Speaker 1: Welcome to Playback, a Variety podcast. I'm your host, Variety
Speaker 1: Awards editor Chris Tapley. On today's show, we talked about
Speaker 1: the SAG Awards, where Denzel Washington and Hidden Figures came
Speaker 1: away with surprise wins. A little bit later, I'll be
Speaker 1: talking to Moonlight writer and director Barry Jenkins. So stick
Speaker 1: around all right, everyone, here we are and it's post
Speaker 1: Screen Actors Guild Award. Hold on, I'm just finishing an email.
Speaker 1: It's very important, I promise you. Sorry on your time. Yes,
Speaker 1: because there's nothing more interesting than listening to a podcast
Speaker 1: of somebody sending an email. You can make it work. Yes,
Speaker 1: SAG Awards. So big surprise to me was less Denzel
Speaker 1: Washington than Hidden Figures. I know you had been mentioning
Speaker 1: Hidden Figures and it is an ensemble that's picked up awards,
Speaker 1: but I just it beat some heavy hitters. The only
Speaker 1: reason I didn't ultimately pick Hidden Figures as the ensemble
Speaker 1: winner was because I had heard they didn't send screeners,
Speaker 1: they only sent digital and I was like, well, Moonlight's
Speaker 1: been out for a while, they sent screeners. I went
Speaker 1: with Moonlight, but I mean everyone has seen Hidden Figures
Speaker 1: and it's got everyone, and I mean you've got Jim
Speaker 1: Parsons from The Big Bang Theory, You've got Kevin Costner,
Speaker 1: you know, aside Kirsten Duns. That's like it every somebody.
Speaker 1: That movie has everybody's favorite actor and it's somewhat true. Yeah,
Speaker 1: so not a surprise to me. Also not a surprise
Speaker 1: considering that they really kind of spread the wealth, you know,
Speaker 1: someone from Moonlight one, two people from Fences. Um, I
Speaker 1: it's the only thing that really went home empty was
Speaker 1: Manchester Chesse, which had more nominations than anyone. I can't
Speaker 1: remember how often that's happened where the movie nominated for
Speaker 1: A four has gone home without any award, but maybe
Speaker 1: it's happened frequently. I don't know that was surprising. But
Speaker 1: then at the same time, you're talking about like a
Speaker 1: hundred and fifty thousand people. So a big broad quote
Speaker 1: unquote populist performance like what Denzel gives, which I think
Speaker 1: is you know, right up there with Casey's. I'm not
Speaker 1: sure knocking it at all. Well, you and I have
Speaker 1: always thought that Denzel what could win this. Yeah, I
Speaker 1: mean from the beginning I thought he was going to
Speaker 1: just because and I'm talking Oscar now because Casey gives
Speaker 1: such an internal performance and that can be harder to
Speaker 1: get everyone to say, yeah, that's the best performance. But
Speaker 1: then Casey dominated to the extent that he did. And
Speaker 1: I know we all say critics are not Oscar voters
Speaker 1: or SAG voters, but when something like that happens, it's
Speaker 1: like wow. It's strange to me though, that even now
Speaker 1: people are still saying Denzel isn't the front runner, you know.
Speaker 1: I mean, Casey could still win. Don't get me wrong,
Speaker 1: I think Ryan Gosling could still win, but I mean
Speaker 1: we have to acknowledge that Denzel is the front runner
Speaker 1: with SAG, because if you're gonna call something a front
Speaker 1: runner based on, you know, the kinds of people who
Speaker 1: are voting, then sure, but that's the last award he's
Speaker 1: going to be able to win, right. He's not up
Speaker 1: for the BAFTA, which is very strange. BAFTA awards happened
Speaker 1: the day before the Oscar ballots go out. If Casey
Speaker 1: doesn't win BAFTA, that's a bad sign for him. But
Speaker 1: I think he's going to win DAFTA. Although again I'm
Speaker 1: telling you, I'm keep an eye around Goslin certainly Emma
Speaker 1: Stone obviously one. Yes, that was. I think it was
Speaker 1: a very tight race between her Natalie Portman because a
Speaker 1: lot of SAG actors really love Natalie's performance. But yeah,
Speaker 1: I think I think Emma has this sewn up at
Speaker 1: this point, and in lieu of a an ensemble nomination
Speaker 1: for the film, yes, which again I think people could
Speaker 1: put too much on. I don't think it's I don't
Speaker 1: know if people really vote that way. Like people will
Speaker 1: say things like, you know, Denzel one, because he'd never
Speaker 1: won a SAG Award before, and I was like, most
Speaker 1: people vote for the person they want to out for,
Speaker 1: and they don't like parse out things. I always think
Speaker 1: of Birdman, like everybody said, well it won't win, give
Speaker 1: screenplay to Boyhood, or they'll give director to Boyhood. No
Speaker 1: Birdman one pictures start checking off movies. They're just like
Speaker 1: chick Chick, Chick chick. Which is why Ryan is a possibility,
Speaker 1: which is why you know, I don't quite get the
Speaker 1: urge to assume La La Land is not going to
Speaker 1: win screenplay, which we've talked about. That's ridiculous, Like why
Speaker 1: would it not. It could win all top five. I
Speaker 1: guess the first movie to do that. In Silence of
Speaker 1: the Lambs, there's only three that have done it. It
Speaker 1: happened one night, and what's the other one's of course
Speaker 1: only three. Yeah, it's kind of one of those Oscar
Speaker 1: stats that ever all the Oscar hounds, I feel like
Speaker 1: we're going to happen again. It could happen. Yeah, Well,
Speaker 1: we were due for a record tying nomination slate, which
Speaker 1: we got out of the fourteen nominations, and we could
Speaker 1: be due for a record tying win slate. I mean,
Speaker 1: I still think that that's a movie that can win
Speaker 1: eleven Oscars because it doesn't have competition throughout these fields,
Speaker 1: and who were I don't see them pick like Allied
Speaker 1: for costumes or Fantastic Beasts for production design or something
Speaker 1: like maybe a rival can grab something like production design,
Speaker 1: but I don't think so. Like I just think, especially
Speaker 1: with the expressionistic elements at the end of this film
Speaker 1: while I'll end, and the way that sets it put together,
Speaker 1: and I just see them checking it off pretty much
Speaker 1: down the line. And then maybe the two songs can
Speaker 1: cancel each other out or something. Yeah, but even I
Speaker 1: don't think that's happening. I think it's winning song too,
Speaker 1: you think it's winning sound editing that I don't know.
Speaker 1: I mean, I don't know. Do musicals usually win in
Speaker 1: that category never get nominates, So it's like an uncharted territory.
Speaker 1: So who knows? Well, uh at the SAG Awards, Mahrschel
Speaker 1: Ali just hershela. We need like a theme whenever we
Speaker 1: say Mihrschel's name to just talk. Right before he wont,
Speaker 1: I was like, if he wins, watch out for the speech.
Speaker 1: And that speech brought the house down in his way.
Speaker 1: I mean, he's such a quiet, like just soulful good
Speaker 1: soul was a great word. He's just humble and kind, gracious. Yeah,
Speaker 1: and looked really good and he does and he spoke
Speaker 1: directly to something without really bringing it up. Yeah, you know,
Speaker 1: I mean, I I just it was a very political night,
Speaker 1: and there were there were explosions regarding that, you know,
Speaker 1: like from Julia Lee Dreyfuss or you know, more pointed
Speaker 1: from the Oranges it's a new black cast and then
Speaker 1: me Herschel I gave a more personalized kind of addressing
Speaker 1: of that situation, which I thought was very interesting. It
Speaker 1: was very people were very active on the red carpet things. Well, yeah, um,
Speaker 1: I mean I don't think everything everything I did on
Speaker 1: the Red Carpet got put online, but enough of it
Speaker 1: for you to get a sense of it. Yeah, and
Speaker 1: uh yeah, people people do not hold back, you know.
Speaker 1: Brian Craston was very diplomatic, and he translated over to
Speaker 1: his speech where he was like, you know, I'm really
Speaker 1: He didn't say he was rooting for Trump, but he's like,
Speaker 1: you know, I want this to work because we're screwed otherwise.
Speaker 1: I don't think anyone wishes for the failure that he's
Speaker 1: charging towards charging towards I think yeah. And also Cranston
Speaker 1: had a lot to say about Trump last year too,
Speaker 1: when he was yeah, like he he had, of course,
Speaker 1: if we're asking him about it, a lot, and uh,
Speaker 1: you know, he probably got tired of talking about it,
Speaker 1: so now he's just yeah, he sees that question coming.
Speaker 1: Is like I told you that, Um, I finally got
Speaker 1: to meet John to Tuo on the Red Carpet and
Speaker 1: he was having none of my nonsense. No, he was.
Speaker 1: He was very nice, but you know, he's a serious actor.
Speaker 1: He probably isn't prone to sound bites. And uh, you
Speaker 1: know I was, I was you know, a little jokey
Speaker 1: and you know how you get on the red carpet.
Speaker 1: It's a very different type of interview that I'm sure
Speaker 1: he's used to. And he was just very He was
Speaker 1: funny because he was so serious, you know what. I'd like,
Speaker 1: try to talk to him about a foot x amount.
Speaker 1: He'd be like, well, it's a very serious problem. And
Speaker 1: I was like, I mean maybe he was. He could
Speaker 1: have been joking. He's a brilliant comic mind, so very dry.
Speaker 1: But um, that was a surprising category because but John
Speaker 1: Tatur and rizam Ed nominated against each other, might have
Speaker 1: canceled each other out. Sterling K. Brown nominated against Um
Speaker 1: Courtney Bevan, Yeah, might cancel each other out. And people
Speaker 1: love Brian Cranstjohn that's one Cranston Yeah, oh yeah, yeah
Speaker 1: for all the way. The Crown people are really fun
Speaker 1: to talk to about what they think of American polidays.
Speaker 1: I bet yes. I stopped Matt Smith and Claire Foy
Speaker 1: and I was like, so, how do how are we
Speaker 1: coming off to you guys over there? And they you
Speaker 1: got to see their faces. I think it's I think
Speaker 1: it's up on variety because they're like, not good guys. Well, look,
Speaker 1: they certainly had their moment a few months ago with Brexit,
Speaker 1: so exactly. Say, Guy Lodge on our staff was here
Speaker 1: over the weekend. We we caught up and U we
Speaker 1: were talking about that everybody. He said that over there,
Speaker 1: it's more like it's it's less like people are like,
Speaker 1: oh god, what's wrong with the Americans and what's wrong
Speaker 1: with the world. I mean, yeah, we see it about
Speaker 1: to happen with France too. I mean it's yeah, I
Speaker 1: should specify that, Matt and Claire, We're not saying America
Speaker 1: doesn't look good. They were just saying, you know, so
Speaker 1: to speak. G A obviously big shocker. Okay, tell me
Speaker 1: the truth. Did you pre write your story about La
Speaker 1: La land winning hours before it was announced? I had
Speaker 1: it ready to go. I had it ready to go.
Speaker 1: I did. I mean, because come on, and what he's
Speaker 1: got to win the d g A right, like I think,
Speaker 1: so unless it's Berry Jenkins at the end of that
Speaker 1: nine hour nine I'm sure he will win. And can
Speaker 1: I just use this opportunity to reiterate something I have
Speaker 1: to say every year, which is that ensemble does not
Speaker 1: equal picture and yes, hidden figures one ensemble I mean, hey,
Speaker 1: it could win Best Picture. I'm not ruling anything out,
Speaker 1: but don't think that because it one SAG ensemble. What
Speaker 1: it did was provided an opportunity that Tag nailed exactly
Speaker 1: and I could see it, you know, just like with
Speaker 1: the Golden Globes effect, like gathering some steam from voters
Speaker 1: saying I think I want to I wish Oscar voting
Speaker 1: was still open, and then maybe Taragi could have gotten
Speaker 1: a nomination the way Meryl's Globes speed truly sealed the
Speaker 1: deal for her. Yeah. Um. And also you know, one
Speaker 1: of my favorite SAG wins is a bird cage. Also
Speaker 1: to your point, not the Best Picture contender. But yeah,
Speaker 1: and so that's this weekend, DJs, this weekend and a
Speaker 1: s C. The cinematographers Santa Barbara Film Festivals gearing up
Speaker 1: and they bring all the nominees in to have tributes
Speaker 1: and whatnot. So that'll be happening. Did you go to
Speaker 1: the Editing Awards? I did not go to the ACE Awards.
Speaker 1: Um arrival one there, yes, which you have said, you
Speaker 1: know you think I think, yeah, just the structure, you know,
Speaker 1: I mean, it's the editing is on display, so I
Speaker 1: could see that happening. But again, you have to be
Speaker 1: and it's right down the line on that movie. So
Speaker 1: the backlash is naturally on schedule with La La Land.
Speaker 1: Here it is, you know, the jazz. The dubious angles
Speaker 1: regarding how it handles jazz has been have been flying
Speaker 1: around and I'm just like, what so threatening about this movie?
Speaker 1: How can I you know, if it's not your thing,
Speaker 1: that's fine. But people who have decided they hate this movie,
Speaker 1: I'm like, how can you hate something that is about joy?
Speaker 1: You know, we're at this We've reached what it is
Speaker 1: I think is we've reached the spot where in a
Speaker 1: year of such diversity an inclusion represented in the nominations,
Speaker 1: that a movie like La La Land Winning, which is
Speaker 1: granted about white people with champagne problems. Uh, somehow flies
Speaker 1: in the face of that. And I don't know, I
Speaker 1: have a hard time. Wait, is an Ma Stone half Hawaiian?
Speaker 1: Oh No, that was a different movie. Sorry, oh man
Speaker 1: deep cut Hey, she made fun of it herself on
Speaker 1: Saturday Live. You've got to give her credit for that.
Speaker 1: Speaking of did you see the Saturday Night Live sketch?
Speaker 1: Was it this weekend or last weekend? Disease I'm sorry.
Speaker 1: I think we might have already talked. We did talk
Speaker 1: about that, yeah, which was a very affectionate yeah. Ready, yeah,
Speaker 1: But that that is where I think this backlash is
Speaker 1: coming from, Like it is a travesty if a movie
Speaker 1: like Moonlight doesn't win, or if a movie like Hidden Figures,
Speaker 1: which is about you know, dispelling our divisions and for
Speaker 1: the for a common good. Granted, Land has always been
Speaker 1: I'm totally previewing my column next week. Laoland has always
Speaker 1: been this effervescent thing. It's not important capital I like
Speaker 1: in that way. Um, And you know, someone said something like,
Speaker 1: if it wins, it's like while the world burned, Hollywood
Speaker 1: was singing and dance come on. That often happened where
Speaker 1: you turn to like a bit of escapism and you know,
Speaker 1: unsure times. But like, I don't know, I just hate it.
Speaker 1: Every year something has to be compounded like this, and
Speaker 1: I just think it's people caring about the oscars too much. Well,
Speaker 1: it's also interesting people bring their own baggage to it.
Speaker 1: I don't know if if we're allowed to get into
Speaker 1: spoilers here, but the movie has been out for a while,
Speaker 1: but so many people I talked to when you asked
Speaker 1: them about the ending. They read so much into certain
Speaker 1: things like who she ends up with, like they have
Speaker 1: a whole backstory. Me you can, I just say. I mean,
Speaker 1: if anyone hasn't seen La La Land, first of all,
Speaker 1: I'm shocked you're listening to this. Secondly, you know, she
Speaker 1: winds up with Tom Evert Scott, and there's some people
Speaker 1: who are like, she's trapped in a loveless marriage and
Speaker 1: you can see she's looking to get out and he's
Speaker 1: a bad guy. And I'm like, you don't cast Tom
Speaker 1: Everett Scott in a quick role like that to make
Speaker 1: people think he's a bad guy. Like this is you know,
Speaker 1: this is These are people who I learned long ago
Speaker 1: that because the relationship doesn't work out, it doesn't mean
Speaker 1: it's a failure. You know, I've I've felt from the beginning.
Speaker 1: I asked, I asked Damien and Emma this question at
Speaker 1: tell you right, And I was like, I think some
Speaker 1: people see this as a as a downer and and
Speaker 1: my view is these people came into each other's lives
Speaker 1: exactly when they needed to, got each other that next
Speaker 1: step in their life, and exited stage left. It's melancholy,
Speaker 1: but it's not sad. It's beautiful. Yeah that way. I mean,
Speaker 1: it's like I don't know and yeah, and I feel
Speaker 1: like she looks like she's very happy in her marriage
Speaker 1: with her child, and we don't know what's going on,
Speaker 1: what's going on, very happy for each other exactly, that's
Speaker 1: what's happening, and like it is. It is shocking to
Speaker 1: me how some people are just like they've created this
Speaker 1: whole other scenario where she's sold out for stardom and
Speaker 1: now she's trapped in a loveless marriage. And I'm like,
Speaker 1: please go to therapy. To your point about baggage, they're
Speaker 1: bringing something into that. Well, this week we've got Barry Jenkins.
Speaker 1: Wonderful Barry Jenkins. I have not talked to this man
Speaker 1: all year, really, not even in passing on Twitter. You've
Speaker 1: talked to on Twitter. That's it. And uh, you know,
Speaker 1: partly by design, because I just I wanted the right moment,
Speaker 1: and it feels like the right moment. He's so wonderful.
Speaker 1: I'll tell you a funny thing that happened on the
Speaker 1: Red Carpet. Um I met Jaden and Alex, the two
Speaker 1: young boys who play Um Kevin and Shyrone in the
Speaker 1: first part of Moonlight, and I asked Alex Hibbert. I
Speaker 1: was like, so you know, based on this movie, you're
Speaker 1: going to grow up to look like Trevante Rhodes. How
Speaker 1: do you feel about that? And he said, that's great, man,
Speaker 1: because I'm getting all the girls totally. He's right at
Speaker 1: the gym. Here's a funny story about Trevante. Actually at
Speaker 1: the Independent Spirit brunch. Uh, I went to the bathroom
Speaker 1: and he was washing his hands and I was like,
Speaker 1: hey man, great work in the movie. He's like, thanks man.
Speaker 1: He goes out. He's as he's leaving, I go Predator.
Speaker 1: He goes Predator. You're gonna see baby Shane Black. Yes,
Speaker 1: So can I follow that up with one more Trevante story?
Speaker 1: Right after that, he came to the bath to tea party,
Speaker 1: and I think our column had come out that week
Speaker 1: where we had said, like, people, you should consider who
Speaker 1: haven't you know been in the Oscar conversation? And I had,
Speaker 1: you know, prefaced it by saying, of course my Herschelali
Speaker 1: is going to win, but you should not overlook Trevante Rhodes.
Speaker 1: So I saw him and I was going to introduce
Speaker 1: myself to him, and he walks up to me and says,
Speaker 1: I know who you are, like completely left the ability
Speaker 1: to speak. I was like, you know who I am?
Speaker 1: And amazing and he's cool. He's the best, the whole
Speaker 1: this whole crew is cool. Anyway. I have a really
Speaker 1: good chat with Barry. So right after this, who is
Speaker 1: your shal home on time? So notmember trying to you
Speaker 1: know what all songs. At some point you got to
Speaker 1: decide for yourself who you don't. Can't let nobody make
Speaker 1: that decision. H you are? Tell him why the other
Speaker 1: boys keep your gass all the time? Who's found? I've
Speaker 1: seen the need for the last time I saw you
Speaker 1: only I'm the only How about no? No, no to whom?
Speaker 1: Huh to you? Who is your I ain't seeing you
Speaker 1: in like a decade. It's not what I expect? What
Speaker 1: is your respect? Welcome back everyone, I'm here with the
Speaker 1: writer director of Moonlight, Barry Jenkins. Barry, thanks for doing
Speaker 1: the show man, Thanks for having me. As I was
Speaker 1: saying before, r Hannah, I've kind of kept my distance
Speaker 1: a bit this year out of reverence because you guys
Speaker 1: have been hit with a lot of press on this movie,
Speaker 1: like it's it's been fantastic to see, but I just
Speaker 1: didn't want to get lost in the clutter. Yeah. Yeah,
Speaker 1: it's been Uh, it's been a lot, you know, which
Speaker 1: which is great. You know that. I think there's there's
Speaker 1: no way the voice of this film would have carried
Speaker 1: us far um as it did without you know, critics
Speaker 1: and the press and things like that. But it's interesting though,
Speaker 1: when when the Spirit Award nominations came out, When any
Speaker 1: nominations come out, I always realized I'm like the only
Speaker 1: director who's on Twitter. Um, So, so it does take
Speaker 1: an effort to maintain a distance because you're pretty active
Speaker 1: on Twitter. I guess we both are. Well. Now we've
Speaker 1: we've come together of our shared love of Deep Water
Speaker 1: Horizon on Twitter, We've talked about fantastic film, and uh,
Speaker 1: now we finally can talk about Moonlight. We're sitting across
Speaker 1: from each other for the first time this year. So again,
Speaker 1: thank you for coming up. Um. I want to start
Speaker 1: by talking about to tell you right experience, because it's
Speaker 1: obviously very special to you, and I'm sure you've talked
Speaker 1: about this a lot this year, but you know you've
Speaker 1: I've been going for seven or eight years. I know
Speaker 1: you're very well. You're always up there presenting the films
Speaker 1: and you've been programming there for a number of years,
Speaker 1: so this year must have been incredibly special to premiere
Speaker 1: the movie there. So tell me about that experience. Yeah,
Speaker 1: it was kind of like an out of body experience,
Speaker 1: you know, until we actually got there, it didn't seem like,
Speaker 1: UM like it was true. You know, I've been there
Speaker 1: since two thousand two. You know, it's a long time,
Speaker 1: uh to go, and you kind of get set and
Speaker 1: with the festival feels like what the festival is gonna
Speaker 1: be like? And and this year was was quite different because,
Speaker 1: as you said, I had a piece of work UM,
Speaker 1: and I think to to introduce the movie to the
Speaker 1: world UM in such a safe space to be really honest,
Speaker 1: you know, I think there were so many people there
Speaker 1: who were rooting for the film, you know, just people
Speaker 1: who have worked with UM that it was it was
Speaker 1: it was undoubtedly the best way UM to do it,
Speaker 1: and I think it kind of kind of teat everything
Speaker 1: up for the rest of the year. Yeah, definitely. I
Speaker 1: saw it at the second screening the afternoon after the
Speaker 1: premiere at the Galaxy. Yeah, that that was my favorite
Speaker 1: screening I've and tell you I have to be honest
Speaker 1: with you. Peter Seller set you up to fail. I know,
Speaker 1: I know. I was the theater director. It gave the
Speaker 1: most glowing, uh just preview of this film just right
Speaker 1: before setting it up, and I was mortified. I was like,
Speaker 1: this movie is not going to live up to what
Speaker 1: this guy just said. And it did. Let me lay
Speaker 1: that out there immediately. It did. But man, I was worried,
Speaker 1: I have to say, but it was. It was. It's
Speaker 1: a staggering piece of work from you. And I just
Speaker 1: want to start by buttering you up by saying, yes
Speaker 1: that it delivered on everything he said. And uh, that
Speaker 1: caught me by surprise. It was just such a breathless yeah, yeah,
Speaker 1: it was. You know. After that, it's like I was,
Speaker 1: you know, because you know it's, um it's a very
Speaker 1: intimate piece. It's a very very small piece in a
Speaker 1: in a certain way. UM. But I think what happens
Speaker 1: is the smallness of it, the specificity of it kind
Speaker 1: of takes you by surprise and and and being small
Speaker 1: and by which I should say specific could be comes
Speaker 1: this this larger thing for people, I believe, and I
Speaker 1: like for it to be like a sneak attack. You know,
Speaker 1: my favorite viewer as someone who walks in knowing nothing.
Speaker 1: So if someone tells you before you sit down to
Speaker 1: watch a movie, this movie is going to move mountains,
Speaker 1: you know you're like, no, it's not. You know you
Speaker 1: already go into a believing that it's not. But um,
Speaker 1: but you know people, uh, you know when the lights
Speaker 1: go down that they see the work for what it is.
Speaker 1: And so yeah, when when when he said it, I
Speaker 1: was standing off to the I think I came right
Speaker 1: on and I said immediately, now once you push off
Speaker 1: those things like like like out of sight, out of mind.
Speaker 1: But even Peter, you know, it came from a place
Speaker 1: of love. I think he had been moved by the
Speaker 1: movie as well. So, um, so I was fine with it.
Speaker 1: But yeah, I had the same thought in my head.
Speaker 1: The fact that the film was born there as well
Speaker 1: as interesting with the fact you know this has been
Speaker 1: written about that you spoke with the plan B folks
Speaker 1: Jeremy Kleiner and Dy Gardner after a screening of Twelve
Speaker 1: Years of Slave, Brett Pitt got the ball rolling. Uh,
Speaker 1: it's interesting that it's an environment like that where movies
Speaker 1: like that can start percolating because of the atmosphere there.
Speaker 1: I think it's such a casual atmosphere for filmmakers too. Uh.
Speaker 1: And and is that something that you've kind of found
Speaker 1: in your time as a filmmaker programming there for years,
Speaker 1: seeing that it's it's a space where that can happen. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I think absolutely. I think, Um, it's not to say
Speaker 1: that that everyone there's ultra friendly, but I think the
Speaker 1: environment kind of engenders, uh, these interactions, these actual like
Speaker 1: personal person or person interactions. You know. For example, I've
Speaker 1: introduced I think two of Alexander's movies. Um, I tell
Speaker 1: you right. And so when when Moonlight came out, he
Speaker 1: went to the Arc Light and he saw it with
Speaker 1: an audience, and then he got my email and he
Speaker 1: wrote me an email. You know, he's like, hey, I
Speaker 1: remember you as the guy who introduced these films, you know,
Speaker 1: and he had very very just amazing things to say.
Speaker 1: So I think it is um an environment where that's
Speaker 1: possible and what happens quite often. Um. And yet it's
Speaker 1: never I mean for me at least as ever fills
Speaker 1: a course like I didn't come from from Europe with
Speaker 1: the script going oh my god, I'm gonna I gotta
Speaker 1: meet Plan B and tell them about Moon. Like I learned,
Speaker 1: I was going to introduce that film eight hours before
Speaker 1: because nobody knew that it was going to be there
Speaker 1: except for the heads of the festival. Um. But then,
Speaker 1: because you're in this place and you know, I don't
Speaker 1: want to go on and on about the beauty of
Speaker 1: tell you right, but I think these conversations they just happened, UM,
Speaker 1: and you're right. Three years later, every premiered the movie
Speaker 1: UM at the same festival, which is shocking. And then
Speaker 1: that I remember standing in line after that screening and
Speaker 1: you guys came out after the Q and A and
Speaker 1: the whole crowd is person to it. Plus and now
Speaker 1: now that is something that that I have to I
Speaker 1: have to honestly say, uh, and this is not just
Speaker 1: me trying to be modest, but I've never seen that
Speaker 1: happen you need at that festival ever ever, I've never
Speaker 1: seen that happen. I just haven't seen that before. And
Speaker 1: that was that was I think, probably as far as
Speaker 1: tell you Rod goes, the moment where I realized, Wow,
Speaker 1: something different is happening. But HI mean something different than
Speaker 1: my expectations. I thought the film would be you know,
Speaker 1: relatively well well well received that. Um, but I'm inside
Speaker 1: the movie and I had no context of what it
Speaker 1: would mean to people outside. And you're right when we
Speaker 1: came out of the galaxy, I think it was the
Speaker 1: patron's line and I was like, this is yeah, it was, Yeah,
Speaker 1: it was amazing. Uh, tell me about just you know,
Speaker 1: in your years of programming shorts there, you know, three
Speaker 1: of the shorts that are not nominated this year for
Speaker 1: an Oscar you programmed there this year. Uh, just out
Speaker 1: of curiosity. I think filmmakers maybe listen to this. You
Speaker 1: are a person who has seen your share of short films.
Speaker 1: I'm sure it seems like it might be a kind
Speaker 1: of a saturated uh market for lack of a better word. Uh,
Speaker 1: what does it take to stand out when you're a short,
Speaker 1: when you're a filmmaker making a short film trying to
Speaker 1: pop like that? Yeah, I think it's all about personal vision, voice,
Speaker 1: especially at the short, at the short shorter links, you know,
Speaker 1: I think, um, you really have to stand out. Often
Speaker 1: say it's probably more difficult to make an amazing short
Speaker 1: film than it is to make, um an amazing feature,
Speaker 1: because everything kind of has to be hitting. You know,
Speaker 1: I tell you right, we don't program very many shorts,
Speaker 1: you know, I think we maybe screen I don't know,
Speaker 1: fifteen to sixteen shorts total, you know, or you know,
Speaker 1: across the whole program, whereas someplace like like Sundance, you know,
Speaker 1: they can show like a hundred and fifty shorts. Um uh.
Speaker 1: And it's all amazing work. So for us, it's about
Speaker 1: the personal voice. You know, things have got to stand out.
Speaker 1: You know. Last year there was a film called Everything
Speaker 1: Will Be Okay, which was nominated in a Short Short
Speaker 1: Narrative Amazing film. Amazing film. Um it didn't win the Oscar,
Speaker 1: but amazing film. It's like forty minutes, you know, which
Speaker 1: is really difficult to program for a short film. But
Speaker 1: the voice of it was just so strong and so powerful.
Speaker 1: Um And I think with a short film usually it's
Speaker 1: it's gotta be like personal vision. It's the very first thing,
Speaker 1: um I look for. And I think that three films
Speaker 1: this year that you note it are nominated in a
Speaker 1: short doc. They're all very voice heavy films, especially four
Speaker 1: point one Miles, which is probably my favorite of all
Speaker 1: the shorts that I programmed this year. Yeah, definitely check
Speaker 1: that out everyone. If you get a chance, I'm gonna
Speaker 1: get in the moonlight in just a second. I want
Speaker 1: to go back in time a bit when you were
Speaker 1: assisting for Darnell Martin Darnell directed Cadillac Records. Uh, female director.
Speaker 1: I should point out, just because the name might throw
Speaker 1: you off, I have people all the time. All you
Speaker 1: work for Darnell. I love him. He's amazing. And I'm like, no,
Speaker 1: you don't know Darnielle Well, I want to know what
Speaker 1: you learned from Darnell. You note, So I was Darnell's
Speaker 1: assistant from the earliest pre production all the way through
Speaker 1: post production, and her biggest thing was about was about
Speaker 1: work and dedication to the craft UM and working with actors.
Speaker 1: I should say, you know, Darnell had me involved in everything.
Speaker 1: I would be at all the rehearsals. You know. She
Speaker 1: liked to get to set like two hours before call
Speaker 1: time and she would walk the set by herself, and
Speaker 1: I was there for all those things. Um. It is
Speaker 1: really about taking responsibility um for the craft of the
Speaker 1: piece UM and really trying to build a genuine relationship
Speaker 1: with the actors. You know, those were the two two
Speaker 1: biggest things. You know, she was amazing, and I learned
Speaker 1: a lot in that year and a half assisting here,
Speaker 1: and you came out of that. You you did some
Speaker 1: uh you made Medicine for Melancholy, and then you worked
Speaker 1: in the short film space some more. And we were
Speaker 1: talking just before. There's a film you made called Remigration
Speaker 1: that I just saw yesterday. Everybody checked this out. It's
Speaker 1: on YouTube. It's something you made with PBS and uh
Speaker 1: I t vs where they were asking filmmakers kind of
Speaker 1: envision and attainable future, like what's something that could happen,
Speaker 1: and you put into it your ideas of gentrification. And
Speaker 1: it's essentially this vision of a city where the blue
Speaker 1: collar working classes left because they can't afford to live
Speaker 1: there anymore. Now they're kind of being enticed to come
Speaker 1: back because who's gonna work basically is what it boiled
Speaker 1: down to. Great film, and I just want to pitch
Speaker 1: to you that's something you've heard for apparently that's a
Speaker 1: feature man, that's a feature film. I mean, maybe you
Speaker 1: know you know. The thing The thing about that was,
Speaker 1: you know a lot of the shorts I did between
Speaker 1: Medicine and Moonlight, they weren't because I had an idea
Speaker 1: for a short film. It was like an opportunity kind
Speaker 1: of presented itself, just like with I TV S. They
Speaker 1: hit me up and they had sort of like, uh,
Speaker 1: like a thesis statement, which was it had to be
Speaker 1: about the not too distant future and it had to
Speaker 1: be hopeful or uplifting um. And so when then the
Speaker 1: when in that box, I kind of came up with
Speaker 1: the concept for remigration, which to me was an extension
Speaker 1: or an extrapolation of what the characters was doing with
Speaker 1: the Medicine for melancholic um. I'm glad you mentioned because
Speaker 1: nobody ever talks about that short. You know, I got
Speaker 1: to work with Rick you and Russell hornsby Paula Mendoza,
Speaker 1: you know, you know in in in Medicine you know why,
Speaker 1: and Tracy didn't have a lot of acting acting experience,
Speaker 1: where these guys were all season trained actors, and it was,
Speaker 1: you know, it was a beautiful reminder of what's possible
Speaker 1: when you know, you take these things in the world, um,
Speaker 1: that you are concerned, concerned about and you try to
Speaker 1: blend them um with the art um. So I'm glad
Speaker 1: that you brought that up, because I'm you know, I
Speaker 1: was really happy the way that turned out before this film. Actually,
Speaker 1: that was the last time James and I worked together.
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, really it's yeah. I mean, it's just the
Speaker 1: way it tackles socio political ideas, and you know, I'm
Speaker 1: kind of sort of reminded of something like her Spike
Speaker 1: Jones film, which is like an attainable future as well.
Speaker 1: And I don't know, I'm just saying, I'm not your agent,
Speaker 1: but uh, i'd watch a future of that. Let's talk
Speaker 1: about Moonlight. First of all, Terrell mccraney's peace. Thank you
Speaker 1: for helping me up with that. It's really elegant, uh Peace,
Speaker 1: And Uh, what's immediately striking. First of all, the language,
Speaker 1: both dialogue and his action is it's really striking, and
Speaker 1: I feel like it should be published. Do you think
Speaker 1: there's a possibility that it will be published? Uh, that's
Speaker 1: that's a Terrell. I think he wrote it when he
Speaker 1: he was a very young man. I think he'd maybe
Speaker 1: wanna take it. It makes some adjustments, Um, but that's Terrell.
Speaker 1: I I can't say. Yeah. I mean, I can understand
Speaker 1: that it definitely captures him in a different voice than
Speaker 1: than what he's grown into. But I think that's what's
Speaker 1: so vital about it? And I think that the fact
Speaker 1: that it it it brought moonlight to life is is
Speaker 1: very noteworthy. So Terrell, if you're listening, I think other
Speaker 1: people would love to read that. But the most notable
Speaker 1: change you made when you were adapting this story was
Speaker 1: struct shortly. Obviously, the Terrelle piece was forty five pages,
Speaker 1: but it blended the stories of Little Chiron and Black.
Speaker 1: So you kept kind of going back and forth, and
Speaker 1: you took those and made them. You went linear, and
Speaker 1: you kind of told each story completely before moving on
Speaker 1: to the next one. What was your thought there? Why
Speaker 1: did you think that was important? You know, I kind
Speaker 1: of when I first read it, I tried to read
Speaker 1: it as an audience member. You know, it's someone sitting
Speaker 1: in the cinema, you know, watching this story unfold. Um
Speaker 1: And I felt like it was too intellectual to really
Speaker 1: follow the journey of you know, the boy into the team,
Speaker 1: into the man. And and I thought whatever the piece
Speaker 1: was saying about the world, I was going to be
Speaker 1: best digested by the audience, you know, over the course
Speaker 1: of a linear journey with the character, rather than seeing
Speaker 1: time fold back back on itself. Um. And And also
Speaker 1: to you know, I right away thought of the concept
Speaker 1: of seeing the sky you know as different people, you know,
Speaker 1: literally how the world has manifested himself into a sports
Speaker 1: whan to manifest himself into a different uh person. And
Speaker 1: I thought that if you could really spend time with
Speaker 1: one version and then jump and spend time with the
Speaker 1: next version, you'll you'll see more of the change, you know,
Speaker 1: you'll get more of the read of how society has
Speaker 1: has affected this person um. And so yeah, it just
Speaker 1: and it was honestly the breakthrough that that where I
Speaker 1: was like, Okay, now I can take take take all
Speaker 1: the ship with this piece. Yeah. You know, something else
Speaker 1: it really does is, uh, myrchel allis character it the
Speaker 1: way you've structured it. When he's no longer there after
Speaker 1: the first piece of the triptych, it makes you miss him.
Speaker 1: And you see how the presence of this sort of
Speaker 1: father figure, the sort of role model in a certain way,
Speaker 1: you know, if it's not constantly readjusting the way it's
Speaker 1: being sort of ingested by our main character, it kind
Speaker 1: of starts to go off the rails of it. Yeah, uh,
Speaker 1: I want to talk about your DP, James Laxton. We
Speaker 1: were mentioning earlier, and first of all, like going back
Speaker 1: to film school, like, what interested you guys photographically? Uh,
Speaker 1: you know, whether photographs are certain cinematographers like because certainly
Speaker 1: with Medicine for Melancholia, which was more overt in its
Speaker 1: kind of visual stylings, and then definitely here too, you
Speaker 1: have a you have a distinctive visual signature going on.
Speaker 1: So I'm just curious what inspired you guys at the beginning. Yeah,
Speaker 1: we were really big and too Christopher Doyle and uh
Speaker 1: and I'd say Darius Kanji. Those were like the two
Speaker 1: biggest ones, uh for us and Christopher Doyle. It was
Speaker 1: just because you know, as I've said about my approach directing,
Speaker 1: you know, I just liked the idea that there was
Speaker 1: more than one way to tell the story, there was
Speaker 1: more than one way to photograph an image. Um, and
Speaker 1: I just love the way that that collaboration between One
Speaker 1: Car Y and Christopher Doyle, the way it manifested itself
Speaker 1: as like a very unique voice picture to picture. And
Speaker 1: we just watched a lot of One Car Hawaii and
Speaker 1: a lot of Darius Kanji. And we also like the
Speaker 1: guy who was shooting Flynn Ramsey at the time, I
Speaker 1: think his name was Alwan Alan Couch. Yeah, and we
Speaker 1: watched a lot of his stuff too, because I think
Speaker 1: he think he may have also shot monsl and Wedding,
Speaker 1: which we were obsessed with at the time. And it's
Speaker 1: funny because Damien also loves mons and Wedding. But we
Speaker 1: were in the directors round table. It was basically me
Speaker 1: and Damien cornering uh Me and Nyera to talk about
Speaker 1: Monson Wedding. It was amazing. Um. But you know, we
Speaker 1: just at the film school that we went to, there
Speaker 1: are a lot of really great filmmakers there at the time.
Speaker 1: You know, this guy westball Um was there at the
Speaker 1: same time that we weren't, and he was watching like
Speaker 1: a lot of Spielberg and things like that, James Cameron
Speaker 1: and things like that, and there's that's there. That's a
Speaker 1: certain way of approaching the visual voice of a piece.
Speaker 1: But then there was just so much of the world
Speaker 1: outside that, and James and I we were just these
Speaker 1: two guys who we would just go off and nerd out, watching,
Speaker 1: you know, as much off the beaten path as we
Speaker 1: possibly could. And eventually when we started making short films
Speaker 1: as this film, I have penned to my Twitter profile.
Speaker 1: It was the first short that we made at film school,
Speaker 1: called my josephing Um. It just all those influences manifested themselves.
Speaker 1: Like I said, Medicine had a more overt kind of
Speaker 1: thing with the saturation of the color, pulling the colors down,
Speaker 1: bringing them up in other areas. Uh. And Moonlight has
Speaker 1: you know, certainly with how you handled handled the color
Speaker 1: with the color side of things has something going on
Speaker 1: as well, but it's not as overt. Like I said,
Speaker 1: did you ever think about doing something as bold is
Speaker 1: what you did in Medicine for Melancholi with a look?
Speaker 1: No we we I mean to us that the boldness
Speaker 1: was going to be allowing Moonlight to be as sat
Speaker 1: to rate it um, as picturesque, I would say, as
Speaker 1: beautiful an image as it is. Because you know, when
Speaker 1: you if I tell you on making the social realist drama,
Speaker 1: you know, you assume you know a very naturalistic you know,
Speaker 1: dispatching a camera, you know these sort of like not
Speaker 1: necessarily flat, but you know, a more gray, great toned film,
Speaker 1: something like the Dardin Brothers um Uh. Whereas you know,
Speaker 1: we thought we would lean into the beauty of Miami's
Speaker 1: interesting with with with medicine though, because you know, a
Speaker 1: lot of these things they don't happen by happenstance. You
Speaker 1: know what I love about medicine is people always make
Speaker 1: the commentary of how desaturated it is, But if you
Speaker 1: watch the raw footage, it's super saturated, like hyper saturated,
Speaker 1: because we knew when we pulled out the color we
Speaker 1: wanted to keep the lushness of the skin tones um,
Speaker 1: and so all the footage is very very very rid
Speaker 1: and very very orange um at the image capture stage,
Speaker 1: and then we worked our way back, uh from that.
Speaker 1: So you know, we try to you know, I say
Speaker 1: this about moon light, but I think it also applies
Speaker 1: to medicine. The consciousness of the character kind of dictates
Speaker 1: um the tone, the visual tone of the piece. And
Speaker 1: Charonne is surrounded by beauty, and I think inside there
Speaker 1: was this inner sort of torment, you know, about the
Speaker 1: beauty he surrounded by and yet how tough his life is,
Speaker 1: and so those things make their way into the imagery.
Speaker 1: But to go down to like because that would have been,
Speaker 1: you know about medicine is desaturated. We had to hyper
Speaker 1: saturate this man, it would have been and then we
Speaker 1: are talking abou Christopher Doyle Workar, you're getting there. You'll
Speaker 1: probably get there at some point with that kind of
Speaker 1: a look. I mean, uh, the environment is something I
Speaker 1: want to talk about. Medicine. It's very uh informed by
Speaker 1: its environment San Francisco, the characters dealing with the various
Speaker 1: socio political elements, and the gentrification is a big topic
Speaker 1: there as well. And then uh with Moonlight Miami Liberty
Speaker 1: s the basically the environments very much speak to character
Speaker 1: in these films. Uh, how important is that for you?
Speaker 1: Is that something more specifically? Is that Is that something
Speaker 1: that comes naturally to you when you're writing, or is
Speaker 1: it something that maybe through the process of writing you
Speaker 1: come to a stage where it's like, Okay, now I
Speaker 1: want to implement these ideas of how environment is impacting
Speaker 1: this story. No, no, I think it comes part and
Speaker 1: parcel with my approach to the work up to this point,
Speaker 1: especially with those two films. Um, you know, they're both
Speaker 1: very very rooted in place, and you know you've read
Speaker 1: Sells piece even even that at rell stage of it,
Speaker 1: you know, the environment was was a very large aspect.
Speaker 1: I mean, that's kind of cliche to say, you but
Speaker 1: the environment was a character. You know. Uh. Some element
Speaker 1: of it has to do with the way we're making
Speaker 1: these films. You know, these are not robust budgets. You know.
Speaker 1: It's it would be more expensive for me to try
Speaker 1: to subdue the environment than to make the environment active
Speaker 1: element um of the film. Uh. And in this case,
Speaker 1: you know, it will is uh intellectually dramatically um a
Speaker 1: point of reference to have the environment be an active
Speaker 1: element of the tone in the atmosphere of a movie.
Speaker 1: For example, you know, we could have gone to New
Speaker 1: Orleans or Atlanta to make this film because Florida doesn't
Speaker 1: have any tax incentives, and because of the budget of
Speaker 1: this film, you know, we really could have used those
Speaker 1: tax and centives. But the offset to me, you know,
Speaker 1: the the environment, as you say, if Miami was so
Speaker 1: crucial to me to the inner life of the characters, um,
Speaker 1: that it was worth taking the hit, you know, and
Speaker 1: not moving to a different locale to set the film. Yeah.
Speaker 1: And esthetically it provides so much, I mean beyond just
Speaker 1: thematically how it appects you know, as as a filmmaker,
Speaker 1: you often imagining things. You know, you imagine how a
Speaker 1: location was gonna look, you know, how how the light
Speaker 1: is going to be whereas in this case, because I've
Speaker 1: grown up in this place, you know, I can imagine it.
Speaker 1: But it's exactly as I imagined it. When I get
Speaker 1: to set. You know, when I point the camera in
Speaker 1: that direction, I'm seeing exactly what I saw. Um and ahead,
Speaker 1: you know, the projects is still pastel, you know, and
Speaker 1: when we've turned that camera on, it's gonna be gorgeous
Speaker 1: pastel colors surrounding this and some some scenes. This horrific
Speaker 1: on the counter between these characters. Uh. Regarding the Oscars,
Speaker 1: congratulations Louis has I think eight nominations. It's and a's
Speaker 1: as is wild. This is this is me James Adala
Speaker 1: joy Natt went to film school together and we are
Speaker 1: all Academy Award nominees. Like it's fun. I'm I'm pretty
Speaker 1: chill about the stuff, but I did. I teared up, man,
Speaker 1: because it's like, um, you know, not that it was
Speaker 1: a dream of mine, but you know, you're in film
Speaker 1: school and you you know, you guys sitting around you
Speaker 1: watch the Oscars, and now they're gonna be people at
Speaker 1: my film school watching the Oscars, and they're gonna see us,
Speaker 1: you know, sitting in the auditorium. It's it's unbelievable. Yeah, definitely.
Speaker 1: That's part of the reason I'm always pulling for Jeff Nichols.
Speaker 1: We went to film school again. Yeah, amazing guy. But uh,
Speaker 1: you know, regarding that you've made history and that this
Speaker 1: is the first film from a black writer director that's
Speaker 1: nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Uh, what
Speaker 1: I want to know is, uh, what's like the overriding
Speaker 1: emotion for you. Is it is it pride that you're
Speaker 1: the guy that that broke this ceiling, that this is
Speaker 1: the film that did this or is there more of
Speaker 1: a sense of longing that I don't have to bring
Speaker 1: that up as a statistic that uh it's it's yeah,
Speaker 1: it's better sweet. I mean, uh, there's there's so many
Speaker 1: different angles on it, you know. One, you know, I'm
Speaker 1: getting messages from people back home in Miami now and
Speaker 1: I'm not even talking Florida State, my film school. People
Speaker 1: back home living in the world you see depicted in
Speaker 1: this film. Um, and I think when you watch this movie,
Speaker 1: you don't assume that Shyrone is going to grow up
Speaker 1: and be nominated, you know, for for for two Academy
Speaker 1: Awards or eight Academy Awards for the film. UM. And
Speaker 1: I think people look at me and they see that
Speaker 1: happen in their idea of what they are capable of
Speaker 1: is shifting, you know. Um. I think that's that's amazing.
Speaker 1: You know what's possible, um, is shifting. Uh. And it's
Speaker 1: a It's a beautiful thing. Um. But of course it's
Speaker 1: bitter sweet because you know, it's seventeen. Um. There should
Speaker 1: be no room for first anymore. And I think if
Speaker 1: someone you know, like Spike you know, who wrote and
Speaker 1: directed Malcolm X, which is an amazing film, um, or
Speaker 1: do the Right Thing or so many, so many other
Speaker 1: pieces of his work. Um. And so it's bitter sweet
Speaker 1: that there are any first uh for me or anyone
Speaker 1: else to accomplish. UM. Yeah, I don't, I don't. It's
Speaker 1: where you even talking about it. Man. It's such a
Speaker 1: mixed thing. You know. I do a lot of Q
Speaker 1: and A S and I can give very sustinct dances.
Speaker 1: But that's one of the ones that you know, as
Speaker 1: this is happening, you know, I'm still trying to reconcile
Speaker 1: you know, what it means and how I feel about it. Yeah, definitely,
Speaker 1: And then you know, I just it's so far over
Speaker 1: due milestone. But congrats on being the one to hit
Speaker 1: that mark. You thank you, bro, and and you know,
Speaker 1: and to and to fold it all the way back.
Speaker 1: You know. You mentioned eight nominations, you know, and I'm
Speaker 1: glad they're spread as wide across the piece as they are.
Speaker 1: You know. I think you remove any one element um
Speaker 1: of this puzzle in the film, it's not the same.
Speaker 1: And so even though it's a milestone that theoretically, you know,
Speaker 1: I am, I've accomplished behind the recipient of I think
Speaker 1: those eight nominations show that the village that created more
Speaker 1: white has has has achieved that milestone definitely. And then
Speaker 1: I hate to close out by leaning in on politics,
Speaker 1: but we're entering Black History Month, and I have to
Speaker 1: ask if you if you saw President Trump's comments about
Speaker 1: Black History Month. I did not. You did not did
Speaker 1: not very hand fist. I saw I saw one clip
Speaker 1: on Twitter about Frederick Douglas, and I thought it was
Speaker 1: a joke. I thought I thought someone had like dubbed.
Speaker 1: I did not think it was real. That was real.
Speaker 1: I did not think it was real. What does that
Speaker 1: make you think? When the leader of the free world
Speaker 1: is is that that's his capacity for empathizing and understanding
Speaker 1: what this means. Heavy question to close with him, so sorry,
Speaker 1: thankfully this is his radio because he could see my
Speaker 1: face when he started to ask the question. UM, I mean, look,
Speaker 1: these are I think we're all you know. I just
Speaker 1: watched I Am Not Your Negro again uh the other day,
Speaker 1: and I think it's amazing how many things Mr Baldwin
Speaker 1: says in that piece that are relevant to the present
Speaker 1: moment that we're currently living in. UM. And rather than
Speaker 1: than giving an opinion on the current president, UM, it
Speaker 1: just reminds me like a movie that's pens at the
Speaker 1: top of my Twitter profile. I've just got to keep
Speaker 1: making work UM that addresses and reflects the world that
Speaker 1: we live in, in the country, UM, that we want
Speaker 1: to continue to live in. Definitely. Well, I think you'll
Speaker 1: have plenty of doors open to you now, thankfully. What
Speaker 1: do you want to do? Remigration to electric bugal, what
Speaker 1: do you want to do those? Seriously? Like do you
Speaker 1: want to uh? Because you're in a variety of things.
Speaker 1: I mean I was reading about the thing that you
Speaker 1: wrote like a die hard kind of thing, like on
Speaker 1: Diehard on a bridge is what you called it, But like,
Speaker 1: what what kind of movies are interested in making going forward?
Speaker 1: You know, I'm I'm a I'm a person who just
Speaker 1: loves cinema. You know, for example, you know my love
Speaker 1: of Deep Water Horizon. I would love to make that film.
Speaker 1: As as evidence how much I tweet about it. Um
Speaker 1: that there are many different things, UM that that I'm
Speaker 1: curious about that I have an appetite for UM And
Speaker 1: I think that the biggest blessing of this experience has
Speaker 1: been a lot of those things are open to me now. Um.
Speaker 1: It always starts with the character. Though, always starts with
Speaker 1: the character, and as you said, with the place. I
Speaker 1: think with those two elements, there's some moments where I
Speaker 1: feel like I can make anything, as evidenced by the
Speaker 1: two pieces I'm working on now, which are totally different,
Speaker 1: you know, basically a biopic about a female boxer from Flint, Michigan,
Speaker 1: you know, and Colson white Heads The Underground Railroad. You know,
Speaker 1: it could be more different, um, And yet I think
Speaker 1: they both feature amazing characters rooted to place. Yeah. Man, well,
Speaker 1: good luck of both of those. Good luck going forward,
Speaker 1: and congrats again and thanks for coming on the show.
Speaker 1: I really appreciate it. Thank you very much, Bron Thanks
Speaker 1: for listening everyone. Remember to subscribe and check back next
Speaker 1: week when I'll be talking to Arrival. The director Danie Villain,
Speaker 1: new you've been listening to Playback at the right boom.