little miss critical » Interviews

Tribeca Interview: Knife Fight’s Bill Guttentag, Chris Lehane and Rob Lowe

pln217 — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 15:39:37 +0000

What are you going to get if you opt to catch Bill Guttentag’s Tribeca Film Festival entry Knife Fight? Guttentag’s co-writer, Chris Lehane, says it best. “Sometimes it takes the lowest blows to achieve the noblest ends.” Lehane works as a political consultant and, more bluntly, a crisis averter. When a contender’s campaign turns south via scandal, Lehane steps in to spin the situation in his or her favor.

And so is true of the star of Knife Fight, Paul Turner, played by Rob Lowe. In Paul’s case, he’s got a Kentucky governor (Eric McCormack) with a thing for young office employees and a California senator who can’t help but to take a massage a little too far. With the next election on the horizon, their only hope at holding onto their positions is if Paul, with the help of his trusty assistant, Kerstin (Jamie Chung), can work some magic.

Guttentag, Lehane and Lowe not only hit New York City to celebrate the film’s big premiere at Tribeca, but the trio also sat down to talk about the truth behind this project, the challenges of working on such a small budget with so little time, how they hope audiences will respond and more. Read all about it in the interview below.

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Tribeca Interview: Teacher Of The Year’s Rachel Dratch

pln217 — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 15:35:13 +0000

As someone who’s working on some short films of her own, I know that there’s nothing more helpful that attaching a “name” to your project, and for Rachel Dratch, all she really wanted was to be part of a film playing in a festival, so she and Teacher of the Year turned out to be the perfect match.

The film focuses on a teacher named Ethan Collins who’s devastated by his wife’s recent infidelity. Rather than sulk on his own or even give his wife a piece of his mind, Ethan uses the predicament to impart his wisdom on his class of elementary school students. Dratch steps in as the school’s vice principal, someone who doesn’t appreciate Ethan’s lecture on the connection between marriage and settling.

Living right around the corner from the Tribeca Film Festival venues, Teacher of the Year’s big debut was mere blocks away for Dratch. Just after watching the film for the first time on the big screen, Dratch hit the Teacher of the Year after party and took some time to sit down and tell us about her experience working on the project, what’s she’s got coming up and more. Check it out in the video interview below.

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Tribeca Interview: Jackpot Writer-Director Magnus Martens

pln217 — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 02:50:38 +0000

Magnus Martens’ producer may not have like his crime comedy very much, but he did like something Jo Nesbø wrote and so the core concept for Jackpot landed in Martens’ hands.

The action comedy focuses on an innocent factory owner named Oscar (Kyrre Hellum). When Oscar’s employees, all ex-cons, aren’t churning out little fake Christmas trees, they’re up to no good. Well, at least Thor, Dan and Billy (Mads Ousdal, Andreas Cappelen and Arthur Berning) are. The trio convinces Oscar to join in on their can’t-lose soccer bet, but when guys actually win, rather than split the cash and enjoy their riches, people start dying.

In honor of Jackpot’s international debut at the Tribeca Film Festival, Martens was in town and took the time to talk about bringing Nesbø’s story to life his way, his choice to cast while writing the script, balancing the bloodshed and humor and more. Hear it all straight from Martens himself in the video interview below.

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Interview: Caroline and Jackie’s Marguerite Moreau

pln217 — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 15:33:56 +0000

Regardless of whether or not you know what you’re getting into when catching a new movie, there’s no way to prepare yourself for such raw performances like the ones you get from Marguerite Moreau and Bitsie Tulloch in Caroline and Jackie.

They star as Caroline and Jackie, sisters who haven’t seen each other in quite some time. When Caroline comes for a visit, Jackie is thrilled to play host to her sister. She even cooks dinner for Caroline’s first night there. However, being the more impulsive one, Caroline insists they go out for dinner instead. Jackie adapts, enjoying what turns out to be a surprise party, but when the focus shifts from celebration to interrogation and anxiety, we’re left to figure out whether Caroline’s accusations are true, or if Jackie’s insistence that her sister is just desperate for attention is the case.

Caroline and Jackie isn’t anywhere close to your average family drama, both in terms of the emotion of the final product and the production process. In honor of Caroline and Jackie’s world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival, Moreau sat down to chat about working on a film with just an outline, working in a highly improvisational environment, sustaining notably long takes and more. Catch the full video interview for yourself below.

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Tribeca Interview: Knife Fight’s Jamie Chung And Richard Schiff

pln217 — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 15:32:17 +0000

I’m not as politically savvy as I’d like to be, but isn’t that part of the reason folks running for office have campaigns? Yes, the ultimate goal is to get votes, but they’re educating the public on their policies in the process. Now the question is, what happens when scandal swoops in and steals that spotlight? That’s where folks like Chris Lehane and characters like Kerstin (Jamie Chung) and Dimitris (Richard Schiff) step in.

Knife Fight stars Rob Lowe as Paul Turner, a fictional version of Lehane, the film’s co-writer. When a political candidate sleeps with a young office aide or takes a massage a little too far, Paul steps in to spin the situation in their favor. Paul’s incredibly good at what he does, but when a Kentucky governor and California senator screw up big time right before the election, there’s no way Paul can patch things up without the help of his assistant, Kerstin, and Dimitris, an operative who specializes in uncovering secrets.

Just six months away from the next presidential election, Knife Fight brings the campaign process to the forefront at the Tribeca Film Festival. In honor of the movie’s world premiere, Schiff and Chung were on hand to discuss their political knowhow, the pressure of shooting the full feature with a big ensemble cast in just a month, hopes for the film’s reception and more. Catch it all in the video interview below.

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Tribeca Interview: Free Samples’ Jess Weixler

pln217 — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 21:50:30 +0000

WARNING: You don’t want to be anywhere near Jillian if she has a hangover, hasn’t had her morning coffee, has to work on an ice cream truck for the day or if you’re in need of stamps. Sure, it’s fun to watch Jillian torment all of the customers at Mike’s Dream with her sour attitude, but lucky for me, Jess Weixler herself was quite the opposite and thrilled to talk about her Tribeca Film Festival entry Free Samples.

Weixler is Jillian, a law school dropout with little to do, but drink and give everyone around her a taste of her snarky personality. After a heavy night of drinking, Jillian’s best friend, Nancy (Halley Feiffer), wakes her far too early to beg her to operate her ice cream truck for the day so she can tend to family matters. While she has absolutely no problem showing Nancy how unhappy she is with the arrangement, Jillian gives in and boards the truck, Mike’s Dream, to dole out free samples.

While in New York supporting the film for its big debut, Weixler took the time to sit down and dish about taking on such a brash and potentially off-putting character, shooting in an ice cream truck on hot days and, perhaps most importantly, what happens if she doesn’t get her morning coffee. Check it all out in the video interview below.

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Tribeca Interview: Deadfall Director Stefan Ruzowitzky and Star Eric Bana

pln217 — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 21:46:06 +0000

Who likes standing outside in the snow and freezing cold for hours on end? No one, but having material like Zach Dean’s screenplay for Deadfall and collaborators like director Stefan Ruzowitzky, Eric Bana, Olivia Wilde, Charlie Hunnam, Sissy Spacek, Kris Kristofferson and Kate Mara certainly helps.

Bana and Wilde lead as Addison and Liza, siblings who just pulled off a casino heist. However, while making off with their loot, they get into a car crash leaving them no choice, but to escape on foot. They split up, Addison heading into the woods and Liza taking the road where she hitches a ride with Jay (Hunnam). While she’s all comfy cozy at a local bar and motel, Addison is out battling subzero temperatures and the local cops for his freedom and life.

As Deadfall just made its big debut at the Tribeca Film Festival, Ruzowitzky and Bana were in town to discuss the project. We run through everything from getting into Addison’s head to working with a powerhouse ensemble cast to working on the more physically demanding moments and more. Give it a watch for yourself in the video below.

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Tribeca Interview: Sleepless Night Director Frédéric Jardin

pln217 — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 02:42:57 +0000

How about a feature film involving a cop running frantically through a packed nightclub, music booming, and vicious fights and scuffles breaking out all over the place? Oh, and an in-motion car battle, too. Sounds like a blast right? Of course, but it also sounds like quite the challenge for director Frédéric Jardin.

Sleepless Night tells the story of Vincent (Tomer Sisley), a cop taking part in a drug heist that goes horribly wrong. Vincent gets the coke, but in the process, the enemy learns his identity. Shortly after, Vincent finds out his son has been kidnapped and the only way to get him back is to head over to Marciano’s (Serge Riaboukine) nightclub and return the drugs. Trouble is, a pair of Internal Affairs officers is onto him and when they spot Vincent in the nightclub, they complicate what could have been an easy handoff.

It’s been a little while since Jardin directed a feature film, but he’s certainly back in full force. Jardin was in town to celebrate Sleepless Night’s New York premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival and took the time to sit down and chat about the process of bringing the story to life. We’ve got intimate shooting techniques, multi-country locations, sets packed full of extras and more. Check it all out in the video interview below.

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Tribeca Interview: Sleepless Night’s Tomer Sisley

pln217 — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 23:40:27 +0000

You know what it says on Sleepless Night’s IMDb page? “Action” and “Thriller.” Still, the film’s star, Tomer Sisley, notes that it was the tragedy of the story that drew him to the project and, regardless of the film’s classifications, there really is only one big fight scene in the movie, even though I beg to differ.

Sisley leads as Vincent, a police officer who’s involved in a drug heist gone wrong. Vincent and his colleague manage to make it out with the stash, but not before one of their enemies catches a glimpse of Vincent’s face. Shortly after, Vincent finds out that his son has been abducted and a vicious thug is eager to take his life should Vincent not return the drugs.

In honor of Sleepless Night’s debut at the Tribeca Film Festival, Sisley was on hand in New York to talk about making the film. We run through everything from Sisley’s action experience, to shooting the action-packed kitchen scene, the action in the nightclub and more. Can you find the keyword? But seriously, even though I’d still dub Sleepless Night an action film, Sisley makes a very good point and it’s the intensely honest portrayal of Vincent’s heartbreaking predicament that really makes the film stand out. Hear all about it in the video interview below.

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Tribeca Interview: Struck By Lightning Director Brian Dannelly

pln217 — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 23:31:03 +0000

Not that there’s anything wrong with the cast of Glee, but when you get a pitch that goes, “A kid from Glee wrote a script and I want you to read it,” Saved! director Brian Dannelly’s skepticism was certainly justifiable. After reading Chris Colfer’s Struck By Lightning, Dannelly was certain nobody would make this movie – nobody except for him.

Colfer stars as Carson, the editor of the school paper, the head of the writing club and a resident of the bottom of the social ladder. He’s determined to ditch his tiny hometown and unmotivated peers, and move to the big city to become the editor of The New Yorker. But before living the dream, Caron’s got to get into Northwestern University and before he can do that, he’s got to make himself stand out. Too many wannabe journalists are editors of their high school paper, so Carson’s got to do something different; he wants to start up a school literary magazine. Trouble is, he can’t even get his newspaper staff to submit articles, so there’s no way he can get enough of the student body to participate in order to put together a sizable magazine. Good thing for blackmail!

Even though Carson can be totally unlikeable and happens to die in the beginning of the film, Dannelly found it quite appealing that Struck By Lightning was far more about the experience rather than the goal. With that in mind, Dannelly hit the ground running, tapping into his high school movie knowhow, assembling a top-notch cast with the ability to improvise, devising his shooting strategy and, ultimately, bringing Struck By Lightning to the Tribeca Film Festival. Hear all about it for yourself in the video interview below.

Click here to watch the interview.