It Don't Worry Us: A Minute By Minute Look at Robert Altman's Nashville

In the next minute of Robert Altman's Nashville, Bud steers Opal next door to Studio B, where Lily Tomlin's Linnea is singing with a gospel choir from Fisk University. Jason Sacks and Dan Story compare the loose, joyful energy there with Haven's tightly controlled session, unpack Opal's improvised missionary story and Bud's barely-straight-faced reactions, and wonder whether that's screenwriter Joan Tewkesbury on the couch. Plus Geraldine Chaplin on playing Opal, the Fisk Jubilee Singers tradition, and the many sides of Linnea in Robert Altman's Nashville.01:30 Studio A vs. Studio B07:44 Opal's "cozy" studio11:03 Geraldine Chaplin on Opal16:46 Is that Joan Tewkesbury?27:53 The Fisk University choir32:53 The many sides of Linnea

Haven stops everything to have Opal thrown out of his studio, and Robert Altman's Nashville gives us its first burst of overlapping dialogue. Jason Sacks and Dan Story explain the Lion's Gate 8-track sound system behind it, ask how far "I'm Opal from the BBC" could get you in 1975, and look at Bud snapping to attention when his father calls him "Buddy." Plus Haven's double standard about studio guests, Henry Gibson's career, and the what-if of Robert Duvall playing Haven Hamilton.00:50 Altman's overlapping dialogue01:55 "I'm Opal from the BBC"07:08 The 8-track sound system10:12 Bud and "Buddy"16:01 Henry Gibson's performance21:44 What if Robert Duvall played Haven?

Haven Hamilton finally takes the mic, recording his bicentennial anthem "200 Years," and Jason Sacks and Dan Story ask whether it's the most pandering song in Robert Altman's Nashville. They read Joan Tewkesbury's screenplay description of Haven, size up Henry Gibson's controlling star and meet Bud and Lady Pearl, the family in his orbit. Plus Altman's assistant directors Tommy Thompson and Alan Rudolph, the background extras with stories of their own, Geraldine Chaplin's Opal wandering in, and some unforgettable 1970s outfits.00:24 "200 Years"07:22 Tewkesbury on Haven14:15 Bud and Lady Pearl20:03 Altman's assistant directors25:04 Opal arrives31:23 Those 1970s outfits

Twelve musicians. Four backup singers. One man in white rhinestones watching every one of them like a hawk. In episode 3 of It Don't Worry Us, Jason Sacks and Dan Story step into Haven Hamilton's dark, cramped recording studio. That's minutes 2:30 to 4:00 of Robert Altman's Nashville, where one elegant tracking shot tells you everything about the king of country music. Is "200 Years" a heartfelt bicentennial anthem or Altman's sharpest joke? How did a Laugh-In comedian become one of the film's most commanding presences? Plus: the unsung people who pushed Altman's boulder uphill.Hashtags#ItDontWorryUs #Nashville #RobertAltman #HenryGibson #HavenHamilton #Nashville1975 #FilmPodcast #MoviePodcast #ClassicFilm #70sCinema #CountryMusic #RichardBaskin #AltmanTimestamps0:00 – Welcome and recap: where we left the Hal Phillip Walker van1:34 – Altman's first classic tracking shot through Haven's studio5:16 – "200 Years": sincere patriotism or Altman poking fun?11:17 – Henry Gibson, from Laugh-In and The Long Goodbye to Haven Hamilton14:59 – Richard Baskin ("Frog"), Scott Bushnell and the editors behind the film

In this second episode of It Don't Worry Us, Jason Sacks and Dan Story dig into the opening scene of Robert Altman's Nashville, where Hal Phillip Walker's campaign van pulls out and winds through the city. They unpack the Replacement Party's populist, folksy rhetoric against the backdrop of Watergate-era distrust and 1970s inflation, comparing Walker to Ross Perot and modern outsider candidates. The hosts also trace the van's route through Nashville's now-vanished lower Broadway district, marveling at Altman's background details — stray pedestrians, mismatched parked cars, a beeping Volkswagen — that give the film its documentary-like texture and lived-in realism.Timestamps:00:00:28 – Introducing the scene: the Walker van as a recurring "character" throughout the film00:03:01 – The Replacement Party and its Watergate/Nixon-era political context00:12:06 – Walker's folksy, "dumbed-down" rhetorical style and the era's inflation anxieties00:19:00 – Frame-by-frame analysis of parked cars and Altman's background details00:25:02 – The van turns onto Broadway, touring Nashville's lost lower Broadway district