Revisiting Schizopolis, Steven Soderbergh’s Weird, Wacky, And Only Starring Role

“In the event that you find certain sequences or ideas confusing, please bear in mind that this is your fault, not ours. You will need to see this picture again and again until you understand everything. In closing, I want to assure you that no expense was incurred bringing this motion picture to your theater. And now, filmed in its entirety, and proven to heal minor cuts and abrasions, we proudly present Schizopolis.”

That’s an excerpt taken straight from the opening monologue of Schizopolis, delivered by Soderbergh himself, to us (the metaphorical audience) from a stage in a literal auditorium. Frankly, this was not exactly how I expected this film to begin. I should say, even though I would certainly consider myself a fan of Steven Soderbergh’s work, I don’t think I was quite prepared for the mental onslaught that is Schizopolis, a film I watched based on a recommendation from my local video store (Shout out to Videodrome, Atlanta’s best). It was described to me as an experimental comedy that was not only written and directed by Soderbergh, but also featured him acting in the lead role. Color me intrigued.

So I rented it, expecting something closer to his other films that I’d seen and loved. I expected a tight script with some good humor and a driving story. What I got, however, was something totally different. This was a film that took most of the general rules of storytelling, and tossed them out the window. The crazy thing is, it worked. I loved it, and considering how successful Soderbergh has become in the last few decades, I found it really interesting that I’ve never met anyone else (outside of Videodrome) who’s seen Schizopolis.

So I figured it was worth a look again, and viewing this film through the lens of “Identity” really opens it up to a lot of interesting thoughts and dissections.

Without going too deep into the narrative of the film, for your own sake, Schizopolis follows Fletcher Munson (played by Soderbergh), a bored employee of a Scientology-esque self-help company. What follows is a mishmash of creative and weird vignettes that contain everything from slapstick humor to true postmodern strangeness. The narrative does have a through line, although it certainly takes some strange turns, with the strangest being a side story involving a man named Elmo Oxygen who speaks only in gibberish phrases. It’s a real sight to behold.

Munson eventually begins to follow a man who he believes looks just like him (and drives the exact same car). He peeks into the man’s home and realizes that the man is indeed him.

Normally, what happens next would infuriate me, but in a film like Schizopolis it somehow makes sense. Basically, Munson somehow assumes the identity of the other man, a dentist named Dr. Jeffrey Korchek (Soderbergh really does have a way with names), and becomes him. Not only is this the only film Soderbergh has ever acted in, but he plays two different characters in it! Well, sort of. It’s a bit hard to explain the logic behind Schizopolis, but that’s the point, right? A story in which a character just decides to assume the identity of an entirely separate character fits right in with every other weird thing that happens.

Side note: Reading film reviews from ’96 when the movie was released is a real treat. Nobody quite knew what to make of this weird film that was seemingly created out of nowhere, for nobody in particular.

It should also be said just how funny Steven Soderbergh is in this film. It really is crazy that he hasn’t acted more since this, because he very easily could have pivoted this into more roles, if he wanted to. But that’s the beauty of Soderbergh. He’s always been one of the most unpredictable directors Hollywood has ever seen.

Schizopolis is a story about identities, and I think if we take a look at the context surrounding the film itself, that’ll make it all the more interesting. Back in 1996, Soderbergh had just finished up a stretch of three consecutive films that failed to live up to the success of his groundbreaking debut, Sex, Lies, and Videotape. Not to say that those three films are bad, by any means. Just a little underwhelming, perhaps.

Either way, and this is total and complete conjecture, Schizopolis feels to me like a response to those three movies (Kafka, King of the Hill, and The Underneath, in case you were wondering). It feels like a creator stuck in between ideas and identities, so he created Schizopolis and allowed his brain to just kind of explode onto the screen.

I don’t think it’s surprising that Soderbergh wound up making Out of Sight just two years later, which put him on the Hollywood map, and would set him up perfectly to later direct the Ocean’s trilogy. From a creative perspective, Schizopolis feels like a response to a time of uncertainty in Soderbergh’s career, a film that allowed him to expand his storytelling outside of the norm. After he got Schizopolis out of his system, Soderbergh went on one of the all-time great movie tears, directing five straight hits that still stand up today (Out of Sight, The Limey, Erin Brockovich, Traffic, Ocean’s Eleven).

Part of what makes his career so interesting and unique is the fact that he doesn’t allow himself to become complacent. He continues to push the boundaries of filmmaking, although not quite to the extents of Schizopolis, but also not too far off. He’s “retired” multiple times, moved to television for a bit, directed two films on an iPhone, and even created an app with which to watch his latest HBO series. It’s almost as if he continues to create new identities for himself, while still remaining true to what makes him one of the most daring directors in Hollywood.

All I’m asking is that someone else watch Schizopolis, if only so I can talk about it more. I’m selfish.

Our Geek Culture "First Times"

We thought it’d be fun to let you guys get to know our contributors a little bit better by exploring their first loves of genre fiction and geekdom:

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ADAM PETREY, Writer & Director

First Comic Book: Spider-Man

First Movie That Inspired You to Create Art: Magnolia

First Video Game Console: PS2

First CD Purchased With Your Own Money: Dance or Die - Family Force 5

First Movie That Made You Cry: Bridge to Terabithia

First Song You Slow Danced To: Some Taylor Swift song

First Book Series You Fell In Love With: Hardy Boys

First Piece of Media You Loved That Wasn't Introduced to You By Your Parents: Spy Kids 3-D

ALEX OAKLEY - Actor, Podcaster

First Comic Book: a Calvin & Hobbes Comic Anthology

First Movie That Inspired You to Create Art: Miyazaki’s Spirited Away

First Video Game Console: Gameboy Advance (purple see-through plastic)

First CD Purchased With Your Own Money: Flood - They Might Be Giants

First Movie That Made You Cry: Old Yeller

First Song You Slow Danced To: Oh gosh, I can’t remember last week, let alone my first High School dance

First Book Series You Fell In Love With: Guardians of Ga’Hoole by Kathryn Lasky

First Piece of Media You Loved That Wasn't Introduced to You By Your Parents: The works of Stephen King

CK LOVE, Screenwriter & Content creator

First Comic Book: Batman - but the graphic novel that made me want to make art was Dave McKean's/Neil Gaiman's - Mr. Punch

First Movie That Inspired You to Create Art: Polanski's Knife in the Water

First Video Game Console: I went to arcades / played lots of CDRom games, ie. MYST.

First CD Purchased With Your Own Money: Don't remember

First Movie That Made You Cry: Moonlight and Valentino

First Song You Slow Danced To: Don't remember

First Book Series You Fell In Love With: Yukio Mishima's tetralogy, The Sea of Fertility.

First Piece of Media You Loved That Wasn't Introduced to You By Your Parents: Giacometti's sculpture Walking Man or Motherwell's painting At Five In The Afternoon or George Bernard Shaw's play Heartbreak House

COLBY MCHUGH, Writer & Podcaster

First Comic Book: Batman and The Outsiders Annual #1. I have such a distinct memory of walking into The Book Nook in Lilburn, Georgia for the first time. I couldn't have been older than about ten or so, and I was blown away by the hundreds and hundreds of old comic books that sat in long boxes all over the store. I probably spent an hour flipping through each of them, searching for the special one that called out to me.

First Movie That Inspired Me To Create Ar: Blair Witch Project It was the first time that I watched a movie and thought, "I could do that."

First Video Game Console:- It would have to be the Game Boy Pocket I was given for Christmas one year when I was around 6 or 7.

First CD Purchased With My Own Money: Hopes and Fears by Keane.

First Movie That Made Me Cry: Emotions have never been something I've been comfortable with, especially my own. Given that, it took a while for a movie to actually make me shed tears. That movie was The Road, the Viggo Mortenson film based on the Cormac McCarthey novel of the same name.

First Song I Slow Danced To: Edwin McCain's I'll Be

First Book Series I Fell In Love With: I'm sure the typical answer for many people around my age would be the Harry Potter series. I, however, wasn't allowed to read Harry Potter, which was (and still is) a large point of contention between me and my parents. The series that really captured my attention growing up was Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events.

First Piece of Media You Loved That Wasn't Introduced to You By Your Parents: Luckily, having three older siblings, all of which have great taste, was very helpful. They introduced me to what is still to this day my favorite band: Jump, Little Children

HUDSON PHILLIPS, Writer & Producer

First Comic Book: New Warriors # 1

First Movie That Inspired You to Create Art: Pump Up the Volume

First Video Game Console: Original Nintendo

First CD Purchased With Your Own Money: Simpsons Sing the Blues.

First Movie That Made You Cry: Planes, Trains, & Automobiles

First Song You Slow Danced To: Earth Angel

First Book Series You Fell In Love With: Not counting comics, I think I’d have to say Narnia.

First Piece of Media You Loved That Wasn't Introduced to You By Your Parents: Anything Shel Silverstein - in Kindergarten.I felt like Silverstein introduced me to so much - poetry, comedy, art, comics, and very scary headshots.

JACOB YORK, Writer & Actor

First Comic Book: Web of Spider-Man 31. Part 1 of Kraven's Last Hunt.

First Movie That Inspired You to Create Art: I always knew that I wanted to be an actor from when I was a CHILD, but the first time I really, truly recognized writing in a film was The Big Lebowski. Every time I watch it, I see something new. It's a towering work.

First Video Game Console: Nintendo Entertainment System, but I really came into my own on the SNES.

First CD Purchased With Your Own Money: It was a tape, thank you very much, but it was ABSOLUTELY Snow: 12 Inches of Snow. You may remember Informer, but Lady with the Red Dress On was my jam.

First Movie That Made You Cry: I vaguely remember having a really strong emotional reaction to Dumbo. Baby Mine still makes me cry.

First Song You Slow Danced To: Maybe Save the Best for Last by Vanessa Williams? That's a pull.

First Book Series You Fell In Love With: I AM A G O O S E B U M P S B O I.

First Piece of Media You Loved That Wasn't Introduced to You By Your Parents: MC Hammer was my first favorite artist that wasn't my parents' favorite artist. In so many respects, I can see their influence, but hip hop (even something that is very poppy like MC Hammer) just hit my generation like a lightning bolt.

JORDAN NOEL, Director & Editor

First Comic Book: The only comics I ever really read were Punisher and Punisher War Zone. I have no idea what issue — my dad sold all that in a garage sale when I was in college. It’s ok, I’m not mad.

First Movie That Inspired You to Create Art: Ernest Goes To Jail. Just kidding, I have no idea. Or am I kidding?

First Video Game Console: The original Nintendo Entertainment System as a Christmas gift from Grandma in 1986. She came over every day and played it. She was much, much better than me.

First CD Purchased With Your Own Money: The first one I remember going into a store by myself to purchase with my own money was Music Box by Mariah Carey. I peaked at 12 years old.

First Movie That Made You Cry: Edward Scissorhands with my mom on a sick day home from school. I was embarrassed then, I’m not now.

First Song You Slow Danced To: Almost definitely The First Time by Surface. I begged my mom to buy me the cassingle for most of 1990. She finally did and I still know every word.

First Book Series You Fell In Love With: - Fell in love, like REAL love? Orson Scott Card’s Ender/Shadow series. No question.  

First Piece of Media You Loved That Wasn't Introduced to You By Your Parents: - 1991 album by Vengeance Rising called Destruction Comes on cassette. I was 10 and it radically expanded my mind.

MONICA BEARD, Podcaster & Marketer

First Comic Book: Matt Fraction's Hawkeye

First Movie That Inspired You to Create Art: I rewrote the end of Bridge to Terabithia after I saw it for the first time

First Video Game Console: Playstation 2

First CD Purchased With Your Own Money: Destiny's Child: Survivor

First Movie That Made You Cry: Not a big crier at movies

First Song You Slow Danced To: I don't do anything slow, baby

First Book Series You Fell In Love With: Um, the Magic Tree House books just like everyone else

First Piece of Media You Loved That Wasn't Introduced to You By Your Parents: Jurassic Park, the true love of my life

PETER STEAD, Screenwriter

First Comic Book: The Beano

First Movie That Inspired You to Create Art: Probably Return of the Jedi

First Video Game Console: PS2

First CD Purchased With Your Own Money: I don’t remember first but I love David Bowie’s Buddha of Suburbia Soundtrack

First Movie That Made You Cry: The Snowman (the Animated Raymond Briggs short)

First Song You Slow Danced To: Probably Jennifer Rush The Power of Love

First Book Series You Fell In Love With: All Creatures Great and Small, James Herriot. For a while, I wanted to be a Vet. But really, it made me want to be a Writer.

First Piece of Media You Loved That Wasn't Introduced to You By Your Parents: I’m going to say the internet

PROFOUND CLARKE, Writer

First Comic Book: We didn't have a lot of money, so I read in stores and bought playing cards mostly. The first comic I remember really having was The Crow Graphic Novel. I was obsessed with the Infinity War comics back then, remembering the cards connected to it.

First Movie That Inspired You to Create Art: Pulp Fiction

First Video Game Console: SNES

First CD Purchased With Your Own Money: Rage Against the Machine - Guerrilla Radio

First Movie That Made You Cry: Can't remember what movie. I do remember being very emotional watching a sequence towards the end of the anime series Robotech.

First Song You Slow Danced To: I would be making this up. Definitely do not remember.

First Book Series You Fell In Love With: Dragon's Blood by Jane Yolen

First Piece of Media You Loved That Wasn't Introduced to You By Your Parents: My brother introduced me to everything. Monty Python's Flying Circus when I was 6 or 7 is a good example of this.

SABINA GIADO, Filmmaker

First Comic Book: I've never actually owned a comic book. But the first comic book that affected me was the Bane arc in the Batman series.

First Movie That Inspired You to Create Art:  Edward Scissorhands. It was the first time I saw the hand of the director, if that makes sense.

First Video Game Console:  Way, way, way, way, WAY back in the day, my family likely owned an Atari. But we've been all PC since then.

First CD Purchased With Your Own Money:  I'm likely the saddest person contributing to your team. I've never bought a CD. And between Napster, Vevo and illegal downloading, I've never bought music with my own money either (ouch, I know)

First Movie That Made You Cry:  The Abyss.

First Song You Slow Danced To:  I really can't remember LOL. It was likely a) not at all romantic and b) something completely wrong for the moment like hip hop.

First Book Series You Fell In Love With: - Harry Potter at the age of 13 when I read Sorceror's Stone.

First Piece of Media You Loved That Wasn't Introduced to You By Your Parents:  Probably something introduced to me by my brothers then. And that was Snatch.

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Did any major piece of pop-culture for you get left out? Fill out the survey for yourself in the comments below!

The Kid Who Would be King and Remembering how Fun Movies Used to Be

The Goonies, Stand By Me, E.T. The Extraterrestrial.

These are all the films that I couldn’t stop thinking about as I watched writer/director Joe Cornish’s latest film, The Kid Who Would Be King. This story owes a lot to those classic 80’s adventure movies, and I certainly think that’s a good thing. There’s a reason those stuck in the minds of an entire generation. I should be honest though. I was born in 1991, so that generation isn’t even mine. Luckily for me, I had three very cool older siblings who did in fact grow up in the 80’s, so I was introduced to those stories at a very early age, and I watched them over and over and over again growing up. Clearly, they made quite the impact on me since I’m still talking about them twenty years later.

After seeing Cornish’s directorial debut, Attack The Block, back in 2011, I was delighted to find another talented British director with an eye for action and cinematography, in the same vein as Edgar Wright. That film was one of the more unique debuts I’ve ever seen. A VERY British film about a small gang in South London fighting off an alien invasion is quite the statement to make in your very first feature. To his credit, it’s incredibly entertaining and a must see for any fan of that sort of story. Cornish certainly likes his genre films. Science fiction, fantasy, and adventure are his clear calling cards.  He’s also written a few solid films in the years since Attack (Ant-Man and The Adventures of Tintin), but this modern retelling of the Arthurian legend is a return to form for him.

There’s just something pure about a movie like this, especially when the child actors are actually good. The titular “Kid” is played by Louis Ashbourne Serkis, son of the very talented Andy Serkis, and he really brings it. Like those first movies I mentioned, think of Mikey, Gordie, and Eliott. Each of those main characters had something in common, and Serkis’s Alex shares whatever that thing is. Good-hearted, brave, and a little shy; something about that sort of character makes me feel like a kid again, and that is one of the highest compliments I can give about a movie like this. The unifying trait among all those great characters is a simple one, I think. They all had a sense of wonder that is still so relatable to me even today, as a twenty-seven-year-old. They embraced the fantastic and weird and ran with it, and that always stuck with me as a kid.

So many of today’s films lack that same sense of wonderment that made those past films classics. While I understand wanting your protagonist to be sarcastic and cynical, it feels like many films rely on those quippy one-liners just a bit too much sometimes, especially in films geared towards kids. There’s something to be said about the sense of curiosity and adventure that seems to shine through in films that make an effort to do so.

Like Attack, the visual effects really look great in this one. The skeleton knights with flaming swords definitely looked like how I’d imagine skeleton knights with flaming swords to look! I joke, but they legitimately would have scared the shit out of me as a kid, and I would have loved every second of it. They reminded me of the first time I watched Jurassic Park waaaaay too early in life. Fear and excitement go hand in hand, even as a kid.

In the theater, I kept hearing the voices of kids, laughing and occasionally screaming. Normally, as a moviegoer, that would be annoying and frustrating. Silence is golden, of course. However, this time, I understood it. Had I seen Jurassic Park or The Goonies in theaters, I would have been the most annoying kid in the whole theater. I couldn’t help but smile for most of the two hour runtime.

The true highlight of this film is Angus Imrie, the young actor who gave what (I think) is my favorite portrayal of Merlin I’ve ever seen. He just infuses it with so much weirdness and even though most of that credit goes to Cornish himself for writing it that way, Imrie really stood out above everyone. Also, shout out to Patrick Stewart, who plays the old version of Merlin, because who doesn’t love Patrick Stewart?

I don’t have kids, but if I did, I’d take them to see this movie, and hopefully it would make the same impact on them that those other films had on me. Good movies like this that are made for a very specific type of kid are pretty rare, and I would love to see more of them created. Kids are getting harder and harder to impress with each new piece of technology that comes out, so I’d be interested to see what kind of storytelling techniques writers start using to keep them entertained and interested throughout. I shouldn’t speak as if I’m any better. I can barely read for longer than ten minutes!

Overall, The Kid Who Would Be King is an immensely enjoyable popcorn movie that should entertain any kid, as well as plenty of adults like me. See this one.

Can There Really Be “Only One?”

“Aye, yo. You see that new movie?”

I’m sitting in a cubicle staring at a screen for a job I’m grateful to have but slightly depressed because of.

“It’s crazy! You gotta check out this trailer.”

My co-worker, an older black lady with a thick New York accent is really interested in a trailer she herself had just been told about. Honestly, by this time everybody in the office is abuzz about it. They’re abuzz because the internet is abuzz.

Everybody is talking about this film.

“It’s your type of thing.”

My type of thing. This movie on the horizon was the type of movie I told her I always wanted to make; the type of film I was currently writing. It’s a genre film, with social commentary, and features people of color. It’s exactly the type of movie I planned on making, only somebody else already is.

That’s... great...?

The movie in question is Get Out, the first feature from Jordan Peele. At this point Peele is primarily a comedic actor best known for being one half of the titular duo Key & Peele (as seen on Comedy Central).

This film, however, is no comedy. It is instead a psychological thriller/horror that puts a satirical lens on an interracial couple as the black boyfriend goes to meet his girlfriend’s white parents for the first time.

Exactly the movie I wanted to see more of. So why this feeling? This feeling where my anxiety’s get closer while my dreams feel further away like a Spike Lee dolly shot. Why is my heart sinking like Catherine Keener stirred her tea cup?

Could it really just be that this movie shares a similar DNA to a project I’ve been writing? But it’s the American film industry. Duplication isn’t just possible, it’s considered best practice here. Studios hunt to find movies that match other successful movies, sometimes even producing a near replica of a film being produced by another studio at practically the same time.

So what’s different?

Hi, my name is Profound Clarke and I’m a black aspiring filmmaker. Yeah, things are different.

When you’re a black artist with an interest in exploring “white” spaces (ie things that don’t lean heavily on previously accepted cultural stereotypes for whatever non-white group you fall into), there’s a Highlander “there can be only one” element to your aspirations. At least, I’ve found, that’s how my anxiety works. I’ve also found I’m not alone.

With the opportunities few and success stories fewer, when you have an idea that hasn’t been explored yet, you know the chances of it getting made are slim. Something like it being made twice? Nearly unheard of, not in any authentic way at least.

There’s only one Spike Lee. Only one Robert Townsend. Only one Keenan Ivory Wayans. Only one... um... who did the Color Purple? White guy? Who did People Under the Stairs? White guy too? Who did Redbelt? OK, I added Redbelt in there because I love it so much, but also a white guy did that, right?

My point is that the industry seems to find a black person to whom it gives trust. By find, I really mean notice after they clawed out an undeniable lane for themselves. Other creators in that lane then seem to fall into a blindspot.

Only Spike makes Spike movies. Keenan Wayans and Robert Townsend both made comedies but they lived in different spaces. All three got to take big chances with what they were doing, but the next Spike Lee, Townsend, and Wayans wouldn’t exist for decades. Not to discount the handful of directors, black directors, doing good work in areas that audiences expected black characters to live, but to venture beyond always meant to be part of a short list.

This brings me back to Get Out, which I love. Love isn’t the word. I however Kayne feels about Kanye this movie. Yes. That’s a perfect fit. I all the way Kanye on Kanye this movie. All the adulation. All the troubled feelings. All the hating the way I feel about it. All the “I’m going to tell the world how in love with it I am” to hide how uncomfortable with it I might be” shining through.

Jordan Peele, a fellow New York native with a similarly weird brain and love for genre films, wearing skin darkened by black parenthood lightened by non-black DNA (his case: white, my case: all-of-the-cases) has lead me lower than my lowered expectations. What’s the value of a painting portraying another angle of Mona Lisa?

That question should be rhetorical, but guess who wants to know?

Jordan Peele.

Not long after delivering on the promise of his first film, Jordan Peele became a trusted voice in the industry, launching Monkeypaw Productions. One of the first things they said before they even had a functional website up? We want your scripts.

Jordan Peele, like most people of color, understands the journey my brain went on. He himself admits to not thinking his own film would ever be made. Now he’s creating opportunities for more films like his to be made. It was Monkeypaw that partnered with the aforementioned Spike Lee to make BlacKkKlansman at a time that Spike was self financing his films.

At the same time, a new group of bold filmmakers continued to claw their own way up into the industry spotlight. Filmmakers like Ava Duvernay, Ryan Coogler, and Barry Jenkins. They too are defying industry logic about what films featuring black characters are capable both on the page and at the box office.

What I’m getting at is that things are looking up for people of color like me with an interest in creating stories beyond what is expected of us. The most exciting part is that these great and ambitious filmmakers aren’t just cutting new paths, but supplying the tools for those of us who want to cut our own paths.

So no matter what happens with my project, the feeling like it won’t get a chance to coexist has settled a bit. Hopefully one day I too can join my favorite filmmakers in this tradition of calming the restless waters stirring inside a hopeful minority artist through my own success and the doors success opens. That’s a journey with much traveling left to do. For now I can worry about more conventional writing anxieties like finishing drafts, creating tension throughout the 2nd Act, and convincing my mother to listen to a 100 page read through for feedback.