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The Arts Intel Report

Radical Wolfe

Tom Wolfe in his home office in New York.

Sept 22–28, 2023
11523 Santa Monica Blvd 1st floor, Los Angeles, CA 90025

Tom Wolfe is having a moment. Screen adaptations of the white-suited, blue-eyed mischief-making enfant terrible’s work are reportedly in development at Netflix and Warner Bros.; and this month, Radical Wolfe, a documentary narrated by Jon Hamm and based on a Vanity Fair profile of Wolfe by Michael Lewis, opens at the IFC Center, in Manhattan, and at the Laemmle Royal, in Los Angeles. “Everyone I interviewed for the documentary talked about how gentle and kind Wolfe was,” says Richard Dewey, the director. When asked why Wolfe is making a comeback, Dewey cites a modern intensification of the subject matter that Wolfe wrote about. “I think culture has become even more status-focused, with social media and things like that. It could be the case that society is organizing and trending in a way that makes Wolfe’s work resonate stronger.” The film features further commentary by Gay Talese, Lynn Nesbit, and Alexandra Wolfe. —Peter Stevenson

Photo: Gasper Tringale

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In select theaters beginning November 17; streaming on Netflix beginning December 1