We catch up with one of the most beloved directorial duos working today, Phil Lord and Chris Miller, to talk about their work on The Lego Movie, why they have no interest in selling toys, the hardest part of animating a toy made out of building blocks, creating catchy earworms, and how their very terrible idea of a double decker couch was a very real thing.
We talk to Being Human actor and filmmaker Pat Kiely about his second feature film as a director (the proudly un-romantic comedy Three Night Stand), the time between making his first feature and getting around to this one, the advantages of working with great friends and collaborators, the downside to shooting in the dead of winter, and why he’s tired of audiences being fed the same old rom-com clichés over and over again.
We talk with 12 O'Clock Boys director Lotfy Nathan about being an outsider chronicling inner city dirt bike riding culture in Baltimore, interacting with his subjects, and what it’s like to get a police summons for filming illegal behaviour.
We talk to Rhymes for Young Ghouls director Jeff Barnaby his film’s recent successes, the mundane nature of small town life that can lead some to less than exemplary behaviour, treating even his villains as humans, the mixed reaction the film has received within the native film community, and why it was a no brainer to use a female protagonist to tell a deeply personal story that stays true to his own experiences.
We talk with award winning Canadian filmmaker Atom Egoyan about his latest film Devil's Knot what drew him to make a film about one of the most notorious unsolved crimes in American history (The West Memphis Three case), the film’s adherence to the facts of the case, the hectic shooting schedule, and why his talented cast was such an asset to the production.
We talk to filmmakers Jason and Brett Butler about their $1,000 budgeted dark comedy Mourning Has Broken and about expanding the film to feature length, how they kind of bluffed their way through their initial pitch with producer Ingrid Veninger, their collaboration with actor Robert Nolan, and how they like to keep audiences guessing.
We catch up with I, Frankenstein leading man Aaron Eckhart to talk about his recent shift towards higher profile films after starting off in independent movies, constructing the look of a modern monster, the physical preparation for the role, and the surprising amount of deep emotional research he did that took just as heavy a toll.
We talk to Louise Archambault, the Quebecois director of the Canadian Screen Award Best Picture nominee Gabrielle about avoiding misery and melodrama, her documentary-style approach to filmmaking, how coming of age stories can happen at any point in life, how her cast never felt pressured, and the relationship between her two award nominated leads.
We talk to Steve Hoover, the director of the documentary Blood Brother, about his relationship with his best friend has progressed as a result of filming him working with children suffering from AIDS and HIV in rural India, the two sides to his friend's personality, and the film’s gut punching opening sequence.
Eric Smith's new book The Geek's Guide to Dating is a tongue-in-cheek book that has exactly what the “Player One” who has everything in his life but a leading lady needs.
Dork Shelf talks to former child actress, current blogger/playwright/novelist/essayist, and star of the Danny DeVito directed Roald Dahl adaptation Matilda (now on Blu-Ray) about how the film has found a way to endure and grow in popularity over the years, how she’s able to look back on the film with fondness after years away from thinking about it very much, what irks her about young adult writing, and how busy her life has been now that’s she’s out working for herself.
We talk to TIFF Bell Lightbox Head of Film Programming (and massive dork at heart) Jesse Wente about round 2 of the Lightbox's now comprehensive look at the films of Studio Ghibli. We also talk about what the films mean to him, the iconography behind My Neighbor Totoro and Grave of the Fireflies, hidden gems in the program people might not be aware of, how the films of Studio Ghibli encompass the very goals the TIFF Bell Lightbox strives towards as an organization, and why he’s honoured to be a part of this showcase of films by not only a great filmmaker, but one of the greatest artists the world has ever known.
We talk to Vancouver filmmaker and record collector Mitchell Kezin about his labour of love, Jingle Bell Rocks (opening this Friday at the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema) about the rich variety, history, and nostalgia that surrounds alternative Christmas music.
We talk to Alicia Fletcher, film archivist and programmer for the Silent Sundays series of silent films at The Revue, who this Sunday will screen comedies from silent film heavyweights Buster Keaton, Fatty Arbuckle, and Charlie Chaplin. We talk about her work as an archivist, the importance of music in silent films today and during initial release, and a bit about the diverging careers and films of Arbuckle and Keaton.
We talk to Kiva Reardon, one of the founder and head editor for cléo, a journal of film and feminism, and talk about the formation of the journal, varying definitions of feminism, why she's always pleasantly surprised with the wealth and range of films they are able to look at, and what film writing inspires her the most as a writer and an editor.
