Metrograph's New Print Magazine for Film Lovers and Beyond

Summary

Podcast Summary: All Of It - "Metrograph's New Print Magazine for Film Lovers and Beyond"

Host: Alison Stewart
Release Date: January 7, 2025
Guests: Annabelle Brady Brown (Senior Editor, Metrograph) and Kelly Weston (Editor, Metrograph)
Podcast: All Of It by WNYC

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Introduction

In this episode of All Of It, host Alison Stewart delves into the exciting launch of Metrograph's new biannual print magazine designed for cinephiles and cultural enthusiasts alike. Annabelle Brady Brown and Kelly Weston, the magazine's senior editor and editor, join Stewart to discuss the inspiration, challenges, and vision behind this fresh addition to the film culture landscape.

Creating a Print Magazine in the Digital Age

Alison Stewart opens the discussion by addressing the apparent contradiction of launching a print magazine amidst a digital-dominated media environment. She poses a critical question to Annabelle Brady Brown:

"In the last decade a lot of print publications have reduced or shut down operations in favor of a digital or a streaming market. Why did you feel it was the right move to make a print magazine called the Metrograph?" [01:52]

Annabelle Brady Brown responds thoughtfully:

"It may seem like we are going against the grain a little... we have writers who are smart and intelligent at film writing. People respond and they come and show up. The magazine and the response we've had so far is sort of really like a testament to that. If you make the thing with love and care, people are there and they're actually really hungry for a magazine like this to exist." [02:45]

She emphasizes the enduring love for tangible print media and the community-centric approach that Metrograph embodies both in its theater and its publication.

Content of the First Issue

The inaugural issue of Metrograph's magazine showcases a blend of in-depth features and artistic contributions. Kelly Weston highlights some key articles:

"For the first issue, the publication speaks to both cinephiles and cultural connoisseurs. Featuring cover art from celebrated cinematographer Ed Lockman... a piece from Midsommar director Ari Aster and graphic novelist Daniel Clowes on the minor indignities of moviegoing, plus a 30-page centerfold celebration of director Clint Eastwood." [00:16-01:06]

Annabelle Brady Brown adds context to the cover art selection:

"Ed is someone we love. He comes to the theater all the time... we discovered this incredible archive of never-before-seen images that he wanted to start sharing with the world. It includes the COVID image, which is one of a series inside the magazine that features Jean-Luc Godard in 1981 at a unique moment in cinema history." [08:32-09:36]

The magazine aims to intertwine film analysis with broader cultural elements, creating a multidisciplinary space for readers.

Building a Community Around Cinema

Both Annabelle Brady Brown and Kelly Weston emphasize the magazine's role in fostering a global film community. Annabelle explains:

"Metrograph is the solid theater space in New York... part of our goal is to create a community where cinema is a meaningful part of everyone's life." [04:12]

Kelly Weston echoes this sentiment by discussing the importance of context in film criticism:

"We try to chart the lineage of cinema, which is also very discernible in our programming. People just love to read good, solid writing and passionate writing about films." [03:16-04:04]

Anecdotes and Listener Experiences

The podcast features engaging anecdotes from the editors illustrating the vibrant community Metrograph cultivates:

• Kelly Weston shares a memorable movie-going experience involving an unexpected conversation about the film Mother! with a stranger, highlighting the magazine's mission to build connections through shared cinematic experiences. [05:40-06:59]

• Annabelle Brady Brown recounts a dramatic Q&A session with Ari Aster that led to a brawl outside the Paris Theater, showcasing the passionate reactions that cinema can evoke. [07:04-07:56]

Additionally, listeners contribute their own stories:

• Douglas from Albuquerque praises the film Dylan and discusses Timothy Chalamet's performance, recommending it to folk music lovers. [11:24-13:00]

• Joe from Brooklyn shares his unique experience watching The Incident at Metrograph, emphasizing the theater's role in showcasing exclusive and impactful films. [12:04-13:45]

• Sharon from Suffran reflects on a personal movie-going incident mirroring a scene from You've Got Mail, illustrating life's intersections with cinema. [15:49-16:21]

Editorial Vision and Future Content

The editors discuss their aspirations for future issues, aiming to blend nostalgia with contemporary relevance:

Annabelle Brady Brown speaks to the magazine's design inspiration and multidisciplinary approach:

"We were thinking about the incredible energy of film publishing in the 60s and 70s... we wanted to bring a little bit of that back. We're also incorporating elements from music, books, and visual arts to create a more holistic cultural publication." [16:48-18:18]

Kelly Weston shares insights into feature articles, such as her piece on Edward Yang:

"I wanted readers to explore the late Edward Yang's work by examining how his characters' fashion embodies their emotional and social turmoil." [09:45-11:24]

They hint at content that delves into subversive film analysis and celebrates diverse cinematic voices, ensuring each issue remains fresh and engaging.

Collaborative Editorial Environment

The dynamic between Annabelle and Kelly underscores a collaborative and inclusive editorial process:

Kelly Weston praises Annabelle for fostering a creative and safe environment:

"Annabelle has crafted an environment where it feels safe to come to her with your half-baked ideas. It's so collaborative and feels like its own community." [18:18-19:40]

This teamwork is pivotal in maintaining the magazine's innovative and passionate voice.

Looking Ahead

As the conversation wraps up, the editors express excitement for future issues:

"We are at work on the second issue and it will be just as brilliant as the first." [19:55-20:01]

While specifics are kept under wraps, Annabelle teases the ongoing pursuit of their editorial dreams:

"We have so many secrets... we start from this very incredibly utopian place where we're like, what's our absolute dream?... Every now and again those land and that's the most thrilling experience in the world." [20:09-20:44]

Conclusion

The episode culminates with Alison Stewart congratulating the Metrograph team and encouraging listeners to engage with the new print magazine. By blending passionate film criticism, community stories, and artistic collaborations, Metrograph's magazine emerges as a celebrated addition to New York City's vibrant cultural scene.

For those interested in exploring the intersection of film and culture through a thoughtfully curated print medium, Metrograph's inaugural issue promises a rich and immersive experience.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps:

• Annabelle Brady Brown: "If you make the thing with love and care, people are there and they're actually really hungry for a magazine like this to exist." [02:45]

• Kelly Weston: "We try to chart the lineage of cinema... people just love to read good, solid writing and passionate writing about films." [04:04]

• Annabelle Brady Brown: "We want cinema to be a meaningful part of everyone's life." [04:12]

• Kelly Weston: "That's a real team effort." [19:52]

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Engage with Metrograph:

To experience Metrograph's new print magazine and join a thriving film community, visit their stands or subscribe through their official channels. For further updates and interactions, listeners are encouraged to connect via WNYC’s provided contact methods.

Transcript

[Annabelle Brady Brown]

Listener support WNYC Studios.

[Alison Stewart]

This is all of it on WNYC. I'm Alison Stewart. Since opening on 7 Ludlow street in 2016, the Metrograph has provided a physical space for New Yorkers to see and talk about independent film. Now the theater is expanding its reach with a brand new B print magazine titled the Metrograph. Featuring cover art from celebrated cinematographer Ed Lockman. For its debut issue, the publication speaks to both cinephiles and cultural connoisseurs. The first issue features a piece from Midsommar director Ari Aster and graphic novelist Daniel Clowes on the minor indignities of moviegoing, plus a 30 page centerfold celebration of director Clint Eastwood. The inaugural issue was made available on stands last month and two of the editors are here now to discuss. Joining me is MetroCraft's senior editor editor Annabelle Brady Brown. Nice to see you, Annabelle.

[Annabelle Brady Brown]

Nice to meet you, Alison.

[Alison Stewart]

And editor Kelly Weston. Hi Kelly. Hi listeners. We'd love to hear from you because the magazine wrote about going to the movies. What is the best movie going experience you've had or the strangest or the wildest experience you've had inside a movie theater? Why do you like to see a movie in an actual theater? Have you been in Metrograph? What did you see? Give us a call. 2124-3396-9221-2433. WNYC. You can join us on the air or you can text to us at or hit us up on social media. Llnyc Annabelle, in the last decade a lot of print publications have reduced or shut down operations in favor of a digital or a streaming market. Why'd you feel it was the right move to make a print magazine called the Metrograph?

[Annabelle Brady Brown]

It may seem like we are going against the grain a little, it must be admitted. I think we've talked about this a lot and one of the things that comes up in our minds is at the same time, Metrograph itself opened in 2016 at a time when a lot of repertory cinemas, especially around New York, were closing doors. And at that moment, opening a cinema may have seemed sort of counterintuitive, but the way that the cinema was designed and curated, it's all about bringing together community. It's about creating this space for people to come together and celebrate movies. And people responded so well and that's why we're still here today. The magazine is similarly minded where being told that print media is crumbling. At the same time we're surrounded by people who absolutely adore, to the point of even fetishizing the print object. When we have writers that we get to work with, it's such a pleasure who are smart and intelligent at film writing. People respond and they come and show up. And I think the magazine and the response we've had so far is sort of really like a testament to that. If you make the thing with love and care, people are there and they're actually really hungry for a magazine like this to exist. So hopefully we will be start of a new trend.

[Alison Stewart]

You're a film critic and a programmer, Kelly, based in New York City. What is it that cinephiles want to read about as it relates to film?

[Kelly Weston]

I mean, for me, one of the things that I have often tried to respond to in my criticism is the kind of, you know, context that may be missing in, you know, everyday conversations about films. And I think that is certainly what our magazine tries to do, right. Like we try to sort of chart the lineage of cinema, which is also very, you know, discernible in our programming, obviously. So, yeah, what cinephiles want. I think, you know, we are constantly having conversations about this as we are you know, currently gearing up for issue two. But I really think that people just love to read good, solid writing and passionate writing about films.

[Alison Stewart]

Cannibal. You mentioned the word community. What kind of community do you hope to cultivate through this publication?

[Annabelle Brady Brown]

That's a great question. I think it works on two levels. Part of it is Metrograph is the solid theater space in New York we're tapped into. If you, if you go there on the weekend, you'll see some of the same faces showing up across all demographics. There are people who just. Cinema is a really important and meaningful part of their life. And that. That's part of our goal. At the same time, the publication is sold not just across America, but all around the world. We're reaching this film community and we are, you know, as much as we say there is a streaming community, that means that this is an international sort of a grouping of people to come together. You may hear my accent is from Australia. I ended up in New York here because I've, you know, this is like a pilgrimage to come here. But I think that a key center of that is the theater going experience. You know, we can. You can never lose that. That's the heart of it. You mention Ari and Daniel's piece, which really explores all the strange, wonderful things that can happen in the theater. And I think that is really sort of the goal of everything we're about, even in the writing. We want fun, we Want engagement. We want people coming together. We want cinema to be a meaningful part of everyone's life.

[Alison Stewart]

You mentioned that piece, Kelly, that he talked about. Ari Aster and cartoonist Daniel Clowes wrote a piece with Ada Scott which they called the Indignities of Going to the Theater. Which is a bit of satire, of course. Some of your favorite strange moviegoing experiences.

[Kelly Weston]

This by no means the strangest, but slightly bizarre. And perhaps one of the warmest experiences I had was when I saw the film Mother, exclamation point. One of Annabelle's favorites. A film very close to her heart. And I saw it opening night and it was 9pm and it's a very long film if people remember. And we got out really late and ended up going across the street to like a KFC or something. And me and my friend, it almost sounds like, you know, the setup of a bad joke. It's like, you know, a Catholic, a Muslim, an atheist walk into a kfc. And so me and my friends were just like talking about the religious symbolism and allegory in the film. And I'm like, you know, formerly Catholic, my friend is Muslim. And so we were just talking about that and the guy in front of us literally turned around and stopped us in the middle of our conversation. And he was like, I'm talking to my friend about Mother. And I had no idea what is happening in this film. Can you explain it to him? So me and my friend basically ended up at like almost midnight in the middle of the KFC talking to the stranger down the phone about Mother, which is also, you know, that's the kind of community building that we want to do at Metrograph and also, you know, with our magazine and also with the program.

[Alison Stewart]

Do you have any strange or odd movie going experiences?

[Annabelle Brady Brown]

I actually thought of this was not one that happened to me, but in a weird way of art mirroring life. Not long after we finished working on the article with Ari, he was at the Paris Theater in New York and he was doing a Q and A following a screening of Come In Tea. And in the Q and A, someone from the audience, they asked, oh, Ari, you know, do you have advice you would give to a young filmmaker which if you go to a lot of these Q&As, is one that you would hear again and again, it'd be on your bingo card. Yeah, yeah. And some audience members took umbrage with this. And so to the point where after the screening there was a pretty much full on brawl that happened outside the theater, on the streets in the Paris Theater.

[Kelly Weston]

Yeah.

[Annabelle Brady Brown]

Which you can watch clips of on Twitter if you like. They are still available. Inciting passions.

[Alison Stewart]

Oh, my gosh. The Metrograph recently published its debut issue of its new biannual print publication for cinephiles. Senior editor Annabelle Brady Brown, editor Kelly Weston, join us to discuss. We'd love to hear from you. Have you been to Metrograph recently? Did you? What do you enjoy about seeing films in person? What's the best movie going? The experience that you've ever had, or the strangest or the wildest? Our number is 2124-3396-9221-2433. I should talk about the COVID of the debut issue. Cover work is by cinematographer Ed Lockman. Why? Was he the artist you wanted for your debut issue?

[Annabelle Brady Brown]

Ed is someone we love. He comes to the theater all the time. We have a Christmas tradition with him. Introducing Carol, the Todd Haynes film, for example, that he shot. One of many, many incredible films that he's worked on. But few people know that Ed also has his own private photography practice. And so we discovered this incredible ab of never before seen images that he wanted to start sharing with the world. And they include the COVID image, which is one of a series that we have inside the magazine. And we've actually done a small, limited amount of prints of them as well, but that feature Jean Luc Goddard in 1981, at this strange moment in time when Goddard was working at the American ZoeTrope Studios in LA with Francis Ford Coppola. And so it's this strange intersection of all of these talents. American New Hollywood, you know, the European art house, Ed's there in the mix, all coming together and dreaming very utopianly about what cinema can be, which seemed like a great symbol for our first issue.

[Alison Stewart]

Kelly, you wrote a piece titled Edward Yang and his Gang. Tell us how you wanted readers to explore the late Edward Yang's work as a director.

[Kelly Weston]

Well, he is a filmmaker that I've loved for a really, really long time. And I think one of the ways that I connected with him was because I was so fascinated, you know, by the style of the characters in his films. That's how I came to him as a kind of, you know, very vain, aesthetic obsessed teenager. And, you know, once you, like when I started, like, watching his films, they sort of like filled me up, right? Like they opened up entirely new worlds to me. And so fashion is something I care about just in general, and it's something I love thinking about and analyzing. And so one of the things that we tried to chart through this piece was the way that these characters, the way that they dress comes to embody not just their own kind of discontent in a really interesting way. Although, I mean, like, you know, from the outside, it just looks like here are some really well dressed corporate people. But actually the way that they dress comes to sort of chart either their emotional inner tumult, their own class anxiety, you know, all sorts of different things that are part of the broader arc of his films. So, yeah, one of the things that was like just sort of kisma, I guess, is that I was kind of writing this piece when I, you know, sort of joined the Metrograph editorial team. But, yeah, I. You know, there's so many avenues and ways into films. And that's sort of one of the things that we try to do both in our. Our editorial work, online in the Journal, the Metrograph Journal, and also in the magazine.

[Alison Stewart]

All right, we got a text that says, I have a copy of the Metrograph's first issue. I'm super excited about this publication, especially the fact that there's a physical copy. I can take it with me and read it on the subway. My best memory is years ago at IFC Center. I was a young documentary filmmaker, and I walked out of the bathroom and was face to face with Werner Herzog. I had been drinking a bit too much wine that evening and couldn't remember if I had washed my hands. So I opted to smile and nod and not express my unbridled admiration to him. Oh, that's a good call. Let's take a call. Douglas is calling us from Albuquerque, New Mexico. Hi, Douglas, thanks for calling. You're on the air.

[Douglas]

Hi, Alison. Love your show. I'm a daily listener.

[Alison Stewart]

Nice, nice.

[Douglas]

So I wanted to shout out a complete unknown. And the incredible job, that Timothy Chalamet Dylan character and the whole movie was just a remarkable experience with me. I was gifted a ticket to that film with a close friend of mine. We both loved the folk music scene and Dylan and the whole portrait of the hospital scenes with the hero of Woody Guthrie in there and. But Timothy Shout. Timothy's ability to learn all those songs and perform was remarkable. So it was just a terrific. I recommend the film to anybody who's a folk music lover.

[Alison Stewart]

Thank you for calling, Douglas. We really appreciate it. Let's talk to Joe from Brooklyn. Hey, Joe, you're on the air.

[Douglas]

Oh, hi. It happens that I was there last night to see a film I wouldn't have seen any other place. It was Bill Morrison's the Incident, and it was a half hour Compilation of police personal cam videos showing the killing of a civilian in Chicago. And, you know, I have a lot of other movie stories, but I'd never seen anything like it. And if it wasn't for the Metrograph, I wouldn't have seen that one.

[Alison Stewart]

Thank you so much for calling in. Joe. You recognize the film he's talking about?

[Annabelle Brady Brown]

Yeah, yeah. No, it's a really special screening. I'm so glad you made it along.

[Alison Stewart]

In the magazine, there are some conversations, including the piece, the Shot that Made Me Gay. This is kind of a funny one. Who wrote this? Where did this idea come up from?

[Kelly Weston]

Come from this idea. I think this was like the brainchild of Annabelle.

[Annabelle Brady Brown]

This is Gabe.

[Alison Stewart]

Gabe.

[Kelly Weston]

This is our other editorial.

[Annabelle Brady Brown]

Not Gabe, but here in Spirit.

[Kelly Weston]

Yes, here in Sphere. Shout out to Gabe. And so we reached out to Carmen Maria Machado, who's a wonderful, wonderful writer. And also Jackson Brown.

[Annabelle Brady Brown]

Jackson Howe.

[Kelly Weston]

Jackson Howe, sorry. And, yeah, so each of them. Carmen wrote about the film Fried Green Tomatoes, which is incredible. It's a film that is also very special to me personally. It's one of those films that was always on tnt. It's based on this book by Fanny Flagg. And she writes this sort of lovely missive about, you know, what is missing in that film that is almost, you know, sort of constructed by the viewer because we know that these two characters are lovers. And that is so much, unfortunately, of the way that a lot of queer and marginalized, certainly racialized people have had to, like, watch a lot of cinema. And then Jackson wrote about Hercules, another film that is very close to my heart. Hercules is a Disney version. Yeah. Just to be clear, the Disney version, late night 90s, you know, wonderful Masterpiece Cinema, I would say the last of the great Disney films. And, yeah, so, you know, each. What they bring to these texts is sort of looking at these images and really talking about a subversive way of watching, you know. So it's trying to sort of craft a layered experience of movie going that is not just about, you know, like, the history of cinema, but also about what it is in a. From a spectatorial perspective to sort of watch these films.

[Alison Stewart]

Let's talk to Sharon, who's calling in from Suffran. Hi, Sharon, thanks so much for calling, all of it. What do you want to tell us?

[Douglas]

Hi. Quite a few years ago, went out to see you've Got Mail somewhere in Manhattan with a friend. And during the previews, my friend got dirty looks and was yelled at because she was talking. And then in the movie, the characters were in the same movie theater. You can tell because there's like statues or something in there. They got yelled at during the previews.

[Alison Stewart]

Life imitates art. Annabelle. When you're thinking about the magazine and you're thinking about the editorial stance, you know, sometimes they just have like you have sort of a touchstone about the show. Like this show, I always say it's informational, it's educational, but it's also can help people through the day. Right. So what do you say when you. When you're thinking about stories for the Metrograph?

[Annabelle Brady Brown]

We are thinking about too many things, probably all at one time, but on one level it's. There is this sort of film culture that is slightly under threat and we feel very, you know, affinity with and want to protective and we want to share and foster as much as possible. At the same time we're also thinking about things that from the past that we've lost. There was particularly an incredible energy to film publishing in the 60s and 70s. And when we were first coming up with the look and feel of the magazine, those were the design references a lot. We were going to American, especially some Japanese publications. And it was this moment where there's this positivity, this sort of sense of fun, this sense almost like a bit of sex appeal in there as well, which is sort of a little bit lost from film culture today. And we wanted to bring a little bit of that back. At the same time, the film publication as we describe it, is really one that we hope will break through to a much larger, wider audience. We are people who love music and we love to read books and we love to engage with all sorts of visual artists. And we are bringing all of those sources into the magazine and trying to make it a lot more of a multidisciplinary space than one that I think would necessarily be categorized as a film only publication. We're really hoping that people who don't even necessarily think of themselves as cinephiles, they could pick this up and they will be delighted with many things that they find on the page.

[Alison Stewart]

This is a great text. One of my best in person film experiences was watching Black Panther at the Magic Johnson Theater in Harlem because of the community. What is it like for you guys working on a magazine? I can remember when I was a kid, like working on a magazine seemed like the best job ever and then it sort of disappeared. What's the environment like?

[Kelly Weston]

That's certainly true for me as well. When I was a kid, that was my, you know, considering my community, a very strange dream. To have, you know, I come from a family of much more practical minded people, but it has been an absolute dream. I mean, like our brainstorming sessions are incredibly creative and it also, you know, I have to shout out Annabel because she, as our very fearless leader, has crafted an environment where it feels safe to come to her with, you know, your half baked ideas. And it's so collaborative and it just feels like, you know, its own community where we are, you know, learning about each other's tastes and dislikes and we're also, you know, referencing the community around us. That's really strong, you know, the, as Annabel was saying and you know, I lived for a little bit in London and this was called, you know, bagman culture. The kinds of people who return over and over again to the movies and they become like a kind of staple audience essentially. It is a dream come true. It's the most creative experience I've had also.

[Alison Stewart]

It's collaborative, you know, and really. And I think that speaks to your character. If you're interested in it, like you can collaborate with somebody. It doesn't have to just be your way. My way. That's it.

[Kelly Weston]

Yeah, it's a real, real team effort.

[Alison Stewart]

What do you expect going to be in the next issue?

[Annabelle Brady Brown]

That's a great question.

[Kelly Weston]

That's a great question.

[Annabelle Brady Brown]

We are at work on the second issue and it will be just as brilliant as the first.

[Alison Stewart]

But we, you know, what's one piece you couldn't get in the first issue that you really were like, oh, I don't, I can get this in.

[Annabelle Brady Brown]

Or.

[Alison Stewart]

To use it all.

[Annabelle Brady Brown]

What can we actually tell? There's so many secrets. Secrets. I mean, I think we have just in general in commissioning. We start from this very incredibly utopian place where we're like, what's our absolute dream? List of writers and contributors and then we're getting contacts and sending out cold emails that are just like, hello, this is us, this is what we do. Would you like to be part of it? And you know, every now and again those land and that's the most thrilling experience in the world. But that's, that's really how we're operating.

[Alison Stewart]

We can definitely pick up a copy of the Metrograph, a physical copy of the magazine. I've been speaking with its senior editor Annabelle Brady Brown and editor Kelly Weston. Congratulations on the magazine.

[Annabelle Brady Brown]

Thank you so much, Allison. NYC now delivers the most up to date local news from WNYC and Gothamist every morning, midday and evening with three updates a day. Listeners get breaking news, top headlines, and in depth coverage from across New York City. By sponsoring programming like NYC now, you'll reach our community of dedicated listeners with premium messaging and an uncluttered audio experience. Visit sponsorship.wnyc.org to get in touch and find out more.