Everything Steven Soderbergh Watched and Read in 2015

Displaying a transparency that few filmmakers of his fame and / or caliber would even bother with, Steven Soderbergh has, for a couple of years, been keen on releasing lists of what he watched and read during the previous twelve months. If you’re at all interested in this sort of thing — and why not? what else are you even doing with your day? — the 2015 selection should be of strong interest, this being a time when he was fully enmeshed in the world of creating television.

He’s clearly observing the medium with a close eye, be it what’s on air or what his friends (specifically David Fincher and his stillborn projects) show him, and how that might relate to his apparent love of 48 Hours Mystery or approach to a comparatively light slate of cinematic assignments — specifically: it seems odd that the last time he watched Magic Mike XXL, a July release with his editing and cinematography credits, was on February 22 — is a guess for you to make.

Or perhaps there’s nothing to suss out here; either way, getting a glimpse inside his viewing and reading mind is a good bit of fun. And so, with that said:

01/01 MAGIC MIKE XXL

01/02 Signature Kill, David Levien, LEVIATHAN (’14)

01/03 AMERICAN GREED (2), Fighting For Life, S. Josephine Baker

01/05 INTERSTELLAR, AMERICAN GREED (2)

01/06 THE BIG SLEEP (’46), CITIZEN KANE, UTOPIA (2)

01/07 THE RETURN OF W. DE RIJK

01/10 UTOPIA, STARDUST MEMORIES

01/11 FORCE MAJEUR, GIRLS

01/13 LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, UTOPIA (2)

01/14 DA SWEET BLOOD OF JESUS, UTOPIA

01/16 KINGPIN

01/17 Group f.64, Mary Street Alinder, WILD TALES, JIMI: ALL IS BY MY SIDE

01/18 THE DAY OF THE JACKAL, CLAPPING FOR THE WRONG THING*

01/19 GIRLS, AMERICAN GREED (2), VANITY FAIR CONFIDENTIAL

01/20 MAGIC MIKE XXL

01/21 UTOPIA, 1941

01/22 UTOPIA (2)

01/23 FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE

01/24 THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI

01/25 GIRLS

01/26 VANITY FAIR CONFIDENTIAL

01/27 DISAPPEARED, ART AND CRAFT

01/28 THE AMERICANS

01/29 LOUIS C.K. LIVE AT THE COMEDY STORE

01/30 CHEF, DATELINE

01/31 48 HRS MYSTERY, DUEL

02/02 Begin principal photography on THE KNICK, VANITY FAIR CONFIDENTIAL

02/03 DATELINE ON ID, ON THE CASE WITH PAULA ZAHN

02/04 THE AMERICANS

02/05 THE JINX (2)

02/06 DATELINE

02/07 L’PETIT QUINQUIN, 48 HRS MYSTERY: SATURDAY NIGHT EDITION

02/08 DATELINE: SUNDAY EDITION, GIRLS, BETTER CALL SAUL

02/09 VANITY FAIR CONFIDENTIAL, BETTER CALL SAUL

02/11 THE AMERICANS

02/13 MODESTY BLAISE, DATELINE

02/14 THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER, 48 HRS MYSTERY

02/17 WITNESSED: THE ASSASSINATION OF MALCOLM X, AMERICAN GREED

02/18 THE AMERICANS

02/21 48 HRS MYSTERY, DATELINE: SATURDAY EDITION

02/22 MAGIC MIKE XXL

02/23 THE JINX, BETTER CALL SAUL

02/24 GIRLS, VANITY FAIR CONFIDENTIAL

02/25 THE AMERICANS

02/27 HOUSE OF CARDS (3)

02/28 HOUSE OF CARDS (2), DATELINE

03/02 BILLIONS, GIRLS, BETTER CALL SAUL

03/05 The Price of the Ticket, James Baldwin

03/06 THE AMERICANS, VANITY FAIR CONFIDENTIAL

03/07 FIFTY SHADES OF GREY, 48 HRS MYSTERY

03/08 THE JINX, GIRLS, Satin Island, Tom McCarthy

03/10 VANITY FAIR CONFIDENTIAL, BETTER CALL SAUL

03/11 THE AMERICANS

03/12 HOUSE OF CARDS (2)

03/14 AVENUES

03/15 THE JINX

03/16 BETTER CALL SAUL

03/17 VANITY FAIR CONFIDENTIAL

03/19 TRIPLE NINE, TWISTED

03/21 DATELINE, THE CONFORMIST

03/22 GIRLS, DATELINE

03/23 BETTER CALL SAUL

03/24 VANITY FAIR CONFIDENTIAL

03/25 THE AMERICANS

03/26 DATELINE

03/27 BLUE RUIN

03/28 WORLD FIGURE SKATING CHAMPIONSHIP, ZODIAC

03/29 GOING CLEAR: SCIENTOLOGY AND THE PRISON OF BELIEF

03/30 BETTER CALL SAUL, VANITY FAIR CONFIDENTIAL

03/31 DISAPPEARED

04/01 THE AMERICANS, THE COMEDY CENTRAL ROAST OF JUSTIN BIEBER

04/02 DATELINE

04/03 WELCOME TO NEW YORK, DATELINE, NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (’68)

04/04 MISSING*, KUHANI*, 48 HRS MYSTERY

04/05 MAD MEN

04/06 BETTER CALL SAUL

04/07 AMERICAN GREED, VANITY FAIR CONFIDENTIAL

04/08 THE AMERICANS

04/09 LOUIE, DATELINE

04/10 VIDEOSYNCRACY

04/11 48 HRS MYSTERY

04/12 SILICON VALLEY, VEEP, MAD MEN

04/14 NORTH BY NORTHWEST

04/15 THE AMERICANS, CHIMES AT MIDNIGHT

04/16 LOUIE

04/18 48 HRS MYSTERY

04/19 DATELINE, THE HAUNTING OF DIANE FARR, SILICON VALLEY, VEEP, MAD MEN

04/12 INSIDE AMY SCHUMER, AMERICAN GREED

04/23 W1A

04/24 20/20: DIANE SAWYER INTERVIEWS CAITLYN JENNER

04/26 SILICON VALLEY, VEEP, MAD MEN

04/29 INSIDE AMY SCHUMER, VIDEOSYNCRACY

04/30 W1A

05/02 DATELINE, MAYWEATHER VS. PACQUIAO

05/03 THREE DAYS OF THE CONDOR, SILICON VALLEY, VEEP, MAD MEN

05/06 48 HRS ON ID

05/07 W1A

05/09 DATELINE, THE SERVANT

05/10 SILICON VALLEY, VEEP, MAD MEN

05/11 THOUGHT CRIMES: THE CASE OF THE CANNIBAL COP

05/12 INSIDE AMY SCHUMER

05/14 DATELINE, W1A

05/15 EX MACHINA, DATELINE

05/18 MAD MEN, SILICON VALLEY, VEEP

05/19 48 HRS MYSTERY, TOO MUCH JOHNSON

05/24 MAD MAX: FURY ROAD, SILICON VALLEY, VEEP

05/25 THE DIRTY DOZEN

05/26 THE KNICK (2)

05/27 THE KNICK (3)

05/28 48 HRS ON ID, DATELINE, THE KNICK (2)

05/29 THE KNICK, DATELINE

05/30 THE KNICK (3), 48 HRS MYSTERY

05/31 SILICON VALLEY, VEEP

06/02 48 HRS MYSTERY

06/04 My Struggle: Book Four, Karl Ove Gnausgaard, SEXY BEAST, VALLEY OF THE DOLLS

06/05 Confessions of Zeno, Italo Svevo

06/06 The Getaway Car, Donald E. Westlake, THE HOT ROCK

06/07 Thieves of State, Sarah Chayes, SILICON VALLEY, VEEP

06/08 Dead Wake, Erik Larson

06/12 City of the Sun, David Levien (2)

06/13 48 HRS MYSTERY, DAYS OF THUNDER

06/14 THE SOFT SKIN, SILICON VALLEY, VEEP

06/18 DEUTCHLAND ’83, DATELINE

06/19 THE GAME

06/20 A DEADLY ADOPTION

06/21 JAWS

06/22 DISAPPEARED

06/24 INSIDE AMY SCHUMER, DEUTCHLAND ‘83

06/26 DATELINE

06/27 EX MACHINA, MINORITY REPORT

07/03 ALL ABOUT EVE

07/04 When to Rob a Bank, Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner

07/05 SUNSET BOULEVARD, AMERICAN GREED

07/07 THE GIRLFRIEND EXPERIENCE (3)

07/08 THE GIRLFRIEND EXPERIENCE (8)

07/09 THE GIRLFRIEND EXPERIENCE (2), ELVIS COSTELLO: MYSTERY DANCE

07/13 THE BIG CLOCK

07/17 ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN, THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK

07/18 U2 at Madison Square Garden, 48 HRS MYSTERY

07/19 My Brilliant Friend, Elena Ferrante

07/20 RED OAKS (2)

07/21 RED OAKS (2), ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN

07/24 RYAN’S DAUGHTER

07/25 48 HRS ON ID, KNIFE IN THE WATER

07/26 I AM CAIT, DATELINE ON ID

07/29 The Story of a New Name, Elena Ferrante

07/30 DATELINE: THURSDAY NIGHT MYSTERY

08/02 Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay, Elena Ferrante, Between Me and the World, Ta-Nehisi Coates, THE CONFORMIST

08/03 RED OAKS, WEST TEXAS INVESTORS CLUB

08/05 SHADOW OF A DOUBT

08/07 AMERICAN GREED, Imbibe, David Wondrich

08/08 What Every Body is Saying, Joe Navarro with Martin Karlins, M.D., CASTING BY

08/09 VANISHED WITH BETH HOLLOWAY, GOODNIGHT, MOMMY

08/11 IN THE LOOP

08/12 What Black People Should Do Now, Ralph Wiley, MR. ROBOT

08/15 FRENZY

08/17 GOD’S POCKET

08/18 Book of Numbers, Joshua Cohen, KILLER INSTINCT WITH CHRIS HANSEN, L’AVVENTURA

08/20 MR. ROBOT

08/21 THE QUILLER MEMORANDUM, RED OAKS

08/22 MAD MAX: FURY ROAD, 48 HRS MYSTERY

08/23 SHANGHAI EXPRESS, BLUNT TALK, THE FRENCH LIEUTENTANT’S WOMAN

08/24 HARPER, ARE YOU STILL A FAGGOT?*, DOUBLE TALK*, ONCE IN A BLUE MOON*

08/25 RED OAKS (2), ODD MAN OUT

08/27 THE FREE STATE OF JONES, DATELINE THURSDAY NIGHT MYSTERY

08/28 NARCOS (2), DATELINE

08/30 PETULIA, The Empty Chair, Bruce Wagner

08/31 ANATOMY OF A MURDER

09/01 SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS, CATCH-22

09/03 MR. ROBOT

09/05 The Story of the Lost Child, Elena Ferrante, STEVE JOBS: THE MAN IN THE MACHINE, MAN ON WIRE

09/06 QUEEN OF EARTH

09/10 Why Black People Tend to Shout, Ralph Wiley, AMERICAN GREED

09/11 DATELINE

09/12 INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (’78), 48 HRS MYSTERY

09/13 Purity, Jonathan Franzen

09/16 THE VERDICT

09/21 The Complete Idiot’s Guide to NASCAR, Brian Tarcy, PAPER MOON, ATLANTA, AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE

09/26 DATELINE

10/02 Quicksand, Steve Toltz

10/03 THE MARTIAN, DATELINE

10/06 Begin principal photography on MOSAIC (phase one)

10/10 Songs Without Words, Ann Packer

10/18 BRIDGE OF SPIES

10/24 STEVE JOBS, PULP FICTION

11/01 Submission, Michele Houellbecq

11/07 SPECTRE, 99 HOMES, THE VISIT (’15)

11/17 AMY SCHUMER: LIVE AT THE APOLLO, AMY

11/18 I Met Someone, Bruce Wagner, GETTING ON

11/20 DATELINE

11/21 THE REVENANT, TANGERINE, 48 HRS MYSTERY

11/22 Unfaithful Music and Disappearing Ink, Elvis Costello

11/24 BEASTS OF NO NATION

11/25 ROOM, GETTING ON

11/26 THE DAY OF THE JACKAL

11/28 JAMES BALDWIN: THE PRICE OF THE TICKET

11/29 “Old Times”, Harold Pinter, GETTING ON

11/30 TRUTH

12/01 THE BIG SHORT

12/02 SON OF SAUL

12/03 “A Confederacy of Dunces”, John Kennedy Toole/Jeffrey Hatcher

12/04 DATELINE, BY THE SEA, HUNTING HITLER

12/05 PALE FLOWER, A VERY MURRAY CHRISTMAS, IN A LONELY PLACE

12/06 Islam and the Future of Tolerance, Sam Harris and Maajid Nawaz, GETTING ON

12/07 U2: INNOCENCE+EXPERIEMCE, GETTING ON

12/08 THE HATEFUL EIGHT (70MM), CAROL

12/10 PROPHET’S PREY, SPOTLIGHT

12/11 ANOMALISA, HUNTING HITLER

12/12 THE LAST PANTHERS (2), 48 HRS MYSTERY, The Soul of the Marionette, John Gray, ALDO VS MCGREGOR

12/13 45 YEARS

12/16 LISTEN TO ME MARLON, CREED, THE PARALLAX VIEW

12/17 HUNTING HITLER, TRANSPARENT (5)

12/18 MAKING A MURDERER (9)

12/19 A LIFE OF OHARU, The Silence of Animals, John Gray, MAKING A MURDERER

12/20 THE HATEFUL EIGHT (standard def DVD)

12/22 TRANSPARENT (5), ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN

12/23 OUR MAN IN HAVANA

12/24 BLADE RUNNER (“the final cut”), THE RACK PACK

12/25 DOUBLE INDEMNITY, SCROOGE (’70), WONDER BOYS

12/26 THE INHERITANCE (’62), MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS, FINDERS KEEPERS (’15)

12/27 Money: An Unauthorized Biography, Felix Martin, EXPERIMENTER

12/28 HOUSE OF GAMES

12/29 AND THEN THERE WERE NONE, The Mark and the Void, Paul Murray

12/30 AND THEN THERE WERE NONE (2)

12/31 “The Mousetrap”, Agatha Christie, DEAD OF NIGHT (’45)

VINYL

SEVEN STEPS TO HEAVEN Miles Davis

SKETCHES OF SPAIN Miles Davis

BACK TO BLACK Amy Winehouse

LET’S STAY TOGETHER Al Green

GAUCHO Steely Dan

ARMED FORCES Elvis Costello

LEISURE Blur

TAKING LIBERTIES Elvis Costello

IMPERIAL BEDROOM Elvis Costello

CHEMICAL CHORDS Stereolab

AJA Steely Dan

ILLMATIC Nas

PHYSICAL GRAFFITI Led Zeppelin

PEOPLE, HELL, AND ANGELS Jimi Hendrix

TRUST Elvis Costello

ARMED FORCES Elvis Costello