Episode 423 – Guest: Rob Kozlowski
Guest: Rob Kozlowski

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Kelly chats with author Rob Kozlowski about a movie franchise that is dear to both of them and the subject of Rob’s latest book: “Becoming Nick and Nora: The Thin Man and the Films of William Powell and Myrna Loy.”

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These movies stand the test of time, right?

“I know that there’s a passage of time that has occurred – that there needs to be some contextualization in terms of the time period that these movies came from, but The Thin Man felt like it could have been made today. There is something totally familiar with these characters and so unique and likable. And the relationship between Nick and Nora was unlike really anything that you’re familiar with.”

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And what made you write the book?

“It just occurred to me that there really hadn’t been a book written about both or them together, and what I found particularly interesting was that they pretty much had identical journeys. They were both cast as villains, for example. And I thought it would make for an interesting book. And honestly, it was one of those things that I was shocked about that really hadn’t been done yet.”

The chemistry between William Powell and Myrna Lowell is incredible.

“By the time that they actually played Nick and Nora Charles, I think they had each made well over 50 films by that point. There wasn’t a lot of time for rehearsal. They had a script and they had to recite lines, but it was very improvisational. It was a lot about your instincts, and really understand playing off that other character. And so much of what Powell and Loy do well together is listen to each other and react to each other. They just have the instincts, and they know how to do that because they’ve had to do it so many times in so many situations Playing so many different kinds of characters.”

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