Warren Beatty Summer: A Guide

By J.G. Fine

"What's New Pussycat?" is the phrase Warren Beatty used to open every phone call and every conversation he had with any potential beau, business or pleasure. It became a sort of inside joke among everyone in the industry in the mid-60s, and it went on to inspire the movie and the song of the same name. What's New Pussycat is a simple but loaded question. It's direct, but exciting. Just like Warren Beatty and just like you, if you follow these guidelines to have the ultimate Warren Beatty summer. 

1. Indulge In Your Vices

Warren Beatty was famously health conscious. He avoided most of the excesses that swallowed Hollywood whole. He wasn't interested in self-destruction, he was interested in self improvement and self enjoyment. He was the original looksmaxxer and the ultimate playboy. 

The point of Warren Beatty Summer isn't to develop new bad habits. The point is to stop acting like you're on probation. You need to get out of your own way and follow your human instincts.

Order dessert. Stay out deep into the night. Kiss your crush. Smoke the cigar. Buy the ticket, take the ride. Whatever your vice is, indulge in it without apology.

Life is for living and loving, baby

2. Talk to Strangers. 

Warren Beatty was an opportunist. He treated everyone like they were already friends because you never know what your friends are capable of.

Beatty once crashed a tea party in Paris just to speak with Jean-Luc Godard, whom he had never met. Beatty was interested in having Godard direct Bonnie and Clyde. The two shared a conversation and parted on pleasant terms. Though they never worked together, Beatty at least earned a good story to tell at parties.

And so can you.

Match people's energy. Give firm handshakes. Look people in the eye. Smile often. Share a laugh. Don't overstay your welcome. Leave after you've made a good impression.

Talking to strangers can lead to unexpected adventures. All you have to do is be open and available.

3. Be Dedicated To Your Craft

Warren Beatty's reputation tends to overshadow his work ethic. People remember the stories, the romances, the parties, and the charm. What they forget is that Beatty was a perfectionist.

He didn't just want to be a movie star. He wanted to make great movies.

Beatty made a point of arguing with Arthur Penn on the set of Bonnie and Clyde at least once a day. And if they didn't have anything to argue about, they'd find something. Every disagreement was in service of making the best film possible.

Warren Beatty Summer is not an excuse to spend three months partying and avoiding your responsibilities. It's about pursuing life with passion.

Write songs. Write poems. Make films. Paint paintings. Learn a new language. Read a book. Put in the sweat and the hours.

The nights are for fun and adventure, but the days are for work.

Anybody can dream about being interesting, but the people who actually are interesting are busy following their dreams.

To tell stories, you have to live. To make stories, you have to work.

4. Express Yourself Through Dress

Warren Beatty had a style all his own: casual, confident, and a little unbuttoned. He never looked like he was wearing a costume. He looked comfortable in his own skin.

The goal of Warren Beatty Summer is not to dress like Warren Beatty.
The goal is to dress like your favorite version of yourself.

Wear the silly hat. Wear the boots. Go vintage shopping and buy a leather jacket. Wear the loud sunglasses.
Wear whatever makes you feel a little more like the person you want to be.

Style is not about impressing strangers. It’s about expressing yourself.

Put some thought into your appearance. Find a signature look and then don’t get trapped by it. Keep people on their toes.

Be recognizable. Be memorable. Be yourself.

5. Fall in Love with Something

Warren Beatty, that ol’ amorous so and so, had some of the most high-profile relationships of the 20th century. Carly Simon’s You’re So Vain is famously about him, a song that turned private magnetism into public mythology. 

But the real point isn’t the dating history. It’s the intensity behind it.

The Warren Beatty Summer philosophy is simple: fall in love with something. It doesn’t have to be a person, and it doesn’t have to last forever. 

Appreciate the beauty around you.

There is music in the streets you have never heard. There are books on the shelf collecting dust. There are films waiting to be watched. There is the sound of leaves moving in the wind when you walk through a park. There is the way a stranger’s gaze catches yours for half a second too long. There is the smell of perfume that lingers after they pass. There is the feeling of coming home late at night, slightly different than when you left.

Pay attention to it all.

Cynicism is easy. Detachment is easy. Indifference is easy.

Love is harder, but it’s worth it. 

6. What’s New, Pussycat? 

This summer, be curious. 

Find where the action is and go there. Put everything you’ve read here into practice.

Look in the mirror at the beginning of summer. 

Then look again in September and notice what’s changed.

Be cool. Be confident. Be sexy. Be yourself.

There’s only one you, just like there is only one Warren Beatty.

And maybe someday, there will be a summer that carries your name the way this one carries his.

Shake it up, you crazy cats.