MATTHEW SPECKTOR - Author

Team Deakins

James Ellis Deakins

Tv & Film, Filmlighting, Deakins, Movies, Filmmaking, Production, Film, Cinematography, Film Interviews

4.8 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 18 June 2025

⏱️ 66 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

SEASON 2 - EPISODE 146 - Matthew Specktor - Author

Author Matthew Specktor joins us in this episode of the Team Deakins Podcast. In his recently released memoir, THE GOLDEN HOUR, Matthew, the son of legendary talent agent Fred Specktor, uses his parents’ divergent professional and personal lives to reflect on the film industry as it was, and he writes about his own life and career in and around the movies to reflect on what it has become. After reading it (and Matthew’s other novels), we felt we had to speak with him. What follows in this episode is a wide-ranging and lively conversation about Matthew’s life, his and our views on the changes in the film business and in the films themselves, cinema’s place in society, and the genuine love for Hollywood that comes out in his writing. We also discuss the changing economics of funding films, the shifts in who wields power in Hollywood, and Matthew details the brief window in the 1960s and 1970s in which filmmakers were afforded a relative freedom not seen since. In THE GOLDEN HOUR, Matthew at times places us inside the minds of industry figureheads such as Lew Wasserman and Michael Ovitz, and Matthew shares how understanding the men who changed the film industry can help us better understand where we are today. We also reflect on the all-consuming lifestyle of working in Hollywood, and Matthew likens it to being trapped in a casino at two in the morning—forever. Plus, Matthew shares what it was like learning how to write from a uniquely qualified professor: James Baldwin.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Hi and welcome to Season 2 of the Team Deacons podcast,
0:07.0	a collection of informal conversations between Roger and James Deacons and a guest.
0:13.0	We never know where the conversation will take us, so listen in and see where it goes.
0:19.0	This episode is sponsored by Prophoto. listen in and see where it goes.
0:24.6	This episode is sponsored by Prophoto.
0:30.5	Prophoto, the light shaping company, renowned for its high-end lighting equipment used by the world's best photographers and brands, has now expanded into the world of cinematography
0:36.5	with uncompromising speed of use and limitless creativity.
0:41.9	The L-1600D is a high output with no ballast LED light.
0:47.7	Its dual mount makes it compatible with 50-plus pro-photo modifiers
0:52.5	and hundreds of Bowen's mount modifiers, making it a breakthrough
0:57.6	product for cinematographers and gaffers seeking speed and efficiency on set with the highest
1:04.3	degree of creative light-shaping possibilities. This episode is sponsored by Aperture and its new Storm XT-52, the industry's most powerful LED point source light.
1:20.6	Brighter than a 6K HMI empowered by Aperture's revolutionary Blair light engine, the Storm XT-52 is both a tunable
1:30.7	white light and also the brightest ever adjustable color LED. Storm XT-52, unrivaled output,
1:40.2	only from Aitur.
1:46.4	Today we're speaking with an author.
1:48.9	His most recent book, The Golden Hour,
1:52.2	offers a fascinating historical look at the changes in the film business over his lifetime.
1:55.2	He grew up in films with a father who was an agent
1:57.8	and a screenwriter mother.
2:00.5	His insights are riveting and we're very
2:02.8	pleased to welcome Matthew Spector. Matthew, thank you for doing this. Yeah, that's right. You're
	...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in 22 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Previous episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from James Ellis Deakins, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of James Ellis Deakins and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.