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.
The scope of the film is massive. How did you approach this subject?
I should say that I’m kind of obsessed with hidden histories and forgotten biographies.
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.
There’s a lot of complexity there. Did you really see it as love story? I kept questioning whether he loved her.
Absolutely. And her too. How much did she know? She must have sensed something.
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.
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.
Mr. Weitz, did you write this role for Ms. Tomlin knowing she’d play the part?
Paul Weitz: Yes, I— well, no, I didn’t know she’d play the part!
Steven, how did you conceive of Jacob initially?
Steven Yeun: When I read Isaac’s script, it was really honest from all perspectives and that was really the foundation of it all.
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 […]