Elston Gunn-AICN - ProfilesArchive

About Me

I've been writing for AICN since July 1998 . I grew up in a small town in the Appalachian mountains where as wee children we would indulge in many a-playground game, build treehouses and dream of one day writing for online movie gossip websites. I may try to catalog all my previous interviews here, but for now check out my most recent articles and Q&A pieces:Kevin Smith (CLERKS) - May 2000Jim Herzfeld (MEET THE PARENTS) - October 2000Nile Southern (son of Terry Southern) - March 2001Bob Cesca (VH-1 ILL-ustrated) - October 2003Morgan Spurlock (SUPER SIZE ME) - May 2004Curt Johnson (Interview 1 - MICHAEL MOORE HATES AMERICA) - September 2004Morgan Spurlock (Interview 2 - 30 DAYS) - June 2005Rob McKittrick (WAITING...) - September 2005Richard Shepard (THE MATADOR) - December 2005Newton Thomas Sigel & J Lisa Chang (THE BIG EMPTY) - March 2006Curt Johnson (Interview 2 - YOUR MOMMY KILLS ANIMALS)Lilly Bright (THE HEART IS DECEITFUL ABOVE ALL THINGS, LYING)Danny Leiner (THE GREAT NEW WONDERFUL, HAROLD & KUMAR GO TO WHITE CASTLE)Morgan Spurlock (Interview 3 - 30 DAYS season 2)Sylvain White (I'LL ALWAYS KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER, STOMP THE YARD)Josh Friedman (THE BLACK DAHLIA, WAR OF THE WORLDS)Brian Lynch (SPIKE: ASYLUM comic)Frank Pavich (NYHC)David Paterson (LOVE LUDLOW, BRIDGE TO TERABITHIA)Leo Grillo (ZYZZYX ROAD)Todd Lincoln (HACK/SLASH)Robert Holguin (Pres. of Academy of Sci Fi, Fantasy & Horror)Jason Brown (THEM THAT WORK)Max Daly (ZODIAC, BENJAMIN BUTTON researcher)Kevin Booth (AMERICAN DRUG WAR: THE LAST WHITE HOPE)Talia Lugacy (DESCENT)What Is Oscar Saying To Documentaries?33rd Annual Saturn AwardsBob Cesca & Friends (KUNG FU JIMMY CHOW)Richard Shepard (Interview 2 - THE HUNTING PARTY)John Sayles (MATEWAN, HONEYDRIPPER)Milos Forman (FIREMEN'S BALL, AMADEUS, GOYA'S GHOSTS)AJ Schnack (KURT COBAIN ABOUT A SON)

My Interests

Movies, music, TV, books, comics, green tea, dark chocolate, sandwiches, salads and soups.

I'd like to meet:

The perfect sandwich.Oh and I don't usually do this but my pal Chris White is currently raising money for a short film. I actually have seen QUIET and it's worth the money you were going to spend on that one little thing you really didn't need right now anway, if you want to help him out. The clock's a-tickin'!

Music:

My tastes indicate I probably should've been a Baby Boomer. In the ol' iPod I've got Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Traveling Wilburys, Tom Waits, Johnny Cash, Beatles, M. Ward, Benjy Ferree, Daniel Lanois, Neil Young, John Prine, The Jayhawks, The Greenhornes, The New Pornographers, Neko Case, Jenny Lewis, Rilo Kiley, Mark Knopfler, ELO, Jeff Lynne, The Kinks, White Stripes, REM, U2, The Minus 5, Ron Sexsmith, Wilco, Gillian Welch, lots more.I play in two jazz groups, collect a Time Life country CD set (50s thru early 70s) and subscribe to PASTE, if that tells ya anything.

Movies:

Apted's UP series, Psycho, The Third Man, The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean, High Noon, Scorsese, Coen Brothers, John Sayles, The Muppet Movie, Pee Wee's Big Adventure, Lukas Moodysson, Wes Anderson, PT Anderson, Kairostami, Inarritu/Arriaga, Judd Apatow, documentaries. So much stuff. Love things that are good. That's always a plus. If the Criterion Collection had an orgy with Roger Ebert, Borat and a superhero, the bastard child would probably sum up my film taste. And... ew.

Television:

Sopranos, Simpsons, Lost, The Office, Friday Night Lights, SNL, Heroes, Curb Your Enthusiasm, South Park, Scrubs, Daily Show, Colbert, Letterman, Conan, Adult Swim. Entourage is a guilty pleasure.

Books:

The Stranger, 1984, Bukowski's Hollywood, Conversations with Tom Petty. (That last one could've used more existentialism and paranoia.)

Heroes:

Li'l Elston Jr.Oh, and Batman.

My Blog

Schnack & Cobain

AICN just posted my Q&A with AJ Schnack, director of KURT COBAIN ABOUT A SON, which is playing in theaters in select cities across the country. It's not your typical music documentary. ...
Posted by Elston Gunn-AICN on Thu, 18 Oct 2007 11:25:00 PST

Milos Forman

It's still hard for me to believe I was able to do AICN interviews with both John Sayles (MATEWAN, EIGHT MEN OUT) and two-time Oscar-winning director Milos Forman (ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST, AMA...
Posted by Elston Gunn-AICN on Thu, 13 Sep 2007 07:13:00 PST

John Sayles Interview

Hey, folks. They just posted my AICN interview with filmmaker John Sayles, if you want to check it out. It was an email interview, but since Sayles is first and foremost a writer his answers wer...
Posted by Elston Gunn-AICN on Fri, 07 Sep 2007 11:14:00 PST

Thanks!

Thanks for all the birthday wishes, folks. I saw Werner Herzog's RESCUE DAWN (highly recommended), ate a kick-ass breakfast burrito and worked on some new AICN interviews that will be posted soo...
Posted by Elston Gunn-AICN on Thu, 06 Sep 2007 07:17:00 PST

Post Pourri Vol. 2

* It sucks to be sick in the summer. Fever, cough, congested, tired, dizzy, achy, breaky, itchy, scratchy. I think I'm nearing the end of it. Thank you for the flowers and candy in y...
Posted by Elston Gunn-AICN on Tue, 17 Jul 2007 11:07:00 PST

Ron Sexsmith Covers Sesame Street

Canadian singer/songwriter Ron Sexsmith, who's written some wonderful stuff of his own, has recorded a cover of "On The Very First Day," an obscure little song apparently from the 1980 out-of-print Se...
Posted by Elston Gunn-AICN on Tue, 05 Jun 2007 12:37:00 PST

Oscars and Saturns

Two new AICN articles up that I haven't mentioned on MySpace yet. One is about Oscar's new eligibility rules for documentaries: Oscars! And the other is my account of the 33rd Annual Saturn Awards: Sa...
Posted by Elston Gunn-AICN on Mon, 14 May 2007 09:27:00 PST

Blacksburg / Interview

I can't say anything that hasn't already been said about the tragedy at Virginia Tech. Blacksburg is a neat little self-contained town nestled in the Appalachian mountains that I've loved t...
Posted by Elston Gunn-AICN on Thu, 19 Apr 2007 09:35:00 PST

Whatever Wilbury... Wilbury.

Logan, Buzz, Butch and Slim. Those were the Wilbury names I picked out for my friends when I was in 9th grade. I was obsessed. It was something for me to latch onto during the awkwar...
Posted by Elston Gunn-AICN on Thu, 22 Mar 2007 01:10:00 PST

Interviews Of Yore

I just posted my earlier AICN interviews on my MySpace page under the About Me section with the rest. Sorry, I'm not going to link each interview in this here blog, but I will link the page itse...
Posted by Elston Gunn-AICN on Thu, 15 Mar 2007 08:28:00 PST