Getting Schooled by Film’s Heavy Hitters
John Pierson’s Master Class airs tonight on KUT
By Kimberley Jones, 9:44AM, Sun. Aug. 21, 2011
The film and TV talents who’ve occupied the hot seat at UT prof John Pierson’s Master Class are so famous they hardly require a last name: Linklater. Judge. Buscemi. Stone. Simon. Silent Bob. Tonight, a fresh batch of interviewees debuts on KUT’s O’Dark 30.
The radio cuts of Pierson’s sprawling interviews are disappointingly short but still give a good sense of how informative and candid the classes are. Tonight’s episode focuses on Art Linson, the prolific producer behind Car Wash, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, and Fight Club, to name but a few, as well as the author of the memoir What Just Happened, which Barry Levinson turned into a film starring Robert De Niro.
Linson shares recollections of his collaborations with David Mamet, Brian De Palma, Sean Penn, and David Fincher (at whom Linson takes a very funny swipe).
O’Dark 30, which airs Sundays at midnight, hosts the Master Class interviews for the next four weeks. See below for the whole lineup.
Aug. 21: producer Art Linson
Aug. 28: Michael Barker, co-president, Sony Pictures Classics (taped the day after the Oscars)
Sept. 4: filmmaker Jay Duplass (The Puffy Chair, Cyrus)
Sept. 11: SXSW Film Producer (and wife of John) Janet Pierson
A note to readers: Bold and uncensored, The Austin Chronicle has been Austin’s independent news source for over 40 years, expressing the community’s political and environmental concerns and supporting its active cultural scene. Now more than ever, we need your support to continue supplying Austin with independent, free press. If real news is important to you, please consider making a donation of $5, $10 or whatever you can afford, to help keep our journalism on stands.
Kimberley Jones, April 14, 2010
Kimberley Jones, June 16, 2009
March 24, 2023
Master Class With John Pierson, Master Class, John Pierson, Art Linson, Michael Barker, Jay Duplass, Janet Pierson
