Q&A with Wyatt Rockefeller

It felt like there were unexpected and interesting story turns at every corner. What sparked this idea for you?

Wyatt Rockefeller: The spark for the idea came, really, from a feeling. I was in the woods with my Dad, and it was snowing.

Q&A with Toni Collette and Ari Aster

This is something of a personal story, correct?
Ari Aster: The beautiful thing about genre filmmaking and the horror genre in general is that you can take a personal story or feeling that you need to work through and push it through this filter

Q&A with Ted Braun

What was your original artistic challenge when you were approached with this project? A profile of one person is quite different than your previous work.

Ted Braun: The previous films I’ve done, feature documentaries I’ve done (Betting on Zero, which looked at allegations of global economic criminality, and Darfur Now, which looked at allegations of massive, systemic violent crimes in Sudan) were, in different ways, ensemble stories about people trying to expose wrongdoing.

Q&A with Ryan Fleck, Anna Boden, and Ryan Reynolds

What was it about the riverboat casinos in Iowa that compelled you to write this story?
It was really interesting to see the anti-glamorous version of a casino. There was a story in there somewhere that we hadn’t seen on film before.

Q&A with Robert Machoian and Clayne Crawford

Can you discuss your inspiration for writing this story?
Robert Machoian: It was really motivated, to some degree, my own life in the sense that I’ve been married for quite a while, and I have children, and coming to this period in life where many friends of ours were starting to separate.

Q&A with Ridley Scott

You used classic filmmaking techniques, especially in the opening scene. Can you talk about shooting it?
Scott: These storms are absolutely disgustingly filthy, and we had real fifth in the air. You have a real mix of dust.

Q&A with Pat Healy

In Compliance, you were the sadist, the controller. There are very similar themes here but in this case you’re on the other side.
It’s kind of interesting. In Great World of Sound, I almost play a version of the Ann Dowd character from Compliance.

Q&A with Morgan Neville

The following questions and answers are excerpted from a conversation that followed the NBR screening of Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain. You chose to make this film fairly soon after Anthony Bourdain’s death. Did your perspective change over the course of shooting? Morgan Neville: Well yes, it changed because there was so much I learned. […]

Q&A with Michael Rianda, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller

The following questions and answers are excerpted from a conversation that followed the NBR screening of The Mitchells vs the Machines. This film has been long in the making and is clearly a heartfelt project. Mike, can you tell us how it all started? Michael Rianda: Sony had approached me about making a movie and because […]

Q&A with Michael Barnett, Alex Schmider and Clare Tucker

The following questions and answers are excerpted from a conversation that followed the NBR screening of Changing the Game. Michael, I understand you came to the project when a friend shared that they had a child that was transgender. How important was it to make this film in order to become that much more of an […]

Q&A with Kogonada

How did that expansion work? How do you open up that short story?
Kogonada: I had the best experience a filmmaker can have with an author.