Desperately seeking Susan Seidelman

The cover art for Seidelman's memoir "Desperately Seeking Something."
Photo Provided
The cover art for Seidelman's memoir "Desperately Seeking Something."
On Thursday, Sept. 19 at 6 p.m., Haystack Book Talks will present a special evening with director Susan Seidelman, author of “Desperately Seeking Something: A Memoir About Movies, Mothers, and Material Girls.” Part of the Haystack Book Festival run by Michael Selleck, the event will take place at the Norfolk Library, featuring a conversation with Mark Erder after a screening of the 1984 classic, “Desperately Seeking Susan.”
Susan Seidelman’s fearless debut film, “Smithereens,” premiered in 1982 and was the first American indie film to ever compete at Cannes. Then came “Desperately Seeking Susan,” a smash hit that not only solidified her place in Hollywood but helped launch Madonna’s career. Her films, blending classic Hollywood storytelling with New York’s downtown energy, feature unconventional women navigating unique lives. Seidelman continued to shape pop culture into the ’90s, directing the pilot for “Sex and the City.” Four decades later, Seidelman’s stories are still as sharp, funny, and insightful as ever.
Susan Seidelman on set.Courtesy of MGM
Natalia Zukerman: How has it been for you watching the film all these years later?
Susan Seidelman: It’s been interesting to watch it with multi-generational audiences. You never know whether something’s going to pass the test of time, but I think it does.
NZ: You write in the opening of your memoir, “If how one sees the world is a reflection of who they are (and I believe it is), then you can look at the world reflected in any of my films and see little pieces of me. Like Where’s Waldo? I’m hidden somewhere in each of them.” So where are you hidden in “Desperately Seeking Susan?”
SS: Well, I’m not so hidden in that. I’m a little bit of both characters, really. I mean, I was a girl who grew up in the suburbs, but I was also that rebellious girl from the suburbs who moved to New York City to live a different kind of life. It’s really about wanting to be your authentic self, that within all of us, there’s this other person that we sometimes want to let out.
NZ: Was there pressure for you to top the success of “Susan”?
SS: You know, no one expected this movie to be successful. It was made for $5 million, which for a studio movie was low. We shot it in New York, and the studio in LA kind of thought, “Oh, it’s just a little bit of money, we’ll leave them alone.” And then surprisingly, Madonna became such a superstar at the exact moment that we were making the movie. That was something that we couldn’t have planned any better. So, suddenly the film got way more attention critically as well as commercially than we ever expected. I knew that at some point, people were looking over my shoulder saying, ‘What are you going to do next?’ People were paying attention.
NZ: And was that hard or demanding of you in a new way?
SS: There’s something in the film industry called “the sophomore slump” so I knew that whatever I did next was going to be viewed differently because of the success of “Susan.”
(Seidelman’s third film was “Making Mr. Right” which came out in 1987 and starred John Malkovich and Ann Magnuson.)
SS: “It’s an AI romantic comedy. It’s about a woman who falls in love with an android that she gets to program. It’s sort of a Pygmalion story. She creates what she thinks is the perfect man, and then she falls in love with her creation.
NZ: Tell me about “Sex and The City.” How did that come about?
SS: That came about because Darren Star was a fan of “Desperately Seeking Susan” and a few of my other movies that are about New York City as much as they are about the characters. He wanted “Sex and The City” to be about the women, but to also be about the city. So, he contacted me, which was interesting because I never really wanted to work in television. Back then, it was kind of like the ugly stepsister to the movie business. I mean, it was great for writers because there was some wonderful writing going on. But by the mid late 90s, HBO and Showtime really reinvented television and suddenly TV didn’t look like TV anymore — the language was bolder, the themes were more adult. So, when I got the script and I first heard it was going to be a pilot for a TV series, I was not that excited about it. And then I read the pilot, and I thought, ‘Wow, this is pretty amazing.’ The writing was smart, and it was about women in their mid 30s, and there weren’t that many shows that starred women of that age at that time.
NZ: So how old are you now, may I ask?
SS: 71
NZ: Incredible. And how do you feel?
SS: I feel good. I mean, I think another factor of why I wanted to write this book was because suddenly I felt I was old enough to kind of look back on my career with enough objectivity, with a filter of time, and with enough to say about it and maybe enough distance. And I can’t believe it’s been more than 40 years now. You know, I didn’t want to tell tales out of school or be snarky or vindictive. It wasn’t about airing dirty laundry or anything. I wanted to tell my story from the inside out. I mean after 40 years of reading other reviewers or people writing about what they thought I was doing or thought my motivation was, I thought it was time to do it myself.
Long-term town employees were recognized at the Town Board meeting on Thursday, June 12. Honorees pictured with Town Supervisor Leo Blackman, were Judy Carlson, Office Manager at the Town Garage, center, for her 35 years of service to the town and Megan Chamberlin, current Highway Superintendent, for 20 years.
AMENIA — Acknowledging the many years of service accumulated by town employees, the Town Board paused to honor that service at its meeting on Thursday, June 12.
“Thank you for making a difference,” said Town Supervisor Leo Blackman in recognizing Judy Carlson, Office Manager at the town garage, for her 35 years of service.
“Megan’s job is not an easy one,” Blackman said, honoring Megan Chamberlin, current Highway Superintendent who has served the town for 20 years.
Also among those honored was Town Clerk Dawn Marie Klingner for 20 years of service as Court Clerk.
Maureen Moore, Court Clerk, was also honored in absentia for her 20 years of town service.
In anticipation of the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the start of the American Revolution in 2026, new historic markers are appearing at each of the local cemeteries where Revolutionary War veterans are buried. Unveiling the new marker at Amenia Union Cemetery on Saturday, June 21, were left to right, Town Historian Betsy Strauss, Jim Middlebrook representing the regional chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution, and Gail Seymour, President of the Union Cemetery Association.
AMENIA — One by one, new historic markers are appearing at local cemeteries where Revolutionary War dead are buried. On Saturday, June 21, community members gathered to see a new marker unveiled at Amenia Union Cemetery on Leedsville Road.
A tent provided welcome shade for the attendees and refreshments as about 30 residents gathered for the unveiling and to share stories of local history with one another.
As with the first historic market installation at the Old Amenia Burying Ground, held in April, Amenia Union Cemetery graves of Revolutionary War veterans had been marked with American flags in advance.
Jim Middlebrook, representing the Columbia Mid-Hudson chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution, attended along with other members of his chapter. Speaking before the unveiling, Middlebrook said that the historic marker project had begun in August 2024, and included a detailed process to certify the names on the graves.
Middlebrook described the work of the William C. Pomeroy Foundation of Syracuse whose mission is to promote “pride of place” by providing grants in support of installing historic markers and plaques nationwide to honor patriots for their service. Active now in seven or eight states, Middlebrook said, the foundation will soon add Connecticut and Massachusetts to the list.
The new Amenia Union marker honors “at least five veterans of the American Revolution interred between 1787 and 1810,” although Town Historian Betsy Strauss lists six veterans buried in the cemetery. The sixth, Gerhard Winegar, whose burial had been in 1781 could not fully satisfy the certification standards.
Strauss provided the following listing of six names:
Col. Colbe Chamberlain, 1739-1796
Capt. William Chamberlain, 1745-1810
Lieut. Samuel Snyder, 1712-1808
Gerhard Winegar, 1750-1781
Ensign Henry Winegar, 1723-1787
Capt. William Young, 1747-1806
Bee Bee the clown, face painters and a community wide scavenger hunt are among the activities planned for the Millerton Street Fair in Downtown Millerton on Saturday, June 28.
MILLERTON — The Millerton News, in partnership with the North East Community Center (NECC) and the Millerton Business Alliance, is hosting its first Street Fair on Saturday in a celebration of the town.
Rain or shine from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m, the fair will bring together local nonprofits and businesses, with live music, entertainment, kids’ activities, local eats, and family fun in Veterans Park, in front of the Millerton Inn, and beyond.
“The Millerton Street Fair will celebrate everything we love about this community — its spirit, its dedication to service and its creative energy,” said James Clark, publisher and CEO of The Millerton News.
Local nonprofits will showcase their work and impact, including Climate Smart Millerton, Eddie Collins Memorial Park, North East Historical Society, Townscape, Tri-Corner FEED, Village of Millerton, and the Webutuck Elementary School.Participating businesses include Bes, Little Red Bird Studio, NBT, The Elephant’s Tusk, and many more.Local retail and dining establishments will be open with special promotions. NECC’s Farmer’s Market will run during the event.
Among the planned festivities are live music from John Stey and the Resilience Brass Band, performances from Bee Bee the Clown, face painting by students from Webutuck High School, and a community-wide scavenger hunt for kids.Other kids’ activities include egg and spoon races, and a “touch-a-truck” open house at the firehouse.The Irondale Schoolhouse will be hosting a special exhibit, and the North East-Millerton Library will be offering signups for the Summer Reading Program, a science show from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m., lawn games, and a cookie cook-off.
For more information, go to millertonnews.com/street-fair.
The Nine Partners Road Quaker Meetinghouse, built in 1780, will be the site of two summer lectures sponsored by the Millbrook Historical Society.
MILLBROOK — Long in the planning, the Millbrook Historical Society has announced that it is sponsoring two lectures in observance of the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution. Both lectures relating to Quaker history are to be held in the historic Quaker Meeting House on Nine Partners Road.
For the first talk, scheduled for Sunday, June 29, at 2 p.m., the historical society has invited Sarah Gronningsater, Professor of History at the University of Pennsylvania, to talk on “Quakers, Anti-slavery, and the American Revolution.” The topic will explore the role that New York’s Quakers, especially in the Hudson Valley, played in the rise of the anti-slavery movement that followed the American Revolution.
The second talk, scheduled for Sunday, July 27, at 2 p.m., invites Carl Lounsbury of the College of William and Mary and Colonial Williamsburg to speak on the architecture of the Nine Partners Meetinghouse. His talk is titled, “Nine Partners Meetinghouse Plan: A New Form in the Hudson Valley.” Expert in early American architecture, Lounsbury’s talk will compare Nine Partners with other later houses of worship in New York and New England.
Both lecture events will be held at the 1780 brick Nine Partners Quaker Meetinghouse in Millbrook. An earlier meetinghouse on the site had burned. The building has remained largely unchanged since the 18th century.
Given the age of the structure, handicapped access is limited and there are no rest room facilities.
Visitors should enter through the cemetery gate entrance.
The lectures are free and open to all, supported by a grant from the county and offered as part of Dutchess County’s participation in the nation’s 250th anniversary commemoration.