One of the great new annual traditions is filmmakerSteven Soderbergh’s carefully maintained list of everything he read and watched in the previous year. While it’s not really important and doesn’t really have any bearing on anything at all, it’s undoubtedly fascinating to see the entertainment that one of our best filmmakers consumes on a yearly basis. Soderbergh is nothing if not eclectic, and he’s certainly not averse to bingeing a great TV show—or bailing on one that sours after a few episodes. In essence, this is kind of one of those “They’re just like us!” stories in People magazine, except for cinephiles.
So what made Soderbergh’s watchlist in 2016? Well he’s already seen a few episodes of good friendDavid Fincher’s upcoming Netflix seriesMindhunters, and he even went on a mini-marathon of Fincher’s filmography with viewings ofFight Club,The Social Network,Panic Room, andThe Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Soderbergh was also in the room where it happened as he sawHamiltonback in August, and he kept regular tabs on shows likeThe Americans,Girls,Veep,Horace and Pete,Silicon Valley, andInside Amy Schumer.
Soderbergh also found time to watch films and TV shows while he was shooting his new filmLogan Lucky, which he’salsoalready seen a couple of times as Soderbergh is prone to editing and shooting simultaneously. He stuck withMr. RobotSeason 2 all the way through, and also found time for the new seriesFleabag. And for Christmas Day?Rogue Onefollowed byThe Godfather Part II.
Check out the full list below courtesy ofSoderbergh’s website(viaThe Playlist).
01/15 DATELINE
01/16FREEDOM FOR THE WOLF,THE TRAIN(’65)
01/17Beatlebone, Kevin Barry,LAST MAN HOME
01/18MARJORIE PRIME
01/20THE FACE OF ANOTHER,THE ELEPHANT MAN
01/22THE SOCIAL NETWORK, DATELINE
01/23Failure: Why Science Is So Successful, Stuart Firestein, US FIGURE SKATING CHAMPIONSHIPS (LADIES), 48 HRS MYSTERY
01/24THE LAST AMERICAN HERO
01/26SAN PIETRO,LET THERE BE LIGHT
01/27 BILLIONS
01/2925 Women: Essays on Their Art, Dave Hickey,MAD MAX: FURY ROAD
01/30 HORACE AND PETE’S, DATELINE,ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST
01/31AROUND THE WORLD IN EIGHTY DAYS(’56),IN COLD BLOOD, BILLIONS
02/01 DATELINE
02/03 MADOFF (Pt. 1)
02/04 MADOFF (Pt. 2),FIGHT CLUB
02/07Black Box Thinking, Matthew Syed
02/08 BILLIONS, HORACE AND PETE
02/09 TRIUMPH ELECTION SPECIAL 2016
02/11Giovanni’s Room, James Baldwin
02/12 DATELINE
02/13ABSENCE OF MALICE
02/14 BILLIONS
02/15 BETTER CALL SAUL
02/27STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS, BETTER CALL SAUL, GIRLS, BILLIONS
02/28 THE 88THANNUAL ACADEMY AWARDS
03/05PEE WEE’S BIG HOLIDAY
03/06It’s All Your Fault, Paul Rudnick
03/12THE BROTHERS GRIMSBY
03/19 BETTER CALL SAUL, THE AMERICANS, 48 HRS MYSTERY, BILLIONS
03/20 BILLIONS (2), GIRLS (2)
03/21 GIRLS, BETTER CALL SAUL, VANITY FAIR CONFIDENTIAL
03/22STEVE MCQUEEN: THE MAN & LE MANS
03/23 “Hamilton”, Lin-Manuel Miranda, THE AMERICANS
03/24 48 HRS: HARD EVIDENCE,ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN,TOUCH OF EVIL
03/25EVERYTHING IS COPY: NORA EPHRON, SCRIPTED AND UNSCRIPTED, HORACE AND PETE,THE BAD SLEEP WELL
03/26THREE DAYS OF THE CONDOR,GRAND PRIX
03/27The Lost Time Accidents, John Wray,Seven Brief Lessons in Physics, Carlo Rovelli, GIRLS, BILLIONS
03/28 BETTER CALL SAUL
03/31 THE AMERICANS
04/01THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR(’68), DATELINE
04/03THE MILL AND THE CROSS, BILLIONS, GIRLS
04/04HAIL, CAESAR!
04/05MILES AHEAD, BETTER CALL SAUL,IVAN’S CHILDHOOD
04/06 THE AMERICANS
04/07 HORACE AND PETE’S (2)
04/08 DATELINE, “Histoire Suele” video completed
04/09PANIC ROOM
04/10The Road to Little Dribbling, Bill Bryson
04/11 GIRLS, BILLIONS, BETTER CALL SAUL
04/13 THE AMERICANS
04/16 HORACE AND PETE (2), 48 HRS MYSTERY,LAST YEAR AT MARIENBAD
04/17 GIRLS (2)
04/19 BETTER CALL SAUL,The Little Red Chairs, Edna O’Brien, BETTER CALL SAUL
04/23The Killing of Osama bin Laden, Seymour Hersh
04/24 SILICON VALLEY, VEEP
04/25ALL ABOUT EVE
04/27 THE AMERICANS,SUTURE
04/29 INSIDE AMY SCHUMER (2), THE SECRET
04/31 “Dry Powder”, Sarah Burgess
05/01 “Head of Passes”, Tarell Alvin McCraney, SILICON VALLEY, VEEP
05/02Throwing Rocks at the Google Bus, Douglas Rushkoff
05/03 BEYOND THE WALLS (2), DATELINE ON TLC
05/04WILLIAM KENTRIDGE 2013*,THE AMERICANS
05/05THE BIRTH OF A NATION
05/06 THE SECRET, INSIDE AMY SCHUMER, DATELINE
05/07 48 HRS MYSTERY,SIN CITY: A DAME TO KILL FOR
05/08 SILICON VALLEY, VEEP
05/10 VINYL (3)
05/11My Struggle: Book Five, Karl Ove Gnausgaard, VINYL (3), THE AMERICANS
05/12 VINYL (4),Orson Welles: Hello Americans, Simon Callow
05/13 INSIDE AMY SCHUMER, THE SECRET,SEXY BEAST,TOUCH OF EVIL
05/14 DATELINE,Orson Welles: One Man Band, Simon Callow
05/15 SILICON VALLEY, VEEP
05/16THE IPCRESS FILE, MASTER OF NONE (2)
05/18 THE AMERICANS
05/19 INSIDE AMY SCHUMER,THE TRIAL(’63)
05/20 DATELINE
05/22 SILICON VALLEY, VEEP
05/23THE HOT ROCK, HORACE AND PETE
05/25 HORACE AND PETE,MATANGO, THE AMERICANS
05/26 HORACE AND PETE,LE MANS, INSIDE MAY SCHUMER
05/27 DATELINE,THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO
05/29 2ndUnit photography onLOGAN LUCKY, SILICON VALLEY
05/30The Magic Christian, Terry Southern, VEEP
05/31 MASTER OF NONE (2)
06/01 THE AMERICANS
06/04 DATELINE: SATURDAY NIGHT MYSTERY, INSIDE AMY SCHUMER,APPROACHING THE UNKNOWN
06/05AMERICAN VISA, SILICON VALLEY, VEEP
06/06Stanley Kubrick and Me, Emilio D’Alessandro with Fillipo Ulivieri,“Two Men Arrive In A Village”,Zadie Smith,“The Polish Rider”, Ben Lerner,“Seven People Dancing”, Langston Hughes,“Maybe It Was The Distance”, Jonathan Safran Foer
06/09ZONA SUR
06/10 DATELINE, DATELINE ON OWN
06/11 INSIDE AMY SCHUMER, THE AMERICANS, O.J.: MADE IN AMERICA
06/12 SILICON VALLEY, VEEP
06/14 O.J.: MADE IN AMERICA (2)
06/15 OJ: MADE IN AMERICA
06/16FUNERAL IN BERLIN, “Hadestown”, Anais Mitchell, OJ: MADE IN AMERICA
06/17 INSIDE AMY SCHUMER,10 CLOVERFIELD LANE
06/18SEVEN
06/19The View From the Cheap Seats, Neil Gaiman, SILICON VALLEY, VEEP
06/20FASTBALL
06/21APOCALYPSE NOW
06/23THE GAME
06/25MIDNIGHT SPECIAL
06/27KLUTE
06/28CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND
06/30Room Service, Frank Moorhouse, “A Voice in the Night”, William Hope Hodgson
07/01 DATELINE
07/02DECEIT AT FIRST SIGHT
07/05 THE KETTERING INCIDENT
07/07“Warhol Capote Strange Dents”, Rob Roth
07/08 MINDHUNTER (2),CHILDREN OF MEN
07/09 GUIDED BY VOICES @ SOUTH STREET SEAPORT,CAPRICORN ONE
07/10 MR. ROBOT
07/12JUGGERNAUT
07/13 MR. ROBOT,BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK
07/15ZERO DAYS
07/16 ID: TOMMY ZIEGLER,GREEN ROOM,THE PAPER CHASE
07/17ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN
07/21 SINGANI 63 @ TALES OF THE COCKTAIL
07/24Zero K, Don Delillo, MR. ROBOT
07/30 MR. ROBOT,THE THIRD MAN
07/31The Portable Veblen, Elizabeth McKenzie,Hamilton, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Jeremy McCarter
08/03 MR. ROBOT,WHAT’S UP, DOC?
08/04THE PARALLAX VIEW
08/05 20/20, OPENING CEREMONY 2016 OLYMPIC GAMES
08/06 2016 OLYMPIC GAMES
08/07 2016 OLYMPIC GAMES, 1983 JAPANESE DOCUMENTARY ON STEVEN SPIELBERG
08/08 2016 OLYMPIC GAMES
08/09 2016 OLYMPIC GAMES
08/10 2016 OLYMPIC GAMES
08/11 2016 OLYMPIC GAMES
08/12 TRIUMPH SUMMER ELECTION SPECIAL, 2016 OLYMPIC GAMES
08/13 2016 OLYMPIC GAMES
08/14The Art of Fielding, Chad Harbach, 2016 OLYMPIC GAMES
08/15 2016 OLYMPIC GAMES
08/16 2016 OLYMPIC GAMES
08/17 2016 OLYMPIC GAMES
08/18 2016 OLYMPIC GAMES
08/19 2016 OLYMPIC GAMES, THE DISCOVERY
08/20 2016 OLYMPIC GAMES,MONEY MONSTER
08/23THE BRONZE
08/24 Begin principal photography onLOGAN LUCKY
09/02HOLY HELL,DOWNHILL RACER
09/03A BIGGER SPLASH
09/05 THE COMEDY CENTRAL ROAST OF ROB LOWE
09/09 MINDHUNTER (2)
09/10The Pigeon Tunnel, John LeCarre
09/19 THE 68THANNUAL EMMY AWARDS
09/23 DATELINE
09/24WAKOLDA: THE GERMAN DOCTOR
10/01MATANGO, FLEABAG
10/02 WESTWORLD
10/08 DATELINE EXTRA
10/12LOGAN LUCKY
10/14Heroes of the Frontier, Dave Eggers, FLEABAG
10/17LOGAN LUCKY, FLEABAG (2)
10/18The Sellout, Paul Beatty,Crunch Time, Rick Peterson and Judd Hoekstra
10/20MOONLIGHT
10/21 BLACK MIRROR (3)
10/22 BLACK MIRROR (2)
10/23 “The Encounter”, Simon McBurney, BLACK MIRROR,LOGAN LUCKY
10/25A Gambler’s Anatomy, Jonathan Lethem
10/27 FLEABAG (2)
10/28 MR. ROBOT, TRACEY ULLMAN’S SHOW,LOGAN LUCKY
10/29Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, Yuval Noah Harari
10/30 “Plenty”, David Hare
10/31ALIEN
11/03 MR. ROBOT
11/05 TRACEY ULLMAN’S SHOW,TICKLED
11/08Butcher’s Crossing, John Williams
11/09HITCHCOCK/TRUFFAUT
11/11LOGAN LUCKY
11/12 TRACEY ULLMAN’S SHOW, THE LION IN YOUR LIVING ROOM
11/13 MINDHUNTER (2),LOGAN LUCKY
11/15 MINDHUNTER (2)
11/17PRESUMED INNOCENT
11/18EQUITY, DATELINE
11/19 TRANSPARENT(2), 48 HRS. LIVED TO TELL, MR. ROBOT, KOVALEV VS. WARD
11/20BODY HEAT
11/21SOUR GRAPES(’16)
11/22MANCHESTER BY THE SEA
11/23 TRANSPARENT,SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS
11/24Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow, Yuval Noah Harari,AGATHA
11/25American Heiress, Jeffrey Toobin, TRANSPARENT,THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER
11/26 TRACEY ULLMAN’S SHOW, MR. ROBOT
12/02MAGNUS, 20/20, DATELINE
12/03 TRANSPARENT (2),MALICE, 48 HRS
12/04PARTICLE FEVER
12/05LOGAN LUCKY(2), TRANSPARENT (3), TRACEY ULLMAN’S SHOW
12/06LOGAN LUCKY
12/07Dear Mr. M, Herman Koch,ELLE, REGGIE WATTS SPATIAL
12/09 TOM PAPA: HUMAN MULE, DATELINE
12/10The Undoing Project, Michael Lewis,ARRIVAL,ZABRISKIE POINT
12/11 MR. ROBOT (2)
12/13THE FOUNDER
12/14FENCES
12/15 CATNIP: EGRESS TO OBILIVION,JULIETA
12/16 DATELINE,ALL ABOUT EVE
12/17EX MACHINA
12/18 “Othello”, William Shakespeare,The Mothers, Brit Bennet
12/19I, DANIEL BLAKE,SORCERER
12/20THE VERDICT,ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN
12/21A SERIOUS MAN
12/22THE CONVERSATION
12/23Swing Time, Zadie Smith,ROOM AT THE TOP, THE THICK OF IT
12/24THE GODFATHER, THE THICK OF IT (2)
12/25ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY,THE GODFATHER PART II
12/26A SALESMAN,APOCALYPSE NOW
12/27Secondhand Time,Svetlana Alexievich, THE THICK OF IT (4)
12/28COME AND SEE, ATLANTA (2),M Train, Patti Smith
12/29BATTLES WITHOUT HONOR AND HUMANITY
12/30Back, Henry Green,JAWS,THX 1138(’71 version)
12/31 “The Mousetrap”, Agatha Christie,GOSFORD PARK
AURAL SCULPTURE The Stranglers
THE KNACK (SOUNDTRACK) John Barry
SKETCHES OF SPAIN Miles Davis
MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR The Beatles
PAST MASTERS VOL. 1 The Beatles
NO PUSSYFOOTING Eno and Fripp
