Category Archives: Like Show Business

Review: Avatar: The Way of Water

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By Craig Miller. [Reprinted by permission from Facebook.] It was back to the Directors Guild last night for a screening of Avatar: The Way of Water. Overall, I really enjoyed the film. Like the first Avatar movie, the story itself isn’t remarkable. It isn’t concepts you haven’t seen before. But that’s true for a lot of movies. And plays. And novels. West Side Story is Romeo and Juliet. It’s all in how you tell it.

And James Cameron tells it quite well. As with Avatar, Avatar: The Way of Water is a visual feast. Unlike the first film, there aren’t long sweeping pans lingering over beautiful, otherworldly vistas. The “beautiful” and the “otherworldly” are still there, but we’re seeing them incorporated into the action and storytelling.

At nearly three-and-a-quarter hours, the film is long though it doesn’t feel quite that long. And unlike a lot of sequels, it isn’t just a retelling of the first film but with bigger, meaner, or more bad guys. It’s new story. A continuation of what came before but taking us in new directions and to new locations. There’s a lot of storytelling going on, with longish sequences that don’t seem to be following the main story, but they pay off in the end. Though the film could certainly do with trimming.

There are a number of questionable things in the film but mostly they pass over you while you’re watching. (These are relatively minor. Like, in the first Avatar, was this the only spot on Pandora the upsidasium – oops, I mean unobtainium – was located? Weren’t there places where they wouldn’t have to go to war to get it? And what were even they going to use it for? They clearly had cheap and easy air and space travel.)

We saw the film in 3D and I’m not sure that added much to the enjoyment. Maybe it made the environment a little more vivid. The 3D wasn’t used for storytelling purposes. They didn’t talk about the format or projection at the screening but it seemed that some scenes were in standard 24 fps speed and others were 48 fps. Peter Jackson used 48 fps on The Hobbit and it gave the whole film an ultra-real “locker room interview” feel. Here, too, I found the faster filming speed sequences looked weird. And switching between the two filming speeds was jarring. I was thrown out of the movie because I was noticing a change to the images. I do not recommend seeing the film in that format.

But I do recommend seeing this film. Genny and I both liked it. (If you didn’t like Avatar, you probably won’t like this either. I think it’s actually somewhat better than its predecessor.)

There are three more Avatar films planned. Presumably the next one will be out sooner after this one than the gap between the first two films.

National Film Registry Adds Carrie, Iron Man, The Little Mermaid

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Sf and fantasy films Iron Man and The Little Mermaid, and horror film Carrie are on the list of 25 movies inducted into the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress this year. Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden announced the selections today.

Films Selected for the 2022 National Film Registry

(chronological order)

  • Mardi Gras Carnival (1898)
  • Cab Calloway Home Movies (1948-1951)
  • Cyrano de Bergerac (1950)
  • Charade (1963)       
  • Scorpio Rising (1963)
  • Behind Every Good Man (1967)
  • Titicut Follies (1967)
  • Mingus (1968) 
  • Manzanar (1971)
  • Betty Tells Her Story (1972)
  • Super Fly (1972)
  • Attica (1974)
  • Carrie (1976)
  • Union Maids (1976)
  • Word is Out: Stories of Our Lives (1977)
  • Bush Mama (1979)
  • The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez (1982)
  • Itam Hakim, Hopiit (1984)
  • Hairspray (1988)
  • The Little Mermaid (1989)
  • Tongues Untied (1989)
  • When Harry Met Sally (1989)
  • House Party (1990)
  • Iron Man (2008)
  • Pariah (2011)    

Selected for their cultural, historic or aesthetic importance to preserve the nation’s film heritage, the newest selections bring the number of films in the registry to 850, many of which are among the 1.7 million films in the Library’s collections.

Turner Classic Movies (TCM) will host a television special Tuesday, December 27, starting at 8 p.m. Eastern to screen a selection of motion pictures named to the registry this year. Hayden will join TCM host, film historian and Academy Museum of Motion Pictures Director and President Jacqueline Stewart, who is chair of the National Film Preservation Board, to discuss the films.

“I am especially proud of the way the Registry has amplified its recognition of diverse filmmakers, experiences, and a wide range of filmmaking traditions in recent years,” Stewart said. “I am grateful to the entire National Film Preservation Board, the members of the public who nominated films, and of course to Dr. Hayden for advocating so strongly for the preservation of our many film histories.”

The public submitted 6,865 titles for consideration this year. Several selected titles drew significant public support through online nominations. They include Betty Tells Her Story, Carrie, Iron Man, The Little Mermaid and When Harry Met Sally.

Under the terms of the National Film Preservation Act, each year the Librarian of Congress names to the National Film Registry 25 motion pictures that are “culturally, historically or aesthetically” significant. The films must be at least 10 years old. More information about the National Film Registry can be found at loc.gov/film.

The press release’s commentary on the films named in the lede follows:

Carrie (1976)

Brian De Palma stands as an icon of the new wave of filmmakers who remade Hollywood and its filmmaking conventions beginning in the 1960s and 70s. After some intriguing independent efforts, De Palma burst onto the national spotlight with “Carrie.” Never one to feature subtlety in his films, De Palma mixes up a stylish cauldron of horrific scenes in “Carrie,” adapted from the Stephen King novel. Combine a teen outcast with telekinetic powers facing abuse from cruel classmates and a domineering religious mother, and you have a breeding ground for revenge, with the comeuppance delivered in a no-holds barred prom massacre. The flamboyant visual flair and use of countless cinema techniques may occasionally seem overdone, but the film’s influence remains undeniable to this day, often cited by other critics and filmmakers for its impact on the horror genre.

Iron Man (2008)

Marvel Studios enthralled audiences with 2008’s “Iron Man,” a superhero film that transcends and elevates the genre. Key factors in the film’s success include the eclectic direction of Jon Favreau, superb special effects and production design, and excellent performances from Gwyneth Paltrow as the sidekick and Robert Downey Jr., as the brooding, conflicted hero out to make amends for his career as an armaments mogul. Critics sometimes love to take shots at superhero movies but many recognized “Iron Man” for its unexpected excellence. Joe Morgenstern in The Wall Street Journal wrote: “The gadgetry is absolutely dazzling, the action is mostly exhilarating, the comedy is scintillating and the whole enormous enterprise, spawned by Marvel comics, throbs with dramatic energy because the man inside the shiny red robotic rig is a daring choice for an action hero, and an inspired one.” Richard Corliss in Time noted the film’s place in a uniquely American tradition: “Some of us know that there’s an American style — best displayed in the big, smart, kid-friendly epic — that few other cinemas even aspire to, and none can touch. When it works, as it does here, it rekindles even a cynic’s movie love.”

The Little Mermaid (1989)

When you combine a beloved Hans Christian Andersen tale with the beauty and heart of truly remarkable Disney magic, you end up with an animated film for the ages. Ariel, the titular mermaid, lives under the sea but longs to be human. She is able to live her dream with a little help from some adorable underwater friends and despite the devious efforts of a sea witch named Ursula (a recent addition to Disney’s peerless rogue’s gallery of cartoon villains). Alan Menken composed the memorable score and collaborated with Howard Ashman on songs that have become modern standards such as “Under the Sea;” “Part of Your World” and “Kiss the Girl.” Adding to the film’s irresistible charm is a fantastic array of voice artists including Jodi Benson, Buddy Hackett, Pat Carroll and Kenneth Mars. An extraordinary success — artistically and commercially — at the time of its release, “Mermaid” proved a touchstone film during the “The Disney Renaissance” of the 1980s and 90s.

[Based on a press release. Thanks to N. for the story.]

“The Fabelmans” — A Review Of The Film

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By Steve Vertlieb: Went to see The Fabelmans over the weekend with a sense of wonder, longing, and cherished anticipation, nurtured tenderly, yet ever vibrantly alive, throughout a seeming eternity of life experiences. Steven Spielberg’s reverent semi-autobiographical story of youthful dreams and aspirations is, for me, the finest, most emotionally enriching film of the year, filled with photographic memories, and indelible recollections shared both by myself and by the film maker.

This unforgettable coming of age tale of youthful innocence and self-discovery is a deeply personal cinematic voyage for the director in which he joyously weaves a meticulous tapestry of social and artistic awakening during the post war years in this country when re-birth and re-building ushered in an irreplaceable sense of wonder, imagination, and discovery.

Growing up and maturing in a time when television offered a special landscape, designed just for children and for the very young at heart, there was magic just beyond every turn of the dial. We were all young once more, while the crude, imperfect imagery of live, original programming within the near mystical confines of that square box, seated comfortably in our living rooms, created especially for kids, appeared particularly life affirming and memorable. With the magical emergence of Walt Disney, The Mickey Mouse Club, Zorro, Hopalong Cassidy, Pinky Lee, and the Christmas magic of Milton Berle as our beloved “Uncle Milty,” television opened up vistas and journeys of imagination that enchanted and mesmerized the wide-eyed devotion of toddlers such as myself.

But the scars of bigotry, racial derision and exclusion were there as well, along with the challenges of reaching maturity unscathed. As a Jew, I was subject to the cries of “Christ Killer” and dirty “kike,” as I retreated to the sanctity, safety, reassurance and security of television and film. It was a special world in which I could hide, and rise above the pain of day to day living and ever-growing isolation. Like the director, I too was taken by my dad in 1952, at the impressionable age of six years, to see Cecil B DeMille’s grand and glorious motion picture filmed beneath “The Big Top.” Paramount’s Oscar winning production of The Greatest Show On Earth filled my childhood dreams with fabulous sights, sounds, and memories, while the memorable train crash near the film’s illustrious finale clouded my eyes with transformational spectacle and joyous, inescapable wonder.

While these unforgettable dreams, and memorably flickering images, led both Steven Spielberg and I down a tantalizing path and journey of self-awareness, and discovery, I chose to transform my inspiration into words and sentences, while the acclaimed director chose the celluloid image in which to express and nurture his own voyage to manhood.

The Fabelmans is a rapturous cinematic recollection of a period in time when the world … and We … were new. Gabriel LaBelle is wonderful in the lead role as teenaged “Sammy Fabelman” (Steven Spielberg), while his younger counterpart, essayed by Mateo Zoryan, brings a perfect sense of fragility and innocence to his role. Seth Rogan, in a rare dramatic performance as “Bennie Loewy,” is excellent, as is the understated performance of Paul Dano as Sammy’s Father, Burt (or Arnold Spielberg), as well as a memorable turn by Judd Hirsch as “Uncle Boris.”

However, it is the stand-out performance of Michelle Williams as Sammy’s beloved mother, Mitzi, that lies at the heart of this sentimental “Fable.” Williams is utterly adorable as the free spirited, artistic soul whose own dreams of relevance and longing are lovingly channeled through the growth of her son, Sammy. Williams, in her short-cropped hair and joyful demeanor, becomes a devotional remembrance of Spielberg’s own mother, Leah Frances Spielberg Adler, to whom (along with his father, Arnold) this loving cinematic tribute is dedicated.

Sadly, this marks the final collaboration between Steven Spielberg and his compositional right arm, John Williams. Having worked together in one of cinema’s most successful collaborations of film and music, Maestro Williams has decided to conclude his film career, while concentrating for the remainder of his years on music for the concert hall and stage. His last film music will accompany James Mangold’s new Raiders of the Lost Ark conclusion, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, opening on June 20, 2023. His score for The Fabelmans, though sparse, is a gently affectionate musical soliloquy.

Perhaps the title of this enchanting film reveals the hidden truth of its origins in that it is a fable, if you will, for those of us dwelling forever in James M. Barrie’s cherished “Never Never Land.” It is, after all, a place where dreams are eloquently born and never die, and where childhood enchantment reigns forever vital, alive, and eternally triumphant. Look for it only in books, and in the world of pure cinema where dreams never die, and are never forgotten … a special world in which the magic and wonder of childhood flourish throughout time, and are never truly “Gone With The Wind.”

Again, with the Animé?

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By Michaele Jordan: Yes, I had a wonderful Thanksgiving, thank you. I hope you did, too.

But – I blush to admit – I spent a great deal of it in a happy huddle with cousins significantly less than half my age. Like pretty much everybody else, we were talking about our favorite TV shows (having done little but watch TV during the pandemic). And my fellow adults just don’t seem to appreciate my beloved animé. So, if you’ll permit me, I’d like to preach a little, please.

If you’re not a fan, then there’s a real chance you have no idea how much range animé encompasses. And I’m not even talking about the entire range of kid shows, sit-coms and drama. (I’m aware there may be limits to your tolerance. I’m talking about the range within SF/F. Let’s consider just three examples.

We’ll start with The Dragon Prince, created by Aaron Ehasz and Justin Richmond, and animated by Bardel Entertainment. It’s very accessible and reasonably well known.

The Dragon Prince (or after the 4th season launched, renamed as The Mystery of Aaravos) is classic high fantasy. There are elves and (of course) dragons. There are kings and mages, good guys and bad guys, and numerous forms of magic. It’s clean, and simple enough to share with the kids – if they’re old enough to watch sequels to Lord of the Rings, then they’ll be fine with Dragon Prince. There’s even a kid major character, and a fair amount of humor.

But I promise it’s not so childish that it will bore the grown-ups. It’s an excellent show. Rather than spending millions on special effects, they’ve invested in quality animation – every frame is eye-catching. And it’s well written – the story does not break down under careful examination. And it’s right there on Netflix. Please give it a try.

Next we have Exception, (or e∞ception, as it says in the titles). It’s based on an original story by Hirotaka Adachi with character designs by Yoshitaka Amano, and directed by Yūzō Satō. It is pure SF, and pretty hard SF, at that. It’s also dark. Very dark.

The story revolves around a pre-colonization team sent to prepare a planet for terra-forming. There are only five of them, but their ship is enormous. You almost wonder how they find their way around, because they haven’t been living on it very long.

The ship made most of its very long journey on automatic. Only when it neared their destination did it print (yes, I said print!) bodies for the crew and implant their memories and personalities, which were recorded back on earth.

And that’s where the trouble starts. For reasons unknown, one of the bodies misprints. The resulting person is so malformed it does not look human. But it is alive. It almost immediately shows signs of mental derangement. The rest of the crew has no idea how to handle the situation. Should they just kill the monster and reprint their friend? But once it has recovered from its disorientation, it becomes evident that it is intelligent, if not entirely rational. So wouldn’t killing it be murder? A moot question. They can’t catch it. So they go ahead and reprint their friend, who emerges normal.

That’s just the beginning. This is an edge-of-your seat story, highlighted with creepy, angular imagery. Check it out – it’s on Netflix

So, having taken you all the way from high-hearted fantasy to SF horror, what can I possibly offer that is not simply somewhere between them? Easy! I’ll transform that line into a triangle with a tale of gleeful nonsense: The Tatami Time Machine Blues. It’s based on a novel by Tomihiko Morimi. Sources inform me that it is a sequel (of sorts) to The Tatami Galaxy, a show I’ve never heard of, from twelve years ago. (I’m looking for it. Haven’t found it yet.)

The story is ridiculously simple but endlessly convoluted. In a small, crowded apartment during a brutally hot summer, a gang of students loses the remote to the air conditioner! Then they find a time machine, and decide to go back in time to find it. Except won’t that change the past? And wouldn’t that destroy the future! Trust me, friends, this show is hilarious. It’s on Hulu.

Philip K. Dick Science Fiction Film Festival Announces 2022 Lineup

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The Philip K. Dick Science Fiction Film Festival has unveiled the lineup for its tenth annual season. The festival will be held from Thursday, December 15 through Sunday, December 18, across Manhattan and Queens. Passes are available here.

Events include film and documentary screenings, virtual reality demonstrations, and post-film discussions. As a platform for exploring the evolution of science and technology, the festival showcases a variety of themes associated with independent storytelling. 

“Think of this as the coming attractions of tomorrow’s world, with each film exploring the intersection of technology and culture, all set within the framework of Philip K. Dick’s vision,” said the festival’s founder and director Daniel Abella. “Science fiction opens the doors of imagination and the ‘what if’s’ of life. Through the power of technology, the boundaries of real life and the genre we love continue to be blurred. While science fiction is a respectable form of literary and cinematic fiction, we must also comprehend its message and brace for what’s to come.”

The festival film schedule follows the jump.

[Based on a press release.]

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2023 Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Workshop Instructors Named

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The Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Workshop has announced its 2023 slate of instructors.

The six faculty members will be Andy Duncan, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Tochi Onyebuchi, Anjali Sachdeva, and Rae Carson.

The workshop will be held at UC San Diego from June 25, 2023 – August 5, 2023. Applications open on December 1 to join the class of 2023.

Andy Duncan

Andy Duncan returns this summer for his third stint as a Clarion Workshop instructor! His honors include a Nebula Award, a Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award, three World Fantasy Awards, and awards from the Maryland State Arts Council and the Science Fiction Research Association. His latest collection is An Agent of Utopia, from Small Beer Press; he narrates nine stories on the Recorded Books audio edition. His non-fiction project Weird Western Maryland is ongoing. A former board member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association, he tweets @Beluthahatchie and lives in Maryland’s mountains, where he’s a tenured English professor at Frostburg State University.

Alaya Dawn Johnson

Alaya Dawn Johnson is the author of Racing the Dark, The Summer Prince, which was long listed for the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature, and Love Is the Drug, which won the prestigious Nebula (Andre Norton) Award for YA Science Fiction and Fantasy. In a return to adult fiction, Trouble the Saints, was published by Tor in 2020. In the past decade, her award-winning short stories have appeared in many magazines and anthologies, including Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2015, Feral Youth, Three Sides of a Heart and Zombies vs. Unicorns. In Mexico City where she has made her home since 2014, Johnson has recently received her master’s degree with honors in Mesoamerican Studies from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México.

Tochi Onyebuchi

Tochi Onyebuchi is the author of Goliath. His previous fiction includes Riot Baby, a finalist for the Hugo, Nebula, Locus, and NAACP Image Awards and winner of the New England Book Award for Fiction, the Ignyte Award for Best Novella, and the World Fantasy Award; the Beasts Made of Night series; and the War Girls series. His short fiction has appeared in The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy, The Year’s Best Science Fiction, and elsewhere. His non-fiction includes the book (S)kinfolk and has appeared in The New York Times, NPR, and the Harvard Journal of African American Public Policy, among other places. He has earned degrees from Yale University, New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, Columbia Law School, and the Paris Institute of Political Studies.

Anjali Sachdeva

Anjali Sachdeva’s short story collection, All the Names They Used for God, was the winner of the 2019 Chautauqua Prize. It was named a Best Book of 2018 by NPR, Refinery 29, and BookRiot, longlisted for the Story Prize, and chosen as the 2018 Fiction Book of the Year by the Reading Women podcast. Her fiction has been published in McSweeney’s, Lightspeed, and The Best American Nonrequired Reading, among other publications, and featured on the LeVar Burton Reads podcast. Sachdeva worked for six years at the Creative Nonfiction Foundation, where she was Director of Educational Programs. She is the recipient of a Creative Writing Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, and an Investing in Professional Artists grant from the Heinz Endowments and the Pittsburgh Foundation. She currently teaches at the University of Pittsburgh, and in the low-residency MFA program at Randolph College.

C. C. Finlay

Charles Coleman Finlay  is another welcome return, joining us for his third summer as a Clarion instructor. In January 2015, C.C. Finlay became the ninth editor of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. He is also the author of the Traitor to the Crown historical fantasy trilogy, which began with The Patriot Witch, and a stand-alone fantasy novel, The Prodigal Troll. He’s published more than forty stories since 2001, many of which have been reprinted in volumes of the Year’s Best Fantasy, Year’s Best Science Fiction, Best New Horror, and other anthologies. Some of his short stories have been finalists for the Hugo, Nebula, Sidewise, and Sturgeon awards, and have been translated into more than a dozen languages. In addition to Clarion, he has instructed at the Clarion Young Authors workshop, the Alpha Writers Workshop, and the Odyssey Online Workshop.

Rae Carson

Rae Carson joins for a second summer as an instructor of the Clarion Workshop. Her debut novel, The Girl of Fire and Thorns, was published in 2011, and was a finalist for the William C. Morris YA Award and the Andre Norton Award, and it was the winner of the Ohioana Book Award for Young Adult Literature. It was also selected as 2012 Top Ten Best Fiction for Young Adults by Young Adult Library Services Association. The Fire and Thorns Trilogy was a New York Times bestseller, as was her Gold Seer Trilogy. Beginning in 2017, she has written several tie-in stories for the Star Wars universe, including the novelization of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. In 2021, she released her most recent novel, Any Sign of Life. In addition to her novels, her short fiction has been nominated for Hugo, Nebula, and Locus awards.

[Based on a press release.]

Untreed Reads Courts Ring of Fire Press Authors

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Walt Boyes and Joy Ward have joined Untreed Reads as editors of a new line of Science Fiction/Fantasy/Alternate History books, and are recommending the publisher as a place for Ring of Fire Press authors to land following the company’s shutdown.

[Permission to quote their letter was subsequently withdrawn, therefore the rest of the post has been redacted.]

Amazing Stories Has A New Editor-In-Chief

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Lloyd Penney

Amazing Stories publisher Kermit Woodall has announced Lloyd Penney of Toronto, Ontario, Canada is the publication’s new Editior-in-Chief. Penney succeeds fellow Canadian Ira Nayman in this position and Steve Davidson who operated as temporary editor.

Penney has been in science fiction fandom for 45 years and has enjoyed 30-year careers in both fanzine writing and convention management. He is also an associate member of First Fandom. He’ll be working on the website, magazine, and their line of books.

Penney says, “I have been a proofreader and editor for most of my working life, with magazines, catalogs, and much more, but over the past four years, I have not only been the copy editor for Amazing Stories and Amazing Selects, but I have also worked with Scot Noel at Dreamforge Magazine, independent authors who need some fresh eyes for their novels, and also with a communications company in the east end of Toronto, working to edit their one paper magazine, and their two e-magazines.

“The editor-in-chief of Amazing Stories…this is a position I never would have dreamed of having, but now that I have it, I suspect the learning curve will be steep. Still, the best way to handle this curve is to start climbing it and see what is needed to tackle it. I will be reading as much as I can, relying on readers to look at the flood of submissions and choose what’s the best of that submitted, and also to make a few judgments on what will go on the website. I am sure I will make mistakes, and forget some vital things, but I am willing to learn. I hope to help produce a magazine that all readers of SF&F will enjoy and appreciate, and maybe make a little history along the way.”

[Based on a press release.]

Sucharitkul Opera Opens in Germany

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Somtow Sucharitkul’s opera Helena Citrónová, based on an Auschwitz prisoner’s relationship with an SS guard, has opened in the Bavarian town of Hof in Germany.

As Director Lothar Krause describes it: “Sucharitkul’s work asks questions to which there are no answers: What exactly was the love between Helena Citrónová and Franz Wunsch? Did love make the SS man a better person? And Helena a traitor? Did this connection save lives or only prolong the suffering of the survivors?”

Somtow calls it a “staggering German production” and says, “It’s a big breakthrough for my work, being seriously talked about in European opera circles these days. It’s running for 6 or 7 more performances, until November 20.”

Present at the opening were many of his international friends from the music and sff communities, and they ran a mini OperaCon at the hotel across from the opera house with a panel discussion, a tour of the theater and much else.

The opera was composed to mark the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz by the Red Army, and first performed in Thailand in 2020, where the production was partially sponsored by Thailand’s ministry of culture and the Israeli, Austrian and German embassies. The original performance was in English.  A special German translation was made for the current production, and the text is online here.

Steve Davidson Will Stop Running Amazing Stories

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Amazing Stories’ Steve Davidson announced today he is stepping down as acting Editor and stepping away as Publisher of the Experimenter Publishing Company.

Kermit Woodall, long-time Creative Director, will be taking over responsibilities for staffing, payments, and all ongoing creative and management decisions, which include management responsibilities for the website, the current Kickstarter project, and AmazingCon II.

Davidson said the reason for his decision is that “I’m burnt out, I’m tired and I am feeling physically, medically, mentally and emotionally run down. I have increasing family and financial responsibilities and am finding it increasingly difficult to juggle everything, while also remaining enthusiastic for what Amazing Stories is trying to do.”

Davidson secured the trademark for Amazing Stories in 2011, and since has developed a social media presence, crowdfunded some new issues of the magazine, and published other special projects. See Carl Slaughter’s 2016 interview with Steve here.