We Could Be “Eggheads”: Sliders and the Celebrity of Smart

Paul Morton is a writer living in Chicago. He received a PhD in Cinema Studies from the University of Washington in 2018, for which he wrote a dissertation on Yugoslavia’s animation industry. His work has appeared in Literary Hub, Los Angeles Review of Books, Full Stop, and The Millions. His most recent essays include an account of the lead-up to the 1937 strike at Fleischer Studios, a profile of the late filmmaker Bill Sherwood, and a study of William Friedkin’s plans to make a superhero movie. He has had tea with George Takei and exchanged cat-parenting tips with Ursula K. Le Guin.