Oscars and escape plans

If you’ve been hankering for some interesting stories from writers you know and love, then here’s a lovely little reading list to finish off this week. It’s time for a look around the Curious Cinematic Universe.

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I was excited to see Carvell Wallace (CUR004, August 24) in Fast Company, profiling Ryan Coogler’s Proximity Media—the production company that has helped propel not just Coogler and the four Oscars that Sinners just won, but also movies like Judas and the Black Messiah and an upcoming X-Files reboot. Wallace could almost be talking about himself when he digs into Coogler’s 2009 student film Locks. “The six-minute short, set in Oakland, tracks the decision of a young man to cut his hair. That’s it. That’s the story. But in it, you can see a Proximity ethos being born while Coogler perfects the patient, observational, almost reverent eye that he used to stunning effect in Fruitvale Station… both films portray Black characters having an experience that is very much a function of race, but in a way that is instantly recognizable and emotionally relatable to nearly everyone.”

I was moved by reading Lauren Markham (CUR001, May 24) in the New Yorker, writing about obtaining a Greek passport for her young child—and how many Americans are trying to secure a second passport as an insurance plan. I’ve heard many people trying to do the same, but it’s a strange mirror version of what I’ve gone through with my own family in the past year (we naturalized as American citizens in 2025, in part to gain a little more security during the anti-immigration wave.) One quote that stuck with me: “You don’t buy fire insurance because you want your house to burn down,” he explained. “You buy it because you think that it’s possible a fire might happen, and you want to be prepared.”

I was intrigued by coming across Bonnie Tsui (CUR013, May 25) in the New York Times giving a report on Art Basel Hong Kong, in particular the show’s Encounters section, which “focuses on large-scale sculpture, installation and performance.” Tsui interviews a number of the curators involved in pulling the show together, talking about the art they are highlighting. “This is one of the most important cultural months in Hong Kong and in the region… We are very aware that in the context of the fair, people can easily get lost — and we don’t just want the audience to consume the artwork. We want them to think about the relationships between them.”

And I was uplifted by seeing Henry Grabar (CUR012, April 25) in the Atlantic, where he is now a staff writer, discussing the revival of Barnes & Noble, and how the American public seems to be falling back in love with chain book stores–or at least recognizing that they may be the lesser of two evils. “Like all big chains, when you shop there, more of your money leaves the community than when you shop at something locally owned,” Josh Cook, a bookseller and co-owner of Porter Square Books in Cambridge, Massachusetts, told me. But, he added: “Anything that takes market share from Amazon is positive.” 

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And some positive news from another featured author: Annalee Newitz (CUR009, January 25) has been nominated for a Nebula Award for best novella for Automatic Noodle, their story of love, robots and ramen. We hope it turns into a win!

Onwards,

Bobbie