Film Archives - Award-Winning Writer and Graphic Designer

Remembering Robin Williams – Director Dito Montiel opens up about Robin’s last film – Boulevard

dorriolds — Tue, 21 Jul 2020 09:38:33 +0000

In the movie “Boulevard,” Robin Williams plays Nolan Mack, a 60-year-old bank worker who spontaneously takes a dramatic U-turn — literally and figuratively — when he drives down an unfamiliar street and becomes intrigued by a young male hustler, Leo (Roberto Aguire), who asks if Nolan can give him a lift.
After forming a peculiar connection with Leo, Nolan faces the fact that he is gay and has spent his life hiding that. He’s hidden it from his wife Joy (Kathy Baker) and even from himself. Nolan’s climactic decision to confront who he really is proves the old adage: It’s never too late to change.
From director Dito Montiel and written by Douglas Soesbe, “Boulevard” also stars Bob Odenkirk (TV’s “Better Call Saul,” “Breaking Bad”) as Winston, Nolan’s supportive best friend. Montiel was drawn to “Boulevard” because of its poignant and universal themes. “When I read Douglas Soesbe’s script, I thought about how many people are in Nolan’s situation in some way or another,” Montiel told Dorri Olds. “It really is every man’s story. Nolan does not have a terrible life; his wife is not mean to him, he has a decent job and the prospect of a promotion, he lives in a nice house. But emotionally he feels empty, as if he is sleepwalking through a lonely and subdued world, devoid of all passion.”
This is the last film from the beloved Williams, who tragically hanged himself in August 2014, two weeks shy of 63. Williams struggled for years with depression and substance abuse, but what led to his suicide was the neurodegenerative disease Lewy Body Dementia (LBD) combined with Parkinson’s disease.
In November, ABC News reported:
“All people with LBD have dementia, and sometimes appear confused and disoriented and exhibit unusual behavior, said Angela Taylor, the director of programming for the Lewy Body Dementia Association. According to the coroner’s report, Williams had been acting strangely before his death. He is said to have kept several watches in a sock and was very concerned about keeping the watches safe.”
The much-missed Williams began his career as a standup comedian in the mid-1970s, then made it big as the hilarious alien Mork on the hit show, “Mork & Mindy.” Williams worked for four decades making films; my favorites include “One Hour Photo,” “The Fisher King,” “Good Morning, Vietnam” and “Good Will Hunting.” In 1998, Williams won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for “Good Will Hunting,” and during his long and magnificent career, he received two Primetime Emmy Awards, six Golden Globe Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards and four Grammy Awards.
Williams gives a gripping performance in “Boulevard,” and director Dito Montiel spoke openly about working with the late actor on his last film during this interview with Dorri Olds.
Dorri Olds: What was Robin Williams’ take on his character?
Dito Montiel: We were on the same page, which was really nice. There was one scene in particular where Robin as Nolan and Kathy as Joy are in bed together, and they both say “I love you.” It wasn’t in the script, but I said, “You love her. Why don’t you tell her you love her?” Robin said, “Yeah, I would,” and then Kathy said, “I love you, too.” I thought that scene was so touching because they’re saying so many things. They’re saying, “I love you” and “It’s over” and “Goodbye.”
Robin, Kathy and I felt strongly that this was a loving marriage, just not the right loving marriage for Nolan. Kathy had an interesting thing to say, and then Robin said it all the time. It was that their characters had an unwritten agreement, and Nolan was breaking it. That’s why Joy was so mad. They have the big blowout when they finally have this conversation. It was like a “don’t ask, don’t tell” marriage for too long.
Could you tell that Robin was feeling depressed?
That’s impossible to know. We talked all the time, but it was about his character mainly, and he was as obsessed as I was about it. We would just literally talk at crazy lengths about Nolan and walk around all night while shooting. It was impossible to tell that sort of thing. You never know with anybody, unfortunately. It’s one of those weird things. He’d joke around when I’d try to give him direction about how sad Nolan was, and he’d say, “I’ve done the research.” There’s a side to Robin that is outrageous, that goes on David Letterman. Then there’s the guy who goes home at night trying to sit by himself and think about things.
“Boulevard” available online for streaming. LGBT drama. Rated R. 88 min. RIP Robin Williams.

You were an original. One of the best talents the world has ever seen.

The post Remembering Robin Williams – Director Dito Montiel opens up about Robin’s last film – Boulevard appeared first on Award-Winning Writer and Graphic Designer.

Felicity Jones Interview

dorriolds — Tue, 01 Jan 2019 01:37:12 +0000

Felicity Jones photo © Dorri Olds
A while back, I sat down with Felicity Jones for an exclusive interview. At the time, Jones starred as Sophie, an exchange student from England in the Focus Features indie drama, “Breathe In.” Sophie went to stay at the home of Keith Reynolds (Guy Pearce), a high-school music teacher while sexy Pearce is having a mid-life crisis.
Keith’s marriage to Megan (Amy Ryan) was feeling empty. They’ve drifted so far apart that the only cement keeping them together is a shared love for their teenage daughter Lauren (Mackenzie Davis). Megan keeps herself busy and distracted. Sophie’s music teacher Keith begins to broods because Sophie never practices piano. He and his family grow puzzled and concerned by her aversion to playing music but Keith has also become woozy over Sophie’s beauty.
One day Sophie surprises Keith in class by sitting at the piano. It’s a beautiful scene where Sophie slowly lifts her hands. She then launches into playing Chopin. Keith is transfixed by her skill. The electrical charge that ensues is almost too painful to watch as their ill-fated connection sizzles.

Breathe In

The actress has continued to hone her craft since then. Jones nailed it as Ruth Bader Ginsburg in “On the Basis of Sex,” released on Christmas. This film illustrates how and why the U.S. Supreme Court Justice has earned her nickname: Notorius RGB (check out the 2018 documentary “RBG” starring RBG).

On The Basis of Sex

1
Before I screened “Breathe In,” I loved Jones in “Hysteria.” Since then, I was wowed by her role in “The Theory of Everything.”

Hysteria

The Theory of Everything

“Breathe In” is a beautiful film, directed by Drake Doremus. I walked in for the exclusive interview and Jones looked even more stunning in person. But more importantly than her looks, she was warm, kind, open, and smiled a lot.

Dorri Olds: How was it working with Guy Pearce?
Felicity Jones: Fantastic.! I’ve always admired his work I think he always chooses really interesting directors. He’s always about the acting. He’d never done a film where he was improvising before and I could see him relishing the challenge. He’s an actor who always pushing himself. He really loved the process of making it.
Was there a lot of improvisation?
Yeah, a lot. Some things were scripted but most of it was how we made “Like Crazy.” We had an outline and then there’d be thoughts about a character and what happens in the scene and then we’d bring dialogue in on the day.
How did you become involved with film?
This was really unusual, it never usually happens, Drake asked me to do it because we had worked together on “Like Crazy” and he had this idea. In many ways this film is like a twin to “Like Crazy.” He said, “Do you want to come back and see what we can do this time?” So, that was quite nice that I didn’t have to audition. Auditions are really, really frightening. After a while you get used to them but they can be really quite intimidating.
What type of research and preparation did you do for this role?
I felt like Sophie was a very troubled young woman. There was a play called “Master Builder” by Henrik Ibsen and there is a character in that called Hilda and she was a real inspiration. I felt like she was a good foundation for understanding Sophie. There was a French film, “Le Casse” that had a similar kind of thriller mood. With any part you look at other films. There is a fairytale quality to Sophie. She was coming into a family that was heightened by her and her presence. I think that the main thing to me is the back-story for both Anna and Sophie. What was she like? What was her house like? What did her parents do? Having a really sure understanding of the character’s background is so important.
After playing beside Hugh Dancy in the light comedy, “Hysteria,” is it strange to see him playing such a dark character in “Hannibal”?
I think that’s what we always want as actors, to be able to move between different characters and take on different personalities. For me, that’s part of the joy of doing it and I imagine he loves that too.
Do you have a favorite role?
I did a play called, “The Chalk Garden,” which is an amazing play by Enid Bagnon. I played a 16-year-old who was obsessed with fire, a pyromaniac. She was a very troubled young girl and I absolutely loved the play. I was with two fantastic British actresses.
Did you ever forget your line?
Sometimes you do and you panic and look to the audience and hope for the best. That’s why it’s so brilliant to do it. You literally freeze onstage and think, ‘Why the hell am I doing this to myself?’ But it’s really exciting as well.
What’s it like watching yourself on film?
Less fun than being onstage. It’s an odd experience. I think we humans tend to be quite critical of ourselves and it can be a hard process. You watch yourself and think, ‘I could’ve done that differently.’
Did you always know you were beautiful growing up?
[Laughs] Oh, that’s a nice compliment! I guess I don’t think in those terms. I try not to think too much about what how you’re perceived on the outside. That’s not good.
Have you ever had any bad experiences with fans?
Do you know what? I’ve been really lucky. I have really nice fans. They come up and they’re always really, really respectful and I’ve never had any aggression. They’ve always been really polite and nice.
Do you Facebook and Twitter?
No, I don’t.
Do you have staff that does that for you?
No, I don’t. It’s not something I engage in. I like to see other people doing it but no, it’s not really my thing.
Do you have a favorite movie you’ve done — “Like Crazy,” “Hysteria,” “The Invisible Woman”?
I like doing them all. My focus is always the character. That’s always my way into something and I try not to patronize the character depending on when they lived. I feel like as human beings we all have the same emotions, feelings we’ve had for hundreds of years. The forces upon us are slightly different. I love period dramas as well as more contemporary films. I grew up watching “Howard’s End” and “Room with a View,” so I do like doing period work but the hook is always the character and the director.
Was Ralph Fiennes a controlling director in “The Invisible Woman”? Did you have to stick to the script?
It was a very different process from “Like Crazy” and “Breath In.” He was always just wanting to explore and he pushed me. It was always just about trying to get to something truthful about that about my character.
What’s next for you?
I have a film coming out late this year called “Theory of Everything,” which James Marsh directed. It’s about Stephen Hawking and Jane Hawking and their relationship, first meeting and falling in love and then Stephen being diagnosed with motor neuron disease, and it spans their meeting when they were in their early 20s to when they split up in their 40s. Also “True Story” with Jonah Hill and James Franco and I was in “The Amazing Spider-Man 2.”
“Breathe In” opens in New York City on March 28, 2014. It is available now On Demand. Rated R. 98 minutes.
Trailer:

The post Felicity Jones Interview appeared first on Award-Winning Writer and Graphic Designer.

The War on Drugs Doles Out Harsh Punishments that Harm Children the Most • The Sentence

dorriolds — Sat, 20 Oct 2018 19:34:05 +0000

War on Drugs

In the searing new documentary The Sentence, we discover that the casualties of the “War on Drugs” extend beyond the millions of Americans harshly punished with prison time—their families suffer the brunt.

About the Filmmaker

Director Rudy Valdez, an American of Mexican descent, began filming his three nieces for his sister Cindy Shank. Why? Because she’d been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison. Her loving brother, the youngest sibling, wanted Cindy to be able to see the girls grow up. The even greater tragedy is her family’s suffering the pain of living without her. The worst crime is Cindy’s children doing time, also—they grew up without their Mom.
As Valdez began fighting to reduce his sister’s draconian sentence, he discovered that the problem of over-sentencing was much larger than his family’s painful tale. Due to the failed “War on Drugs,” nonviolent first-time offenders, like Cindy, received ghastly punishments because the judge had to adhere to the mandatory minimum sentencing laws.

The Girlfriend Problem

Cops and lawyers have a nickname for Cindy’s all-too-common scenario: The Girlfriend Problem. Cindy’s crime was falling in love with the wrong man.

Although it is not shown in the film, we learn that Cindy lived with Alex Humphrey until 2002, when he was murdered by gunshot right outside their home in Lansing, Michigan. When police searched their home for clues to the murder—which is still unsolved—they found more than 40 pounds of cocaine.
Cindy had attempted to leave Humphrey, but he had threatened her. After his death she was free to move on and straighten out her life. She fell in love with a good man, married him and the couple had three children.

The Arrest

Without giving too much away, the police knocked on the door six years later and arrested Cindy. She was charged as a conspirator because she had known about Humphrey’s drug dealing.
At SVA Theatre this past Wednesday, after a pre-screening of the documentary, filmmaker Valdez said, “We can no longer sit around and be okay with people profiting off the backs of the disenfranchised.”
“It’s the rhetoric we hear: hard on crime or you’re soft on crime…. we need to get rid of that crap. You’re either smart on crime or you’re not,” Valdez said. “This film is apolitical on purpose; it doesn’t go into the history, the right or the left, or who started this, or who’s perpetuating this. It’s a hearts and minds film that transcends voting…. There’s a cultural shift that needs to happen in this country.”

Sundance Film Festival to HBO

The film won the Audience Award at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. HBO purchased the film and will air it Monday, October 15. I suggest putting a box of tissues nearby.

Director Rudy Valdez

—
THE SENTENCE premieres on HBO Monday, October 15, 2018 at 8PM EST. Click here for additional screening times.

The post The War on Drugs Doles Out Harsh Punishments that Harm Children the Most • The Sentence appeared first on Award-Winning Writer and Graphic Designer.

Jane Fonda Lifetime Achievement Award presented by Michael Moore

dorriolds — Thu, 21 Jun 2018 15:00:58 +0000

Jane Fonda, 2-time Oscar-winning actress (and 7-time Oscar nominee), 4-time Golden Globe winner, 2-time BAFTA winner, and Emmy Award winner, will be presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award by Oscar-winner Michael Moore (Bowling for Columbine). The award will be presented to Fonda during the festival’s 14th annual edition, running July 31 to August 5 along the beautiful shores of Lake Michigan in Traverse City, Michigan.

“I can think of no other artist who has given more to her country,” said Moore. “What an honor for our festival audience to welcome and to be inspired by the work of this American Icon. Her voice is as needed today as much as ever.”

Moore will personally host the legendary actress, author, and activist at the Traverse City Film Festival, one of the most popular cultural events in the Midwest. The 2018 program is expected to bring in 100,000 attendees with this year’s roster of nearly 100 movies.
Fonda’s massive body of work includes Coming Home (Academy Award, Best Actress, 1978), Klute (Academy Award, Best Actress, 1971), They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?, Julia, The China Syndrome, On Golden Pond, and The Morning After (films for which she received five additional Oscar nominations). Fonda’s filmography includes more than 40 other films.
Fonda is also the subject of the revealing new HBO documentary Jane Fonda in Five Acts directed by Susan Lacy, which will screen at the festival. Fonda and Lacy will be watching the doc, too. Since 2015, Fonda has starred in Netflix sitcom Grace and Frankie. I chatted with the two mega-stars on the red carpet in New York City during the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival.
See Also: Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda added joy to the red carpet at Tribeca Film Festival

Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda at the Tribeca Film Festival 2016 ©DorriOlds

Fonda is also the subject of the revealing new HBO documentary Jane Fonda in Five Acts directed by Susan Lacy, which will screen at the festival, with Fonda and Lacy in attendance.
The festival will also present a 40th anniversary screening of “Coming Home,” a screening of “Julia”, and a free nighttime screening of “Nine to Five” projected on a 65-foot screen at the festival’s open space on the shores of Lake Michigan.
Fonda’s lifetime commitment to social change has also inspired a generation of artists and activists. She chairs the Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention, sits on the boards of Women’s Day Media Center, which she helped found, and V-Day: Until the Violence Stops. She established the Jane Fonda Center for Adolescent Reproductive Health at the Emory School of Medicine and has long been a leading advocate for environmental issues, human rights, and the empowerment of women and girls.

‘The Big Sick’ NOT Just Another Ho Hum RomCom

dorriolds — Sat, 24 Jun 2017 11:36:28 +0000

Call it a romcom or a dramedy but I confess, what really drew me to this movie was hearing that Holly Hunter and Ray Romano were in it. I had a vague notion of what to expect from the star—comedian Kumail Nanjiani—based on his role in HBO’s “Silicon Valley.” So, I knew what he looked like and that he was funny, but could he carry a whole movie?
The answer is a big resounding YES.
The Big Sick is based on Nanjiani’s true story of his rocky romance that led to marriage. He co-wrote the script with his now-wife, Emily V. Gordon, who is played by the talented actor-playwright-screenwriter, Zoe Kazan. The co-producers are big names: Judd Apatow and two-time Academy Award-nominated Barry Mendel. Hunter shines as Emily’s mother, Beth, and Romano shows his acting chops as her father, Terry.
Technically, this film falls into the genre of romantic comedy but that label seems limited here. So many rom-coms bore us to tears with formulaic ho-hum-ness. This flick is not one of those. There are tears but they’re for the right reasons. It is a dramatic tale that explores everything from the ignorance behind the ridiculous fear of Muslims to being too chicken to stand up to family pressure.

Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon • © Dorri Olds.

Kumail and Emily lived through a strange route to romance. It began with what was intended as a one-night stand. Without meaning to, they fall for each other. Life throws in big obstacles, which creates the high drama and deliciously dark humor.

When You Wake Up and Your YouTube Channel Has 888K Views!

dorriolds — Thu, 20 Apr 2017 10:57:19 +0000

UPDATE!!

YouTube Channel has 1.9 MILLION VIEWS!! Woooot.

When you wake up and your YouTube channel is up to 888,000 views and over a million minutes watched. Yeah, that.

www.youtube.com/DorriOlds

The post When You Wake Up and Your YouTube Channel Has 888K Views! appeared first on Award-Winning Writer and Graphic Designer.

Michael Shannon and Imogen Poots Star in ‘Frank & Lola’

dorriolds — Thu, 15 Dec 2016 11:08:03 +0000

“Frank & Lola” is a brooding noir about love, sex and jealousy shown through two very damaged people. Michael Shannon plays a chef in Las Vegas who meets Lola (Imogen Poots), a wannabe fashion designer. When they meet it sets off a tsunami of passion and they feel instantly connected. Frank’s psyche is tested when Lola comes home one night crying and confesses that she cheated on him. The script is not unlike other movies we’ve seen but it is heightened by the level of talent in both of the starring actors.
The indie is written and directed by Matthew Ross. Michael Nyqvist plays a creepy, wealthy Frenchman from her past. Lola’s mother is played by Rosanna Arquette. And Justin Long plays her new boss. Frank bristles at the thought of any other man near Lola. It’s as if he felt starved for love so he squeezes it too tight in a complex maze of fear, anger and envy.
I’ll watch anything with Michael Shannon in it. The towering actor can look terrifying one minute and vulnerable the next—but there is always something creepy lurking behind his eyes. I’ve met him twice and he seems just as intense and mercurial in person. Shannon as Frank is fascinating because it’s hard to think of him as a love interest.
In person, Shannon gives off the energy of a guy sitting on a pressure-cooker of rage, yet he seems polite enough. During press events he didn’t seem to like eye contact and appeared uncomfortable in his own skin. But that fragility, and otherness, is probably what makes him such a compelling actor. He looks haunted—and troubled people often work harder in an attempt to outrun their demons.
But for all I know, he’s a calm, serene guy. Yet I don’t think so. Especially based on what some of his colleagues have said. They all seem to admire Shannon but describe him as strange.
When I interviewed him for “The Iceman,” Shannon talked about his character, serial hitman Richard Kuklinski, in unexpected terms, “I found him to be a very fragile person embalmed in a facade of machismo. He’s actually a very delicate person.”
In an interview for ‘Elvis & Nixon,” Johnny Knoxville told me, “He’s very focused and very intense. And that intensity, that energy, pervades the whole set.” When I mentioned to Ray Liotta that I’d be interviewing Michael Shannon next, Liotta rolled his eyes and said, “Good luck.”
Lola’s character is intriguing, and Poots did a fine job, but the main focus in this flick is Shannon’s portrayal of Frank unraveling.
“Frank & Lola” is in theaters and available On Demand. Unrated. 88 min.
Watch the trailer:

The post Michael Shannon and Imogen Poots Star in ‘Frank & Lola’ appeared first on Award-Winning Writer and Graphic Designer.

Matthias Schoenaerts Smolders in Steamy Dark Thriller ‘Disorder’

dorriolds — Fri, 12 Aug 2016 11:07:34 +0000

Written for Honeysuckle Mag
Matthias Schoenaerts gives a standout performance in the dark thriller Disorder. He plays a French Special Forces ex-soldier Vincent, an Afghanistan war veteran with severe PTSD that includes paranoia and hallucinations. Vincent is stuck in what writer-director Alice Winocour describes as “a state of war.”
After the mentally-compromised Vincent is sent home (against his wishes), a friend gets him a gig as bodyguard for Jessie (Diane Kruger), the trophy wife of an obscenely wealthy—and shady—Lebanese businessman, Imad Whalid (Percy Kemp), and their son (Zaid Errougui-Demonsant). We soon learn that Imad is an arms dealer. Money, politics and greed play an important role in the story. And, behind Jessie’s cold exterior, lies a woman in a golden prison of superficiality.

Diane Kruger and Matthias Schoenaerts

Schoenaerts portrayal of the emotionally and psychologically damaged Vincent is reminiscent of Ryan Gosling’s character in Drive, and just as compelling. The suspenseful plot depicts a psychotically paranoid Vincent seeing danger at every turn. But if you were scared of someone, you’d want this guy as security.
Aside from being a hunk of a man, with an irresistible animalistic magnetic pull, his intense eyes do most of his acting. They show a world of damage mixed with desire that’ll suck you right in, especially on the many close-ups of Schoenaerts’ exquisite face.
You may remember him in The Danish Girl where he played the childhood friend to Eddie Redmayne’s lead character, Einar Wegener, who is transitioning to Lili. In that film, Schoenaerts is tracked down by Einar’s wife Gerda (Alicia Vikander) to help Einar as he transitions to female.
Winocour does a fine job at the helm of Disorder, which is her second feature film. The dark and expertly timed soundtrack by Gesaffelstein is mesmerizing and helps to create the clenched-fist suspense throughout. Go see this!
Disorder opens in select theaters and On Demand Friday, August 12. Thriller, drama. 101 min.
Watch the trailer:

The post Matthias Schoenaerts Smolders in Steamy Dark Thriller ‘Disorder’ appeared first on Award-Winning Writer and Graphic Designer.

Helen Mirren Talks About Kissing Stephen Colbert and Playing a Powerful ‘Eye in the Sky’

dorriolds — Fri, 22 Jul 2016 12:03:34 +0000

Helen Mirren and Aaron Paul. Photo ©Dorri Olds
On Wed., March 9, at the Waldorf Astoria, Dorri Olds sat down with Academy Award-winner Dame Helen Mirren. She stars in “Eye in the Sky,” a suspenseful thriller about techno warfare waged through computer screens, and drones disguised as beetles and birds.
Helen Mirren plays Colonel Catherine Powell, stationed in the UK. She is the military officer in command of a top-secret operation to capture terrorists in Kenya. When the mission escalates from “capture” to “kill,” Las Vegas-based pilot Steve Watts (Aaron Paul aka Jesse Pinkman in “Breaking Bad”) is tasked with aiming and firing a Hellfire missile at the target, which includes suicide bombers.
The stakes suddenly rise sky-high when nine-year-old Alia (Aisha Takow) sets up a table to sell bread directly outside the Kenyan compound. Colonel Powell must decide between saving one little girl or the lives of 80 to 100 innocent bystanders.
The choice is obvious to her: sacrifice the “collateral damage” of killing the child. But, she must get the okay from her commanding officer, Lt. General Frank Benson, played by the now-deceased and dearly missed Alan Rickman, best known as Professor Severus Snape in the “Harry Potter” franchise.
Benson must appeal to his higher ups and the chain of command keeps going up and up, because no one wants to be the one to pull the trigger that will sacrifice the girl. For some, like pilot Watts, it is an unthinkable moral catastrophe, but for others, including Mirren’s character, the stakes are higher than just one little girl.
The film is directed by Gavin Hood and based on the screenplay by Guy Hibbert. Hood also appears in the film as a Lieutenant. Academy Award-nominee Barkhad Abdi (“Captain Phillips”) stands out as the brave operative in Kenya who sends the beetle drone into the compound and heroically tries to protect the little girl. But the movie belongs to the breathtaking performances by Mirren and Paul.

Helen Mirren kisses Stephen Colbert

Dorri Olds: First, I have to ask—what prompted you to plant a kiss on Stephen Colbert during his CBS show?
Helen Mirren: The thing is I’ve been deeply in love with Stephen Colbert, for real, and I think it’s always been my dream to kiss Stephen Colbert. As I was walking out [onto the show’s set that] night, I looked and I thought, you know, ‘What if I don’t take my opportunity now? I’ll never have it again.’ So I just went for it. I kissed him.
This morning as my husband was going off to work, I thought, ‘I’ve got to tell him,’ so I said, “Darling, I kissed Stephen Colbert last night.” [Laughs]
DO: Thank you for that! Now let’s move on to the film. After choosing to detonate the bomb, do you think your character slept that night?
HM: I would say, yes. I think my character would absolutely sleep well because: Job done. Terrible was the price we had to pay, but yes, she’d sleep well.
DO: Would your character gain closure if she could speak to the other military minds involved in the decision?
HM: They might, I don’t know protocol or how they’d find themselves in the same bar at the same time at any point. I think my character would say, “Next time, Lieutenant, you do what I say, when I say to do it.” Then, maybe five vodkas later, they might get into talking about the complications of the issues. I suspect people like my character have to put that behind them and carry on with what they have to deal with next. There’s possibly many more of those situations to come.
DO: This is Alan Rickman’s last film. Did you spend time together?
HM: I hardly got to see Aaron, actually. Gavin shot all of my stuff first. Then I went away, then Aaron came. We at least crossed paths for one night. Then Aaron went away, then I think the politicians came if it was in that order. Then you shot the stuff on the ground last of all. We had a director who knew exactly what he was going to do and had it very well planned so he could talk us through. I think Alan [Rickman] would be incredibly proud of this movie. I think he is very proud of this movie, let’s put it that way. I think that if he had looked at his canon of work and it’s been great work his whole life, I think if he had the choice to say I want that to be my last movie, I’m convinced he would point to this movie. What I love about it is that the Alan that you see up on the screen is Alan. He was brilliant as Snape, brilliant. And brilliant in all his character roles, he often played, but that is Alan, the elegance, the wit, the formidable nature of him, the humanity of him. We have Alan up on the screen and I think that’s such a great thing for his last movie.
DO: Do you enjoy being type cast as a strong woman? We instantly think of you as able to take charge.
HM: I love that that’s type cast, I’m going to go for that one. I’m very happy with that, thank you very much.

What drew you towards this film in terms of your feelings about what’s happening in the real world?
HM: It was an amazing script; the film is so true to filmmaking. If it’s on the page, it’s on the screen. With this movie, it was absolutely on the page. It was a beautifully written, constructed, and interesting issue dealt with in a very interesting and humane way. Like Aaron, I didn’t really know much about drone warfare, but we’re all on a learning curve with this one. With the research that Gavin had done, we all learned a lot.
DO: What did you learn?
HM: What the technology is. I had no idea of the technology. I had no idea that these kinds of operations are conducted in the way that they are with all of these checks and balances. You know what? That’s a good advertisement for democracy. It’s not bad that people go into these operations with consciousness and an awareness of legality and political issues. I thought that was fascinating—the way so many voices are involved in an operation and that every second counts. That’s why our film ratchets up the tension.
DO: Do you think there is a huge refugee problem in the UK?
HM: It’s a problem in many people’s minds. Whether it actually is a problem is another matter. For billions of years people have been traversing the globe and finding … that is the absolute natural human thing to do. We’re just obeying our perfectly natural, human instincts and animal instinct if you like. It seems to me that that is the history of human life. Find safety. Move to whatever it is. I’m part Viking, I’m half Russian. All of us, are mixes and that’s the brilliance of DNA isn’t it? That you can find, ‘Oh my god, I’ve got a little bit of Chinese in me, billions of years.’ I think it’s exciting. I think it’s wonderful. I know it comes out of tragedy and horror and that’s something else.
DO: Why did Gavin Hood bring in a female character for Colonel Powell?
HM: I think Gavin’s point was to become broader [by including] a woman. It’s not that he was saying, “Would a woman make those decisions?” That’s not the discussion. It’s more that we are all in this together so, us women can’t sit back and say [that’s just] typical men. I think it’s a very good device to broaden the discussion and bring us all into it.

Alan Rickman, Helen Mirren and Aaron Paul in’ Eye in the Sky’

DO: How did you prepare for playing a female colonel?
HM: I didn’t meet up with an actual female colonel, but we had a [male] military advisor on the set. He was with us all the time and he was absolutely invaluable. The thing that surprised me the most was how obsessed they are with what they’re wearing. Your belt buckle has to be here, not here. Your cap has to folded exactly like this. They’re absolutely obsessed with the things they wear.
DO: Did your initial reaction to the moral dilemma change throughout the filming process?
HM: Not change, but became deeper. It did become a deeper understanding of it, definitely. I think when I first read it it was a bit, ‘Oh, that’s tough.’ When I first read it, I kind of saw the colonel as the villain of the piece and she may be, but not from her point of view. As I got deeper into it, and started really understanding the issues and the more global understanding of it, my attitude changed. I think now, I would say that she did the right thing. It’s a terrible thing to say. The appalling decisions that have to be made, but I’m talking about the world.
In many ways this film reminded me of a courtroom drama, only the audience acts as the jury. You are all the jury sitting in the audience, then when you come out of the cinema, hopefully, you go and have dinner or you go to a bar and discuss it. You talk about strategy, “Is it correct? Is it incorrect? Should we? Shouldn’t we?” The film throws it out to the audience. What I love about the film is that it makes no decisions for you. It puts decisions in your lap.
DO: Did anything surprise you when you saw the final cut of the film?
HM: The thing that surprised me was the wit, the funniness. I thought it was brilliant of Gavin, that is also what makes the film ultimately palatable, watchable, because it’s tough [and] difficult subject. It’s very tense and that also makes it watchable, but the wit in it and the funniness is fantastic. In terms of motivation, I never really think of motivation, honestly. I’m not a motivated sort of person. It’s, like, if it’s on the page, I do it.

“Eye in the Sky” is a thrilling political drama. Rated R. 102 min.

The post Helen Mirren Talks About Kissing Stephen Colbert and Playing a Powerful ‘Eye in the Sky’ appeared first on Award-Winning Writer and Graphic Designer.

Mads Mikkelsen Goes From Hannibal to the Chickens

dorriolds — Wed, 23 Mar 2016 02:26:39 +0000

Danish stunner Mads Mikkelsen from NBC’s recently axed “Hannibal” stars in the twisted dark comedy “Men & Chicken.” The film, by Oscar-winning writer-director Anders Thomas Jensen, makes its North American premiere today, Friday, Sept. 11 at Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).
My movie crush on Mikkelsen began with his 2012 lead role in the Oscar-nominated steamy romantic thriller, “A Royal Affair.” Starring opposite Alicia Vikander (“Ex Machina”), he sizzled a message onto the screen: Hot!
His next starring role was in the award-winning “The Hunt.” Mikkelsen told me during our exclusive interview that he never planned on being an actor. He was a gymnast who just fell into it. After telling everyone I knew about the hot Danish actor, they saw for themselves when he became TV’s “Hannibal.”
In the hilarious “Men & Chicken” (“Mænd og Høns”), Mikkelsen plays drastically against type. Here we see him as Elias, a hare-lipped, prosthetic-nosed, purposely repulsive, mentally compromised, compulsive masturbator.
The movie begins with Elias’ also harelipped-but-slightly less-peculiar brother, the wiser Gabriel (David Dencik). After the death of their father, they receive a message from ole dead Dad. We see only his feet in the poorly aimed video as we hear his startling secret. The sons were both adopted and had different mothers.
Naturally shaken, the now half-brothers set out on a journey to meet their biological father. He is a 100-year-old scientist who lives on Ork, a sparsely populated island, in a crumbling mansion that was once a sanitarium. It is here they find out they have three hare-lipped, large-nosed and mentally bizarre brothers, Franz (Søren Malling), Gregor (Nikolaj Lie Kaas) and Josef (Nicolas Bro). This is where the film becomes a cross between the hillbillies in “Deliverance” and “The Three Stooges” on crack.
With no access to females on the island of only 40 inhabitants, Gregor describes the pleasures of doing it with chickens, sheep and a bull. Elias, the guy who’s constantly excusing himself to go yank his weenie, calls Gregor disgusting.
This genre-bending comedy also sneaks sci-fi into the mix via malformed chickens that stroll by on odd feet.
Gabriel, the only bro with some semblance of normalcy, functions in the real world teaching evolutionary psychology and philosophy at a university. In an attempt to civilize his subhuman sibs and teach them morality, Gabriel grabs a dusty Bible off of their father’s bookshelf and instructs Josef to read it out loud. Josef interrupts the tale with an outburst. Because Abraham sacrificed his son Isaac, Josef states he was clearly mentally ill (pot calling the kettle black) and there was nothing to learn from him. It is a Quentin Tarantino-type message about mankind’s search for meaning — and the hypocrisies of religion and society — underneath a comic delivery.
Suprisingly, behind all of this madcap hilarity is a tender story about humanity and existentialism. The ending satisfies and the five misfits, despite their unique brands of oddity, prove to be mostly lovable in the end.
Mikkelsen is a household word in Denmark, and “Men & Chicken” is already a smash hit in theaters. Drafthouse Films just purchased the North American distribution rights. To find out when and where you can see the quirky, oddball movie gem, stay tuned on the “Men & Chicken” website or Facebook page.

Opening in New York & LA on April 22nd.

In Danish with English subtitles. Not rated. 104 min.

The post Mads Mikkelsen Goes From Hannibal to the Chickens appeared first on Award-Winning Writer and Graphic Designer.