Gavin Hood felt that there was more than just an Oscar ™ riding on the success of TSOTSI, based on the novel by Athol Fugard and South Africa’s official entry for the 2005 Best Foreign Film Academy Award ™. It’s one of the many things we talked about when I interviewed him on February 10, 2006. … Read More »
Jason Reitman Wants to THANK YOU FOR SMOKING
Jason Reitman is smart, puckish, and thoroughly delighted with his first feature film, THANK YOU FOR SMOKING. He should be. The adaptation of Christopher Buckley’s skewering of politics and political correctness is a perfect reflection of its writer/director. There is something to offend just about everyone in THANK YOU FOR SMOKING, even foodies, and that’s… Read More »
Stephen Gaghan Visits SYRIANA
Stephen Gaghan has a broad worldview, one that is reflected in his Oscar(tm)-winning screenplay for TRAFFIC and now, even more superbly, in SYRIANA, which is also his directorial debut. This multi-faceted story of intrigue and deception surrounding the rights to an oil field in an unnamed Persian Gulf country is gripping, surprising, and scathingly intelligent.… Read More »
Andrew Niccol Reveals the LORD OF WAR
Andrew Niccol’s dry wit is on display to perfection in LORD OF WAR, which he both wrote and directed. It was also on display during our chat on August 26, 2005 where he sported combat boots and a stylish ensemble that wouldn’t be out of place on Rodeo Drive. From a succinct consideration of the media’s… Read More »
The LEVITY of Ed Solomon
Making his directorial debut filming his own script wasn’t the only break Mark Solomon made with his previous work. Unlike the broad comedy he’s done before, LEVITY is a thought-provoking film that isn’t afraid to examine matters religious and moral in a world that offers few absolutes when it comes to right and wrong. It was… Read More »
Andrew Davis and Louis Sachar’s Perfect HOLES
If I had had any doubts about HOLES being one of the big summer films of 2003, they were all put to rest by the audience reaction the film and its makers received at one of the two press screenings that I went to. The audience was packed with kids of all ages who adored Louis… Read More »
Gurinder Chadha Can BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM
When I talked with Gurinder Chadha she was hoarse from talking non-stop about her world-wide hit at the 2003 San Francisco Asian American Film Festival where it had been the opening night film. That didn’t dampen her enthusiasm, which has been going strong for over a year ever since her little film became one of the top… Read More »