Imaginary Worlds

When director Guillermo del Toro asked Tamara Deverell to be the production designer on his film adaptation of Frankenstein, she had a good idea of what he wanted. Del Toro had been dreaming of making a Frankenstein movie for years, and she had worked with him on several projects before. She told me they’re so much sync, “I find with Guillermo, it’s not speaking in words, it’s speaking with images.” But that didn’t make the production design any less challenging. We discuss where Tamara looked for inspiration, why it’s important for her to build physical sets no matter the size, and how she reimagined the signature set piece of every Frankenstein adaptation -- the lab where The Creature comes to life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the 1950s, the avant-garde music scene in New York and the movie studios of Los Angeles might have seemed like opposite ends of a cultural spectrum. But they came together (and blew apart) when MGM hired Louis and Bebe Barron to write the score for the sci-fi classic Forbidden Planet. It was the first all-electronic score for a Hollywood film, but not everyone was ready for the future of film music. I talk with Louis’ son David Barron, composer Dorothy Moskowitz, University of Chicago associate professor Jennifer Iverson, and broadcaster and writer John Cavanagh about how the Barrons built a Rube Goldberg-style electronic music studio long before electronic music could be generated with the push of a button -- and why it took decades for their work to be fully appreciated. Thanks to Thomas Rhea (author of Electronic Perspectives: Vintage Electronic Musical Instruments) for permission to use audio from his 1998 interview with Bebe Barron. You can learn more about the Louis and Bebe Barron archive at Forgotten Futures. Philip Shorey’s orchestra is touring with his new score to the 1925 film The Phantom of The Opera. This episode is sponsored by Remi. Go to shopremi.com/IMAGINARY and use the code IMAGINARY to get up to 50% off your nightguard at checkout. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

I’ve covered digital and practical effects in film and TV, but creating special effects for live theater is a whole other challenge. J&M Special Effects has been up to the task for 40 years. Their crew has worked on shows from Hadestown to Harry Potter and The Cursed Child to Disney musicals like Frozen and Aladdin. I get a behind-the-scenes tour of their Brooklyn warehouse, where failure is part of the process in figuring out how to make the magic work. I talk with partner and designer Jeremy Chernick, along with pyrotechnician Bohdan Bushell, about how theatrical effects have evolved with new technology -- and why they can sometimes be too good at their jobs in making the impossible seem possible. This episode is sponsored by Remi and ShipStation. Start your 60-day free trial at ShipStation.com and use the code IMAGINARY. Try Remi risk-free at shopremi.com/IMAGINARY and use the code IMAGINARY to get up to 50% off your nightguard at checkout Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Coney Island still has the classic amusements you’d expect today like roller coasters, water slides, and carnival games. But over a century ago, it looked more like a proto–Disney World, with multiple theme parks, colossal buildings, and wildly imaginative rides. The most extravagant park along the boardwalk was Dreamland. At Dreamland, you could take a trip to Hell, experience the end of the world, ride through fake Venetian canals, or visit a city built to scale for little people. I talk with historian and novelist Kevin Baker about why Dreamland remains so intriguing and deeply problematic. We also hear voice actor Lofty Fulton read a passage from Kevin’s novel “Dreamland.” Plus, I talk with visual artist Zoe Beloff. She was fascinated that Sigmund Freud visited Dreamland in 1909. So she invented an alternative history where Freud’s disciples in Brooklyn tried to rebuild the park with overtly Freudian rides and exhibits. This week’s episode is sponsored by Hims, ShipStation and ButcherBox. For your free online visit, Hims.com/IMAGINARY Go to shipstation.com and use code IMAGINARY to sign up for your FREE trial. ButcherBox is offering our listeners $20 off their first box and free protein for a year. Go to ButcherBox.com/imaginary to get this limited time offer and free shipping. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The production design of the film Fantastic Four: First Steps is an homage to the early ‘60s comics created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. While Kirby is best known for his bold, fist-popping drawing style, he was also a great storyteller who redefined what comic books could be. He was appreciated by hardcore fans at the time, but he never got the same media attention as Stan Lee and wasn't compensated for the fortunes his characters made. I talk with Kirby experts Charles Hatfield, Mark Evanier, Randolph Hoppe, and Arlen Schumer about where we can see Jack Kirby's influence on comics like The Fantastic Four, Thor, The Hulk, Captain America and Black Panther. And I explore Kirby's childhood at the Tenement Museum on the Lower East Side, where every day was “clobberin’ time,”and he first learned how to use a garbage can lid as a shield. This week’s episode is sponsored by ButcherBox, Hims and ShipStation. ButcherBox is offering our listeners $20 off their first box and free protein for a year. Go to ButcherBox.com/imaginary to get this limited time offer and free shipping always. Start your free online visit today at Hims.com/IMAGINARY Go to shipstation.com and use the code IMAGINARY to sign up for a free trial. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The animated TV series Pantheon (streaming on Netflix) asks what if you could upload your mind to the Internet? Would still be human? Would we create a virtual paradise where everyone got to live forever? Or would we find new and more sophisticated ways to destroy each other? I talk with Pantheon showrunner Craig Silverstein and Ken Liu, the author of The Hidden Girl and Other Stories, which the TV show is based on. We discuss how they adapted a series of loosely interconnected stories into a tightly plotted two-season arc, and all the ways in which society would change if uploading our minds becomes a viable technology. Featuring readings by actress Eunice Wong. This week’s episode is sponsored by The Perfect Jean, ButcherBox and Hims. Our listeners get 15% off your first order plus free shipping, free returns and free exchanges at theperfectjean.nyc with promo code IMAGINARY15 at checkout. ButcherBox is offering our listeners $20 off their first box and free protein for a year. Go to ButcherBox.com/imaginary to get this limited time offer. Start your free online visit today at Hims.com/IMAGINARY Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Next year marks the 60th anniversary of Dark Shadows. The gothic soap opera wasn’t originally intended to include a vampire, but when creator Dan Curtis introduced the character of Barnabas Collins in a last-ditch effort to avoid cancellation, he inadvertently launched a cultural phenomenon. As portrayed by actor Jonathan Frid, the character of Barnabas sparked a never-ending debate among horror fans as to whether vampires should be depicted as pure predators or tragic, misunderstood outcasts. I talk with Danielle Gelehrter (host of the podcast Terror at Collinwood) and authors Mark Dawidziak and Jeff Thompson about why the show had a meteoric rise and fall, what the series reflected about the 1960s, and whether Dark Shadows can have eternal life as a form of IP. This week’s episode is sponsored by Hims and Remi Get your free online visit at hims.com/IMAGINARY. Go to shopremi.com/IMAGINARY and use the code IMAGINARY to save up to 50%. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices