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Guy Maddin Searches for ‘The Saddest Music in the World’

In 2003, I had the pleasure of meeting one of Canada’s most original and distinctive filmmakers, Guy Maddin. Guy Maddin has put Winnipeg on the international filmmaking map, but it’s a Winnipeg no one will recognize from the Canadian travel brochures. Working in a resourcefully hands-on fashion on soundstages often housed in empty factories, the…
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Versatility Was the Key to Sidney Lumet’s Staying Power

A four-time Academy nominee for Best Director, New York-based filmmaker Sidney Lumet received an honorary Oscar in 2005, two years before the release of his acclaimed final film, Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead. In 2011, on the occasion of his death at age 86, Film Journal International paid tribute to this great American director with excerpts from our…
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Pete Docter Reflects on His High-flying Pixar Classic, ‘Up’

From Film Journal International in May 2009, the brilliant director Pete Docter discusses his future animated classic, Up. Up is the tenth feature from the brain trust at Pixar, and director Pete Docter has been there as a key contributor for the entire remarkable run of instant animated classics. A 19-year veteran of the Emeryville, Calif.-based…
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Michel Gondry Explores ‘Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind’

From 2004, a visionary director talks about his most celebrated film. One of the most brilliant talents in the world of music-videos, Michel Gondry lets his prodigious imagination bloom in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, his second feature collaboration with screenwriting iconoclast Charlie Kaufman. Their first movie together, Human Nature, was a goofy but…
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Steve Martin and Frank Oz Reunite for Hollywood Tale of ‘Bowfinger’

The 1999 comedy Bowfinger gave me the opportunity to get on the phone with both Steve Martin and Frank Oz, reuniting 11 years after their memorable farce Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. Anyone who’s ever tried to break into the movie business has probably crossed paths with a Bobby Bowfinger. As played by Steve Martin in the…
