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 […]
The following questions and answers are excerpted from a conversation that followed the NBR screening of Florence Foster Jenkins. The opening scene is really beautiful, and frames the story so well. Can you discuss how that was conceived? Meryl Streep: Well, it’s interesting that you mention that scene, because the script that we both received […]
Did you find it helpful to engage with the previous iterations of the story when you were preparing for this film?
Nicholas Britell: Well, what was interesting, actually, was that when Benjamin first told me that he had this inspiration to to do Carmen, my first instinct was that I actually didn’t want to adapt or rearrange Bizet at all.
here did this idea come from, and how did the project get moving?
Max Walker-Silverman: Umm… that’s the most reasonable question in the world, and I’ve never figured out the cleanest answer to it.
How did you guys come up with the idea for this project?
Max Barbakow: It was a hipster death bender movie.
There was such incredible chemistry amongst the cast. How did you build that? What was the rehearsal process?
Viggo Mortensen: Early on, which was great and doesn’t always happen, Matt brought me into read with the last couple of kids we were casting.
This film has a different editorial pace and perspective than you usually portray in your films. Would you be able to talk about your approach with these older men in the film?
Martin Scorsese: This is not a film we could have created or made as effectively if we had tried to make it ten years ago.
You’re a prolific writer, but this is only your second time directing a feature. What motivates you to direct one of your own pieces?
Mike White: I knew the tone was going to be particular, so it was just going to be hard to help another director interpret what I intended for film to be.
It was fascinating to learn that you had already been in the process of making a film about wildfires when the camp and woolsey fires occurred. Can you tell us about that?
Lucy Walker: That’s right. The reason I was able to really embed, and I knew what I was looking at and could just jump in, and start asking the right questions was because I’d actually been working on the film already for about a year at that point.
The final scene between the father and son is so moving and beautiful, what was it like shooting that scene and what did it mean to you?
Michael Stuhlbarg: Rarely in filmmaking does one get to shoot things in order, but in this case, I had plenty of time because we shot that at the very end of the production.
This film is very inclusive and focused on women. Were you aiming to make a film about female empowerment? What was your concept about the story, initially?
I like the idea of making something that people can take away from it whatever they want.
Did you set out to make a film about Stacey Abrams? How did this story come together for you?
Liz Garbus: For us it started when Stacey reached out.
How did you get involved with this film?
This project actually just came to me—Katie [Couric] got in touch with me out of the blue with an email that simply said, “would you be interested in doing an Inconvenient Truth on food?”
The following questions and answers are excerpted from a conversation that followed the NBR screening of All the Beauty and the Bloodshed. You really weave so many stories together so beautifully in the film. How did you and Nan weave in and out of each other’s lives? Laura Poitras: Nan and I have intersected, sometimes literally […]
How do you approach these two very different characters who are the same person?
With excitement, because it’s a nice challenge. To play an older man, and then a younger man.