CULTURAL RADAR

WELLES DONE

Coming soon to art-house cinemas and home streaming, this new documentary from Northern-Irish, Edinburgh-resident filmmaker Mark Cousins dives into the life of troubled genius Orson Welles, offering a fresh portrait of the actor and director as – so the billing runs – you’ve never seen him before. Granted exclusive access to hundreds of private drawings and paintings by Orson Welles, and executive-produced by Michael Moore no less, Cousins dives deep into the visual world of this legendary director and actor, exploring how the aesthetic genius of Welles still resonates today in the age of Trump, more than 30 years after his death. To find out more about the film check out: theeyesoforsonwelles.com

BACK TO THE FUTURAMA

Exclusive to Netflix, Simpsons creator Matt Groening’s new adult animated comedy, Disenchantment was apparently envisioned in the first instance as a sequel to The Simpsons Movie – in which Homer would play the king of a Tolkienesque fantasy world. We reckon we can all be grateful that wasn’t given the green light, and instead enjoy this rollicking, sprawling new saga in the style of Game of Thrones about rebellious princess Bean, who’s determined to buck the ossified traditions of her family. Like Futurama’s iconoclastic Bender, Bean is a no-nonsense, unapologetic alcoholic, her elf companion Elfo, and her “personal demon” Luci accompanying her on various misadventures through a medieval kingdom known as Dreamland.

PURE EXHIBITIONISM

Paris in the fin-de-siècle was known as the “city of pleasure”; famed for its cabarets, dance halls and cafés. Most famous of all were the nightspots of the bohemian district of Montmartre, where Toulouse-Lautrec lived, worked and socialised, including the now legendary café-cabarets Le Moulin Rouge and Le Chat Noir. Coming to Edinburgh in October, Pin-Ups: Toulouse Lautrec and the Art of Celebrity will be the first exhibition held at the National Galleries of Scotland devoted to the art of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864–1901), focusing on Toulouse-Lautrec’s lithographic posters, portfolio prints and illustrations, all of which made stars of Montmartre’s venues and their exotic entertainers. Visit nationalgalleries.org

FROM THE CORNER OF THE OVAL OFFICE

In 2012, Dorey-Stein answered a job ad for a stenographer at a “law firm”; turns out, it was to work at Barack Obama’s Oval Office. Obama administration memoirs are rolling in, but in a refreshing twist, From the Corner of the Oval Office swaps policy for good old-fashioned workplace dram, leading some to aptly dub it The West Wing meets Devil Wears Prada. Dorey-Stein may be a stenographer, but this is not typing; this is writing, with wit and self-deprecating humor, always fully aware, too, of the pomposity and petty spite of official Washington.

Beck Dorey-Stein, Penguin Random House, 2018

JAZZ’S EPIC AWAKENING

When Los Angeles’ titanic jazz saxophonist released his tour de force LP, The Epic, in 2015, it set Kamasi Washington on a path as our generation’s torchbearer for progressive, improvisational music that blew things wide open for young audiences searching for music unlike anything they had heard before. The 172-minute odyssey featuring his 10-piece band, The Next Step, featured elements of hip-hop, classical and R&B music, all major influences on the young saxophonist and bandleader, who exceeds any notions of what “jazz” music is. Next up is Heaven and Earth – even more ambitious, sprawling, uplifting, challenging, straddling trad’ Coltrane era, far-out ’70s Miles Davis, you name it.

Heaven and Earth, Kamasi Washington

HITS AND MISSES

He’s 34 years old, a New Yorker contributor, Pixar writer and now fiction maestro… you could choose to be bitter about the literary overachievements of Simon Rich, but then you’d be missing out on a real treat: a tightly written set of short stories about Hollywood that skewers the weird, wonderful and downright controversial world of making movies in LA in every manner you don’t expect. In hilarious fashion (did we mention Rich is also a Saturday Night Live scribe?) he chronicles the absurdity of fame and the humanity of failure in a world dominated by social media influencers and reality TV stars. A must read for those in need of having their funny bones tickled. Check it out!

Simon Rich, Serpent’s Tail, 2018

A GENTLEMAN IN MOSCOW

This is parable for all world travellers, centering on Count Alexander Rostov living under house arrest in the luxury Metropol hotel while some of the most tumultuous events in Russian history unfold under his nose. Alright for some, you might say? Perhaps… While movie stars and Russian royalty hobnob, and Bolsheviks plot revolutions, the danger of twentieth century Russia lurks outside its marbled walls. It is also where the count meets Nina with aspirations of royal privilege. Towles magnificently conjures the grandeur of the Russian hotel and the vibrancy of the interesting myriad of characters that call it home.

A Gentleman in Moscow
Amor Towles, Viking Press, 2016