I've just experienced nice crossover between two of my addictions, Filmspotting and the show
Justified on FX.
I know I know, I'm committing the sin of talking about a TV show on a movie forum... but bear with me please, it has some very redeeming qualifications.
Redeeming Qualification #1 - Justified is based on the short story
Fire in the Hole by Elmore Leonard.
RQ #2 - The pilot is truly his story come to life, and a good adaptation of Elmore Leonard is good no matter what size screen it's on.
RQ #3 - AMAZING character actor Walton Goggins. He's so good that his character's role in the series was re-imagined after seeing his performance.
RQ #4 - The cast, writers and directors "really are able to sell it".
RQ #5 - The pilot is watchable as an entirely complete and satisfying piece of film, and is better than a lot of "actual" film's I've seen in the last several years. Find it, watch it!
Ok, so if you're still reading I can share my crossover experience...
Fire in the Hole is based in the real life coal region of Harlan County Kentucky, set about 20 years after a bitter and violent miner's strike. The main characters lived that turmoil in their teens and their whole world is a product of where they've come from, and their environment is a product of what has happened in Harlan county as coal began to dwindle and meth began to flourish.
I never knew any of the real history that inspired this, and I doubt I ever would have if I hadn't come across Filmspotting Episode #125 where the documentary
Harlan County USA from 1976 was reviewed. With the great review and some excerpts of the documentary I've been able to find I've really added a lot of depth to the appreciation of something I already loved.
So thanks to Adam and Sam for that... and thanks to Adam and Mattie for continuing to broaden the world of film for me.
P.S. if you're interested you can read
Fire in the Hole here.
http://www.elmoreleonard.com/index.php?/weblog/read_fire_in_the_hole_online/