Silver Screen Fiend is the story of Patton Oswalt’s addiction. Not to hard drugs but to moviegoing. From May 20, 1995, to May 20, 1999, Oswalt kept meticulous record of the hundreds of movies he saw, and in his second memoir he reflects on how those films and that time in his life changed him.
How did that time shape you as a comedian?
Anything that you do, whether you have kids or don’t have kids, as you grow older it’s going to change, especially if you’re trying to be as honest as you can in your stand-up or what you’re writing or whatever you’re doing as a person. For me, it’s mostly the hours that have changed. I tend to get up earlier in the morning—I’m not going till 4 AM like I used to because that’s just not my life anymore. I’m in kind of wonderment at the changes, but I’m fortunate to have a mellow acceptance of it. I just kind of sit back and go, Well, things change, it’s not the same anymore, that’s just the way it is.
Are there any movies you’ve seen this past year that brought out a little of your former self?
When I have time in Chicago I try to go to a restaurant like Schwa or hit the Museum of Contemporary Art. But now all my travel is: come in day of show, do show, come home. So I don’t even think of it in terms of what should I do in this city, I just want to get home.
Not at all! Do you watch movies with your daughter?
