Don Cheadle had never met any member of Miles Davis’ family when they approached him to make a film about the groundbreaking artist’s life. That’s where I started when I spoke with Cheadle by phone about MILES AHEAD on March 31, 2016. It was one of those kismet stories, that provided a jumping off point… Read More »
Glenn Ficarra & John Requa Say I LOVE YOU, PHILLIP MORRIS
John Requa and Glenn Ficarra have been writing partners for a decade or so, but when they got the call to adapt the true story of master con artist Steven Jay Russell, they decided that this might be the perfect vehicle for their directorial debut. In a conversation that touched on censorship, the Puritans, artistic… Read More »
Ewan McGregor & Mike Mills are BEGINNERS
BEGINNERS is based on writer/director Mike Mills’ experience of having his father come out as gay when he became a widower after forty years of marriage. The film is fictionalized, the father is Hal, played by Christopher Plummer, the son is Oliver, played by McGregor, as far as the details go, but is emotionally true… Read More »
Ewan McGregor Goes SALMON FISHING IN THE YEMEN
Ewan McGregor was not a fisherman when he signed on for SALMON FISHING IN THE YEMEN, but he did identify with the sense of transcendence that fisher folk sometimes achieve while waiting for something to take their bait. For McGregor, it’s motorcycling across remote regions of the world, and when we spoke on February 28,… Read More »
Belen Atienza, Sergio Sanchez & Juan Antonio Bayona Take on THE IMPOSSIBLE
Respect was a word that came up often as I was talking with the filmmakers who brought THE IMPOSSIBLE to the screen on October 31 2012. Based on the true story of one family’s harrowing experience trying to survive in the aftermath of the Christmas Day tsunami in Thailand, the film was shot on location… Read More »