Episode Details

“Art is a human being wanting to express ‘I was,’ that ‘I existed.’” – John E. Roach

John E. Roach is a television and film producer and screenwriter, who co-wrote the screenplay for The Straight Story. He is president of Roach, a video production and film production company.

In this episode of Deviate, John discuss the origins of The Straight Story (3:00); Midwest culture and sensibilities (17:00); age and the World War II generation (33:00); and writing the character of Alvin Straight (38:00).

Notable Links:

• Twin Peaks (television show)
• David Lynch (filmmaker)
• The Elephant Man (film)
• Citizen Soldiers, by Stephen E. Ambrose (book)
• The Treasure of Sierra Madre (film)
• Spartacus (film)
• Richard Farnsworth (actor)

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The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel’s 2017 album Lumber.

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