Scott Wampler's Reckless Integrity

Commit to the bit.

Last week, I was shocked and saddened by the sudden passing of my friend Scott Wampler. I don’t want to pretend that I knew Scott best, and I highly recommend reading obituaries from his friends and former co-workers like Meredith Borders and Phil Nobile, Jr. But I did consider Scott a friend, and he was someone I admired. If I’m going to write an obituary for Matthew Perry, someone I never even met, then it would be weird if I didn’t share my love and appreciation for Scott.

Over the weekend, I saw an outpouring of grief on social media. Many of the posts noted how they had never met Scott, but that his writing and podcasts meant a great deal to them. Scott was endlessly creative and creative in a distinctive, weird way that signaled his awareness that the very businesses he was in—writing about movies—was inherently ridiculous, so we should have fun with it rather than take ourselves so seriously. Some people were baffled and angry by Scott’s genius interview with writer-director Rian Johnson even though Johnson was clearly amused and tickled by Scott’s approach. Sure, Scott could have done the standard interview of “What inspired you to make Knives Out?” and “Can you tell us anything about the Star Wars movies you’re planning?” and it would have been swiftly overlooked and forgotten among the dross of other interviews asking the exact same questions. Instead, Scott asked Johnson about “Dragula” and how a dog would properly wear pants.

Classic Wampler

Scott knew that creativity itself was a risk, and he chose to jump in with both feet. When a spammer in the comments section of an article said that vampires were real and that he could make people into vampires, Scott started up a conversation with the “Vampire Lord” to see where it would take him. When he and fellow film writer Eric Vespe (another one of my favorite people) teamed up to start The Kingcast, a podcast series about adaptations of Stephen King works, they were fearless in trying to land major guests, and eventually even landed the main man himself. Scott’s wit was effortless, but he worked his ass off to ensure that what he was putting out into the world was memorable. It didn’t matter if it looked crazy to outsiders; Scott didn’t half-ass his writing or his podcasting. In a voice that was singularly Scott, he wasn’t afraid to raise a ruckus, especially in online spaces where everything is overly calibrated to offend no one.

That authenticity wasn’t an online act but was something everyone who had the pleasure of meeting Scott and spending time with him got to see in person. I remember when I met Scott I had made my way down to Austin for the first time to attend SXSW. Since Scott did freelance work for Collider, he was cool with letting me crash at his place, and that would have been more than enough hospitality. Instead, when I got to his house, he immediately took me out for lunch and told me stories of when he had worked as a restaurant manager. For the rest of my time at SXSW, he would happily take the time to chat about movies, posters, video games, and tales from his exciting life. He had the gift of making you feel like you belonged in the cool kids’ club, and the older I get, the more I see how rare and precious that quality it is.

It hasn’t fully sunk in yet how much I’m going to miss him. I’m going to miss seeing what antics he’s about to get up to. I’m going to miss his enthusiasm at seeing a piece of “ill-conceived” cinema like Cats and Serenity. I’m going to miss finding out what video game I need to play next because he enjoyed it so much. I’m going to miss his podcasts, his writing, and his voice.

At the very least, I should let him get the last word about what he would want people to do after his death:

Recommendations

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What I’m Watching

Martin Lawrence and Will Smith in Bad Boys: Ride or Die | Image via Sony Pictures

I had far more fun with Bad Boys: Ride or Die than I expected. Part of me is a bit bummed that Hollywood seems allergic to creating new franchises and instead insists that we get sequels to movies made 30 and 40 years ago. But then I see a movie like Bad Boys: Ride or Die where the comic chemistry between Smith and Lawrence still works and directors Adil & Bilall know how to nail the look and feel of the original movies, and I suddenly become fine if they want to make a hundred of these. You can read more of my thoughts on the film over at TheWrap.

I’ll likely have more on this in Sunday’s issue, but I decided to watch Jenny Nicholson’s four-hour YouTube video on why Walt Disney World’s Galactic Starcruiser failed. On paper, you can see the glimmers of a neat idea for a Star Wars-themed hotel, and Nicholson does a great job of breaking down how that idea fell apart in both concept and execution. Again, I’ll have more to say on this in a few days, but for now, I think the video is well worth your time (and you don’t have to watch it one sitting; Nicholson helpfully divides her video essay into chapters).

My wife and I have also retreated into the comforting confines of The Great British Baking Show. I fully admit that the show struggles to reach the highs of its BBC iteration where Mary Berry was one of the judges and the hosts were Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins, but it’s still a comforting watch if you can get past the occasional gimmick bake (like the cake bust sculptures) or ill-conceived themed theme weeks (2022’s Mexican Week being particularly rough). Ultimately, the show retains its core of a competition where people still want to support each other. It really is about “the friends we made along the way.”

What I’m Reading

Last week I finished The Art Thief, an incredible true crime book about prolific art thief Stéphane Breitwieser and his girlfriend/accomplice Anne-Catherine Kleinklaus. In the late 90s and early 2000s, Breitweiser stole from over 200 museums across Western Europe, and in total, the art he stole was valued at over $2 billion. And what did Breitweiser do with all that loot? He kept it in his attic where could look at it whenever he wanted. What made him so difficult to catch was that his thefts were motivated by the art that spoke to him, and he didn’t try to resell it, which is the point where most thieves get caught. Author Michael Finkel paces the story perfectly mixing the story of Breitwieser’s crime spree with stories of other art heists, the psychologies of his leading figures, and more. I’ve read some great books this year, but rarely do I tear through them as fast as I did with The Art Thief.

I’ve now moved on to my big summer read. Since 2021, I’ve endeavored to take on a daunting tome starting in June. In 2021, it was Ron Chernow’s Alexander Hamilton. In 2022, it was Robert M. Seltzer’s Jewish People, Jewish Thought. Last year it was Moby-Dick. This year, it’s Robert A. Caro’s The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the book’s publishing, and I can already see why it’s heralded as a classic. It’s a captivating and important story, and Caro’s writing hooks you instantly. It’s still a dense read, but it doesn’t feel like it will be a chore.

I’m also making my way through Emil Ferris’ graphic novel My Favorite Thing Is Monsters as well as Brian Raftery’s Best. Movie. Year. Ever.: How 1999 Blew Up the Big Screen (which I should have read five years ago when I bought it, but so it goes).

In other reads:

The Hard Road to ‘Furiosa’ Was Filled With Detours by Kyle Buchanan [The New York Times] - I’m a big fan of Buchanan’s book about the making of Mad Max: Fury Road, Blood, Sweat & Chrome, and so this feels like a little addendum to that. I don’t know if there’s enough material to write a book about the making of Furiosa, so this nifty article will have to suffice.

Harrison Ford Turned Down ‘Ghost,’ Frank Oz Almost Directed, and More Behind-the-Scenes Stories by Jim Hemphill [Indiewire] - This is an excerpt from screenwriter Bruce Joel Rubin’s new memoir It’s Only a Movie. Rubin won an Oscar for his screenplay for Ghost, and if you haven’t seen Ghost in a minute, check it out. The film is amazing, and given that it’s a unique mix of genres (romance, comedy, horror, crime-thriller), I’m stunned that it works as well as it does. As Rubin’s relates the story of the film’s production, you can see that any film that gets made and gets made as well as this one, is both a mixture of skill and luck. It feels like a clear example of William Goldman’s maxim, “Nobody knows anything.” On paper, a movie directed by Miloš Forman starring Harrison Ford sounds amazing, and a movie directed by David Zucker starring Patrick Swayze doesn’t make a lot of sense. But we got the latter, and as you can see from Rubin’s explanation, we’re much richer for it.

Here’s the Real Reason Why There’s Still No Oscar for Best Stunts by Bilge Ebiri [Vulture] - Ebiri has been banging the drum for a while now that the Academy needs to add a category for Best Stunts, and I fully agree with him. There is no Hollywood, much less an Academy, without stunt work, and the argument against such an award is utter nonsense. As Ebiri details, there are those who believe that an award would cause the creation of more dangerous stunts to win such an award…which, no? Such an argument shows that Academy voters simply have no interest in learning about the particulars of stunt coordinating, and continue to see stunts as the purview of reckless cowboys rather than arguably the most precise and cautious department in a film’s production.

What I’m Hearing

Scott loved Nine Inch Nails, so I’ve listened to this when I walk the dog in the morning. It’s always good for getting the blood pumping.

What I’m Playing

I need to settle on something. I’m still bouncing between Rocket League and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth challenges, but I need to take something out of my massive gaming backlog and have at it. Right now it’s looking like it will be Ori and the Will of the Wisps on Switch since my brother recommended it and it was on sale for $12.