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Dana Stevens

@thehighsign.bsky.social
68K followers 2.7K following 6K posts

Film critic at Slate; co-host of the Slate Culture Gabfest podcast; repped by the Cheney Agency; member NYFCC. Camera Man, my book on Buster Keaton, is out: www.simonandschuster.com/books/Came…

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Dana Stevens @thehighsign.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
I don't subscribe to as many writers' Patreons as I wish I could, because the cost adds up fast, but Rax's writing is so brilliant & necessary (& often darkly funny) that it's worth every penny.
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Dana Stevens @thehighsign.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
We decided to hold my Digger review until after the first wave of critical responses had gone up, so I would be free to "spoil" the early twist that basically sets up the film's premise. Rarely has such an unpleasant movie to sit through been such a blast to write about: slate.com/culture/2026...
slate.com
Tom Cruise’s Big New Movie Isn’t What It Appears. It’s Something Much Worse.
Digger has a huge twist. It’s a disaster of almost apocalyptic proportions.
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Dana Stevens @thehighsign.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Roses are red That is a feature of their appearance
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Dana Stevens @thehighsign.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Next Wednesday evening, Oct. 7, I'm talking to @emilyrcwilson.bsky.social at Old First Church in Brooklyn about her new book, Crossing the Wine-Dark Sea: Journeys through Ancient Literature. The ticket includes a copy of the book. Come out if you're so inclined! www.emilyrcwilson.com/appearances/...
emilyrcwilson.com
Old First Reformed Church with Dana Stevens (Brooklyn, NY USA) — Emily Wilson
Emily Wilson presents Crossing the Wine-Dark Sea, in conversation with Dana StevensWednesday October 7th, 2026 @ 7:00PM - 8:30PM Wilson will discuss her new book, Crossing the Wine-Dark Sea: Journeys...
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Dana Stevens @thehighsign.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Tonight’s lilac-and-peach extravagant sunset, fire-escape edition:
Described in the post already—those colors outlined by black silhouettes of fire escape and trees.
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Dana Stevens @thehighsign.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
By far the closest Zuck has ever stood in proximity to something called “charm”:
bloomberg.com
Meta Debuts Dedicated ‘Charm’ Device for Using Muse AI
Meta Platforms Inc. unveiled a palm-sized, dedicated gadget for using Muse, the company’s popular new artificial intelligence assistant, pushing deeper into the AI devices market with a surprise annou...
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Mike Boylan-Kolchin @mbkplus.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Girl dinner
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the Mountain Goats @themountaingoats.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
No we don’t have any presents. Or what was it you said? “Gifts”? No we don’t have those, why would you think that. Why are you being weird
Photograph of an airport store called “Gaslight Gifts”
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the babahuck @tylerhuckabee.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
rip annie dillard
One of the things I know about writing is this: spend it all, shoot it, play it, lose it, all, right away, every time. Do not hoard what seems good for a later place in the book or for another book; give it, give it all, give it now. The impulse to save something good for a better place later is the signal to spend it now. Something more will arise for later, something better. These things fill from behind, from beneath, like well water. Similarly, the impulse to keep to yourself what you have learned is not only shameful, it is destructive. Anything you do not give freely and abundantly becomes lost to you. You open your safe and find ashes.
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Dana Stevens @thehighsign.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
OK, people who follow tech & AI hype more closely than I do: my 20-y.o. daughter, a creative soul who hates AI & never uses it, has become convinced by recent cycles of tech-bro bullshit that humanity is doomed. I need articles/podcasts to show her that resistance works & is happening right now.
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Dana Stevens @thehighsign.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Call My Agent! The Movie arrives 5 years after the French comedy series came to a confusingly abrupt end. Whether or not you've seen the show (which you should!), there's something irresistible in the movie's mix of tart satire & deep respect for creative work. Streaming on Netflix starting today.
slate.com
During the Pandemic, It Became a Defining Comfort Watch. Now It’s Finally Back With a New Movie.
A perfect little bonbon of a show is back with a perfect little bonbon of a Netflix movie.
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Dana Stevens @thehighsign.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
Always two lakes battle within me
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Sardonicus @sardonicus.eu · 29/08/2026
sign on tripod
Greg: Stop Coming by our house
 We don't like you
We don't find you interesting
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Dana Stevens @thehighsign.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Don't miss @carlzoilus.bsky.social's funny & wise Dolly Parton tribute, which goes out of its way to celebrate not her (well-deserved) status as a secular saint of pop culture, but her "fantabulous weirdness," including a playlist of songs from the "Down 'n' Dirty Dolly." slate.com/culture/2026...
slate.com
Dolly Parton, America Will Always Love You, but It Didn’t Always
The queen of country was a much weirder—and more wonderful—figure than the recent flattening of her suggests.
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Dana Stevens @thehighsign.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Amid all these memorial posts to Tim Curry, I have to add one in honor of his mischievous scamp of a Shakespeare in the (otherwise extremely dated) 1978 miniseries Will Shakespeare. The Bard could only dream of being this sexy:
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Ned Raggett @nedraggett.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Where this thread goes is a journey. Take it. It's the deepest kind of memorial.
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Dana Stevens @thehighsign.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
A person so miraculous she made Siskel & Ebert agree ♥️
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Dana Stevens @thehighsign.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
The moment Dolly comes in for the harmony--all three of them are great singers, but the element her voice brings is so ineffable, delicate & bell-like: www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoDx...
youtube.com
Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt, Dolly Parton "Lover's Return"
YouTube video by catman916
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Stephanie Zacharek @szacharek.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Dolly, oh Dolly. From the vaults: www.salon.com/2000/10/31/p...
salon.com
Dolly Parton - Salon.com
The artist with one of the greatest country voices of all time says that throughout her life she's been driven by three passions: God, music and sex.
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Dana Stevens @thehighsign.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Little sparrow, little sparrow Precious fragile little thing Little sparrow, little sparrow Flies so high and feels no pain <3
youtube.com
Dolly Parton - Little Sparrow (Audio)
YouTube video by Dolly Parton
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Dana Stevens @thehighsign.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
I too procrastinate by brushing my books
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Dana Stevens @thehighsign.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Reading this sickening headline instantly turned me into Marilyn Monroe in the climactic scene of The Misfits.
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Dana Stevens @thehighsign.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
If you miss listening to @juliaturner.bsky.social yammer about culture w/ me & Stephen Metcalf every week, subscribe here to listen to her do the same, about LA life & culture specifically!
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Dana Stevens @thehighsign.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
Michael & I had a fun meandering chat about Harry Cohn’s definition of a good movie, as told to Herman Mankiewicz. With sidebars on Nolan’s Odyssey, Frank Capra, Chantal Akerman & whatever else popped into our pretty little heads:
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Dana Stevens @thehighsign.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
Now the Raffi song "Baby Beluga" is in my head, but it's worth it 🐳😍
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Jason Karsh @jkarsh.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
*hikes up pants old man style* Back in my day, you’d go to the movies and for $5 you would see full-frontal Harvey Keitel unprovoked and without any warning whatsoever. It didn’t take you outta the movie, it WAS the movie. And that’s the way we liked it.
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Dana Stevens @thehighsign.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
For Anthony Bourdain fans &/or fans of writer-director Matt Johnson w/ qualms about Johnson's new biopic of teenage Bourdain: rest assured that it's good. Not groundbreaking cinema, but a solid coming-of-age drama w/ great performances from Antonio Banderas & Dominic Sessa. slate.com/culture/2026...
slate.com
The Anthony Bourdain Biopic Is Delicious
To do justice to such a beloved figure may seem impossible, but one young actor—and one filmmaker on a hot streak—just rose to the challenge.
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The New York Times @nytimes.com · 07/08/2026
Two capybaras wandered into the reception area of a Brazilian state legislature last week. The animals, which are the largest rodents in the world, were shooed away from the premises by a parliamentary aide. nyti.ms/4yZ1DTr
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EMILY WILSON @emilyrcwilson.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
I cannot rest from discourse. I will see that film again tomorrow. I will drink life to the lees. Again I will enjoy greatly, will suffer greatly, both with those that love me, and in Pleasantville NY. I am become a meme. Film showing: burnsfilmcenter.org/booking/the-...
burnsfilmcenter.org
The Odyssey : Jacob Burns Film Center
The Odyssey, Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Christopher Nolan, Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Odysseus, Greek, Classic, Antiquity
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the Mountain Goats @themountaingoats.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
can we sometimes be asking "what qualifies this guy to speak on this subject?" or has that ship sailed
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28 Days Lehner 🪦 @danlehner.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
honestly, a middle-brow (complimentary) director doing a big splashy Classics adaptation that’s sold out for a month at the IMAX and there’s an ongoing debate about it with one of its en vogue translators is probably the healthiest the culture has been in a long time
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Sardonicus @sardonicus.eu · 30/07/2026
Boris Karloff and Elsa Lanchester behind the scenes of “The Bride of Frankenstein” 1935
Frankenstein and his Wife relaxing after their wedding. They are drinking tea, a very popular drink amongst the gothic classes
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28 Days Lehner 🪦 @danlehner.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
[Homer sits backwards on a chair] let me tell you about ANOTHER giant brute who was being beaten by Nobody
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Dana Stevens @thehighsign.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
For Anthony Bourdain fans &/or fans of writer-director Matt Johnson w/ qualms about Johnson's new biopic of teenage Bourdain: rest assured that it's good. Not groundbreaking cinema, but a solid coming-of-age drama w/ great performances from Antonio Banderas & Dominic Sessa. slate.com/culture/2026...
slate.com
The Anthony Bourdain Biopic Is Delicious
To do justice to such a beloved figure may seem impossible, but one young actor—and one filmmaker on a hot streak—just rose to the challenge.
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Helena Fitzgerald @hellafitzgerald.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
sea people this, sea people that, I see a lot of people who should log off and go run around outside
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Dr. Karen Carr @quatrus.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
My favorite depiction of the Trojan Horse, and the earliest known version. I love the windows, like an airplane, and that the windows go up the neck too.
Trojan horse depicted on the Mykonos vase ca. 675 BC, so around the time of the Odyssey and Iliad. Found with human bones inside (like the horse!) and now in the Archaeological Museum of Mykonos. Image shows the horse with little windows in its side so you can see the men waiting inside.
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Dana Stevens @thehighsign.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
This Seattle showing of The General is nearly sold out, which, in a theater with a 2800+-seat capacity showing a movie that turns 100 this year, really says something about the longevity of great silent comedy & the desire of audiences to see movies in a real theater. Grab one of the last tickets!
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Dana Stevens @thehighsign.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
An excellent lineup, including my favorite Keaton feature (Steamboat Bill, Jr.) & a lot of less-screened shorts. NYers should also note that The Navigator is showing at MoMA this Thursday night with live accompaniment by @silentfilmmusic.bsky.social. It's Buster summer, as every summer should be!
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Dana Stevens @thehighsign.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Seattleites: I'm in your town tomorrow night to host a screening & discussion of Buster Keaton's The General (w/ live organ accompaniment!) as part of the Silent Movie Mondays series at the wonderful Paramount Theatre. There are tickets left, but not many. Come out! www.stubhub.com/silent-movie...
stubhub.com
Silent Movie - Mondays Tickets
Silent Movie - Mondays tickets - Buy and sell Silent Movie - Mondays tickets at StubHub
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Dana Stevens @thehighsign.bsky.social · 26/07/2026
Waiting to board a flight that’s at gate B17 & I can’t stop humming Olivia Newton-John’s “Please Mr. Please.” Send help (mister) (please)
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Dana Stevens @thehighsign.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
Lovely tribute to the (literally!) towering work of Bill Irwin:
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Dana Stevens @thehighsign.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
Went on @wnyc.org this morning to talk with Brian Lehrer & Cambridge classics prof Mary Beard about The Odyssey: wnyc.org/browse/shows...
wnyc.org
Context and a Movie: The Odyssey | WNYC
Classicist Mary Beard and film critic Dana Stevens talk about Christopher Nolan's newest film.
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Dana Stevens @thehighsign.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
Love the Music Box so dearly. Chicago, turn out!
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Dana Stevens @thehighsign.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
Our age of bronze is collapsing
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Dana Stevens @thehighsign.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
Absolutely one of the best films I've seen so far this year, & all the more astounding given it's a young director's first feature. Don't miss this one now that it's finally come to streaming.
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28 Days Lehner 🪦 @danlehner.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
very funny that after all the “Emily Wilson is going to longhouse Western Civilization with her woke Odyssey”, Emily Wilson herself is like “yeah, a bit too much ‘healing trauma’ and not enough ‘relishing in the blood of your enemies’ in the new movie”
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Sam Adams @samadams.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
naturally @isaacbutler.bsky.social is on the side of the angels, by which I mean Anne Hathaway
slate.com
She Won an Oscar—and Received Years of Backlash. Now She’s Finally Stopped Trying to Play Herself.
Anne Hathaway once faced so much backlash she had to be defended by Ta-Nehisi Coates. She’s finally entered a new phase.
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Boo!-per Lund @cooperlund.online · 19/07/2026
Tonight we all dine at 10 PM
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Dana Stevens @thehighsign.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
Question for the format/aspect ratio nerds out there: given that the NYC screenings in IMAX 70mm are now sold out through August (!!), what would you recommend as the next-best format/theater to see The Odyssey in? People are asking me & I’m not sure I have a strong opinion.
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Dana Stevens @thehighsign.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
This is the Odyssey we're talking about! Stop wandering!
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