Train Dreams
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The Indie Spirits Flip the Oscar Script
In a big studio-backed awards season, it’s rare to see much overlap between the Film Independent Spirit Awards and the Oscars. A west coast cousin of sorts to the Gotham Awards, the Indie Spirits often celebrate the movies that the Academy skipped over with its nominations. The ceremony itself is also more fun (there’s some day-drinking involved) than the more staid guild awards that dot the homestretch ahead of the similarly serious Academy Awards. Having said that, the Indie Spirits still matter quite a bit to campaign strategists and the people who employ them. They take place in the heart […]
by Tyler Coates on Feb 17, 2026 -
The Notes of an Age: Composer Bryce Dessner on “Train Dreams”
Composers are often brought on to score a film very late into the process, but Bryce Dessner was writing music for Train Dreams before director Clint Bentley began production. A longtime collaborator of Bentley’s, alongside his creative partner Greg Kwedar, Dessner has scored every narrative film project of theirs, either alone or with his brother Aaron, beginning with Transpecos. “Because we’re old friends, I was aware that they were thinking about [adapting Train Dreams] for a long time,” explains the musician. “I had read the book [and] early versions of the script. There’s a lot of information in the early […]
by Vikram Murthi on Dec 18, 2025 -
The Burnt Century: Clint Bentley and Greg Kwedar on Train Dreams
Originally published in 2002, Denis Johnson’s novella Train Dreams chronicles the life of a logger who slips in and out of the world without a trace. An orphan with no knowledge of his birthplace or family lineage, Robert Grainier doesn’t have a history as much as he merely lives through it. He helps build the railroads that crisscross the country; when physically unable to maintain his arduous, itinerant lifestyle, he performs a series of odd jobs in his adopted home of Bonners Ferry, Idaho. He marries a woman, has a child and just as quickly loses them both in a […]
by Vikram Murthi on Sep 17, 2025 -
“It Might Yield Something Truly Beautiful” | Clint Bentley, Train Dreams
Films are made over many days, but some days are more memorable, and important, than others. Imagine yourself in ten years looking back on this production. What day from your film’s development, production or post do you think you’ll view as the most significant and why? I think it would have to be the first scene we shot. We were filming in a beautiful cabin we had built on location in eastern Washington, and Joel Edgerton and Felicity Jones were just starting to bring their characters to life. What was scripted as a simple dialogue-free moment naturally grew into a […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 26, 2025 -
“Narration is a Double-Edged Sword”: Editor Parker Laramie on Train Dreams
Denis Johnson’s novella Train Dreams follows Robert Granier, a railroad builder, as he participates in America’s expansion to the West and finds love. Director Clint Bentley (Jockey) has adapted the Johnson’s attempt to contextualize the role of an individual within the immensity of history. Bentley’s Train Dreams screens as part of the Premieres section at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Below, editor Parker Laramie (Sing Sing, Unfriended) explains some of the differences between the film and the novel and why scenes were rearranged in the edit. See all responses to our annual Sundance editor interviews here. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 26, 2025 -
“We Often Had to Reimagine Entire Setups”: DP Adolpho Veloso on Train Dreams
Train Dreams is the story of a day laborer played by Joel Edgerton as finds love and plays a part in the transformation of the American West. The film, an adaptation of Dennis Johnson’s novella of the same name, is a selection of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival’s Premieres section. Adolpho Veloso, who also worked with Bentley on 2021’s Jockey, served as the film’s DP. Below, he discusses the logistical challenges of two fire sequences and his fidelity to naturalism. See all responses to our annual Sundance cinematographer interviews here. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the cinematographer of […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 26, 2025 -
“There’s a Lot about ‘The Watcher’ and This Third Party in What We Do”: Will Janowitz, Back To One, Episode 311
Straddling the line between outsider artist and full-fledged Hollywood sellout, Will Janowitz has always found solace working both sides of the industry. With work ranging from Troma films to Ang Lee’s Taking Woodstock to The Sopranos, he’s made a career of always doing the unpredictable. This year two films he produced, and one he wrote, will make their festival run; Bang Bang starring Tim Blake Nelson and the later, Train Dreams, starring Joel Edgerton and Felicity Jones directed by Clint Bently. On this episode he talks about his improvisational sweet spot and how it rests in the heart of danger […]
by Peter Rinaldi on Oct 1, 2024
