MovieFreak.com - Movie Interviews

"Milk" - Interviews with Josh Brolin, James Franco, Emile Hirsch and Allison Pill

Thu, 27 Nov 2008 01:54:15 GMT

Getting Into Character
Profiles of the Principal Players in Gus Van Sant's Milk

During my trip to Los Angeles I (along with a few other journalists) were able to get some time with many of the principal players in this real-life melodrama, speaking with them both about the film and about the individuals they were cast to portray. Along with a brief bio about their characters, here are some of the highlights from those conversations.

"Milk" - Interview with director Gus Van Sant and writer Dustin Lance Black

Thu, 27 Nov 2008 01:51:18 GMT

They Got Milk
Gus Van Sant and Dustin Lance Black on Bringing an Icon to Life

“People claim they can see the work of a gay director in the same way they see the work of a female director or a straight director, that they can see it in a style or in the vibe or what the focus is,” says Van Sant introspectively. “But I think it’s hard for me to tell [because] I’m just a guy.”

“I do think it is the sensibilities of the stories that gay filmmakers choose. It’s not like the normal, macho, hetero thing. The way a [straight] director might deal with a love story there would be a certain attack, and even like Goddard his way of showing women is different than a gay man’s way of showing women. But it’s different, not necessarily [better]. It’s not macho.”

"The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" - Interview with writer/director Mark Herman and author John Boyne

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 08:16:19 GMT

About a Boy
Mark Herman and John Boyne on Sewing Striped Pajamas

"I’ve done four adaptations now, a couple of them from stage plays, and I didn’t think it was going to be tricky when I started it but then I got working and realized the subject matter is so dense and complicated it was going to take a lot of work to get it the sensitivity of it right. There’s also the fact you’ve got these millions of people, the book being so very popular, who all have the film composed in their heads already and you’ve got to try and make one better than that, not exactly an easy thing to accomplish." -Herman

"Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa" - Interview with co-writer/director Tom McGrath

Fri, 07 Nov 2008 19:25:36 GMT

Party with the Animals
Northwest Filmmaker McGrath on Returning to Madagascar

“We thought it would be really cool and take all of what we knew and what we had learned about the characters and try to [tell] a better story than we did in the first one,” admits the director candidly. “We’re proud of [Madagascar] but we knew we could do better and that’s where we came up with the idea of telling the story of Alex, of going back to Africa and showing how he was taken off of the preserve. We felt this was a more relatable story and was something that could be more [emotional] for audiences while still opening up plenty of doors for comedy.”

"Happy-Go-Lucky" - Interview with writer/director Mike Leigh

Fri, 07 Nov 2008 19:23:42 GMT

Getting Happy
Award-winner Leigh Continues His Lucky Streak

“I’ve always been fascinated by people,” admits Leigh, “I’ve been clocking [them] since at an early age. I’m good at drawing people. When I was a kid I used to draw the adults at night and my dad told me to stop doing it, he said they might be offended. But, you know, I’m a people watcher. It’s what I do, and whether it was my drawing or my [films] it is people that fascinate me.”

"Towelhead" - Alan Ball Interview

Fri, 19 Sep 2008 18:20:26 GMT

Sexual Controversy
Filmmaker Alan Ball Talks About His New Film Towelhead

Towelhead, based on the acclaimed novel by Alicia Erian, is a stark, darkly uncompromising coming of age melodrama about a 13-year-old named Jasira, beautifully played by newcomer Summer Bishil, doscovering her sexuality in a Huston, Texas suburb. It is a frighteningly uncompromising tale filled with pedophilia, racism, youthful alienation, adult stupidity and suburban malaise.

"Hamlet 2" - Interview with Steve Coogan

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 08:33:52 GMT

Steve Coogan Hamlet 2 Interview

For actor and comedian Steve Coogan, success in the United States has been a little bit hard to come by. Even though he’s had important roles in films as diverse as Around the World in 80 Days, Happy Endings, Marie Antoinette, Hot Fuzz and A Night at the Museum, it is the double-whammy August releases of Ben Stiller’s Tropic Thunder and Sundance favorite Hamlet 2 which finally have people talking about the fitfully funny Brit over on this side of the pond.

"American Teen" - Interview with Nanette Burstein

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 08:31:59 GMT

Not Another Teen Movie
Director Nanette Burstein Tries to Keep it Real

If you’ve read my recent review, chances are you already know I loved director Nanette Burstein’s American Teen. One of the richest, most mesmerizing and highly entertaining documentaries I’ve had the pleasure to see this year, this examination of a year in the life of a group of Indiana High School Seniors has to be one of the most pleasing discoveries I’ve come across this year. This is a movie that speaks about who we are, where we come from and what it took to get where we’re at now, all through the eyes of some youngsters on the cusp of adulthood desperately trying to find away to, if not stand out, at least fit in.

"Chris & Don: A Love Story" - Interview with Guido Santi and Tina Mascara

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 21:49:40 GMT

Documenting a Love Story
Sitting Down with Chris & Don Directors Santi and Mascara

Chris and Don: A Love Story was one of the signature documentaries playing at this year’s Seattle International Film Festival. I sat down with the directors Guido Santi and Tina Mascara during SIFF to talk about the making of their film and how it has affected their lives. What followed was a free-wheeling forty minute conversation touching upon numerous topics big, small decidedly in-between. Here are some of the highlights.

"The Wackness" - Interview with Olivia Thirlby

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 21:27:32 GMT

Word Up
Rising Star Thirlby on Navigating the Highs and Lows of The Wackness

For an actress currently enjoying the glare of burgeoning stardom, Olivia Thirlby is awfully laid back. “It’s really not that bad,” comments the young woman with a smile as we sit down to chat at the downtown Seattle W Hotel, “It’s a really low key day. I’m digging it.”

"Baghead" - Interview with Mark and Jay Duplass

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 01:49:50 GMT

Scares Underneath the Bag
For Mark and Jay Duplass Character Comes First

For having made such a deliriously creepy comedy-thriller with such a weirdly silly title like Baghead, sibling writers/directors Jay and Mark Duplass are a couple of pretty mellow guys. Meeting up in the Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) press suite at the W Hotel, I find both men sprawled out on a couple of couches almost as if they’re getting ready to take a nap, not engage in a grueling round of 20-plus minute press interviews, and entering the room for a brief moment I even wondered if I was in the right place.

"Bigger, Stronger, Faster*" - Interview with Christopher Bell

Fri, 30 May 2008 07:06:58 GMT

All in the Family
Chris Bell on Heroes, Steroids and Chasing the American Dream

I walked into my interview with Bigger, Stronger, Faster* director Christopher Bell at downtown Seattle W Hotel not exactly sure what to expect. While I liked his debut film (quite a bit, actually) I was still coming at it from a bit of a frustrating place. I’d played college athletics and had seen steroid use first-hand, and while I agreed with many of the central points exclaimed within his opus I still wasn’t entirely predisposed to think that performance enhancing drugs should remain anything other than what they are currently – illegal.

"Redbelt" - Interview with Chiwetel Ejiofor

Fri, 09 May 2008 21:22:29 GMT

"I Love Stories"
Redbelt Star Ejiofor Enters the Ring with Filmmaker Mamet

After making his first notable appearance in a small part in Steven Spielberg’s Amistad, acclaimed British actor Chiwetel Ejiofor has certainly gone on and made a significant name for himself. From Dirty Pretty Things, to Love Actually, to Serenity, to Kinky Boots, to Inside Man, to Children of Men, to Talk to Me, to American Gangster, it can easily be said this is one man who has never played the same part twice.

"The Visitor" - Interview with Richard Jenkins

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 18:43:20 GMT

Taking the Lead
A Personal Chat with The Visitor Star Richard Jenkins

You may not know the name, but for anyone who has watched their fair share of films over the past three decades you certainly know the face. The veteran of pictures as diverse as Silverado, The Witches of Eastwick, Sea of Love, Flirting with Disaster and The Kingdom, Richard Jenkins is the type of character actor to which all others should be judged.

"Stop-Loss" - Interview with Kimberly Peirce

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 08:20:20 GMT

A Soldier's Story
Going to War with Stop-Loss Director Kimberly Peirce

It wasn’t that acclaimed filmmaker Kimberly Peirce wanted to wait nine years to follow up her Oscar-winning debut Boys Don’t Cry. It’s just sort of how things worked out. “I think it is just one of those things that took a while,” she states with a slight chuckle. “That’s somehow how it works when you’re making movies.”

"Snow Angels" - Interview with David Gordon Green

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 07:26:23 GMT

Pictures in the Snow
Talking About Angels, Pineapple Express and Emotional Truths with David Gordon Green

After a few tough projects, David Gordon Green was looking forward to doing a job strictly work-for-hire, adapting Stewart O’Nan’s novel Snow Angels for fellow director Jesse Peretz. But something happened, as they so often do in Hollywood, from script to screen, and by the time the studio was ready to roll the feature’s original filmmaker had moved on to other projects.

"Over Her Dead Body" - Interview with Eva Longoria Parker

Tue, 05 Feb 2008 20:42:28 GMT

Playing Dead for Laughs - Longoria Parker Gives Up the Ghost in Over Her Dead Body

Sometimes starring in a hit television program like “Desperate Housewives” just isn’t enough. For Eva Longoria Parker, working a grueling schedule for ABC wasn’t going to stop her from headlining the New Line’s supernatural romantic comedy Over Her Dead Body, even if both projects happened to be filming at the very same time.

"Revolver" - Interview with Jason Statham

Fri, 07 Dec 2007 21:16:56 GMT

It's All in the Head - Playing Mind Games with Revolver Star Jason Statham

Actor Jason Statham is no stranger to playing bad men with good looks and even better intentions. After all, he’s the one responsible for bringing Transporter hero Frank Martin to life and for nearly stealing The Italian Job right out from under his two sexy costars Mark Wahlberg and Edward Norton. But if you ask him where his allegiances lie it is squarely with writer/director Guy Ritchie, the man who brought him to international stardom with killer roles in both Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch.

"Juno" - Interview with Diablo Cody

Fri, 07 Dec 2007 21:15:48 GMT

Diablo on Fire - Juno Screenwriter Takes Newfound Fame in Stride

Author, blogger, phone sex operator, stripper, all around drama queen, more than any of that freshman screenwriter Diablo Cody easily has the greatest penname I think I’ve ever heard. More, she’s go the winningly punk (and spunky) personality to go along with it, walking into our interview at the downtown Seattle Fairmont Olympic Hotel in one of the most outrageous – yet still tasteful – outfits you could ever imagine.

"The Savages" - Interview with Tamara Jenkins

Fri, 07 Dec 2007 21:14:53 GMT

It’s Not Wish Fulfillment - Tamara Jenkins on Finding Honest Emotion with The Savages

It’s not that writer and director Tamara Jenkins meant to take nine years crafting the follow up to her acclaimed 1998 debut Slums of Beverly Hills, things just sort of worked out that way. Not that the wait wasn’t worth it, The Savages one of the more talked abut and discussed independent pictures of the year ever since its debut at this year’s Sundance Film Festival back in January.

"The Golden Compass" - Interview with Sam Elliott

Fri, 07 Dec 2007 21:13:24 GMT

Elliott Cowboys Up - Veteran Actor on Westerns, Working with Kids and Making The Golden Compass

You might not always know the face, but the voice is instantly recognizable, Sam Elliott’s twangy western drawl as familiar and comforting as a loaf of mom’s fresh-baked banana bread. There is just something about the man that can’t help but put a person at ease, and whether he’s talkin’ about The Dude or reminding you that beef is what’s for dinner this quintessentially American character actor is close to a legend as yet he’s still as neighborly a performer as any you’re ever likely to find.

"Bee Movie" - Interview with Jerry Seinfeld

Fri, 02 Nov 2007 22:47:22 GMT

Building Buzz - Jerry Seinfeld Hits Seattle Thinking Bee

You certainly have to give Jerry Seinfeld props. The man may not be the star of a mega-huge television show anymore, and he may not step into the limelight as often as he once used to, but when he does decide to be a part of something he certainly doesn’t just go half way. For his new computer animated effort Bee Movie he’s traveled the globe doing promotion, including dangling from a building wearing a giant bee costume at the Cannes Film Festival, and if that isn’t deserving of kudos then I really don’t know what is.

"Michael Clayton" - Interview with Director Tony Gilroy

Fri, 12 Oct 2007 21:43:10 GMT

"Feast of Love" - Interview with Director Robert Benton

Fri, 12 Oct 2007 21:42:32 GMT

"In the Shadow of the Moon" - Interview with David Sington

Fri, 07 Sep 2007 22:54:49 GMT

"Self Medicated" - Interview with Monty Lapica

Fri, 07 Sep 2007 22:54:32 GMT

"Halloween" - Interview with Rob Zombie

Thu, 30 Aug 2007 01:00:30 GMT

"The Lookout" - Interview with Scott Frank

Fri, 17 Aug 2007 18:35:29 GMT

"Molière" - Interview with Laurent Tirard

Fri, 17 Aug 2007 18:35:03 GMT

"Hot Rod" - Interview with Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone and Akiva Schaffer

Tue, 07 Aug 2007 23:22:22 GMT

Making a Hot Rod
SNL Vets Samberg, Taccone and Schaffer Mix Stunts and Comedy with First Big Screen Endeavor

"Arctic Tale" - Interview with Adam Ravetch

Fri, 27 Jul 2007 09:17:49 GMT
Frozen Rewards
Director Ravetch Spends 15 Years Crafting an Arctic Tale

"Rescue Dawn" - Interview with Jeremy Davies

Tue, 24 Jul 2007 01:36:30 GMT
Rescue in the Jungle
Jeremy Davies Hones His Craft for Iconoclastic Director Werner Herzog

"Interview" - An Interview with Steve Buscemi

Fri, 13 Jul 2007 08:33:00 GMT
Buscemi Talks Interview
Talented Filmmaker on van Gogh, Celebrity and Sopranos Finale

"Evening" - Interview with Lajos Koltai

Fri, 29 Jun 2007 19:03:58 GMT
Crafting the Perfect Evening
Lajos Koltai on Color, Casting and Making a Movie with Love

"Black Sheep" - Interview with Nathan Meister

Wed, 27 Jun 2007 10:16:53 GMT
Getting ‘Bloodied Up’
Actor Meister Descends into the Awful with Black Sheep

"Bridge to Terabithia" - Interview with Josh Hutcherson and AnnaSophia Robb

Tue, 19 Jun 2007 16:56:23 GMT
Building an Imaginative Bridge
An Energetic Conversation with Teenage Stars Josh Hutcherson and AnnaSophia Robb

"Eagle vs Shark" - Interview with Taika Waititi

Mon, 18 Jun 2007 19:04:32 GMT
Waititi Gets Odd
Eagle vs Shark Creator Takes Apart the Romantic Comedy

"Gracie" - Interview with Andrew Shue and Carly Schroeder

Thu, 07 Jun 2007 22:09:48 GMT
Kicking Emotional Goals
Filmmakers Look at Family, Life, Loss and Responsibility with Gracie

"Once" Movie Interview

Wed, 30 May 2007 23:32:51 GMT
Hitting the Right Chords
Learning to Make Beautiful Music with Once

"Hot Fuzz" - Interview with Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg & Nick Frost

Fri, 20 Apr 2007 09:15:17 GMT
Getting Down with the Fuzz
An Interview with Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost

"The Lookout" - Interview with Jospeh Gordon-Levitt & Matthew Goode

Fri, 20 Apr 2007 09:39:57 GMT
Crafting a Thriller
Actors Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Matthew Goode on Making The Lookout

"The Lives of Others" - Interview with Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck

Fri, 20 Apr 2007 09:38:27 GMT
Other People's Lives
A Converation with Writer-Director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck