for a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Nomination as a solo artist--the Margos decided now was the time to take a look at her life story (up to the age of 46) with her 80s bestselling autobiography (co-written by Kurt Loder!) “ I, Tina ” and compare it with the 1993 film “ What’s Love Got to Do With It .” Anna Mae ...
May 24, 2023•57 min
Book Vs. Movie: Dragon: The Bruce Lee StoryThe Shannon Lee Book/Memoir Vs. the 1993 Biopic Bruce Lee is one of the biggest martial artists of all time and created the style Jeet Kune Do , which caused controversy within the martial arts community. As a Chinese-American, he wanted to spread the word to anyone eager to learn and not keep secrets. He also believed in pushing himself to the limit in everything he did, which caused friction in Hollywood and Hong Kong film communities. Born Lee Jun-fa...
May 20, 2023•1 hr 22 min
Book Vs. Movie: Laura The 1943 Novel Vs. the 1944 Classic Film The Margos continue with the 1940s with the film noir genre--Laura starring the gorgeous Gene Tierney and Dana Andrews , Clifton Webb , and Vincent Price . Based on the 1943 novel Ring Twice for Laura by Vera Caspary , the story of the mysterious Laura Hunt, who is found murdered (or was she?), was initially serialized in Collier's magazine in October and November 1942. It became a hit novel and was released as an Armed Services Edit...
May 15, 2023•1 hr 6 min
Book Vs. Movie: The Thin Man The Dashiell Hammett Novel Vs. the 1934 Classic Film The Margos are looking for actors with chemistry and witty banter, so we had to dive into the fabulous world of Nick and Nora Charles and The Thin Man . What began as a feature in Redbook magazine in December 1933 turned into a best-selling novel by one of the most important writers of the 20th Century-- Dashiell Hammett . We discussed Hammett when talking about The Maltese Falcon, and for several reasons, The Thin...
May 08, 2023•1 hr 4 min
Book Vs. Movie: The Best Years of Our Lives The MacKinlay Kantor Novel Vs. the 1946 Classic Film The Margos continue their journey through post-WW2 America with one of the most celebrated movies of the 20th Century-- The Best Years of Our Lives . The film was based on the novel Glory for Me by MacKinlay Kantor , who wrote the story of wounded GIs dealing with trauma in blank verse form. He started as a war correspondent in London and flew in some bombing missions. Glory for Me was an unglamorous...
May 01, 2023•1 hr 15 min
Book Vs. Movie: The Little Foxes The Lillian Hellman 1939 Play Vs. the 1941 Bette Davis Film Playwright Lillian Hellman is one of the most celebrated artists of the 20th Century who had a complicated life filled with love affairs and massive success and was the toast of Broadway for works such as The Little Foxes , The Children’s Hour and Watch on the Rhine . She was also a House Committee on Un-American Activities ( HUAC ) pariah and was called a liar by author Mary McCarthy on The Dick Cavett ...
Apr 23, 2023•1 hr 11 min
Book Vs. Movie: Octopussy The Ian Fleming Short Story Vs. the 1983 Roger Moore Bond The Margos are feeling very Bond-- James Bond that is with 1983’s Octopussy based on a short story by Ian Fleming in the posthumously released Octopussy and The Living Daylights . Fleming, a former British Agent and the creator of Bond, passed away in 1964; he had left several short stories and novels that helped to continue the brand, including comic strips printed in newspapers worldwide. (We can’t promise not ...
Apr 15, 2023•51 min
Book Vs. Movie: Rear WindowThe 1942 Short Story Vs. the 1954 Classic Film The Margos are swooning throughout this episode for one of the greatest movies of all time, adapted from a short story by a very interesting (and prolific) author. Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window is one of his finest works based on the short story; It Had to be Murder by Cornell Woolrich. Woolrich is considered one of his generation's best mystery/suspense writers, with dozens of titles making it to movie adaptations, inclu...
Apr 10, 2023•1 hr 11 min
Book Vs. Movie: Touch of Evil The 1956 novel Badge of Evil Vs. the 1958 Film Noir Classic The Margos dive right back into one of our favorite genres--film noir! The 1958 Orson Welles’s directed film Touch of Evil is based on a 1956 novel by Whit Masteron titled Badge of Evil . The book sold reasonably well at the time, but at the time, the movie was given mixed reviews due to Welles not staying until the final edit process. In 1998, a “re-cut” of the film was based on a 58-page memo Welles had s...
Apr 05, 2023•1 hr 6 min
Book Vs. Movie: Kinky Boots The True Story Behind the 2005 Movie & 2013 Broadway Musical (and the 2019 movie!) The “Month of Musicals” concludes with Kinky Boots , the true story of a footwear company in Earls Barton, North Hamptonshire, UK-- WJ Brooks . The factory was in Steve Pateman’s family for decades when in the 1990s, they started losing money to the cheaper, faster competition. Pateman appeared on BBC’s Trouble at the Top documentary showing how his company switched to creating boot...
Mar 28, 2023•55 min
