A podcast with Billy Corben, director of Cocaine Cowboys, Raw Deal, Square Grouper, and The U
Below is an interview with director Billy Corben, who made the two Cocaine Cowboys films, Raw Deal, Limelight, Square Grouper (his new documentary about pot smuggling in Florida, which he happened to be promoting at the time of this interview), and The U, which is relevant now since its subject is Miami University’s football team, and Billy is the go-to expert talking head for any news station or TV show that happens to be covering the current scandal.
Our interview focuses more on Square Grouper and his first film, Raw Deal: A Question of Consent, since I had wanted to interview him about it even before Cocaine Cowboys was made. As per the usual, this isn’t a conversation that stops to explain references, so you’ll find most of the more obscure stuff in the images and the audio file (which refers to a quote about Jimmy Buffet) below.
As for the topics that come up in the midst of this 90 minute back and forth, you will learn what the mysterious reasons are behind why Magnolia bothers with theatrical releases (since they simultaneously release their films in the theater, on DVD, air them on TV, and make them available on demand), why Bernie Kosar looks so disheveled in his interviews for The U, and how piracy can actually help a small film become a financial success.
Also, take a look at the Canadian cover for Square Grouper. Billy mentions its “quality,” but the point can’t be made with words alone.
Note that the actual 90 minute interview is underneath the final images, not the tiny clip right beneath this sentence.
“Even if Jimmy Buffet’s a manatee-huggin’ son-of-a-bitch.”
Download the clip here.
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Download the full podcast below or subscribe to it on Itunes (search for A Regrettable Moment of Sincerity, Adam Lippe, or Billy Corben).
Download the full interview.
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