talking on DVD

Yesterday, I got interviewed for featurettes for two upcoming Peanuts animated DVDs. That’s kind of odd for me in itself. After writing a bunch of books and talking at conventions and doing occasional other interviews, you’d think I’d be kind of used to people thinking I say things well enough to listen to, but no.

But there’s an extra level of oddness to these. The guy in charge of making them is nice and smart and all, but with any sort of planned piece, there’s always assumptions in the quetions, whether it’s the assumptions of the interviewer or just the stroy they’re trying to build. Sometimes you get asked a factual question where they know the answer at least as well as you do. It’s unlike a reguarl conversation where the point of asking a question is to learn the answer; the point of asking this question is getting me to say the answer, because the interviewer is not one of the “experts” they want featurette.

But sometimes, you get the question that aims to tell whatever story they’re telling, and you find yourself in your best pundit mode answering “So why did Schulz have Charlie Brown spray-paint Snoopy purple and call him ‘noodle ears’?” and you’re halfway through explaining Schulz’s basic creative motivations and what the color purple meant to him before you realize that the question is actually not true, Schulz never had Charlie Brown do that, at which point you can or bail on your answer… or you can just commit to whatever pseudoreal garbage you were spinning.

But no matter how we got there, the end result on the You’re A Good Sport, Charlie Brown was a pretty nice featurette, and one that didn’t have me saying anything I didn’t mean. Whatever the process, it worked for reaching the end point.

I guess if there’s a piece of Peanuts news here, it’s “more DVDs are on the way” (beyond the forthcoming Snoopy’s Reunion/Flashbeagle disk, which I had nothing to do with.) Forgive me for using that as an excuse to get some thoughts down.

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Upcoming releases
The Essential Peanuts preview

The magazine People ran a preview of The Essential Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz, the upcoming Peanuts retrospective written by my bud Mark Evanier. I’ll let you head there for the content, but I am going to talk on one part of the preview pointed to me by AAUGH Blog …

Upcoming releases
Charlie Brown’s America goes soft

Coming in December is a paperback edition of Blake Scott Bell’s Charlie Brown’s America: The Popular Politics of Peanuts. I reviewed the hardcover when it came out in 2021, and that positive recommendation still stands. Share the news!

Upcoming releases
Finally, a Peanuts book that is ALL ABOUT ME!

Since you’re following this blog, I know that you’re interested in my updates and insights on Peanuts books. I’m not sure how deep your interest in the humble AAUGH Blogger goes… but if you want it, you will soon have the chance to purchase a Peanuts book that’s ALL ABOUT ME! …