Category: Filmmakers
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Revisiting ‘Fargo,’ the Coen Brothers’ ‘True Crime’ Classic
The Coen Brothers lied to me. Promoting their 1996 dark comedy Fargo, the filmmaking siblings told the press their crime tale was based on a real incident. The movie itself begins with the statement, “This is a true story. The events depicted in this film took place in Minnesota in 1987. At the request of the…
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Thelma Schoonmaker and Michael Powell’s Off-Screen Movie Love Story
I find it hard to believe that it’s been nearly 28 years since I met Thelma Schoonmaker, Martin Scorsese’s longtime editor. The occasion was a retrospective of films by her late husband, the great Michael Powell, and the restoration of one of his masterpieces, A Matter of Life and Death. Since our 1995 interview, Schoonmaker has been…
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Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon Transform a Personal Crisis Into a Witty Romantic Comedy
It was such a pleasure to meet Kumail Nanjiani and his wife and writing partner Emily V. Gordon at CinemaCon 2017, shortly after they introduced footage from their film The Big Sick. The $5 million comedy went on to gross $44 million in the U.S. and Canada, and earned the pair an Oscar nomination for their…
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John Waters’ ‘Hairspray’ Gets a Shocking PG Rating
I met John Waters at Manhattan’s St. Regis Hotel in 1988 at a high point in his career: the release of his crossover hit Hairspray. While waiting in the lobby, I heard that another celebrity, Lana Turner’s notorious daughter Cheryl Crane (Google her for the sordid details) was staying at the hotel to promote her new…
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Morgan Freeman Directs His First—and Only—Feature Film
Unlike consumer-oriented magazines about the entertainment business, Film Journal generally did not profile movie stars unless they also were aboard a project as a producer or director. So this 1993 interview with one of the most celebrated and enduring contemporary stars focused on a movie few people remember, his one and only feature directing gig, the South…
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James Ivory on ‘Maurice,’ a Landmark of Gay Cinema
During my time at Film Journal, I had the pleasure of meeting and interviewing both director James Ivory and his professional and life partner, producer Ismail Merchant. My 1987 profile of Ivory focused on a landmark in his career—and a landmark in gay cinema, his adaptation of E.M. Forster’s Maurice. Since that time, Ivory has directed 12…
