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Directors Interesting

John Landis on The Talking Room

John Landis on The Talking Room

The director John Landis recently sat down with Adam Savage of the Talking Room to discuss his life and career.

Over the course of an hour they discuss:

  • His break as a production assistant on Kelly’s Heroes (1978)
  • Working on Spaghetti Westerns in Spain
  • An American Werewolf in London (1981)
  • Animal House (1978)
  • Three Amigos (1987)
  • Make-up maestro Rick Baker
  • Meeting Stanley Kubrick
  • Paul McCartney’s song for Spies Like Us (1985)
  • Changes to the movie business

> John Landis at the IMDb
> Tested

Categories
Directors Interesting

The Future of Movies (1990)

The Future of Movies in 1990

Back in 1990 the late Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel hosted a TV special which featured directors Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and Martin Scorsese discussing the future of movies.

Spielberg and Lucas made headlines earlier this summer by predicting the implosion of Hollywood’s current economic model, but what did they feel 23 years ago?

The answer lies in this programme – recently discovered by Cinephilia and Beyond – where they not only discuss the future of movies but also their careers and a good deal else beside, including:

  • The possibility of a sequel to E.T. (1982)
  • Spielberg’s interest in a Howard Hughes project
  • Lucas on the Star Wars prequels
  • Scorsese on Goodfellas (1990) and commercial success
  • The sex scene in Don’t Look Now (1973)
  • HD television
  • Film preservation

You can watch the full programme here (along with the fast-forwarded ads):

> RogerEbert.com
> Find out about 1990 on film at Wikipedia

Categories
Directors Interesting

Ridley Scott Omnibus

Ridley Scott on Omnibus in 1992

Director Ridley Scott was the subject of BBC arts programme Omnibus in 1992.

Titled Eye of the Storm, it was first shown on UK television around the release of 1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992).

Although there is a certain irony that Scott’s career suffered a dip soon after (until his renaissance with Gladiator in 2000), it is a solid profile filled with various collaborators, including David Carradine, Sigourney Weaver, Mimi Rogers, Michael Douglas and his two sons Jake and Luke.

Amongst the things discussed are:

> More on Ridley Scott at Wikipedia
> Sundance Labs interview with Ridley Scott from 2002

Categories
Directors Interesting

Sidney Lumet Interview from 1999

Back in 1999 director Sidney Lumet sat down for a three hour interview about his life and career in television.

He later went on to make his name as a film director with such films as 12 Angry Men (1957), Dog Day Afternoon (1975), Network (1976) and The Verdict (1982).

But his background in theatre and television were a big influence on his subsequent work and this lengthy discussion is a fascinating insight into his early career.

The conversation with Ralph Engelmen in 1999 for the Archive of American Television covered his growing up during the Depression, his early work in theater and the pioneering days of television, the era of McCarthyism and his subsequent transition to feature films.

PART 1

PART 2

  • Actor training
  • The thread between modern playwrights and ancient Greek drama
  • Why early television recruited people from the theater
  • How he got hired by CBS in 1950 before he even owned a TV
  • Working as an assistant to then-director Yul Brynner
  • How the production technology of early TV worked.

PART 3

  • The early live TV dramas of the 1950s
  • How audio was recorded in early television (no radio mics!)
  • Working with Walter Cronkite
  • Camera interview techniques
  • Working with James Dean
  • How the discipline of TV served him well in later years
  • The legendary CBS news team and the Blacklist

PART 4

  • How he was visited by two FBI agents (who actually wore fedoras) during the Second Red Scare
  • The Blacklisted writers who formed a co-op
  • Actors who were effectively banned during this period
  • How rumours quickly spread
  • His return to Broadway and how Henry Fonda spotted him for 12 Angry Men

PART 5

  • The origins of 12 Angry Men
  • Differences between working in film and TV
  • His encyclopaedic knowledge of camera lenses
  • How TV cameras used multiple lenses and subsequently proved great training for movies
  • His approach to working with actors
  • How directing is distilling a piece to a core theme
  • The importance of flexibility
  • The painful process of acting
  • How the lack of interior studio space in New York boosted TV production in LA.

PART 6

  • His first experiences with videotape
  • The differences between working on videotape and film
  • How video is ‘far superior’ to film (remember, this was 1999!)
  • The reason live TV dramas died out
  • The influence of money on quality TV shows (‘the common denominator became more common’)
  • How he directed ‘The Howard Beale Show’ live when he shot Network (1976)
  • How everything in that film has actually happened …except killing someone
  • How TV network rivalries actually helped boost the appeal of Network (they all thought it was about a rival)
  • The isolating experience of watching TV compared to cinema or sports
  • How TV essentially stopped the Vietnam War and advice for people starting out

It’s a bit of a beast to sit through in one go, so it might be worth watching in half hour chunks.

> Sidney Lumet at IMDb, Wikipedia and TSFDT
> Buy 12 Angry Men, The Offence, Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon, Network and The Verdict on Amazon UK

Categories
Directors Documentaries

A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies

The BFI have put Martin Scorsese’s 1995 documentary about American cinema online.

Titled A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies it was produced by the British Film Institute and originally aired in three parts on Channel 4 back in 1995.

Co-directed with Michael Henry Wilson, it explores Scorsese’s favourite American films grouped according to three different types of directors:

With contributions from the likes of Billy Wilder and Clint Eastwood it is essential viewing.

You can watch it in full here:


A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese (1995) by BFIfilms

His documentaries about cinema are like the best film school you never went to, featuring invaluable insights from a master director and a passionate movie fan.

The best compliment I can pay them is that you should just see them as soon as you possibly can.

Scorsese also made a documentary about Italian films called My Voyage to Italy (1999) and is currently preparing one about British cinema.

> Martin Scorsese at Wikipedia
> DVD review of My Voyage to Italy

Categories
Directors Interesting

Steven Spielberg at La Cinémathèque Francaise

Last month Steven Spielberg sat down for an hour long discussion with Costra-Gavras and Serge Toubiana at La Cinémathèque Francaise.

It was part of the European press tour for War Horse but the length and quality of the conversation made it much more than the usual press junket and red-carpet sound bites (where time is limited).

What made it extra special is that the two guys asking the questions really know their stuff.

Costa-Gavras directed two of the best political dramas ever made in Z (1969) and Missing (1982), whilst Toubiana was was the long time editor of Cahiers du cinéma (1981-1991) and is currently director of La Cinémathèque Française.

Spielberg wrote after the event:

“Not since Cannes in ’82 have I been so moved by an audience of lovers. I will never forget today!”

As you can imagine it was a pretty fascinating conversation, which formed part of the Spielberg season they are currently running, which lasts until March 3rd.

Although the questions are asked in French, Spielberg had an earpiece through which quick translations were made, so the conversation flows pretty well.

They never discuss it, but Costa-Gavras’ Z (1968) – one of the great films of the 1960s – was a major influence on Spielberg’s Munich (2005).

Here is the English version:

(Click here for the French version).

Spielberg starts speaking at around 03.36 and the conversation covers the following:

  • The ‘secret of his success’ and the ‘nervous energy’ that keeps him making movies
  • Why he made War Horse and how he directed the horses
  • The influence of John Ford (e.g. the landscape and choosing wide-shots over close-ups)
  • How he fell down a hole during shooting
  • Researching World War I at the Imperial War Museum in London
  • Why he didn’t use CGI horses and
  • Patience as a working tool in working with animals and children
  • The importance of casting and listening to actors
  • Using wide-angle lenses in shooting horses and the Devon landscape
  • His regular ‘chameleon collaborators’ (e.g. John Williams, Janusz Kaminski and Kathleen Kennedy)
  • Why his editor Michael Kahn persuaded him to edit Lincoln (2012) on an Avid
  • He will still shoot on photographic film for the foreseeable future
  • How he selects film projects
  • Shooting 3 films in 12 months (The Lost World, Amistad and Saving Private Ryan)
  • Why John Ford never shot coverage to prevent studio interference
  • How he got final cut after Jaws (1975) and why it is sometimes dangerous
  • How Duel (1971) was inspired by an issue of Playboy
  • Why some of the best writing is now in US cable television (e.g. Boardwalk Empire, Modern Family etc.)
  • Why he cast Francois Truffaut in Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
  • How Spielberg helped translate the title of L’Argent de poche to Small Change
  • Crazy Hollywood sayings like ‘product’ and ‘taking a lunch’
  • The influence of 9/11 on Minority Report (2002) and War of the Worlds (2005)
  • Why he became more interested in news and world events after becoming a parent
  • At 51:32 Costa-Gravas says something which leaves Spielberg speechless in admiration – can any French speakers translate?
  • The danger in having too much confidence and why a lack of it can be essential
  • The work of the Shoah Foundation and how some survivors had never talked about their experiences before
  • Why he shoots on schedule
  • His work as a producer and studio head
UPDATE: 08/02/12: Richard Brody has provided a translation via Twitter:

La Cinémathèque française
> Arte.TV page for the event
> Serge Toubiana’s blog about the event (in French but use Google Translate)
> Find out more about Steven Spielberg and Costa-Gavras at Wikipedia

Categories
Amusing Directors Interesting

Steven Spielberg Cameos

Steven Spielberg pops up in movies more often than you might think.

People of a certain age might remember him in The Blues Brothers (1980) but there are some that are not so well known, like Jaws (1975) and Vanilla Sky (2001).

A YouTube user has compiled this neat video of them.

My favourite?

Probably Gremlins (1984).

> The Voice Cameos of James Cameron
> DGA Panel on Spielberg’s career

Categories
Directors Documentaries Interesting

Errol Morris at BAFTA

Famed documentarian Errol Morris was at BAFTA this week where he gave the annual David Lean lecture and a Q&A with Adam Curtis.

He has been in London this week promoting Tabloid, his new film about a bizarre scandal involving a beauty queen and a mormon, and the event was live streamed over the web on BAFTA Guru.

To watch the full 30 minute speech head on over to the BAFTA site, but here is a clip:

Afterwards he engaged in an interesting Q&A session with fellow director Adam Curtis which can be seen here:

I first saw Tabloid at the London Film Festival last year and it is going to be a strong contender for the inaugural BAFTA documentary award.

Interestingly, the film hit the headlines this week when Joyce McKinney (the main subject) announced she was suing Morris for her portrayal in the film, which has echoes of Randall Adams suing Morris, despite the fact that (or maybe because?) his 1988 film The Thin Blue Line got him off death row.

Perhaps there is a follow up film to be made?

> Tabloid review from LFF 2010
> BAFTA Guru
> Adam Curtis’ essential BBC blog which regularly culls interesting material from the archives
> More on Errol Morris at Wikipedia

Categories
Directors Interesting

Alexander Payne 2005 Interview

Back in 2005 director Alexander Payne sat down for a long form interview about his career.

His latest film The Descendants was one of the highlights of the London Film Festival for me and is likely to be a major awards contender.

This talk was held at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis after the success of Sideways, which had been one of the the most acclaimed films of the previous year.

Hosted by LA Times & NPR film critic Kenneth Turan, the conversation goes pretty deep into his career as they cover various aspects of his life and work, including:

  • His Nebraska background
  • Film school
  • His early love of Kurosawa films, silent cinema and the New Hollywood era of the 1970s
  • Getting in to the film idustry
  • Using non-professional actors
  • Why he likes adapting novels
  • The original ending of Election
  • Adapting About Schmidt and working with Jack Nicholson
  • Why he loves voiceover
  • Shooting physical comedy
  • Sideways and the idea of personal cinema
  • The importance of casting
  • Pros and cons of modern filmmaking technology
  • Women audiences and Sideways
  • The influence of silent Italian comedy and Hal Ashby on Sideways
  • Using success to get the next film made

Fans of his work will find much to chew on here and for aspiring filmmakers it provides interesting insights into one of the best American directors currently working.

> Alexander Payne at IMDb, Wikipedia and MUBi
> Walker Art Center and YouTube Channel

Categories
Directors Interesting

Ingmar Bergman in Dallas, 1981

In 1981 Ingmar Bergman paid a visit to the Southern Methodist University in Dallas.

Somebody filmed  a press conference he gave and it was recently posted on the web:

He also did a one-on-one interview with Bobbie Wygant where he talked about Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver (1976) and the recent attempt on President Regan’s life, the ratings system in Sweden and his personal life around the time of Persona (1966).

Coming at the tail end of his illustrious career, it makes for interesting viewing.

> More on Ingmar Bergman at Wikipedia
> Atombomb.tv Vimeo channel

Categories
Directors Interesting

A Stanley Kubrick Odyssey

This twelve minute montage of Stanley Kubrick movies is a hypnotic tribute to the director.

Incorporating clips from from The Killing (1956) through to Eyes Wide Shut (1999), it highlights various motifs using editing and split-screen effects.

Titled ‘A Stanley Kubrick Odyssey’ it was cut together by Richard Vezina and the music featured is Summoning of the Muse by Dead Can Dance and Sanvean by Lisa Gerrard.

People who often accuse Kubrick’s films of lacking emotion should definitely watch this.

> Stanley Kubrick at Wikipedia and MUBi
> Dead Can Dance

Categories
Directors Interesting

Steven Spielberg Panel at the DGA

The DGA recently paid tribute to Steven Spielberg with a panel event that included Michael Apted, James Cameron and J.J. Abrams.

Held on June 11th at the DGA Theater in Los Angeles, it was part of their 75th Anniversary ‘Game-Changer’ series of events.

After an introduction from current DGA president Taylor Hackford, Michael Apted hosts a discussion which sees Abrams and Cameron ask Spielberg questions about his films and career.

It isn’t availabe as an embed but if you click on the image below, it will take you to the DGA page where – if you scroll down a bit –  the full video can be found, along with highlights and photos:

Lasting over 90 minutes, it is a fascinating talk and covers:

  • The famous boat scene in Jaws (1975)
  • Abrams coming across the script for Jaws at Spielberg’s house
  • Using motion capture on his upcoming film version of Tin-Tin (2011)
  • Cameron’s love of Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) and how it influenced him
  • The early visual effects Spielberg employed on Close Encounters and why he re-shot the ending
  • The classic fight scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) and the fact that Spielberg didn’t get ill whilst filming in Tunisia because he had Sainsbury’s canned food shipped in from the UK.
  • Tips on directing children and how a fantastic preview screening of E.T. (1982) upset actor Henry Thomas
  • How he had to adapt his directorial style for Schindler’s List (1993)
  • The visual effects breakthroughs on Jurassic Park (1993)
  • Being inspired by the films of David Lean and Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
  • How he edited on an Avid for the first time on the upcoming War Horse (2011)
  • How he was being glib when he once advised young directors to wear ‘comfortable shoes’
  • The importance of collaboration and listening to co-workers
  • How he loves shooting in England because the crew there call the director ‘Guv’.
  • JJ Abrams and James Cameron also have nice closing statements about how they have been inspired by him
  • Spielberg also closes by talking about his biggest regret, the film he’s proudest of and the one that most closely resembled his original vision.

[Via /Film]

> DGA
> Steven Spielberg at Wikipedia and the IMDb

Categories
Directors News

Sidney Lumet (1924-2011)

Director Sidney Lumet has died in New York at the age of 86.

He was best known for films such as 12 Angry Men (1957), Dog Day Afternoon (1975), Network (1976) and The Verdict (1982), all of which earned him Academy Award nominations for Best Director.

With over 50 films to his credit he was easily one of the most prolific directors of his era and some of his more overlooked works are well worth seeking out, especially Fail-Safe (1964),

He began directing for live television in 1950 and broke through in to features with the classic court-room drama Twelve Angry Men (1957), which starred Henry Fonda as a member of a jury deliberating over a case.

During the 1960s his output included the Cold War drama Fail-Safe (1964), military drama The Hill (1965), The Pawnbroker (1965), and Bye Bye Braverman (1969).

The 1970s was something of a golden decade for Lumet.

The dark and unjustly neglected drama The Offence (1972) was one of Sean Connery’s best roles as a police officer investigating a series of murders in an English town.

Serpico (1973) was a powerful depiction of police corruption in New York city, with a great lead performance from Al Pacino.

The bank-heist drama Dog Day Afternoon (1975) immediately established itself as one of the great films of that decade and again featured Pacino in one of his most memorable roles.

Network (1976) was also an acclaimed social drama, with Peter Finch as a news anchor who becomes an instant celebrity after his memorably angry speeches connect with the disillusioned public.

Written by Paddy Chayefsky and co-starring Faye Dunaway, William Holden and Robert Duvall, its satire of television and the media is still amazingly relevant 35 years on.

After this extraordinary run of films, it would be a few years before he returned to comparable form with The Verdict (1982), a legal drama about a veteran Boston lawyer (Paul Newman) who seeks redemption in a medical malpractice case.

His output shifted from genre to genre with mixed results over the next three decades, although Prince of the City (1981), Running on Empty (1988) and Q & A (1990) are well worth revisiting.

In 2005 was the recipient of an Academy Award for Lifetime Achievement for his “brilliant services to screenwriters, performers, and the art of the motion picture.”

At the age of 82, he directed the acclaimed thriller Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead (2007), which starred Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke and Marisa Tomei.

Intriguingly, he as was a big supporter of digital filmmaking and at the New York Film Festival in 2007 sang the praises of shooting on digital over celluloid.

The New York Times reported a quote of Lumet’s which serves as a fitting epitaph:

“While the goal of all movies is to entertain, the kind of film in which I believe goes one step further. It compels the spectator to examine one facet or another of his own conscience. It stimulates thought and sets the mental juices flowing.”

> Sidney Lumet at the IMDb and Wikipedia
> Links and articles at MUBi

Categories
Directors News

Stanley Kubrick Exhibition in Paris

Last week an exhibition devoted to Stanley Kubrick opened at La Cinémathèque Française in Paris.

It originated in 2004 at the Deutsches Filmmuseum in Frankfurt and was designed by curator Hans-Peter Reichmann in close collaboration with Christiane Kubrick, Jan Harlan and The Stanley Kubrick Archive in London.


Stanley Kubrick – L'exposition by lacinematheque

Over the last few years it has travelled to various cities across the globe including Berlin, Zurich, Rome and Melbourne.

The archives contain a number of documents from Kubrick’s productions including scripts, letters, research materials, photos, costumes and props.

It also includes materials from films that Kubrick planned but never made, including the Napoleon project from the early 1970s and the Holocaust drama Aryan Papers which he planned in the early 1990s.

The layout of the exhibition is designed so each space is dedicated to a film and it takes up two floors of the Frank Gehry building, on the 5th and 7th floors, with large-scale models and interactive digital installations.

The exhibition runs until July 31st.

> Official site for the Kubrick Exhibition in Paris
> Virtual exhibition
> Find out more about Stanley Kubrick at Wikipedia
> Kubrick Archive in London
> Get directions via Google Maps

Categories
Amusing Directors Interesting

Cooking with David Lynch

Aside from being a great director David Lynch has some mean skills in the kitchen.

Around the release of Inland Empire (2006) he made these cooking videos where he prepares some quinoa and organic broccoli.

Shot in black and white, they are set to some moody music as the director mentions the qualities of quinoa (“they say that it is the only grain that is a perfect, complete protein”) and he tells a mean anecdote about his travels in Europe involving paper money and sugar water.

I could watch a whole series of this.

> David Lynch
> Find out more about Quinoa at Wikipedia

Categories
Directors Interesting

Remembering Kubrick

Stanley Kubrick died on this day in 1999 and here are a series of people paying tribute to him.

Steven Spielberg remembers their relationship:

Tom Cruise recalls working on Eyes Wide Shut (1999):

Nicole Kidman also remembers working on what would be Kubrick’s final film:

Here is a BBC News report the night he died:

In 2001, his regular producer Jan Harlan, director Martin Scorsese and wife Christiane Kubrick joined Charlie Rose for an hour long chat around the release of the documentary Stanley Kubrick, A Life in Pictures.

There is also this montage (by YouTube user vezina2001) set to the music of Dead Can Dance and Lisa Gerrard:

Then there is this montage of all his films:

> Stanley Kubrick at MUBi and Wikipedia
> BBC News on Kubrick’s death

Categories
Directors Interesting

Alan Parker on Angel Heart

Angel Heart (1987) remains of the more underrated films of the late 1980s, and around its US release director Alan Parker gave a lengthy interview about it and his career up to that point.

Adapted from William Hjortsberg‘s novel Falling Angel, it is a dark thriller set during the 1950s about a Brooklyn private eye (Mickey Rourke) hired by a mysterious man (Robert De Niro) to locate a singer.

At the time it divided critics and a rough sex scene ruffled feathers at the MPAA, but over time it has become something of a cult favourite with directors such as Christopher Nolan singing its praises (he has admitted it was an influence on Memento).

The interview was part of a series conducted by John A Gallagher and contains some interesting nuggets of information including:

  • Robert Redford originally owned the rights to the novel
  • Why he loves switching genres
  • How Carolco funded it after making lots of money on the Rambo series
  • Working with Mickey Rourke (who is ‘very much his own man’ – diplomatic words?)
  • The appeals process with the MPAA over the sex scene
  • How the greatest crime is just to make ‘another movie’
  • The importance of shooting on location rather than a studio sound stage
  • How he got his break writing and filming in the ‘egalitarian’ world of advertising
  • The pragmatism of choosing Bugsy Malone (1976) as a film project
  • Working with David Puttnam and Oliver Stone on Midnight Express (1978)
  • Why he thinks The Wall (1982) is almost ‘too angry’ despite being proud of it
  • The state of the British film industry at the time (very perceptive comments on this)

> Buy Angel Heart on DVD or Blu-ray from Amazon UK
> Alan Parker at the IMDb and MUBi

Categories
Directors Images Interesting Random

Stanley Kubrick’s IBM XT

Back in January 1984 Alan Bowker helped Stanley Kubrick get set up with an IBM XT computer.

Bowker’s website has photos of the famous director at home in the UK, which includes images of his office, printer and two cats.

> Alan Bowker’s site
> Stanely Kubrick at Wikipedia and MUBi

Categories
Directors Interesting

Alfred Hitchcock Cameos

Alfred Hitchcock was famous for the brief cameos he made in his own films and this compilation is a reminder of the fun that can be had looking out for them.

I think my favourite is the one from Lifeboat (1944) but it is also interesting to note what he does in them.

Note that some involve a musical instrument: in Strangers on a Train (1951) he carries a cello; Rear Window (1954) sees him near a piano; and Vertigo (1958) sees him carrying a bugle.

Another motif is that he often walks across the scene from left to right.

Categories
Directors Trailers

Alfred Hitchcock Psycho Trailer

Aside from being a great film-maker Alfred Hitchcock was a terrific showman – can you imagine any directors today doing these kind of trailers?

Note how the jolly tone contrasts sharply with the actual film.

Categories
Directors Random

Kurosawa on Google

Google have put famed Japanese director Akira Kurosawa on their front page today in honour of what would have been his 100th birthday.

Categories
Awards Season Directors

Hollywood Reporter Directors Roundtable

THR Roundtable 1

The Hollywood Reporter recently hosted a round table discussion for directors up for awards this season.

It included: Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker), Quentin Tarantino (Inglourious Basterds), Peter Jackson (The Lovely Bones), James Cameron (Avatar), Jason Reitman (Up in the Air) and Lee Daniels (Precious).

In three parts:

Categories
Directors Interviews

James Cameron on 60 Minutes


Watch CBS News Videos Online

James Cameron was on 60 Minutes over the weekend where he discussed his career and the upcoming Avatar.

Look out for the bit around the 9 minute mark when he discusses The Terminator and the original studio’s choice for the main role.

“The head of Orion, who were gonna release the film, called me up and said, ‘Are you sitting down? I’ve cast this movie’. I was at a party, and it’s, ‘are you sitting down? It’s O.J. Simpson for the Terminator!’

And I said, ‘This is the stupidest idea I’ve ever heard,’ you know. I didn’t know O.J. Simpson, I had nothing against him personally. I didn’t know he was gonna go murder his wife later and become the real Terminator”

There are also some other web extra videos which didn’t make the broadcast edit.



Categories
Directors Documentaries Interesting

Errol Morris talks about The Thin Blue Line

Errol Morris talks about his classic documentary The Thin Blue Line.

Categories
Directors Interesting

Stanley Kubrick interview from 1966

A fascinating 75 minute interview with Stanley Kubrick conducted by Jeremy Bernstein in 1966.

Stanley Kubrick interview with Jeremy Bernstein, 1966 from vvL on Vimeo.

These audio recordings were used to assist in the writing of Bernstein’s long-form profile of Kubrick, published in the November 12, 1966 issue of The New Yorker.

If the above video doesn’t work, listen to it here:

[audio:http://filmdetail.receptionmedia.com/Stanley_Kubrick_Interview_1966.mp3]
Categories
Directors Interesting Random

Edgar Wright on Flickr

Director Edgar Wright has a Flickr account and has been posting a lot of photos of late, including ones from the set of his latest film Scott Pilgrim vs. the World which stars Michael Cera and Mary Elisabeth Wanstead.

Here is a slide show of his ‘Edgar’s Photo A Day 2009’ collection:

He also has a blog and a MySpace page.

If you still haven’t seen Spaced (and I’m still surprised by the amount of people that haven’t) then you can buy it on DVD here.

Categories
Directors Interesting News

Peter Jackson and James Cameron at Comic-Con

Peter Jackson and James Cameron took part in a ‘visionaries’ panel at Comic-Con recently where they discussed the future of films and filmmaking.

Here are video extracts from the session:

> Peter Jackson and James Cameron at the IMDb
> Official Comic-Con site

Categories
Directors Interesting TV

Oliver Stone on Bill Maher’s Real Time

Oliver Stone was recently on Bill Maher’s Real Time, in which he talked about Buddhism, Vietnam, the Obama administration and Wall Street 2.

By the way, the book by Jeremy Scahill that they mention is Blackwater and I would highly recommend it.

(Also, don’t be surprised if these clips get taken down soon from YouTube)

Categories
Directors Documentaries Trailers

Teaser for Michael Moore’s new film

The teaser for Michael Moore’s as-yet-untitled documentary about the bailout has been released by Overture films.

[ad]

The IMDb currently lists it as ‘The Untitled Michael Moore Project‘ and at a screening of the above trailer in New York cinemas ushers walked around collecting donations for the satirical “Save Our CEOs” organization.

Apparently if anyone was silly enough to give money, it all went to a local food bank.

Courtney Hazlett of MSNBC’s ‘The Scoop’ had a recent discussion previewing the film, in which they point out that it could have a broader appeal than his previous work because of widespread bipartisan anger towards Wall Street:

It is scheduled for a US release on October 2nd.

> Michael Moore
> IMdb link to the new film

Categories
Directors Interesting

Errol Morris talks about his 5 Favourite Films

Director Errol Morris has done an interview with Current TV in which he talks about his five favourite films (kinda).

They are: Detour, Fallen Idol, Psycho, Sullivan’s Travels and The Emperor’s Naked Army Marches On.

[ad]

> Errol Morris at the IMDb
> Current TV

Categories
Amusing Directors Interesting Technology

David Lynch is on Twitter

Yes, that is the real David Lynch on Twitter.

Or, as he puts it, ‘the Twitter page’.

Categories
Directors Interesting The Daily Video

The Daily Video: Ridley Scott Searchlab Lecture

Director Ridley Scott gives a Searchlab Lecture courtesy of Fox Searchlight in which he talks in depth about about his career and films.

I think it is from 2003, and you can watch the other three parts below:

Part 2:

Part 3:

Part 4:

> Ridley Scott at the IMDb
> More Fox Searchlab Lectures

Categories
Directors Interesting The Daily Video

The Daily Video: Alfred Hitchcock cameos

Director Alfred Hitchcock was famous for cameo appearences in his own films.

Here are a selection:

> Alfred Hitchcock at the IMDb
> Find out more about Alfred Hitchcock at Wikipedia
> Senses of Cinema essay on Hitchcock by Ken Mogg
> The Hitchcock/Truffauat Tapes (an essential listen)