136. The Basketball Diaries

Load Bearing Beams: A Movie Podcast

We open the book and read from Jim Carroll’s many basketball diaries to find out about his life on the streets with Mickey, Pedro, and Neutron. What a time these little scamps had! Yelling at old ladies, knocking hot dogs out of children’s hands, and barfing on the guy who would later play Big Pussy on The Sopranos.

Oh, but they weren’t all happy days. No, there are dark times ahead for young Jim (Leonardo DiCaprio), and we talk all about it.

Bonus video: We talk about our favorite teachers from movies. Watch it on our Twitter, Instagram, or TikTok.

Next week: Pulp Fiction (1994) with The Reel For Real podcast!

Time stamps:

00:04:40 — Our personal histories with The Basketball Diaries

00:13:05 — History segment: Jim Carroll’s real life and Basketball Diaries; production of this movie and the casting of Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Wahlberg

00:31:15 — In-depth movie discussion

01:16:29 — Final thoughts and star ratings

Sources:

"Off the Rim" by Thomas Mallon | The New Yorker (2010) - https://bit.ly/4fdoCja

"Leonardo DiCaprio's Issue With Mark Wahlberg & More Secrets Revealed About The Basketball Diaries" by Natalie Finn | E! News (2020) - https://bit.ly/3NZgDdF

"Mark Wahlberg Was A 'Punk' The First Time He Met Leonardo DiCaprio" by Sasha Bronner | HuffPost (2014) - https://bit.ly/3CeDAqz

Review of ‘Elephant’ by Roger Ebert | The Chicago Sun-Times (2003) - https://bit.ly/3CiZtVQ

Artwork by Laci Roth.

Music by Rural Route Nine. Listen to their album The Joy of Averages on Spotify (https://bit.ly/48WBtUa), Apple Music (https://bit.ly/3Q6kOVC), or YouTube (https://bit.ly/3MbU6tC).

Songs by Rural Route Nine in this episode:

“Your Ambition” - https://youtu.be/ZHudVTCkrQY

“Winston-Salem” - https://youtu.be/-acMutUf8IM

“Snake Drama” - https://youtu.be/xrzz8_2Mqkg

“The Bible Towers of Bluebonnet” - https://youtu.be/k7wlxTGGEIQ

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