Before Cloverfield, John Goodman Got Wild In Talking Heads Video

John Goodman in 10 Cloverfield Lane (Paramount Pictures)

John Goodman does spooky, intimidating, lonely and edgy better than anybody in the biz. There’s a rumor that John Turturro hasn’t slept well since Barton Fink wrapped in 1990. Now Goodman is haunting us again in what we’ll agree to call it J.J. Abrams’ second-biggest project of late — 10 Cloverfield Lane. (Abrams, of course, gave us Star Wars: The Force Awakens.)

If Abrams and the Coen Brothers (Barton Fink, et al) share a musical precursor, it might well be Talking Heads and David Byrne. The visually and sonically stunning band that made “Psycho Killer” catchy thrived on mysterious, otherworldly beats that swung from bonhomie to darkness as fast as John Goodman’s onscreen moods change. In fact, the Talking Heads knew a kindred spirit when they saw one. John Goodman stars in their 1986 video “Wild Wild Life” below, adapted from the David Byrne film True Stories in which Goodman also starred — before the actor hit the big time with Roseanne. Here’s Goodman with musical friends:

And the ’10 Cloverfield Lane’ spot: