Columns
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Back to One, Episode 88: Miles Robbins
When I first took notice of Miles Robbins he was a stand-out among stand-outs in the surprisingly satisfying teen comedy Blockers. Now he presents another level of his talent in the very thoughtful psychological horror film Daniel Isn’t Real. In this episode he talks about the intense, emotionally taxing experience he had creating that performance, how not being scared is a key ingredient in his work, and the importance of connecting with the duality within himself and the universe. Plus he generously shares his feelings and frustrations with this “weird” endeavor called acting and all the hoopla that surrounds it. Back […]
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Back To One Episode 87: Aaron Taylor-Johnson
To say Aaron Taylor-Johnson puts 100% into every role is actually a bit of an understatement. He starts to live as the character months before filming begins. Then, when it’s over, it takes him months to “shed the layers” of the character before returning to himself. This might sound like a bunch of hooey, until you actually see the brilliance of the work and the fullness of transformation. He got his big break with Kick-Ass, spent some time in the Marvel universe, played John Lennon in Nowhere Boy, then won a Golden Globe for playing a psychopath in Nocturnal Animals. […]
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Back to One, Episode 86: Emily Beecham
Emily Beecham won the best actress award at this year’s Cannes Film Festival for her brilliantly nuanced and tightly focused performance in Jessica Hausner’s art house science fiction film Little Joe. Recently she played The Widow in the AMC series Into The Badlands, starred in Daphne, and had a memorable supporting role in Hail Caesar. In this episode she talks about the importance of connection, avoiding “attractive acting,” Mike Leigh, the strenuousness of intense physical performance, her Little Joe hair, and much more! Back To One can be found wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple Podcasts, Google Play, and […]
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Black Friday Sale — One-Year Print Subscriptions, 40% Off
For our U.S. readers partaking in the shopping ritual known as Black Friday, Filmmaker is this weekend discounting our one-year print subscriptions 40%. One year — four issues — of Filmmaker is now only $10. And by subscribing you’ll also immediately receive our fully searchable and downloadable library of digital editions going back to 2007. In two weeks you’ll receive the our Winter, 2020 digital edition, and then your print subscription will begin with the Spring, 2020 issue. Filmmaker‘s print edition is a stylish, compelling read with a look and feel unlike any film magazine. Plus, our print issue includes […]
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Back to One, Episode 85: Stephanie Kurtzuba
Stephanie Kurtzuba plays Irene, wife of Frank Sheeran (Robert De Niro), in The Irishman. It’s her second film with Martin Scorsese. She played stockbroker Kimmie Belzer in The Wolf of Wall Street. She talks about working with the legendary filmmaker and what sets him apart as an actor’s director. She also explains her process of extracting preconceptions made in the audition, and she gushes about her first love–the rehearsal room, but tells us why, despite her heart being on the stage, she wouldn’t give up working for the camera if she could. Plus much more! Back To One can be […]
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Back to One, Episode 84: Tracy Letts
Tracy Letts has parallel successful careers as an actor and a playwright. He won a Tony Award for his performance in the Steppenwolf revival of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf and a Pulitzer Prize for his play August: Osage County. His screen credits include Lady Bird, The Lovers, and the new movie Ford v Ferrari, in which he plays Henry Ford II. In this episode, he talks about “pretending with authority,” making friends with the camera, the “responsibility” of the leading role, and how he’s preparing to do something he’s never done–act in a play he wrote (The Minutes) on Broadway. Plus […]
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Back to One, Episode 83: Devika Bhise
The Warrior Queen of Jhansi is the first Hollywood action film to have a female Indian lead. Devika Bhise not only stars in the film (opening Friday November 15th), she co-wrote it with her mother, Swati Bhise, who also directed it. In this episode, she talks about performing under stressful time restraints, how not having “the leisure to lose it” actually helped her play such a powerful leader, and the physical work required (including some “illegal” horseplay!), plus how her intense training in classical Indian dance helps her prepare for every role, and much more! Back To One can be […]
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“This Little Live Show I was Doing on the Board”: DP Larry Sher on Joker
The Gotham City of Joker is a mere fraction of a degree removed from the New York City of 1981, a time and place Larry Sher knows well. The Hangover and Godzilla: King of the Monsters cinematographer grew up in nearby Teaneck, New Jersey and would sneak into the city on the bus as a teenager in the early 1980s. Sher channeled those experiences—as well as the seminal New York films of the era—to evoke the alienating urban nightmare of Gotham. “My approach for Joker was to feed a little bit off of what the city looked like in my […]
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Back to One, Episode 82: Dorian Missick
I’ve wanted to sit down with Dorian Missick for some time. The seasoned actor has six dozen credits in television shows like Southland, Luke Cage, Tell Me A Story, and movies spanning from Two Weeks Notice to this year’s Brian Banks. In this hour, he passes on pearls of wisdom acquired from his many years in the business, like his new radical approach to auditions, why he aims for 100 reads of a script before first day of production, how he and his actor wife Simone Missick support each other’s journeys, and the importance of a “team sport” mentality, plus […]
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Back to One, Episode 81: Alex Wolff
He’s only 21, but going by the depth of his work and the eloquent way he talks about it, Alex Wolff feels like a seasoned veteran. “I’ve basically been on camera since the sonogram,” he says, joking about his childhood in The Naked Brothers Band with his brother, Nat, on Nickelodeon. Since then he’s knocked out a handful of impressive performances in films like Patriots Day, My Friend Dahmer, and Hereditary. Now he’s written, directed and stars in a labor of love called The Cat and The Moon. He talks about treating his actors like kings and queens on that […]
