Columns
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Some Thoughts on the Apple Vision Pro
Each Friday I write an original Editors Letter as part of the free Filmmaker newsletter. Always original and not usually archived on the site, the letters consist of essays, thoughts, recommendations and sometimes even early versions of pieces that appear later here. This week I wrote about the Apple Vision Pro and am reposting that piece in updated form here. To subscribe for free to the Filmmaker newsletter, click here. If you watched any of Apple’s WWDC keynote on Monday, or saw any of its videos, and thought that its new AR headset, the Apple Vision Pro, looked like science […]
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“TV Shows are Like Better Funded Independent Films”: DP Larkin Seiple on Beef
In the new Netflix series Beef, a struggling contractor (Steven Yeun) and an affluent entrepreneur (Ali Wong) become embroiled in an escalating feud following a road rage incident. The series fits snuggly into a very specific quadrant of cinematographer Larkin Seiple’s wheelhouse— hard-to-classify A24 projects. Though his filmography includes sports biopics (Bleed for This), thrillers (Cop Car) and prestige dramas (To Leslie and Emmy-nominated work on Gaslit), Seiple’s most distinct work has come in A24’s Swiss Army Man, Everything Everywhere All at Once and now the studio’s Beef. With the full series streaming on Netflix, Seiple spoke to Filmmaker about Incubus clinching […]
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“I Do Not Have an Adult Profession, and So You Need To Maintain Access to Your Childlike Self”: Matthew Maher (Back To One, Episode 256)
In recent movies like Air and Funny Pages, television series like Our Flag Means Death, and plays like Annie Baker’s The Flick, Matthew Maher has made a name for himself as someone who can bring an oddball or weirdo to full life with enough charm, charisma, and genuine gusto to make us love him unconditionally. On this episode, he talks about his acting foundations, the tools formative teachers have given him, and some theories he has developed as a teacher himself. He explains the allure of experimental theater in ’90s New York City, makes a case for embracing contradictions and obstructions in a character and […]
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“Annoying, Finicky Placement Stuff”: DP Jody Lee Lipes on Shooting Two Rachel Weiszs for Dead Ringers
Cinematographer Jody Lee Lipes says that shooting an actor playing twins is like learning a new filmmaking language. By now, he’s fluent. Lipes lensed all six episodes of the 2020 HBO miniseries I Know This Much Is True, with Mark Ruffalo playing identical twins. As an added complication, the coverage of each brother was shot months apart as Ruffalo took a hiatus to gain 30 pounds to physically transform himself into the other sibling. On the new Amazon series Dead Ringers, it’s Rachel Weisz starring as twin New York City gynecologists who meet a tragic end. The show is a […]
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“The Sweat of Desperation Does Not Translate to a Series Regular”: Jeff Hiller (Back To One, Episode 255)
It is extremely hard not to love Jeff Hiller’s character Joel, opposite Bridget Everett’s Sam, on the hit HBO series Somebody Somewhere. Their friendship is sweet, revelatory, and concerningly codependent, all at the same time. On this episode, he talks about how he got good at auditioning while wondering if he’d ever play someone with an inner life, “or a name.” He tells the story of landing “Joel,” the surprising connections he shares with the character, the secret ingredient that makes his chemistry with Everett work so well, and much more. Back To One can be found wherever you get […]
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When the Fungus Catches the Light: DP Karim Hussain on Infinity Pool
With Antiviral, Possessor and Infinity Pool, filmmaker Brandon Cronenberg has expeditiously carved out a distinct, experimental aesthetic for his work. However, he has followed in the footsteps of his legendary father David in one respect—forging a lasting alliance with his cinematographer. All but three of the elder Cronenberg’s 20 features films were shot by either Mark Irwin or Peter Suschitzky. All of Brandon’s efforts thus far bear the name of Canadian DP Karim Hussain. Hussain begin writing, directing and shooting low budget genre films while still a teenager, before eventually opting to focus solely on the latter of those roles. He […]
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“If You’re Gonna Do It, DO IT. And Maybe It’s Wrong, and That’s Fine”: Owen Teague (Back To One, Episode 254)
Owen Teague is only 24, but he’s already had an opportunity to show his range as an exceptional young actor in shows like Bloodline, Black Mirror, and The Stand, and films like To Leslie, Montana Story, and the new Nicole Holofcener film, You Hurt My Feelings (which opens Friday, May 26th). On this episode, he talks about gleaning “a lot” from the great actors he’s worked with, knowing when to “separate yourself,” the importance of feeling scared but not intimidated, discovering how central a character’s physicality is for him, plus much more! Back To One can be found wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple Podcasts, […]
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“I Think That’s Why I’m an Actor—I’m a Daydreamer”: Jon Voight (Back To One, Episode 253)
With incredible performances in films like Midnight Cowboy, Coming Home, Deliverance and Runaway Train, Jon Voight has earned himself a spot in the acting Pantheon. At 84, he has never stopped working. Seven seasons of Ray Donovan being a recent highlight. On this episode, he talks about how he “starts slow” when developing an approach to a character, letting “things drop into my psyche.” He pinpoints directorial characteristics of John Schlesinger (director of Midnight Cowboy) that worked well for him, details a scrappy fight scene with Jonathan Rhys Myers on his latest film Mercy, reminisces about working with Cassavetes on Love […]
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“I Don’t Want To Change a Punctuation Mark in This”: The Diplomat’s David Gyasi (Back To One, Episode 252)
You’ve seen his work in such films as Interstellar and Cloud Atlas, and television series like Containment and Carnival Row, now David Gyasi plays Austin Dennison in Debora Cahn’s new hit Netflix limited series The Diplomat. On this episode, he talks about the rare collaboration he had with Cahn in developing Dennison, the part of the job he finds “sacred,” loving re-HEARsal, the real reason why he is so picky with the roles he takes on, and much more. Back To One can be found wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple Podcasts, Google Play, and Stitcher. And if you’re […]
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“A Kick is Like a Line of Dialogue”: Editor Nathan Orloff on John Wick: Chapter 4
Though it hasn’t reached the fever pitch of absurdity of The Fast and the Furious franchise just yet—a series that began as a Point Break riff but now includes nuclear submarines and Pontiac Fieros in space —the John Wick saga has certainly expanded from its humble beginnings. Produced independently and shot in New York on a budget in the mid-$20 million range, the original film found its titular assassin (played by Keanu Reeves) emerging from retirement to avenge the death of his dog. Four chapters later, Reeves is hopping between New York City, Osaka, Berlin, Paris and the Wadi Rum […]
