I spoke to Helen Hunt on October 5, 2012, and the obvious question was about whether or not being unclothed before a camera ever feels normal. She was good-natured about answering, and went on to talk about the trepidations she did and didn’t have about accepting the role of Cheryl Cohen-Greene, the sex-surrogate who helped Mark O’Brien,… Read More »
Sacha Gervasi Dissects HITCHCOCK
Sacha Gervasi had the advantage of knowing for a fact that he would not be getting the job when he went to talk to the studio about directing HITCHCOCK, so he was completely relaxed and honest as he took the meeting. When I spoke with Sacha Gervasi on November 6, 2012, that’s where I wanted to… Read More »
Belen Atienza, Sergio Sanchez & Juan Antonio Bayona Take on THE IMPOSSIBLE
Respect was a word that came up often as I was talking with the filmmakers who brought THE IMPOSSIBLE to the screen on October 31 2012. Based on the true story of one family’s harrowing experience trying to survive in the aftermath of the Christmas Day tsunami in Thailand, the film was shot on location… Read More »
Nicolaj Arcel Reveals A ROYAL AFFAIR
Nikolaj Arcel’s big break, internationally that is, came when he was tapped to co-writer the screenplay for the Swedish version of THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO. When I spoke with him by phone on October 22, 2012, it was inevitable that we would get to that film after discussing A ROYAL AFFAIR. And when we… Read More »
Spike Jonze and Charlie Kaufman Consider ADAPTATION
Frankly, I would have been disappointed if an interview with director Spike Jonze and screenwriter Charlie Kaufman hadn’t turned surreal with the first question posed. The team that brought us BEING JOHN MALKOVICH and now with ADAPTATION, a tall tale of orchid hunters and moviemaking, have their own take on reality, which makes for a refreshing change… Read More »
Adrien Brody is THE PIANIST, Thomas Kretschmann, his Tormentor
Meeting Adrien Brody and Thomas Kretschmann is like spending time with two old pals who still enjoy joking around with each other even after a difficult shoot in Europe and a grinding publicity tour schedule to promote their extraordinary film, THE PIANIST. Once we began talking about that film, though, they were deadly serious about the subject matter, the… Read More »
Noah Taylor and MAX
It would have been surprising if Noah Taylor hadn’t had a few qualms about playing the Adolph Hitler seen in MAX. Rather than the madman behind the Holocaust, Hitler here is a rather pathetic creature, standing in bread lines along with so much of the rest of the German population after WWI. When we spoke… Read More »
Richard Kwietniowski Gambles on OWNING MAHOWNY
Richard Kwietniowski developed quite a following with his first feature film, LOVE AND DEATH ON LONG ISLAND. That most improbable of love stories demonstrated his knack for telling stories of the unexpected with a delicate wit and a sharp insight. The same is true for OWNING MAHOWNY, an improbably absorbing tale of a dull man, played… Read More »
Fenton Bailey & Randy Barbato Put PARTY MONSTER in Perspective
Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato had already told the story of PARTY MONSTER, about the Club Kid murders, a few years back with their documentary of the same name. Turning it into their first feature film seemed, for them, the logical thing to do. When I talked with them on June 28, 2003, they were being honored at the San… Read More »
Patty Jenkins Dissects MONSTER
For Patty Jenkins, MONSTER was more than a movie, it was a mission. The writer/director took a lot of risks, including the casting against type of the film’s star, Charlize Theron, as real-life serial killer Aileen Wournos. It paid off big time, and did so with a smart film that raises more questions about society than… Read More »