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This week we are joined by Evan, co-host of Left of the Projector, to discuss Peter’s not-quite hit CBS film Blessed Assurance. The film is also called “The Price of Heaven”, we honestly have no clue which one is fully correct or why there are two completely different titles, but for posterity, we primarily call it Blessed Assurance. Much like how we are confused about what exactly is the title, we are also confused about what we are supposed to be getting out of this film. Based on a short story by Allan Gurganus, Blessed Assurance follows a Korean War veteran (Grant Show) returning to his small South Carolina hometown and his childhood sweetheart (Lori Loughlin). He faces trials and tribulations such as resisting the urge to cheat on his partner, being a funeral assurance collector, and living down the reputation of driving Marilyn Monroe one time. It’s kinda a snoozefest of a movie, but we had a great time talking about it! We also discuss Gremlins 2, Lori Loughlin’s college admissions scandal, Peter being unbelievably broke and making enemies, the failed gothic attempts of Verity, Cicely Tyson’s questionable acting choices, and the hit(?) film of fall 2026, Digger. Also, we don't actually ever get into this, but the film’s title of Blessed Assurance comes from both the hymn AND because Cicely Tyson’s character pronounces “insurance” as “assurance.” One of the film’s many subtleties. Next Episode: Rescuers: Stories of Courage: Two Women (1997)   Further “Reading”  By Bogdanovich (2011) Picturing Peter Bogdanovich by Peter Tonguette “'You Saved One of My Best Pictures': My Adventures with Peter Bogdanovich and his Lost, Last Picture Show” by James Kenney News clip of the South Carolina town where they filmed “Cicely Tyson Movie to be shot in S.C.” June 6, 1995 “Director Bogdanovich Declares Bankruptcy” by Ann W. O’Neill for the LA Times, June 4, 1997 “Episodes From a Transitory World” By Will Joyner for the NYT, August 15, 1997 “CBS’ Heaven Falls Short of Perfection” in The Spokesman Review, August 16, 1997 “‘Heaven’ Struggles Against Script in Civil Rights Drama” by Daryl H. Miller for the LA Times, August 16, 1997   THE BOGDANOVICH ARCHIVE Visit sortbyearliest.com   Music by Ryan Torgeson Art by Jordan Kady  Support your local independent cinemas and video stores!   Follow Us! Sort By: Earliest on Instagram Jonah on Letterboxd and Twitter Journey on Letterboxd and Instagram Evan on Letterboxd, Instagram, and Twitter; LOTP’s website

This week, we are joined by author of Late Style in Film, Collin Brinkmann, to discuss yet another Bogdanovich legacy sequel: To Sir With Love II. Thirty years after Sidney Poitier’s defining role as “Sir” (Mark Thackeray) in the 1967 British smash hit To Sir, With Love, the powers of the television world decided it was time for a TV sequel, and what more obvious choice to helm than Peter Bogdanovich. Moving from London to Chicago, this follow-up has it all: a secret son, students with guns, life lessons, and most importantly: no calling anyone sluts in the classroom! Even if you haven’t watched the original To Sir, With Love (with its very catchy international hit theme song ingeniously titled “To Sir with Love”) we would really recommend you give this one a spin. We also discuss Claire Denis being relegated to the streaming trenches, Poitier and Bogdanovich dying on the exact same day, how Sir could have helped out some of the characters in Scorsese’s Mean Streets, the finer qualities of Bogdanovich as a writer, possible defenses(?) of Illegally Yours, and Journey’s affinity for John Huston’s Annie. Next Episode: Blessed Assurance [AKA The Price of Heaven] (1997) with Evan from Left of the Projector   Further “Reading”  To Sir, With Love II (1996) Original Broadcast with Commercials By Bogdanovich (2011) Late Style in Film by Collin Brinkmann Picturing Peter Bogdanovich by Peter Tonguette Michael Shannon talks getting fired from the film w/ NYT Michael Peña on Colbert ‘To Sir, With Love II Review’ by Ken Tucker for Entertainment Weekly (April 5, 1996) ‘CBS Sunday Movie To Sir, With Love II Review’ by Todd P. McCarthy for Variety (April 3, 1996) ‘TELEVISION REVIEW: Sequel for To Sir, With Love’ by Caryn James for NYT (April 6, 1996) ‘What Sidney Poitier taught me about courage and A Raisin in the Sun’ by LZ Granderson for the LA Times (June 8, 2022)   THE BOGDANOVICH ARCHIVE Visit sortbyearliest.com   Music by Ryan Torgeson Art by Jordan Kady  Support your local independent cinemas and video stores!   Follow Us! Sort By: Earliest on Instagram Jonah on Letterboxd and Twitter Journey on Letterboxd and Instagram

It’s 1995: Peter Bogdanovich is back on Showtime and better than ever! This week, we cover Peter’s first real noir output: an episode of the anthology series Fallen Angels. In his episode “A Dime a Dance,” we follow Jennifer Grey and Eric Stolz as they investigate the murder of a nightclub dancer and evade a killer that also seems to be on the hunt for Jennifer Grey. Peter being Peter, the episode also features L.B. Stratten as the murdered dancer. It’s a genuinely well-constructed episode made to look like almost all black and white cinematography, and makes one wish Peter had done more noir. We also discuss the Paranormal Activity stage adaptation, old timey radio programs (Journey didn’t want to go down a 15 minute spiral, but the 1949 Suspense episode “Ghost Hunt” is one of the precursors to modern found footage horror alongside Orson Welles’ infamous “War of the Worlds” broadcast and RULES), Spider-Noir presented in “True-Hue”, an unaired Bogdanovich pilot called Prowler, niche bar trivia theming, and how dance is the devil. Next Episode: To Sir, With Love II (1996) w/ Collin Brinkmann   Further “Reading”: Fallen Angels S2E3 “A Dime a Dance” on YouTube By Bogdanovich (2011) Picturing Peter Bogdanovich by Peter Tonguette “‘Fallen Angels’: The Lost Showtime Series That Hinted at the Future of Prestige TV” by Jake Rossen for MentalFloss (Oct. 30, 2025) The first minute of Prowler pilot Scott Bakula in Prowler Noir program Full Moon Matinee featuring a Detective Host Magazine reprinting of ‘Dime a Dance’ / ‘The Dancing Detective’   THE BOGDANOVICH ARCHIVE Visit sortbyearliest.com Music by Ryan Torgeson Art by Jordan Kady  Support your local independent cinemas and video stores!   Follow Us! Sort By: Earliest on Instagram Jonah on Letterboxd and Twitter Journey on Letterboxd and Instagram

We were lucky enough to record in-person again, this time to talk about Bogdanovich’s episode of the 1995 Showtime anthology series Picture Windows. You’ve never heard of it? To be fair, most people haven’t. They brought in filmmakers such as John Boorman, Bob Rafelson, Joe Dante, and more to essentially make a short film based on a classic work of art. Peter’s episode, “Song of Songs,” is based on Botticelli’s Primavera and if you could believe it, it features cheating, being a bad husband, L.B. Stratten, and of course, Peter playing the role of a suave gentleman. It’s the start of Peter’s TV era, so lock in!  We also discuss The Odyssey, the walkability of Somerville, Massachusetts, director John Travolta and how he definitely doesn’t have mommy issues, the wonders of the Fresca slushee, and the on camera star power of Peter Bogdanovich. Next Episode: Fallen Angels - ‘A Dime a Dance’ (1995)   Further “Reading”  Picture Windows S1E2 ‘Song of Songs’ on YouTube Picturing Peter Bogdanovich by Peter Tonguette “CLOWNING GLORY: The first half-hour drama in the Picture Windows series, Soir Bleu brings Norman Jewison full circle” by John Boyle for the Globe and Mail (June 3, 1995) “Showtime’s Fine Art Gallery is a Director’s Milieu” in the Roanoke Times (Sept. 30, 1995) “TV REVIEWS: ‘Picture Windows’ Trilogy No Artistic Masterpiece” by David Kronke for the LA Times (Sept. 30, 1995) “Catch Some Oscar Nominees At Home Before The Awards Show” in the Morning Call (March 15, 1996) THE BOGDANOVICH ARCHIVE We have a website! Visit sortbyearliest.com   Music by Ryan (twitter.com/molecularlioneI) Support your local independent cinemas and video stores!   Follow Us! Sort By: Earliest instagram.com/sortby_earliest Jonah letterboxd.com/jonahp97 twitter.com/jon_ahhhh Journey letterboxd.com/journeyb instagram.com/journey_brad

In a team-up we never expected, this week we are covering “Never Say Goodbye,” a 1982 Yoko Ono song that Peter Bogdanovich directed a music video for… in 1995. Would it shock you to hear that Peter put his regulars of Eric Stoltz and L.B. Stratten in this? This music video also features (as far as we’ve gotten) Peter’s only canonical queer characters, which is certainly something. Plus, it’s a very catchy song! We also discuss if Peter is an ally, if trains and buses can count as hotels, and our dislike for Sean Lennon’s whole vibe. Plus, an Illegally Yours friend has a special message for Journey’s 26th birthday and we learn some important Peter news!   Further “Reading”  Behind the scenes of filming  Intro trailer for the music video shown at the AMFAR Benefit Gala Cast soundtrack for New York Rock Review: Another Chrous in the Ballad of John & Yoko by Stephen Holden for the NYT (March 31, 1994) “Never Say Goodbye” remastered music video   THE BOGDANOVICH ARCHIVE We have a website now! Visit sortbyearliest.com Next Episode: Picture Windows - ‘Song of Songs’ (1995)   Music by Ryan (twitter.com/molecularlioneI) Support your local independent cinemas and video stores!   Follow Us! Sort By: Earliest instagram.com/sortby_earliest Jonah letterboxd.com/jonahp97 twitter.com/jon_ahhhh Journey letterboxd.com/journeyb instagram.com/journey_brad