When did you decide to make this project together?
Ariella Mastroianni: Well, Ryan and I, we grew up together. We’ve known each other since high school, and we immediately bonded over films.
Features: Q&A
April 4, 2025
Freaky Tales – Q&A with Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck, and Jay Ellis
by The National Board of Review
This is a movie that shows real love for the Bay Area. Where did the story come from?
Ryan Fleck: Well, it starts with that Too $hort song, this really nasty song called Freaky Tales that I heard way too young, maybe nine or ten. I grew up with hippie parents. We had Beatles records and Janis Joplin and then my friends played me Freaky Tales and I was like, What is going on?!
March 27, 2025
The Penguin Lessons – Q&A with Peter Cattaneo and Steve Coogan
by The National Board of Review
When you were first pitched this story, what really clicked for you? Was there a moment or scene that really convinced you that you wanted to make this?
Peter Cattaneo: Well, it’s based on a memoir, and I think what felt really exciting was that you would never dream up this set of facts.
March 21, 2025
Flow – Q&A with Gints Zilbalodis and Matiss Kaza
by The National Board of Review
What is it like finally bringing a film into the world after you’ve been working on it for close to five years?
Gints Zilbalodis: It’s been very intense, and very strange, sitting in a room by yourself for such a long time and then going to twenty or thirty places and meeting crowds of people.
March 7, 2025
Mickey 17 – Q&A with Bong Joon Ho
by The National Board of Review
This is a wonderfully imaginative film that has so much to say. Can you talk about your adaptation process?
Bong Joon Ho: So I first read a ten page treatment of the novel, and I was just immediately fascinated by the concept of human printing.