PODCAST: DIRTY JOHN

I decided to start listing recent podcasts that I’ve listened to. This week I finished Dirty John. I totally binge-listened to this and finished it within a few days. Here’s some info:

Dirty John is an investigative journalism podcast hosted by journalist Christopher Goffard and created by Wondery and Los Angeles Times.

The podcast was downloaded over 10 million times within 6 weeks of release.

The podcast was named Dirty John which was one of John Meehan's nicknames given to him by his classmates during his time at the University of Dayton. Other nicknames from this time included Filthy John, or just Filthy. The exact nexus of these nicknames was never divulged during the podcast.

Dirty John is a true crime story focusing on the life and exploits of John Meehan. L.A. Times Journalist Christopher Goffard first heard of Meehan when he learned that the police were investigating a possible murder in Newport Beach. Upon investigating, Goffard discovered a bizarre web of deceit and abuse.

The main focus of the story is Meehan's relationship with businesswoman Debra Newell, who he met via Internet dating, as well her immediate and extended family. The podcast deals with themes of abuse and manipulation, as well as the behaviours of those being abused.

MY VERDICT:

I absolutely loved this podcast, it reeled me in immediately and was extremely well written and paced. The ending (which I won’t spoil) is even more shocking because of the way the story is expertly structured.

It was especially interesting to me because I too have been in a relationship with a manipulative and talented liar and a lot of the things that were said about John rang true for me. It was a cathartic experience to hear these tales and know that my troubles are over and that I wouldn’t be fooled by someone like this again.

Every podcast I listen to I compare to Serial, mostly because it was the first one I really listened to but also because it’s still one of the best, this was not quite as good as Serial but still very interesting and enjoyable to listen to.

https://wondery.com/wondery/shows/dirtyjohn/

http://www.latimes.com/projects/la-me-dirty-john/

http://lalalovelythings.com/2016/05/being-friends/

http://www.papermag.com/amber-rose-feminist-heroes-1488371818.html

http://mashable.com/2014/09/15/australia-artist-cj-hendry-kanye/#nvmwg9x0CEqC

http://i-d.vice.com/en_gb/article/revisiting-the-past-and-anticipating-the-future-with-matthew-stone

FILM 1526: HOW TO LOSE A GUY IN 10 DAYS

TRIVIA: Kate Hudson improvised plastering Matthew McConaughey with kisses during the scene where she introduces the new dog. This is why McConaughey looks genuinely surprised.

A lot of the scenes were improvised, e.g. the scene with the "family album".

The film marks the acting reunion of Adam Goldberg and Matthew McConaughey who had last appeared together 10 years earlier in the iconic Dazed and Confused (1993).

When Ben is shown the article that Andie wrote, the style and format changes. When the article is first seen, it is completely formatted in blue. When we see it from Ben's point of view, the style changes, with a broken love heart taking up the majority of the page. The font also changes.

Gwyneth Paltrow was originally going to star.

http://www.itsnicethat.com/articles/the-gourmand-alice-tye-1

FILM 1136: SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED

TRIVIA: The original classified ad upon which the film is based first appeared in Backwoods Home Magazine in 1997. It was written as last-minute filler by John Silveira, an employee of the magazine, who is credited in the film as "Time Travel Consultant" and also has a cameo. The ad was later featured on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (1992) in the "Headlines" segment, and eventually turned into an Internet meme before being developed into a screenplay.

The part of Darius was written for Aubrey Plaza, because writer Derek Connolly wanted to work with her. Jake Johnson was likewise director Colin Trevorrow's first choice for the part of Jeff.