RiffTrax Live! discuss “The Room” on the Tribeca Red Carpet

RiffTrax Live! took the stage at the Tribeca Film Festival for their first ever New York show on April 17th. The crew consisted of the talent behind classic TV show Mystery Science Theater 3000, Mike J. Nelson, Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett. Although MST3K went off the air officially in 1999, their particular brand of humor, consisting of running commentary on classic terrible B-movies got a new life in the form of RiffTrax. With RiffTrax, the guys have shed their MST3K alter-egos (Bill as Crow T Robot, Kevin as Tom Servo and Mike as…Mike) and have broadened their scope to include live shows and downloadable tracks riffing on mainstream studio films. For their Tribeca audience, the guys presented Tommy Wiseau’s 2003 “disasterpiece” The Room. I caught up with the trio on their red carpet. In true RiffTrax fashion while Mike posed in front of photographers, Kevin and Bill stalled off ­to the side to riff on his technique before all heading over for a hilarious chat about what they do:

Lauren Damon: So…why The Room?

Mike Lawrence: Have you seen it?
LD: Yep
Mike: Yeah. I mean it’s the weirdest movie ever, it has to be done.
Bill Corbett: It is the Citizen Kane of bad movies.

 

LD: Have you guys ever met Tommy Wiseau, does he know what you’re up to?
Mike: Oh yes.
Bill: Yeah, he has to agree to this, believe it or not.

 

LD: Does he think the movie is good?
Kevin Murphy: I think he was confused at first. He didn’t know exactly—He thought we were stealing his film at first—
Bill: He thought we were stealing his soul!
Kevin: But then he realized we were just having fun with it and he already knows people have fun with the film.
Bill: Yeah
Kevin: He’s accepted it and he’s embraced it so—
Bill: He decided to call it a comedy.
Mike: He’s a good sport about it.
Kevin: He’s a very good sport about it.

 

LD: And you’ll be doing this again live?
Kevin: We’re doing it live, May 6th, Rifftrax.com for all the information
Bill: Across the land!

 

LD: And you’ll have new material on this same film every time?
Bill: Yeah, this will probably change, yeah. This is very different from the one we recorded before, yeah, it’ll change a lot.

 

LD: Can you also talk about how with Rifftrax you switched from Mystery Science 3000 riffing on B-movies to now these downloadable tracks for mainstream movies?
Mike: Well we’ve never had a chance to do them, since we can’t get the rights to them, and the technology allowed it was just like there’s a whole bunch of movies out there that are opened up by doing it that way.
Kevin: It helped us to get some of these big, more recent films for our live shows. Like we’re doing Sharknado 2 in July. Yeah and then what’s that big blockbuster? Santa and The Ice Cream Bunny. [laughing]
Bill: George Lucas’s, I believe?
Kevin: [laughing] I think so, yes, in December.

 

LD: I enjoy downloading your tracks on my favorite movies. I have all your Marvel universe ones, because I’ve seen them a ton of times and I like to get a ‘new take’ on them.
Kevin: Yeah [all laughing] I’m glad we can provide that for you!
Bill: If we can do NOTHING else, it’s talk about the Hulk’s schlong.

 

LD: Do you miss your Mystery Science Theatre 3000 alter-egos, your robots?
Bill: I miss being Mike. I played Mike, you realize that don’t you?
Kevin: It’s amazing.
Mike: Make up. Hours in the chair.
Kevin: And Mike was Crow but he wasn’t a puppet, it was make up. It was just all make up. No, I had the opportunity to bring one of the show puppets home after the show was over and I said I don’t want that thing around my house. It would be like Anthony Hopkins in Magic [in presumably a demon puppet voice] “Chop your head off Kevin, CHOP YOUR HEAD OFF!”
Bill: KEVIN! KEEEEEVIN!

 

 

When you started MST3K almost 30 years ago did you ever think you’d be doing anything similar all this time later?
Kevin: No
Bill: I thought I’d work as like a bus boy or a porter or be, I don’t know on the Bowery.
Mike: I was sure I’d be back at TGIFridays. I still remember all the codes for extra broccoli.
Bill: Something to fall back on.
Kevin: We kinda were in job transitions and it seemed like fun so we did it and boom, we’re still here.
Bill: Well At this point we have no other discernible skill set. So we kind of have to do it.
Kevin: Yeah we kind of boned ourselves here!

 

LD: Do you go to see ‘real movies’? Are you in MS3TK mode, how  are you about people talking during films?
All: Oh yeah.
Bill: By all means, oh yeah. I hate people who talk in the movie theater! I’m really a prig and a tight-ass when it comes to that.
Kevin: “SHUSH!!” It’s true.

 

LD: Do you think, with rights issues, there will ever be a return to the MS3TK characters or that format?
Kevin: Really not up to us because we’re not really controlling—or owners of the company in any way. So…
Bill: I think they will be resurrected on the last days of EARTH. Like…the living and the dead…
Kevin: All the immortal souls.
Bill: Definitely that!

 

LD: Because it continues to have such life with dvds…
Kevin: Well, wait for the rapture, we’ll see what happens!
Bill: And this movie [The Room] will be the thing that kicks off the rapture.
Mike: Luckily you don’t have to wait very long at all.

Fortunately, the presentation at Tribeca did not bring about the rapture–although I can’t make any promises for the May 6th nationwide broadcast–but it was a hell of a good time. Not only were audiences treated to The Room, but the gang pre-gamed with a black and white children’s safety film, “Live and Learn” that featured more lessons than you can shake a dangerous pointed stick at. My face hurt from laughing and the crowd gave the trio a standing O.

 

Tickets for the May 6th broadcast of Rifftrax Live: The Room are available via Fathom Events

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Tribeca Film Festival Review “Misery Loves Comedy”

Director: Kevin Pollak
Starring: Jimmy Fallon, Freddie Prinze Jr, Judd Apatow, Christopher Guest
Runtime: 94 minutes
Heretic Films

Our Score: 2 out of 5 stars

Watching Kevin Pollak’s new documentary, which held its NY premiere at the Tribeca Film Fest last night, I had a newfound appreciation for Jerry Seinfeld’s web series ‘Comedians in Cars getting Coffee’. On that short series, now in its 5th season, Seinfeld tools around in a carefully selected retro vehicle with a guest comedian shooting the breeze on life and comedy, eventually parking at a cafe to wrap up their conversation with a meal. At roughly twenty minutes an episode that series exerts more visual flair while getting more to the heart of each of its individual guests than the star-studded but tedious, ninety minute Misery Loves Comedy.

In one and two shot setups, Pollak’s interviewees–numbering over fifty and spanning generations and countries–are encouraged to speak of their influences, their best and worst sets and the ostensible thesis, must one be miserable to succeed in comedy? That question, is just one of a dozen or so title-carded themes upon which the editors of the doc loosely tether what must have been days of content into some sort of order. The trouble with this structure is it is exhausting, lacking any sort of commentary or interaction from filmmakers, or even performance footage of standup.

The amount of star power is blinding, but the excitement is tempered when you realize all of its subjects will be exclusively in isolation. This format has been increasingly bested recently by webcasts like Marc Maron’s WTF, Chris Hardwick’s Nerdist, and yes the aforementioned Seinfeld series. While there are a number of laugh out loud anecdotes from the likes of Jim Jefferies, Stephen Merchant and Christopher Guest, the quantity over quality approach of this film lacks the depth suggested by its title.

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Book Reviews “The World According to Iron Man” and “The World According to Thor”

Hardcover: 64 Pages
Publisher: Insight Editions
Release Date: April 21, 2015

Our Scores: 4 out of 5 stars

The World According to…

When I was younger I loved books that came with their own little hidden treasures, pull out letters or drawings from characters, something tangible from the world of the book. In this respect and more I suspect Insight Editions new “The World According to…” set of Avengers books will be greatly satisfying to the young Marvel fan.

Told from the point of view of one of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, The World According to Iron Man (by Larry Hama and Marc Sumerak) and The World According to Thor (Sumarak) are fun introductions to Tony Stark and Thor Odinson, touching on all the aspects of their respective universes from origins, to villains and allies. Both boast bright, engaging illustrations (by Mirco Pierfederici for Iron Man, and Freddie E. Williams II for Thor) that warrant a closer look to catch some fun background action. You can spot Black Widow rebuffing Hawkeye at Stark’s party or, what I’m 98% positive is Disney’s Cinderella castle in the realm of Alfheim from our “Tour with Thor” (synergy, kids!)

When it comes to the Avengers, my personal favorite is Thor so that likely contributed to my enjoying his story slightly more, although perhaps his Asgardian exclamations–By Odin’s stamp collection!–simply jump off the page louder than Stark’s trademark sarcastic banter does. Author Sumerak also cleverly lets Thor give over narration of his tales to fan favorites The Warriors Three and Loki which contribute to filling out his “World” a little more than Stark’s. That said, the nifty special features that Iron Man’s book come with–Stark Industries Business Cards and Stocks, blue prints of the technology–would definitely excite the young reader looking to grasp onto a piece of the Stark empire. Perfect for the young fan who’s perhaps not exactly ready to square off with Ultron on the big screen.

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Tribeca Film Festival Review “Man Up”

Director: Ben Palmer
Starring: Lake Bell, Simon Pegg, Rory Kinnear, Olivia Williams
Runtime: 80 minutes
Big Talk Productions, StudioCanal

Our Score: 5 out of 5 stars

Have you ever been watching a romantic comedy and right as your arguing couple is about to explain What’s Going On(?!) they just…don’t? For some reason explaining a simple misunderstanding like adults just doesn’t happen? Ever wish those lovers would man up, quit moping around and keep the movie going already? Blissfully Ben Palmer’s refreshing Man Up does just that. It takes what could have been a very contrived setup and spins it into a fantastically wild night out in London with stars Lake Bell and Simon Pegg.

Socially awkward Nancy (Bell) is on a train to her parents’ 40th Anniversary party looking a bit worse for wear after a failed arranged date the previous night. Lonely and tired, she’s confronted by the perky Jessica (Ophelia Lovibond, the expolsive Carina of Guardians of the Galaxy) who foists a fad self help book onto Nancy. As it turns out the book was meant to signal Jessica’s blind date Jack (Pegg) at their Waterloo Station meeting point but before she can replace her copy, he spots Nancy instead. In the spirit of Nancy taking more chances and in the face of the Simon Pegg Charm Offensivetm, she decides to go ahead and be “Jessica” for the evening. It’s quite the setup but Nancy and Jack’s immediate chemistry had me rooting for them despite the inevitable truth coming out. Through a contagiously fun night of drinking and bowling it becomes apparent that the older Nancy was really more suited to the just-divorced Jack than 24-year-old Jessica.

There’s a wonderful balance in Palmer’s film between over the top humor and raw emotional moments from these two damaged lovebirds and Bell and Pegg are more than capable of selling both extremes. A skill that’s cleverly emphasized by Palmer giving Jack an emotional breakdown during a cheesy club dance. When the not-Jessica reveal finally comes to the forefront, sure they leads handle it for the bizarre decision that it was but they really sort of barrel through it to present a united front against Jack’s exe appearing (Olivia Williams) in the midst of it all. Bigger fish to fry and all that. In this instance and more Palmer, working from a script by Tess Morris, keeps the pace speedy throughout and offers some written gems like “the tactical puke” that had the audience cracking up.

Compliments too must be paid to Morris for avoiding writing in any shrewish females–not the exes, Nancy’s family, even that spunky Jessica, not an evil caricature among them. I wish I didn’t have to put a special shoutout in this regard but the rarity of women helping other women in romcoms, especially where love triangles are concerned, is usually a major drawback of the genre. And if Man Up culminates in a Grand Romantic Gesture as the genre also demands then it damn well did everything else right to earn it.

Man Up premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 19th 2015 and has additional screenings through the festival’s end on April 26th.

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Tribeca Film Festival Review “The Survivalist”

Director: Stephen Fingleton
Starring: Martin McCann, Mia Goth, Olwen Fouéré
Runtime: 105 minutes

Our Score: 3.5 out of 5 stars

There is an admirable practicality at the heart of Stephen Fingleton’s post-apocalyptic film, The Survivalist. With small cast, no musical score and only a patch of woodland as a setting, Fingleton delivers a no-nonsense drama as lean as its protagonist.

For better or worse, Fingleton wastes no time with exposition as to what has happened to humanity. He opts instead to show a simple line graph charting the descent of human population. It is with only this information we are introduced to Martin McCann’s unnamed Survivalist. He lives a solitary existence on a makeshift farm in the Irish woods. His daily routine is not glamorous, more than once he uses his own bodily fluids to fertilize his crops, but it is successful. For one at least.

The Survivalist’s way of life is disrupted by the appeared if the elderly Kathryn (Olwen Fouéré) and her daughter Milja (Mia Goth). When the women’s initial attempts at trading the man no-longer-valuables in exchange for some food, he reluctantly lets them in. There Milja very matter-of-factly offers her body instead. All the while, the Survivalist keeps them at gunpoint.

No matter how comfortable the three get around each other, the threat of running out of supplies hangs over them all and this is where Fingleton wrings out the most dramatic tension. While Kathryn chastises Milja for becoming sentimental about the man, Milja is gradually realizing her mother might not be the optimal partner for survival. What’s great about the situation Fingleton has set up is it doesn’t take sides. Milja has just as much right to decide who her safest life raft is as the survivalist does carrying two shot gun shells on his person at all times.

In the title role, McCann brings to mind alternately a deer in headlights and a predatory bird. He is captivating to watch and a good anchor to this taut thriller.

The Survivalist held its New York premiere at the Tribeca Film Fest last night with additional public screenings at TFF scheduled through April 25th.

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Tribeca Film Festival Review “Slow West”

Starring: Michael Fassbender, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Ben Mendelsohn, Caren Pistorious, Rory McCann
Directed By: John Maclean
Running Time: 84 mins
A24/DirecTV

Our Score: 4 out of 5 stars

There’s a surprising streak of gallows humor coursing through Slow West, available now on DirecTV and having its NY premiere at Tribeca this week. The terrain is merciless and bloody but plenty meet their doom with a darkly ironic twist. Coupled with stunning visuals and a plethora of perfectly cast outlaws, John Maclean’s tale of star crossed lovers in the old west is an unexpectedly quirky entry into the genre.

We meet Jay Cavendish (Kodi Smit-McPhee), an upper class young Scotsman riding through the deep Colorado woods on a mission to find his lost love, Rose (Caren Pistorious). Jay is way out of his depths, bearing with him too much luggage and the old west equivalent of a Frommer’s guide. He narrowly avoids being shot when a lone bounty hunter named Silas intervenes on his behalf. “You need chaperoning,” the rugged Silas says, “and I’m a chaperone.” Naturally Silas has his own agenda regarding Rose, but Jay pegs Silas as a lonely man in need of company and accepts his help.

Naïve Jay is an interesting romantic lead insofar as his flashbacks to his time with Rose in Scotland reveal him to have been ye olde friend-zoned. It puts a nice tragicomic edge on his mission and earnest dealings with Silas. It’s also entertaining to watch the wide-eyed McPhee wear down the gruff Fassbender. The addition of Silas to Jay’s mission comes with its own baggage in the form of Ben Mendelsohn’s Payne. Payne, in an outrageous large furry coat, leads Silas’s old gang each of them looking every inch the old-timey outlaw. They bring with them absinthe and their own absurd tales from the road where Maclean is not afraid to cull some laughs from deadly stories even as Payne’s gang looms ominously over our leads.

Ultimately of course finding Rose is going to come down to a good old fashion shoot out as the west demands. Like the rest of the film, its gorgeously shot (New Zealand subbing for Colorado) and gives all the players a chance to shine before the bullets begin to really fly. It’s a satisfying climax to top off this brief offbeat journey through the west.

 

 

 

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Luke Hemsworth discusses new film “Kill Me Three Times”

Now available on Video On Demand and opening Friday April 10th in New York City, “Kill Me Three Times” is an Australian dark comedy thriller from director Kriv Stenders. The film centers around sniper Charlie Wolfe (an amusingly malicious Simon Pegg) who’s being paid to execute a hit on Alice (Alice Braga), the cheating wife of Jack (Callan Mulvey). Little does Wolfe know that Jack is not the only person out for his target and bloody mayhem and blackmail ensues.

Luke Hemsworth takes on the role of Dylan the tough mechanic with whom Alice is carrying on her affair. I got a chance to speak with Luke on a phone call from LA about the film, working in Australia and his recent stint on Saturday Night Live with younger brothers, Chris and Liam.

Lauren Damon: The film is kind of crazy, who first introduced you to the project?
Luke Hemsworth: That’s a good question, I think someone sent the script and said ‘have a read of this, if you like it, let’s talk more about it’. And of course I read it you know in one go—which  is always a good sign—and then I jumped on Skype with Kriv and you know, we were all on the same page and then from that point we went on and did a chemistry reading with Alice Braga and that obviously went pretty well and here we are!

LD: Was Alice already signed on at that point when you did the chemistry read?
LH: She was signed on. She had been signed on for like five years or ten years or something, she was signed on since she was a little kid I think! [Laughs]

LD: How would you describe your character Dylan?
LH: I would describe him as a loyal, humane puppy dog who is forced to deal with revenge and deals with it pretty well!

LD: Was it more appealing for you that Dylan is one of the characters that is decent and can have a happy ending versus everyone else?
LH: Yeah, it’s an added bonus I think. I haven’t even looked at it from that point of view—the journey is you know, that’s the fun part.

LD: Your journey mostly includes scenes with gunfights and you get a car chase. Did you have  fun making that? Had you experienced that before?
LH: Soooo much fun! I’ve experienced a little bit of that, but yeah…it was a complete blast. I got to do some really good, heisty you know, funny stuff. There wasn’t a day on set I didn’t enjoy and think ‘gee I really wanna be here.”

LD: Particularly was it fun having a big standoff with Simon Pegg’s character?
LH: Yeah, I mean it was great. It was really at the start of what we were doing. I think it was one of my first days was the stand off with Simon Pegg. And we kinda hung out and got to know each other, so yeah, it’s just such an interesting dynamic when that happens. And fortunately Simon is like the coolest guy in the world so we got on really well and we had an awesome time.

LD: Contrary to the bloody fights, you’re really in the most beautiful settings, how was it to shoot on these locations and was that an intentional juxtaposition?
LH: Oh for sure, yeah. The locations became a character in a way, so it was very intentional. For me, it was a huge added bonus to work not only as an actor, but also a human being I got to spend time surfing and you know, playing in an area of my native country, which is exceptionally rugged and beautiful with amazingly grounded people.

LD: Are you still based in Australia generally or have you also moved to Hollywood?
LH: I’ve been here for two years now, yeah, I’d moved before this all happened. And of course you when you make the move, then something’s happening back in Australia or somewhere else. So I spent a little bit of time back in Australia.

LD: So you were in LA when you got this part in Australia?
LH: I was yeah I got taken back two or three times, I did another project called Infini with Shane Abbess, who directed Gabriel, which also drops very soon—comes out in May I think—which is amazing, another amazing Australian kind of phenomenon which I’m sure we’ll be talking about soon.

LD: I noticed up until recently, you have a lot of television credits, does that affect at all how you approach a project? Do you prefer one or the other?
LH: No, I definitely don’t have—I don’t care one or the other, you kind of approach them both the same. Yeah, definitely approach them both the same. There’s a level of you know, pre-production work and research which goes into each character which goes into each and every day. I think that kind of falls away and hopefully you’re left with something which looks presentable [laughs].

LD: Do you foresee pursing more films going forward?
LH: Umm, yes and no, you know I don’t rule out one or the other. I’m about to start shooting West World for HBO so you know that’s TV but it’s…kind of—

LD: Their slogan is ‘it’s not TV, it’s HBO!’
LH: Yeah! It’s the pinnacle of TV. You know it’s Jonathan Nolan, Lisa Joy, Bad Robot are producing so you know it’s a huge project.

LD: If you’re allowed to talk about about that at all, what’s your Westworld role like?
LH: I’m like the head of tech security for the army and it’s the robot part. The human technological side. I can’t give much too away other than that I think.

LD: Thanks! Of course the last time I saw you on US TV, you were on SNL a last month with your brothers, what was that like?
LH: [Laughs] It was great! I mean hilarious. You know a huge kind of notch on the belt for me, definitely. For all of us. Chris did such a wonderful job, incredibly honored to be a part of that process. It was fun.

LD: Is SNL as iconic to Australian viewers as it is here?
LH:  To certain Australians, definitely. Maybe not as much as Americans, but you know I know of it, I definitely hear of  a lot about SNL. Maybe not the same kind of love and mystery that it does here, but definitely a huge honor, absolutely.

Once again, Kill Me Three Times premieres this week at NYC’s Landmark Sunshine Cinema and is still available on VOD. Meanwhile, as Luke said, you can next look for him in Infini, opening on May 8th.

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Film Review “Backcountry”

Starring: Missy Peregrym, Jeff Roop, Eric Balfour
Directed By: Adam MacDonald
Running Time: 91 mins
IFC Midnight

Our Score: 2.5 out of 5 stars

In Backcountry, lawyer Jenn (Missy Peregrym) is lead by boyfriend, Alex (Jeff Roop) on her very first camping trip. Their route is the ominously titled Blackfoot Trail that Alex is supposedly familiar with from youthful visits. In Jenn’s case, never has a failed “Rate Your Boyfriend!” magazine quiz ever been more foreboding.

Not only does Alex fail that fun roadtrip timekiller, he then proceeds to reject common sense essentials like cell phones and maps to take on this ideal hike. His foolishness only further asserts itself when on the first night a charismatic Irish trail guide (Eric Balfour) splits an awkward campfire fish dinner with the couple and insinuates Alex knows less about the woods than he’s letting on. Instead of admitting his directional knowledge is limited, Alex doggedly resumes their wandering with a view to reach a beautiful lakeside that he assures Jenn will be worth the trouble. As you may have guessed, it’s really not.

It’s difficult to judge this film’s plausibility given that it’s touted as being based on a true story, but Alex’s stubborn trudge against all logical precautions—not to mention the blatant disregard for the safety of his girlfriend while he’s at it—can be an astoundingly frustrating watch for seasoned horror film viewers. He flouted the advice of the weathered old townie at the outpost five minutes in for pete’s sake! It also takes far too long to really understand just why Alex is so aggressively set on their destination, long enough to question Jenn’s intelligence too I found. When they finally do have a confrontation, the actors do so admirably and it felt a great relief to finally have Alex’s ignorance called out, but it seemed just too little too late. Alex is right up there with the Quiji-board buying boyfriend from Paranormal Activity in the bad choices department.

The edge is taken off of that frustration a bit by the impressive cinematography that can go from encompassing the vastness of the Canadian wilderness—beautiful in any other context, really— to zeroing in extremely on the couple’s very visceral woodland injuries. Furthermore, MacDonald subtly escalates the threat of bears in the woods to a suitably gorey crescendo after some early chilling encounters along the way that had our audience squirming in their seats. If MacDonald is aiming to do for the woods what Open Water did for the ocean, he pretty much succeeds, with the added cringe-factor that a bear’s leftovers don’t get washed away in the tide…

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Film Review “Deli Man”

Starring: Ziggy Gruber, Larry King, Jerry Stiller
Directed By: Eric Greenberg Anjou
Running Time: 91 mins
Cohen Media Group

Our Score: 3 out of 5 stars

Viewers would be advised to eat and eat well before attending a screening of Erik Greenberg Anjou’s charming, if a bit long, documentary Deli Man. With copious shots of deli menu staples, if they take nothing else from the film, it will likely be a craving or two. Fortunately there is more to like in the doc than just the matzo ball soup.

Deli Man follows the cultural and economic origins of this Jewish food institution at time when they’re fading out in America. More importantly it follows the quirky characters behind and in front of the counter who are around to make sure it doesn’t despite all obstacles. Anjou’s assembled a broad range of deli aficionados of authors and celebrities including Jerry Stiller and Larry King (the newsman hilariously credited instead as a “Deli Maven”) who gleefully extol the virtues of the perfect corn beef sandwich while peppering in plenty of Yiddish—don’t worry if you’re not of the Jewish persuasion Anjou helpfully has plenty of lower third definitions to keep you up to speed.

More specifically the doc follows one Ziggy Gruber, the affable owner of Kenny & Ziggy’s New York Delicatessen in Houston Texas. Gruber, himself a Cordon Bleu trained chef, opted to forego high class restaurants in order to uphold the traditional foods of his grandparents. He’s a fun character to be around and his passion for the food and his heritage is contagious. In a touching sequence he returns to the church where his grandparents were married. Gruber is also surrounded by plenty of loving enablers who, while not in the deli business themselves, respect its importance to Ziggy.

The history side of Deli Man is extensive and interesting (those crazy 1900s kids craved more spices than their elders!) though sharing the screen with Gruber leads to the film to feel divided in focus, making the runtime seem longer than it is. Still, the film is extremely likeable and like the delis themselves, sustained by the impassioned characters in front of the counter.

Deli Man begins its limited run on February 27th and expands further on March 6th, for a complete list of cities visit the film’s website.

 

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The Museum of the Moving Image Salutes Julianne Moore

Jan. 21 – Call it a pre-Oscar victory lap. Tuesday night in New York Julianne Moore was honored by the Museum of the Moving Image at their annual gala. This salute comes right as Moore is tipped to win Best Actress this year for her portrayal of a linguistics professor facing a devastating Alzheimers’ diagnosis in Still Alice. On her way into the presentation, she described taking on the role as “a privilege. It was a privilege to learn about [Alzheimers’]. And the people, because I had no personal experience with it, I spent about four months doing research and the people that I spoke to were so incredibly generous with their time and their experience and their information. So I learned a tremendous amount and it was a great experience.”

Moore was supported by her children, Cal and Liv, husband Bart Freundlich and friends at the tribute who enjoyed a presentation about the museum in Queens before taking a thorough look at her cinematic career. On hand to introduce highlights of Moore’s work were former co-stars including Chloe Grace Moretz (Carrie), Sarah Paulson (Game Change), Ethan Hawke (upcoming Maggie’s Plan) and in a pre-recorded message, Mark Ruffalo (The Kids are All Right) who said acting alongside Moore and Annett Bening at the same time was like “sharing the court with Michael Jordan.”

Some of the most joyful crowd reaction came from Steve Buscemi introducing a clip from “Stoner Citizen Kane”, The Big Lebowski which featured both Moore and Buscemi though never on screen at the same time. On the red carpet prior to the event, Buscemi said he “certainly had no idea” that Lebowski would go on to be the cult classic it’s seen as today. He also had nothing but kind words for her when asked what people take away from her work: “She always puts her heart into anything she does. It’s amazing all the different characters that she played and yet there’s something of herself. She really gives I think to every character and that’s what I think everybody responds to.”

 Also on the carpet, actor Billy Crudup described working with Moore and her director husband, on their two films, World Traveler and Trust the Man as “Superb. It was so easy, I was dying for either of our movies to be hugely successful so we could do it again and again and again because the joy of getting to work with your friends in your home city is, for people who travel all the time and have to form new families every time they go somewhere else, you know it was one of a kind.” Asked his favorite role of Julianne’s Crudup replied “I was just thinking of a couple of them but A Single Man…I thought that was an exciting, excellent performance.”

Moore graciously accepted the award from MMI director Carl Goodman and MMI Co-Chairman Herbert Schlosser before creditting her own family story “with Bart and Cal and Liv that has given [her] life so much meaning.”

 

Julianne Moore will next be seen in Maggie’s Plan.

For more information about the Museum of the Moving Image, visit their website.

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Lauren’s Top 5 Films to Look Forward to in 2015

Last week I listed off my top five films of 2014, it was an admittedly quiet year for me movie-wise but 2015 looks to be an embarrassment of riches.

My top Five Films Coming in 2015. In order of release:

 

March 13: In the Heart of the Sea
Director: Ron Howard
Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Brendan Gleeson, Cillian Murphy, Ben Whishaw
Ron Howard’s take on Nathaniel Philabrick’s telling of the Tragedy of the Whale Ship Essex–aka the terrifying true story that inspired Moby Dick.  The trailer, featuring copious digital sperm whales, is nerve-wracking and in the hands of Howard, once again directing his Rush star, Chris Hemsworth, I can’t wait to see this on the biggest screen possible.

 

May 1st: Avengers: Age of Ultron
Director: Joss Whedon
Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Mark Ruffalo, James Spader
In the wake of The Winter Soldier and the outer space developments of Guardians of the Galaxy, where exactly does that place the Avengers team? By the looks of the trailer we got in October, possibly thrown into disarray by one of their very own Tony Stark’s inventions. Go figure. It’s almost disconcerting how well James Spader’s voice translates into sinister robot Ultron.

 

June 12th: Jurassic World
Director: Colin Trevorrow

Cast: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Ty Simpkins, Judy Greer

The first Jurassic Park is my favorite film of all time but while Lost World boasted a great cast (more Goldblum!), somewhere around the t-rex rampaging through LA the sequels began to lose their sparkle. The third brought the franchise into mindless action territory and the less said about it, the better. It’s therefore with such relief that the trailer—focusing on the theme park concept of the first film coming to fruition looks to be a fresh take on the concept. Plus Chris Pratt. On a motorcycle. Surrounded by a gang of velociraptors. That is all.

 

October 2nd : The Walk
Director: Robert Zemeckis

Cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ben Kingsley, James Badge Dale

Robert Zemeckis directs the true story of Philippe Petit—the only person to traverse the gap between the Twin Towers on tight wire. It’s a story that’s already been covered on screen by the highly acclaimed documentary Man On Wire, but the vertigo-inducing trailer of this dramatization has me intrigued.

 

October 16th: Crimson Peak
Director: Guillermo Del Toro
Cast: Tom Hiddleston, Jessica Chastain, Mia Wasikowska, Charlie Hunnam, Doug Jones
Before Del Toro “cancelled the apocalypse” in the super fun Pacific Rim, he broke into Hollywood with amazingly atmospheric smaller films like Pan’s Labyrinth and The Orphanage. Crimson Peak looks to be a return to that, his first horror film in English. Mia Wasikowska is a young woman who is attracted to a “mysterious outsider” (Tom Hiddleston) and brought to his family home which is evidently alive. Del Toro regular Doug Jones on the cast list surely means we’ll be getting some cool ghosts and creatures in the home too. Described as a gothic romance, the images of the film that have been released are visually stunning and if Hiddleston is in sinister mode, count me in. This is definitely the film I’m most excited for in 2015.

 

Honorable Mentions: Steven Spielberg‘s rejoining Tom Hanks in an as-yet untitled Cold War Thriller, The Hunger Games wraps up, plus there’s a couple slightly known franchises called James Bond (Spectre) and Star Wars that might interest some filmgoers like me coming back to big screens in 2015…

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Filed Under: Commentary, Film Headlines Tagged With: 2015, 5, films, laurens, top

Lauren’s Top Five Films From 2014

It’s always tough being a movie buff in awards season. We sift through the weird mess of movies released between the busy summer season and Halloween and then suddenly are bombarded by all the critical darlings our eyeballs can handle in the peak holiday season. As such, I’m not completely caught up for Oscar but I can share my personal favorites from last year. As it happens the majority can be summed up with this simple questionnaire–Did it feature Tilda Swinton*? Did it feature Chris Evans? Did it feature Tilda Swinton AND Chris Evans? There, you’re spoiled for my top three but you can still read my thoughts below:

 

  1. Snowpiercer – Seeing this film three times with sold out crowds cemented this as my top pick for 2014. You can read my full review here but suffice to say, Director Joon-ho Bong apocalyptic train ride featured some wildly creative action sequences within the strict confines of its eponymous locomotive. Its twists and turns consistently drew amazing audience reactions that to me, warrant going to see films on the big screen. Chris Evans also turned in an amazing dramatic performance as the train’s reluctant savior opposite a scenery-devouring Swinton as the false-teethed face of the passengers’ oppressors.

 

  1. Captain America: The Winter Soldier – While the other sequels in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s ‘Phase 2′ (Iron Man 3, Thor 2) were solid in their own right, they both played solidly in their own respective sandboxes. In 2013, we saw Tony Stark facing off with a past scientist rival and Thor whizzing around Asgard while battling some serious familial issues. The First Avenger’s latest installment however wasn’t afraid to shuffle the Avengers’ entire playing field. By bringing down S.H.I.E.L.D, Captain Rogers has a lot of explaining to do come next year’s Age of Ultron. Additionally, the Russo brothers delivered a hugely satisfying action film that richly developed both Chris Evans’s Captain and Scarlett Johansson’s complex Black Widow. It also unleashed one of the most tragic antagonists of the franchise with Sebastian Stan’s tortured Winter Soldier now wandering a bit dazed and confused around the Potomac river.

 

  1. The Grand Budapest Hotel – With production design and a sprawling cast to die for, including the aforementioned Swinton under scads of old age makeup, this film deployed all of Director Wes Anderson’s usual character quirkiness to its best advantages. As a bonus, when was the last time someone told you to check out a HILARIOUS Ralph Fiennes performance? Exactly.

 

  1. Gone Girl – Fincher’s moody, winding take on Gillian Flynn’s best-selling novel was indeed a pretty bleak take on married life, but Rosamund Pike’s award-worthy performance as the monstrous Amazing Amy blew me away. You can read my full review here.

 

  1. Art and Craft – Perhaps because my day job’s in an art museum, this documentary left the greatest impact on me when I saw it at the Tribeca Film Fest. The story of Mark Landis, a prolific art forger who duped tons of respected art institutions into displaying his uncanny frauds all the while taking no money and shopping at Hobby Lobby for his supplies. The doc was comical without being mean spirited to its oddball subject whose eye for duplication is fascinating.

 

Honorable mentions: The Imitation Game, Birdman, Guardians of the Galaxy, X-Men Days of Future Past and Frank.

(*Note: Swinton’s other 2014 film, Only Lovers Left Alive got its theatrical release this year, but I covered it in my best of 2013 roundup–so my opening criteria still stands!)

Not writing the majority of the film reviews for this site, I have the great good fortune to generally avoid the stinkers, which is why I can’t in good faith turn in an accurate WORST list, so instead the next list from me will be a look forward to this year’s most exciting releases to come.

Roll on, 2015! Now where are my hoverboards?

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Filed Under: Commentary Tagged With: 2014, laurens, top

Greg Nicotero talks about the fifth season of “The Walking Dead”

Special makeup effects master Greg Nicotero has worked on The Walking Dead since day one crafting the amazing zombies and gore that have helped make the show, currently in its fifth season, the worldwide phenomenon it is today. No where else was the fan hysteria more evident for the show than at this past weekend’s Walker Stalker NYNJ Convention at the Meadowlands Expo Center. While current cast members were barred from speaking with the press after a shocking midseason finale, Nicotero sat down with me to discuss his progression from special effects makeup to directing episodes of the show including this season’s gruesome premiere. I also got some of his thoughts on longtime collaborator Quentin Tarantino’s next film.

 

Lauren Damon: How did you decide to move into directing your own episodes and how do you decide which ones you’re going to direct?

Greg Nicotero: It all started from Frank Darabont because after season one— before we started season one, I’d directed a little short film and season one I was the second unit director. So there were a lot of times when we were shooting and I would call Frank in Los Angeles to say ‘Hey, I think we could probably use a little more footage here, maybe we need a little bit more here…’ so I had an eye for what the show needed. So when we started season two he said you should direct an episode. And I said I would love that. And he said ‘Do you want to direct a zombie-light episode, or a zombie-heavy one?’ And I said that’s a trick question! But I ended up ironically getting the episode where Dale gets killed and it was probably the most dramatic episode we had done to date. Because it was a bunch of people in a room sort of having this tribunal to decide whether Randall should live or die and it had one zombie in it. So it went from that to three episodes in season three and three episodes in season four and I did four episodes this year. So I’ve directed eleven episodes. [Showrunner] Scott Gimple is really good at sort of pinpointing which episodes he wants for which director but he’s had me direct the premiere for the last two years and I directed the finale this year too.

 

LD: That trough scene this year in the premiere was really traumatic…

GN: Oh it’s horribly traumatic! And I’m really proud of that scene because I feel like Scott and I really crafted that scene together. Because he pitched the original idea and we had really sort of both kind of immersed ourselves into making it as good as it could be. And I remember, the first time we screened it for the crew, I leaned over to Scott at one point and I went ‘I wonder if we went too far’ because it’s so uncomfortable and it’s so brutal and it’s so relentless. But the truth is, Terminus had to be portrayed that way otherwise it wouldn’t have felt authentic so I’m really really proud of that.

 

LD: At this point, can you still creep out the cast or they a little bit desensitized to it?

GN: No. As a matter of fact when we shot that scene, I had designed a rig for the slit throats and they hadn’t seen it tested. So when they were all leaning up against the trough and we did Robin—who played Sam, who was the first kill—they were all leaning up against the trough and we pumped the blood. And they, just out of the corner of their eye, just saw the blood shoot over the trough and then in and it started flowing down…They were all pretty…I know Steven and Norman were like ‘Ahh, what did I just see?’ Because all they saw was out of the corner of their eye blood spraying, and blood hitting the trough and then it running down the trough past them. So I think we can still, I think we’re still good on grossing them out.

 

LD: Do you have a resident team of players for the zombies, or do you go out to cast your ‘hero’ zombie parts?

GN: There are people that we use, that we like over and over again. I say there’s probably fifteen to twenty people that we really like and the beauty of the makeup is we can make them look different every single time. There’s a guy named Coleman Youmans I think he’s probably played the most zombies in the show ever. Because we’ve used him almost every episode for the last two seasons we just make him look different every time.

 

LD: You done it a couple times—

GN: I have. I didn’t get a chance to do it this year because I directed four episodes but my goal next year will be to be a zombie in a scene that I direct so I can just direct in zombie makeup which I just think would be fun.

 

LD: I’m getting the signal to wrap up here so finally I was wondering having done Quentin Tarantino’s movies since Pulp Fiction, are you working on The Hateful Eight? And if so, can you share anything about it?

GN:  Yep and not really…I just got back from we did some makeup tests yesterday and we start shooting the beginning of January. It’s–I love the script. I find it fascinating that Quentin has been doing live reads, table reads, of all his scripts and I feel like this script is a result of those table reads because it feels like a play. It’s a bunch of great characters in two locations but it really has that great emotion, that great power, but it takes place in minimal locations. I really love the script. It was—You know, I mean I’ve read all of them and it’s just something different enough from the other things that he’s done but it’s still with his voice.

The Walking Dead returns—with an episode directed by Nicotero—on February 8th at 9pm on AMC.

WalkerStalker Conventions continue in six more cities through next Halloween, for more info check out their website.

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Filed Under: Interviews, TV Interviews Tagged With: dead, greg, nicotero, talks, walking

Creators Dan Harmon & Justin Roiland join actors Chris Parnell & Sarah Chalke to discuss “Rick and Morty” at NYCC

Rick & Morty, Adult Swim’s hilarious sci-fi animated comedy from Justin Roiland & Dan Harmon (“Community”) released its first season on Blu-ray and DVD last month. To celebrate this release, the creators joined actors Chris Parnell (“Saturday Night Live”) and Sarah Chalke (“Scrubs”) at New York Comic Con where they sat down with the press just prior to taking the stage for their panel.

Rick & Morty follows Rick (Roiland), a belching, misanthropic mad scientist who’s moved into his daughter Beth’s (Chalke) family home, much to the dismay of her husband Jerry (Parnell). Rick drags his poor grandson Morty (also Roiland) off on outrageous science adventures that include other planets, other dimensions and on occasion inside a human body.

What about the show do you think speaks to the audience?

Justin Roiland: I think it’s a bunch of things. It’s the sum of all these parts, like Harmon’s ability to tap into a sort of the more emotional core component. Making characters really relatable and real. And then me, my sort of crazy, insane retro scripting and I don’t know. It’s very strange. It’s a weird sort of perfect storm of creative, I don’t know—

Dan Harmon: The carefree vibe. Like you…it’s nice to feel like you’re watching something that kind of doesn’t care if you’re watching.

Roiland: Yeah, yeah.

Harmon: So it’s kind of that energy that a new project has an opportunity to have that’s just like ‘alright let’s just—’

Roiland: And maintaining that is tricky. You know we’re trying to continue to maintain that. I mean I love stuff where at the end of the episode, Rick’s like [dropping into the scientist’s voice] ‘Member back in the first act of the episode when you did this?!’ It’s like you know, fuck it. It’s a TV show. We all know what we’re watching. We’re watching a TV show. I just love that kind of stuff. Just not giving a shit. The end of MeeSeeks is a great example you know where he’s just like…’Hey!’—he’s waving at the camera— ‘Alright! See you guys next week! Fuck!’ You know, whatever, like ‘I don’t give a fuck is my new catchphrase!’ All that shit. I don’t know I think that just lends a very loose kind of…it just let’s everyone who’s watching go like—Well then there’s the people who go ‘Does Rick know he’s on a TV show? Is this like some sort of master plan?’ But no, it’s just us having fun and being loose and allowing ourselves to do that kind of stuff. And who knows, I don’t know if that’s the secret ingredient. I think there’s a lot of things that added together make the show really connect with people.

 

One standout character of the first season was Mr. Meeseeks, a loud blue guy that exists solely to complete one task set by the human who summons him into creation. He spends most of the episode trying to teach Jerry a better golf game. The cast even brought a lifesize Meeseeks along with them to NYCC!

 

What was the origin of Mr. Meeseeks? 

Roiland: Uh, we were breaking a story, Harmon was on tour for Harmontown, he was out of the room and I remember like we had some story…I don’t remember what the fuck the story was, but I was just like this fuckin’ sucks and I was like ‘We gotta have fun with this! And [dropping a Mr MeeSeeks-like squawk] I’M MR. MEESEEKS! I’M MR. MEESEEKS!’ and I just started doing that. [Series writer Ryan] Ridley got all mad at me and I was like ‘I’M MR MEESEEKS LOOK AT ME!’ And then I don’t know if it was until [Harmon] came back—I think we came up with like the conceit of the Meeseeks but then Harmon came back and really helped us fine tune the story with Jerry and the golfing and all that stuff kind of was after [Dan] got back because I remember [him] being in the room and the whole like wiggle at the end. When [Jerry] finally lands the putt and they all disappear. But it was really just like out of my frustration of us really banging our heads against the wall of the other story that was just lame and we couldn’t get it…And Ridley was all pissed. But then he kind of came around. But then there’s a lot of stuff in that episode…that’s verbatim, like ‘I’m Mr Boobybuyer—I’ll buy your boobies!’ that’s all Ridley kind of angrily pitching ‘OH WHY DON’T WE JUST, I’M MR BOOBYBUYER!?…I’M THIRSTY SLIPPERY STAIR, BLAHBLAH’ And I’m just like ‘That’s perfect! Type it up!’…Now I’ve found that when Ridley gets upset and angrily pitches things spitefully, I’m like ‘Pay attention, guys…this could be good to put in the show.”

 

What would you make your own personal Meeseeks do for you?

Sarah Chalke: Your own wish granting Meeseeks…

Chris Parnell: Wow. I guess to make me a lot of money, maybe you know?

Chalke: Yeah

Parnell: Just a lot of money.

Chalke: Then you don’t work and the Meeseeks goes out to work for you

Parnell: Well I still probably want to work because it comes with a certain sense of self-worth…you know…but yeah to have a lot of money. I’d buy a nicer house and put my kid through college. What would your Meeseeks do?

Chalke: Probably a lot of neck massages. They’d take over the barista duties of the household. Which are about 13 to 14 a day, so it’s a heavy job. So, barista Meeseeks.

 

My personal favorite episode, Rixty Minutes, had Rick showing the family a remote control that not only flipped channels, but show programming from entirely alternate universes, many of which were ab-libbed voice work by Roiland.

Lauren Damon: Were there any additional alternate universe scenes in Rixty Minutes that were cut?

Roiland: The production plan for that episode is so different from the normal production pipeline because we’ll write and the break the—I guess you could call it the B-Story, the A-Story, whatever the narrative is—and then we try to keep that relatively tight and small. A third of the overall episode run length and then all the sketches are just experimental. It’s just like, I’ll go in the booth and just riff and improv shit. Harmon will be on the other side…But yeah, it’s weird, it’s a huge strain on the team, you know.

Harmon: Was there ones that we cut?

Roiland: We cut a Seinfeld one. It was just like Seinfeld—Unrelated Seinfeld and he’s like [twisted Jerry Seinfeld whine] ‘What’s the deaaaaaaaal with Chinese BONES….Whhhhhhy do they taste so goooooood?’

Harmon: Yeah, it was a universe where all of Seinfeld observations were just totally unrelatable.

Roiland: Like ‘What’s the deal with HUGE cocks? WHY do they taste so good in my mouth?!’ And then Rick’s like ‘Jeez, uhhh, Seinfeld’s really—’

Harmon: ‘This universe’s Seinfeld, his observations aren’t really resonant…’

Roiland: But then the audience is just exploding in laughter [Morty’s voice] ‘Oh, boy they really like it though!’ But that got cut…we might have put that on the DVD as a cut, deleted scene. That pitch was probably better than what—if it’s on the DVD you’ll be like okay, I see why they cut this. A lot more got cut for this new one, I really cast a wide net. And our poor storyboard guys boarded way more than they needed to board. But anyways…

 

If you could travel to any of the Rick & Morty worlds, where would you go?

Chalke: Uhhh, planet Squanch

Parnell: That’s a good answer. Pluto. I wouldn’t mind going to Pluto. That’s one that comes up this season. Jerry goes to Pluto.

 

Do you ever have to ask the writers what the hell is going on when the shows really offbeat?

Chalke: I mean every time you read the script, it’s one of the funnest jobs for that reason. Like you get the script and you’re so psyched to see where it goes and I laugh out loud when I’m reading it so the jokes are crazy. That’s the fun part of it, you get to see all these different ways a character can go. Like we go to a different dimension in the second season. They have us go to other planets as well, so that was cool and different and I got to be…like our characters but in a different dimension. I don’t know if I’m allowed to say what so for that you got to try totally different voices. I was like a Warrior who talked like this [Deep roaring] ‘JERRY!’

 

How much is ad-libbed for you guys?

Chalke: Most is the scripts. I mean the scripts are genius, mostly it’s the script. But if something happens or comes up and I ad libbed that Beth was a burper like her father, so we throw some burps in there. One of my few talents is burping on cue.

 

Are you ever surprised by how much vitriol Justin can get in just saying “Jerry”?

Parnell: [laughs] Uh, no. But it’s fun, it’s fun to hear it. I mean—I don’t know if he does Rick and Morty at the same time, I kind of think he does, I mean I’ve seen him do it. In person. But it’s just, you know, it’s amazing to watch. And then also they get so many great guest voices, you know? Sometimes you can kind of pick out who it is…

 

Season one set up so many crazy things, are we going to follow up with them in season 2? Like the League of Ricks? And that evil morty? Does the continuity exist?

Roiland: It’s sprinkled throughout the season.

Harmon: A little goes a long way. I mean it’s like I have a lot—I come to the table with a lot of gun-shyness from Community because I feel like Community’s fanbase became so rewardable and was so thankful for continuity in the show and I never like to do inside stuff. Meaning that you would have to have seen something previous in order to get it, I always try to painstakingly avoid doing that but I felt like over five years, Community—because of the intense relationship the fans had with the show—it actually got branded as being more ‘inside’ than I ever strove for it to be. And so now I’m in the writer’s room in this new show and  we got Mr. Meeseeks, we got the Council of Ricks, we got a billion things that we just shot out you know and so the question ultimately becomes do we revisit that stuff? I tend to be the guy that says no, not yet. Just let’s show some restraint and then we’ll be rewarded for it later. And not that Justin’s like ‘NO let’s do everything again’ but he’s a little less convinced that it would destroy the show than I am. Somewhere in between there what happens is little sprinkles here and there.

Roiland: Yeah, we don’t want to jump the shark, so to speak, too quickly in the show in terms of giving away too much of Rick’s backstory and going back to all the things we’ve kind of established in season one—

Harmon: I will say we spent a great deal of time in the writer’s room this year revisiting a major thing from season one and ultimately it was all wasted time. I mean it might be spoilers for season three for me to talk about what we were doing…but I will say it was like four or five weeks of us talking about ‘Okay, the finale’s gonna be when we do this…’ and we ended up going this isn’t working. It’s sort of like the second Dungeons of Dragons episode of Community was cursed from the beginning because it’s like to decide that you’re just going to do something again, you better really have your shit together…Ultimately stories tell themselves. It’s already hard to do that. But if they’re fighting you because you decided that you know what a story is better than the story knows, than you’re really screwing yourself.

 

Did any of you have an older relative like Rick making a bad influence on your lives?

Roiland: Not a huge bad influence. Maybe a little bit. I think I’m a lot like him and I’m gonna die at a young age like he did…

Harmon: I had a great grandpa who died a hermit. He lost all his money in the stock market and then he made it all back but he never trusted banks after that. So he lived in a corrugated tin hut out in some land in Wisconsin. He was rich again but it was all cash under his mattress! And he was a theology major and like he was the only other Harmon who went to college I think.

Roiland: [Rick voice] ‘DAN! DAN! C’mere I got cash under my mattress!!’

Harmon: But I never got to meet him, he was my great grandpa. The first time I saw him was in a coffin. I think Rick is just a symbol of all our mental illnesses.

Roiland: Rick’s a weird combination of me and Dan. Depending on what episode you’re watching, it’s more Dan or more me.

 

Rick & Morty is out on Blu-ray & DVD and you can check out their full NYCC panel at Adult Swim’s YouTube page.

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Filed Under: Conventions, Film Interviews, Interviews Tagged With: adult swim, Chris Parnell, Dan Harmon, Justin Roiland, nycc, NYCC 2014, ...

Eddie Redmayne, Felicity Jones and filmmakers discuss “The Theory Of Everything”

In The Theory of Everything, filmmakers were faced with the daunting task of bringing to the screen the true story of iconic astrophysicist Stephen Hawking. Rather than focusing upon his much documented scientific accomplishments however, James Marsh’s film took the unique route of delving into his personal story, specifically into the relationship with Hawking’s first wife, Jane. I was able to sit down with the people behind this touching film during a recent New York press day including actors Eddie Redmayne (who plays Hawking), Felicity Jones (Jane), director James Marsh and writer, Anthony McCarten.

The first step in bringing The Hawking’s story to the screen was taken by writer Anthony McCarten, who like many people first encountered Stephen’s work in 1988 with his book, A Brief History of Time. “I think maybe ten million people bought the book and we all realized this was an extraordinary person” McCarten said, “Not only for the profundity of his ideas but just the nature of the man. This person with this compromised body, almost unable to use a single voluntary muscle. Able only to speak with a computer and yet telling us how the universe began, the nature of time itself…I thought somebody’s going to do an extraordinary movie about this guy at some point, never thinking I’d have any role in it.”

In 2004 however, McCarten came upon Jane Wilde Hawking’s autobiography, Traveling to Infinity—My Life with Stephen, and was inspired by a new perspective on Stephen Hawking’s life. “I don’t know what page it was I reached” he said of Jane’s work, “but it was something to do with the unorthodox love story that was unfolding in this book and I thought if you matched that to an already extraordinary story of Stephen, oh my god, you could do something quite unprecedented here.” McCarten took this inspiration all the way to Jane’s doorstep in Cambridge to offer his services in adapting her story to the screen.  It began the years of work McCarten was to undertake on this screenplay. On working with Jane, McCarten added: “I will always be grateful for the fact that she didn’t turn this nutcase away and she let me come in, made a sandwich for me. We had a little glass of sherry and I presented this triple helix of a movie which is a love story but it’s also a horror story—of the physical decline of Stephen—and finally, it’s a story of physics. And she went as far as to say ‘look, I’ll let you write the script, but no promises’. And so I wrote the script and she liked it, she was reassured, she thought I might have the requisite sensitivity to deal with a delicate story like this. And so she let out a little bit more rope. Never giving me the option to her work, but ‘you can go a little further, let’s see what you do with the next step’. And that went on for eight years. Little more rope, going back to her. We became friends. Her book went out of print and I got it republished so I supported her too.”

Felicity Jones described her research into playing Jane as a “ a full frontal attack on understanding who this woman was” and also took the time to meet with her. “As soon as I met [Jane],” the actress said, “my job became so much easier. She is such an extraordinary woman. And there was something about her instantly that I loved, that she had this combination of something very ladylike—very sort of fifties ideal of what a woman is, she has this way of presenting herself that’s almost quite queenly. The way she moves, the voice she uses. So I worked with a dialect coach, a music and a movement coach to get the physical properties, so to speak, of who this woman was. But at the same time there’s a really core strength to her. There’s a formidable determination to her. And I loved this contrast between this very ladylike exterior but with this toughness underneath.”

Jane also helped Jones with very tangible research for her time with Stephen, Jones remembered “after talking with each other and she showed me photographs of her and Stephen when they first met, she really was very just open, and brought down clothes that she’d loved wearing when they were meeting. And I remember I’d been just talking to Jane for a few hours and then Eddie [Redmayne] came around and I answered the door in Jane’s coat. Already there was an empathy between us. So I think what was important to Jane was to show the less glamorous sides of Stephen Hawking’s life. That their fame is one thing, but there was a whole support structure that was very intricate and complicated. And I was always just a champion of that story for her.”

Beyond the emotional drama of the Hawking’s life, Eddie Redmayne was tasked with the difficult challenge of portraying Stephen’s physical decline after being diagnosed with motor-neuron disease at a very young age. On researching the role, Redmayne said “I went to an ALS clinic in London called The Queens Square Neurology Clinic for every week or two for four months. And with the specialists there… was introduced to people and families suffering from ALS and was invited to some of their homes. So trying to get a real sense of what the disease was but also the emotional ramifications of it on families. Also specifically taking photos of Stephen when he was younger. Because there’s no documentary material really before the eighties. It was trying to work what his specific physical decline had been. So by showing the specialist, she would see photos of…Stephen holding Jane’s hand and go ‘Ok, so by the way he’s holding the hand, you can see his hands have gone by this year…’ So then trying, then with the choreographer, trying to find a way of putting that into my body.”

I asked Eddie what specific changes he made in his performance of the young Hawking pre- and post-diagnosis. “What was interesting was where the disease starts,” Here, the actor got up to offer a physical demonstration, “Like the problem with ALS is often people are diagnosed because you fall. Like and because you’ve got foot drop which often is the first thing to go and your knee compensates by [Redmayne moves his knee forward without his foot landing] you don’t even realize your foot’s gone—so if your foot’s stopped working, your knee will just walk a bit higher and you won’t even realize your foot’s gone. And it’s only when you’re running one day that you’ll catch it and fall. But then you’ll go to ER and most doctor’s will go ‘Oh, you’ve bruised you up…off you go again!’ It takes a really astute doctor to know wait, let me just check you know what’s going on. And so the problem with it, one of the problems with ALS, is no one knows when it starts. So it was a choice I had to make in the film which was I think he has it at the beginning of the film. Like it’s already manifest in him. So things like, I don’t know if you saw, when I was dancing with Jane, that’s the hands had gone. The feet you know, are slightly…so those I tried to introduce that beforehand so there’s a slight feeling in his head throughout those early part that something is slightly awry. But it manifests itself also in a kind of you know that…scientist sort of not uber-dextrous thing. But I wanted to make it sort of more specific to that. But after the diagnosis, he did go into a kind of melancholia, and listen to a lot of Wagner…but I was trying for him even then to be finding the positive. Attempting to anyway. Until Jane comes in and really bolsters him.”

In the advanced stages of Hawking’s disease, and therefore further into the film, only the facial muscles remain for voluntary motion, which required even more concentration from the actor. He discussed his preparation as “A lot of sitting in front of the mirror with an iPad with Stephen on documentaries trying to recreate basically…But the reality is, what I find the sort of irony, all the complication is that everything about film acting is you know, the camera’s here [Eddie frames his face], and you kind of do less…And what’s weird is the bit where he moves the least, is that it was the most physically exhausting and energized. Because it’s not just that you’re sitting there doing nothing. Actually these muscles [again framing his face]…you know you’re [monitoring] your breath, the pace at which you blink happens, how quickly your eyes…so actually it was at the end of those scenes that you come out exhausted. And the interesting thing was trying to take all of the energy of all the usual palette of colors—as human beings—and trying to channel those into those few muscles that you can use. Because when you meet Stephen, even though he can move very little, he has the most expressive and charismatic face I’ve ever met. And that was something that was important to attempt.”

Director James Marsh spoke about how he came to cast Redmayne in the Hawking role: “Eddie was the first person I met. Eddie had just a given physical resemblance to Stephen, he’s the same kind of body shape when Stephen was a young man, same kind of coloring. And that’s not why I cast him, but it was helpful to say well, that’s one thing. Eddie’s a brilliant actor and I think the film proves that. And as a film actor, this is the first time I think he’s really been able to soar and be given the material that can show what he can do. So I met him. He was the first actor and only actor I met, actually. I didn’t meet any other actors. I’d talked with other actors. Once I met Eddie, I knew I wanted him to do it. So it proved…you know I think it was a great choice.” He further praised the young actor for the dedication he showed in portraying Hawking’s physical hardships, adding “Eddie had done so much preparation, it was so internalized, these different stages of disability that he’d mastered by the time that we got to film that I never ever had to wait or give him more time. That was extraordinary that he could do that and that didn’t slow us down. It was just amazing that he just had this available. And he would switch from one to the other and there it was. Incredible, really.”

Of course, bringing the true story of two living people to the screen, we all wondered whether the Hawkings had in fact screened the film or participated at all in the production. As it turns out, Marsh said “on the second day Stephen Hawking and Jane came to set which raises the stakes…even further.” Redmayne recalled the dramatic entrance Hawking made on his visit: “when he came on set which was on about day two, it was a big fireworks part, a big May Ball. And there was this moment—the producers…could afford like three gos at the fireworks so everyone was a bit tense like oh, we gotta get it right. Then on cue, he arrived, his sort of famous silohuette with his nurses. And then uplit by his computer screen. So literally he has this sort of spotlight and on cue the fireworks went off and it was like the greatest entrance!”

While Redmayne only saw Stephen on his way into a screening of the finished project, writer McCarten got the full range of the real people’s reactions: “[Jane] said she was floating on air. Stephen, when the lights came up and nurse wiped a tear from his cheek, and he said ‘Broadly true.’ And Lucy, the daughter when she saw it—and she had like fifty kleenexes lying beside her—said ‘That was my life.’ So I’m confident that it was emotionally authentic. It’s not exactly the way they lived it but we captured…something of how it felt to live that life.”

The Theory of Everything is currently in limited release.

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Filed Under: Film Interviews, Interviews Tagged With: filmmakers, theory
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