Best of 2023: Christopher Nolan on Exploding Myths & Exposing Humanity in “Oppenheimer”
*It’s our annual “Best of the Year” look back at some of our favorite interviews from the year.
Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy) stares wide-eyed into the pond spread out in front of him; his last conversation with Albert Einstein (Tom Conti) on the potential catalytic effects of the atomic bomb has rendered him speechless. The music swells as the screen fades to black — the final scene of Christopher Nolan’s highly-anticipated Oppenheimer.
“American Fiction” Writer/Director Cord Jefferson on Cutting to the Heart of the Matter
Writer/director Cord Jefferson’s narrative feature debut, American Fiction, has become one of the most talked about films this awards season, and for good reason. Adapted from Percival Everett’s 2001 novel “Erasure,” the satirical drama won the audience award upon its debut at the Toronto Film Festival, with a number of subsequent fests following suit, and was recently named one of the top ten films of 2023 by the AFI.
“May December” Screenwriter Samy Burch Unpacks the Unspoken in Todd Haynes’ New Film
May December (in select theaters now), which probes the interior lives of three enigmas aswirl in their own isolating truths, might be 2023’s most debatable movie. Rarely does anyone in Todd Haynes’ film say what they actually mean, and although it remains playful and accessible, an intriguing inscrutability hovers around the central characters.
Gracie Atherton-Yoo (Julianne Moore), a steely circus freak within her upper-middle-class Georgia community, has convinced herself that she is not liable for the liaison she had with a teenage boy while working at a pet store.
“The Holdovers” Screenwriter David Hemingson on His Tetchy Yet Tender Tale of Chosen Family
The Holdovers (in theaters now) has the potential to become a holiday classic. It’s a movie that delves into themes of depression, loneliness, loss, and regret. Yet this bittersweet concoction has a tremendous if subtle, undercurrent of tenderness. Friendship and love are given their due, adding a touch of sweetness to Alexander Payne’s new film.
Screenwriter David Hemingson tells the story of the embittered professor Paul Hunham (Paul Giamatti), who possesses the quick wit and quiet depression of a stand-up comedian.
“Rustin” Screenwriter Julian Breece on Giving a Legend his Due
There are countless unsung heroes of the civil rights movement who will never get the recognition they deserve, yet it’s hard to imagine an overlooked figure more central to the cause and more courageous and capacious in spirit than Bayard Rustin. While historians are well aware of the impact Rustin had on the civil rights movement writ large and specifically the March on Washington, most Americans are not.
George C. Wolfe‘s Rustin (in theaters now) offers a course correction.
“The Persian Version” Writer/Director Maryam Keshavarz on the Joys of Iranian American Culture
The Persian Version won both the Audience Award and the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award in the U.S Dramatic Competition at Sundance this year, and for good reason. The film is a feel-good dramedy that combines stories of traditional Iranian culture with those of the Iranian American experience with a decidedly modern touch. The story follows Leila (Layla Mohammadi), a queer Iranian American working to keep her parents and many brothers who love her at a distance while navigating her ever more complicated personal life.
“Freelance” Writer Jacob Lentz on Going From “Jimmy Kimmel Live” to Penning his Feature Debut
It sounds like the setup to a sketch: a washed-up journalist, a peacocking dictator, and a bored ex-Special Forces guy walk into a coup… That may be the premise of the action-comedy Freelance (in theaters now), the first feature film from long-time Jimmy Kimmel Live writer Jacob Lentz, but the punchline isn’t what you’d expect. Mason Pettits (John Cena) is a frustrated lawyer who gets a call from an old military buddy turned private military contractor,
“Story Ave” Writer/Director Aristotle Torres Brings the Bronx to the Big Screen
Writer/director Aristotle Torres‘ feature debut, Story Ave, is centered on Kadir (Asante Blackk), a bright teenager from the South Bronx with a gift for visual arts filled with promise. But when Kadir’s younger brother dies, the loss amplifies the pressure cooker of modern teenage life—the demands of school, the expectations of family—and specifically the life of a kid living life in the Bronx, where an entire world of opportunity and danger is just a few steps out of your front door.
“Fair Play” Writer/Director Chloe Domont Makes a Killing on Male Fragility
Fair Play, writer/director Chloe Domont‘s feature debut, is somehow both an old-school erotic thriller and a shrewd, scalpel-sharp dissection of how far we have and have not come with gender equality in the workplace and in the headspace of men, even those who consider themselves allies.
The film is largely set at the hedge fund One Crest Capitol, where Emily (Phoebe Dynevor) and Luke (Alden Ehrenreich) are low-level but promising analysts trying to take the next step in their careers.
“A Million Miles Away” Co-Writer/Director Alejandra Márquez Abella on Capturing a Dream Come True
Filmmaker Alejandra Márquez Abella learned of José Hernández 15 years ago when his inspirational story made headlines: Hernández, who toiled in the fields as a child alongside his family, is the first migrant farmworker to become a NASA astronaut and go into space — a lifelong dream he realized after nearly a decade of perseverance and pluck and with the unwavering support of his family and friends. When producers Mark Ciardi and Campbell McInnes approached Abella about bringing Hernández’s story to the screen,
Best of Summer 2023: “Brother” Writer/Director Clement Virgo on Returning to Filmmaking With His Quietly Devastating Adaptation
*It’s our annual “Best of Summer” look back at some (not all) of our favorite interviews from the past few months. This non-comprehensive look back includes the Barbenheimer phenomenon and the wonderful interviews that followed those two history-making films, chats with the talented folks behind Mission: Impossible, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, our profile of MPA Creator Award Recipient and filmmaker extraordinaire Gina Prince-Bythewood and more.
When he returned to feature filmmaking,
Best of Summer 2023: Gina Prince-Bythewood, MPA Creator Award Recipient, Tells Her Story
*It’s our annual “Best of Summer” look back at some (not all) of our favorite interviews from the past few months. This non-comprehensive look back includes the Barbenheimer phenomenon and the wonderful interviews that followed those two history-making films, chats with the talented folks behind Mission: Impossible, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, our profile of MPA Creator Award Recipient and filmmaker extraordinaire Gina Prince-Bythewood and more.
An elite force of female soldiers,
Best of Summer 2023: Christopher Nolan on Exploding Myths & Exposing Humanity in “Oppenheimer”
*It’s our annual “Best of Summer” look back at some (not all) of our favorite interviews from the past few months. This non-comprehensive look back includes the Barbenheimer phenomenon and the wonderful interviews that followed those two history-making films, chats with the talented folks behind Mission: Impossible, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, our profile of MPA Creator Award Recipient and filmmaker extraordinaire Gina Prince-Bythewood and more.
Spoilers below; approach with extreme caution if you haven’t seen the film yet.
“Brother” Writer/Director Clement Virgo on Returning to Filmmaking With His Quietly Devastating Adaptation
Writer/director Clement Virgo followed his instincts when he returned to feature filmmaking. Since his last feature, Poor Boy’s Game (2007), Virgo has been directing TV, working more or less nonstop. He’s directed episodes of Empire, Netflix’s Dahmer- Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, and OWN’s megachurch drama Greenleaf. He was thinking about getting back into features when a friend handed him a copy of David Chariandy’s novel “Brother,”
Christopher Nolan on Exploding Myths & Exposing Humanity in “Oppenheimer”
Spoilers below; approach with extreme caution if you haven’t seen the film yet.
Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy) stares wide-eyed into the pond spread out in front of him; his last conversation with Albert Einstein (Tom Conti) on the potential catalytic effects of the atomic bomb has rendered him speechless. The music swells as the screen fades to black — the final scene of Christopher Nolan’s highly-anticipated Oppenheimer.
A “singularly dramatic moment in history” — That’s how Nolan describes the motivation behind his desire in telling the story of Robert Oppenheimer.
“Joy Ride” Screenwriters Cherry Chevapravatdumrong & Teresa Hsiao Embrace the Raunch
Adele Lim’s feature directorial debut Joy Ride cruised into theaters this past weekend, boasting critical raves. The laughs come early and often in Lim’s ensemble film, thanks in large part to screenwriters and producers Cherry Chevapravatdumrong and Teresa Hsiao. The talented duo began writing the script for Joy Ride on spec, and that sense of freedom and play is on full display.
The screenwriters both met in the writer’s room in Seth MacFarlane’s joke-a-second animated raunch-fest Family Guy and in Joy Ride,
“Flamin’ Hot” Screenwriter Linda Yvette Chávez Serves Up a Story Straight From the Heart
Linda Yvette Chávez tells the story of Flamin’ Hot with faith, passion, and romance. The co-creator of the Netflix series Gentefied saw herself in the true story of Richard Montañez (Jesse Garcia), the Frito Lay janitor who dreamed of a snack that connected with his Mexican American community. With his great coach and partner in life, his wife Judy (Annie Gonzalez), Richard fulfilled his dream with Flamin’ Hot Cheetos.
Chávez doesn’t focus on a single person with a singular vision.
Gina Prince-Bythewood, MPA Creator Award Recipient, Tells Her Story
An elite force of female soldiers, the Agojie, is all that stands between the African Kingdom of Dahomey and the combined forces of the Oyo Empire and Mahi people. The Oyo and Mahi plan to raid Dahomey villages and sell their captives to European slavers. We open on a Mahi village where raiders heat their machetes over a fire at night. Their leader hears something in the tall grass surrounding them and quiets his men,
“What’s Love Got to Do With It?” Creator Jemima Khan on Her Singular Rom-Com
For her foray into romantic comedies, writer/producer Jemima Khan looked, in part, at her own life for inspiration. While living in Pakistan with her ex-husband and his family for many years, she witnessed firsthand the process behind arranged marriage, now termed assisted marriage, and eventually returned to her native U.K. with a unique perspective on this cultural norm (her own union developed organically). Couple this insight with interviews she conducted with people either considering or already in an assisted marriage and an inside track into the dating woes of friends,
“Polite Society” Writer/Director Nida Manzoor on Her Genre-Melding Feature Debut
Writer/director Nida Manzoor grew up on martial arts, action, and Bollywood, so it makes sense that her feature directorial debut Polite Society would be a genre mashup that includes all that and more. An idea she’s been kicking around since her teen years, the film is a celebration of sisterhood, inspired, in part, by her experiences as a kid learning karate with real-life sister Sanya. Though you might know Manzoor for her iconoclastic and very feminist series We Are Lady Parts,
