Best of 2019: Writer/Director Noah Baumbach on his Devastating Marriage Story

*We’re reposting some of our favorite interviews of 2019. Happy Holidays!

Writer/director Noah Baumbach’s substantial body of work has often explored families in all their painful, darkly funny dysfunction, evolving from the perspective of an adolescent witness to the break-up of his parents in his 2005 second feature, the Oscar-nominated The Squid and the Whale, to the poignant, middle-aged observations of a son coming to terms with his estranged family and self-absorbed father in 2017’s The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected).

Writer/Director Noah Baumbach on his Devastating Marriage Story

Writer/director Noah Baumbach’s substantial body of work has often explored families in all their painful, darkly funny dysfunction, evolving from the perspective of an adolescent witness to the break-up of his parents in his 2005 second feature, the Oscar-nominated The Squid and the Whale, to the poignant, middle-aged observations of a son coming to terms with his estranged family and self-absorbed father in 2017’s The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected).

Waves Writer/Director Trey Edward Shults & Stars Kelvin Harrison & Taylor Russell on Their Powerful Drama

From the moment the new film Waves had its premiere at the Telluride Film Festival in August, it started getting awards mentions. Touted were the emotional intensity and authenticity of the script by writer/director Trey Edward Shults, and the powerhouse performances served up by an ensemble cast that included stars Kelvin Harrison, Taylor Russell, Lucas Hedges, and Sterling K. Brown. The story centers on the members of one South Floridian family, and how their personal challenges lead variously to trauma,

Writer/Director Rian Johnson on Going From Star Wars to Knives Out

Director Rian Johnson wanted to do something “completely different” from Star Wars with his new movie, Knives Out (released Nov. 27).

“It’s not a heavy movie, it’s not like an incredibly dark movie or anything, it’s kind of going for just giving you a blast of fun,” he told The Credits at the Denver Film Festival screening. “So that was kind of refreshing honestly,

Edward Norton on Redefining Heroism in Motherless Brooklyn

Edward Norton brought Motherless Brooklyn, his long-gestating passion project, to the Motion Picture Association’s brand new theater last night for a special screening and Q&A moderated by professor Yanick Lamb, Director of Media Studies at Howard University. Norton’s film, which explores institutional racism built into the very foundations of New York City, was inspired as much by Robert Caro’s Pulitzer Prize-winning biography of “master builder” Robert Moses, “The Power Broker,”

Writer/Director Jill Culton on her Animated Feature Abominable

At the beginning of the new animated feature Abominable, tomboy Yi (Chloe Bennett) is grieving for her dad, who has passed away. When she finds a wounded Yeti hiding on the roof of her apartment building, she names him Everest, after where he’s from, and determines he needs help getting back to the famed mountain. She and her friends Peng (Albert Tsai) and Jin (Tenzing Norgay Trainor), travel all the way across China to get him back home.

Downton Abbey Director Michael Engler on Bringing the Crawleys to the Big Screen

Downton Abbey is a haven. In this starchy refuge, worry whether Tom Branson (Allen Leech) will be able to keep his long out of sight Irish Republicanism in check in front of two guests who have invited themselves to stay the night, King George V (Simon Jones) and Queen Mary (Geraldine James), represents the height of concern. Coming in just behind on the worry scale is the question whether Mary (Michelle Dockery) will act on her impetus to give up on Downton,

The Creators of Netflix’s Unbelievable on Their Urgent New Series

Buzz for the new true-crime drama Unbelievable, which is now streaming on Netflix, is getting pretty intense, and for good reason. Inspired by real events covered in a Pulitzer Prize-winning article from The Marshall Project and ProPublica called, “An Unbelievable Story of Rape” and a This American Life episode called “Anatomy of Doubt,” it tells the story of a teen named Marie (Kaitlyn Dever) who reports a sexual assault,

TIFF 2019: Getting Weird With Synchronic‘s Director Aaron Moorhead and Star Ally Ioannides

Anthony Mackie (Avengers: Endgame) and Jamie Dornan (Fifty Shades of Gray) are well known for playing superheroes and super seducers, respectively. For Aaron Moorhead and Justin Aaron Moorehead’s trippy, gripping new drama Synchronic, which had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, the two stars went a decidedly different direction. Mackie and Dornan play a pair of paramedics in New Orleans,

Chernobyl’s Emmy-Nominated Director on Capturing Catastrophe

Within the first few minutes of Chernobyl, director Johan Renck plunges the viewer into a riveting recreation of the infamous nuclear power plant meltdown and its aftermath. Since completing its run this summer, the HBO mini-series has earned 16 Emmy nominations for dramatizing the horrendous impact on victims of the accident while tracking the efforts of scientist Valery Legasov (Jared Harris) as he takes on the Soviet establishment to uncover the truth about why the reactor blew up.

TIFF 2019: Tammy’s Always Dying Director Amy Jo Johnson on her Bittersweet Mother/Daughter Drama

Director Amy Jo Johnson‘s second feature film manages to coax humor from situations that are not terribly funny. Terminal alcoholism, cancer, and feelings of loneliness, isolation, and insecurity are not usually the ingredients for laughs, but Johnson and her stellar cast turn these devastating pieces into a bittersweet whole. Johnson, a former actress (Felicity, Flashpoint), has a deft touch with her game ensemble, which stars Felicity Huffman in a bravura performance as the always dying Tammy,

Directors Rob Epstein & Jeffrey Friedman on Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice

There are few musicians as giving as Linda Ronstadt. Throughout her robust career, she gave new life to the songs she covered, from “Blue Bayou” to “Different Drum,” rendering them more heartbreaking and affecting than the previous versions. She gave her blessing to her old band, who went on to form The Eagles, and also their first, “Desperado.” She was happy to give the spotlight to her contemporaries, and collaborated with Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris (for the iconic Trio albums),

Director Zach Lipovsky on Becoming and Believing in Canadian Filmmakers

Alejandro González Iñárritu’s epic The Revenant about fur trappers in the icy forests of South Dakota and Montana in 19th century was filmed largely in British Colombia and Alberta. Andy Muschietti’s It and It: Chapter Two, set in the fictional Derry, Maine, was filmed largely in Ontario. These films, and many, many other made-in-Canada productions, utilize Canada’s talented local film crews,

Director Nimisha Mukerji is one of Canada’s Many Rising Filmmakers

A rising tide lifts all boats, and the tide of productions in Canada has been rising fairly steadily for years. Many blockbuster productions and popular television series’ are utilizing Canada’s large film crew community, natural splendor, and tax incentives. From the forbidding icy forests of Alejandro González Iñárritu’s The Revenant (filmed largely in British Colombia and Alberta) to the postcard-perfect but deeply sinister setting of Derry for Andy Muschietti’s It and It: Chapter Two, 

Angel Has Fallen‘s Director & a Former Assistant Director of the Secret Service Talk Riveting Realism

The latest in Gerard Butler’s Fallen series about secret service agent Mike Banning (Gerard Butler) is out in theaters today. This time, in Angel has Fallen, it’s Banning himself who is in trouble when he’s framed in an assassination attempt on President Trumbull (Morgan Freeman). On the run, he hides out with the father who abandoned him, Clay, played by Nick Nolte. The Credits spoke to director Ric Roman Waugh and technical advisor Mickey Nelson,

Casey Affleck & Anna Pniowsky on Finding Truth in Light of My Life

Set amid the natural splendor of British Columbia, Light of My Life (opening August 9 in theaters, digital and On Demand) follows writer-director-star Casey Affleck as a father shepherding his daughter through the wilderness. Shot by cinematographer Adam Arkapaw (True Detective), the gorgeous backdrop belies an ugly collective psychosis that has taken hold of a near-future society beset by a mysterious “female plague.” Eleven-year-old “Rag,” played by Anna Pniowsky,

Director AJ Eaton on his Lyrical new Doc David Crosby: Remember My Name

This past weekend, a new documentary played into theaters spotlighting musician David Crosby, called David Crosby: Remember My Name. He is most famous for his role in The Byrds and Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, and most infamous for his troubles with drugs and the law. In this film, however, audiences get a raw, brutally honest look at the man from his own perspective. Crosby’s challenges, his solo work, and his insights as someone with multiple health issues and a desire to leave a legacy of love and kindness behind,

Greg Kinnear on his Directorial Debut Phil

For his first time helming a feature film, actor Greg Kinnear picked a dark comedy centered on a depressed dentist experiencing a mid-life crisis. Phil is also struggling to understand why one of his patients, seemingly with everything to live for, takes his own life.

It was an especially demanding undertaking, given that Kinnear also played the lead role. But armed with his vast experience on screen, lessons learned watching the many renowned directors he’s worked with,

Director Alex Holmes & Subject Tracy Edwards on Their Thrilling Sailing Doc Maiden

The thrilling documentary Maiden, the story of 24-year-old Tracy Edwards skippering the first ever all-female crew in the Whitbread Round the World Race in 1989, is coming to theaters. The film chronicles the challenges, victories, and overt sexism Tracy and her crew faced in sailing in the famed race around the world. Though it’s filled with messages of female empowerment, it is a film everyone will find inspiring and compelling. The Credits spoke to director Alex Holmes and subject Tracy Edwards about her achievements in the historic race,

Mindy Kaling & Nancy Meyers on Writing, Producing & More

With a history just over a decade old, the “Produced By” conference in L.A. is a gathering that promises, if not exactly unfettered access, at least a chance to be in the same room with many accomplished producers, and hyphenates: producer-actors, producer-directors, etcetera.

Run by the Producers Guild, and currently hosted on the Warner Brothers backlot (an “above the line” analog to the Cine Gear show held at Paramount, the week before),