Interviews Archives - Page 2 of 4 - Bright Wall/Dark Room

In describing Cooper Raiff’s emergence onto the independent film scene, it’s easy to lean on what sounds like a novelty hook: at just 23 years old, he’s written, directed, starred in, and co-edited a college-set romcom that went on to win the Grand Jury Prize at South by Southwest.

It’s Just Life: John Magaro on First Cow

Fran Hoepfner·

Interviews

"It's just life. That takes a tremendous amount of bravery and Kelly has that as a filmmaker."

I’m Like History Passing By: An Interview With Lee Grant

Carrie Courogen·

Interviews

Actress and director Lee Grant reflects on her 70 year career in Hollywood.

Kenneth Lonergan on The Genius of Elaine May

Chad Perman·

Interviews Issue 75: Elaine May

"Genius is a word that’s thrown around a lot, but I think whatever it means, if Elaine May is not a brilliant improviser, nobody is. If Elaine May is not a brilliant actress, nobody is. If she’s not a brilliant writer, nobody is. If she’s not a brilliant director, nobody is. So whatever that word means, you can apply it to her in four different categories at least, and probably more."

One Child Nation Directors Nanfu Wang and Jialing Zhang on Children, Choice, and the Chinese “Propaganda Machine”

Eileen G'Sell·

Interviews

"You know how, in therapy, you realize something was the cause of something else? This film was like natural therapy for me. I started thinking, 'What else do I remember about the one-child policy, and how did it affect me?'"

‘You don’t get catharsis, you know?’: Lulu Wang on The Farewell

Zosha Millman·

Interviews

"Based on an actual lie.” That’s how Lulu Wang’s new film The Farewell starts out, before China-born, U.S.-raised Billi (Awkwafina) returns to Changchun as her family prepares to say goodbye to their matriarch Nai Nai, who’s been diagnosed with cancer. The one catch: Nai Nai doesn’t know she’s sick.

Charm City Director Marilyn Ness on Avoiding Sensationalism and How Women Are Shaping Documentary Films

Eileen G'Sell·

Interviews

"It’s a super testosteroney movie—a bunch of men, a lot of violence, the cops are dudes, the guys in the neighborhoods are dudes. But no one was looking at this with empathy, like, “What does it mean to be a human being living in this space?” To me that was a very female gaze, though the movie wasn’t about women."

You Get to Live a Lot of Life: An Interview with Liv Ullmann

Lauren Wilford·

Interviews Issue 65: Ingmar Bergman

"I’ve done a lot of other things, but when I look back on my work… [my work with Bergman was] probably what gave me most life. Because I was so alive, and I was trusted so much."

The Baker Gives Me Bread & I Will Give Him Film: An Interview with Mohsen Makhmalbaf

Fedor Tot·

Interviews

"In my experience, human beings are the same. We laugh like each other, we fall in love like each other, we get sad like each other, we have the same emotions in the same conditions everywhere."

Ladies First: Regina Hall and Haley Lu Richardson Talk Support the Girls

Matthew Eng·

Interviews

"In the real world, not the movie world, there was just a lot of support amongst all the girls on set."

Director Susanna Nicchiarelli on the set of NICO, 1988

Nico, 1988 Director Susanna Nicchiarelli on Fame and the Final Days of the Cold War

Eileen G'Sell·

Interviews

"The fact is that these final years of Nico’s life were arguably the best years because she was much more in control, she was happy, and she had her band."

We’re All Weirdos: An interview with Bo Burnham & Elsie Fisher

Zosha Millman·

Interviews

Zosha Millman sits down with writer/director Bo Burnham and star Elsie Fisher to discuss Eighth Grade, why middle schoolers care so much about everything, and why it was important to light the film with natural cellphone brightness.