Household War: John C. Reilly (left) faces down Jonah Hill in CYRUS.

Wow. Four films worth talking about, all opening in the same week, and I’ve got interviews for all of them. I’m also pretty strung out to begin with, so I’m not going to attempt to get them all in within a single show, or even a couple of shows. Instead, we’ll start off with two comedies that are somewhat interrelated because they both break the mold in their own ways. Then, next week, we’ll be back with one episode looking at a fantastic documentary about the event that gave birth to the gay rights movement, and another episode about a beautiful and riveting drama from Italy starring Tilda Swinton. (Yeah, I could tell you titles, but, hell, listen to the show — they’re mentioned at the end).

Flawed Production: Agnès Jaoui (left) endures the ineptitudes of Jamel Debbouze (center) and Jean-Pierre Bacri in LET IT RAIN.

This week, we’ve got Agnès Jaoui discussing LET IT RAIN, her film about a politician (Jaoui herself) enduring an inept documentary crew (Jamel Debbouze and frequent Jaoui collaborator Jean-Pierre Bacri) in her public life, and family friction in her private one. As with the director’s previous effort, LISTEN TO ME, the interlocking havocs set the stage for a keenly nuanced view of the human condition, only this time with a considerably lighter tone.

Marisa Tomei (left) and John C. Reilly in CYRUS.

Then we’ll be talking with Jay and Mark Duplass about their new film CYRUS, wherein John C. Reilly tries to woo Marisa Tomei while fending off attacks from her passive-aggressive, live-at-home son, played by Jonah Hill. And if that log-line gives you chills, remember that the Duplasses were responsible for such cutting-edge, indie projects as THE PUFFY CHAIR and BAGHEAD. Here, they let that feeling of spontaneity — ganged to an exceptional cast — work its magic, and the result is a comedy with a refreshing sense of humanity.

Good stuff this week, with even more to come next. Click on the player to hear the show.

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GET HIM TO THE GREEK

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LET IT RAIN
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CYRUS
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When Reilly was Cyrus (sort of).

Clowntime is Over: Dany Boon confronts the enemy in MICMACS.

The premiere audio review of science fiction, fantasy, and horror is back with another exciting episode! This time, Dan Persons, Lawrence French, and Steve Biodrowski eschew the big-time summer blockbusters in favor of the French comedy-fantasy MICMACS (Micmacs a tire-lairgot, or “Non-stop Madness”), latest surreal confectionery from supreme stylist Jean-Pierre Jeunet (who charmed audience with AMELIE). Also this week, we bring you the latest news, the Cinefantastique Calendar of upcoming events, and previews of the week’s home video releases. All in all, it’s more fun than a Jerry Lewis festival!

Jeff Bridges and Maggie Gyllenhaal in CRAZY HEART

So if the acceptance speeches didn’t get anywhere close enough to satisfying your curiosity about how these films came about, click on the players below. We’ve got MIGHTY MOVIE PODCAST interviews with the directors of all these films:

And come back Friday, when have an interview with the director of the Piaget Producer’s Award winner, THE EXPLODING GIRL

A Beautiful, If Somewhat Perplexed, Mind: Rose Byrne and Hugh Dancy in ADAM

Turning out to be a rough month for romance, isn’t it? ADAM, the new drama directed by Max Mayer and starring Hugh Dancy and Rose Byrne, doesn’t skip back and forth within its time line or offer the narrative flamboyancy of (500) DAYS OF SUMMER, but that doesn’t mean that the course of love is going to be any smoother.

You see, the titular Adam (Dancy) has Asperger’s Syndrome, a condition characterized as a kind of autism, but not quite as severe. In Adam’s case, that works out to him being rather brilliant in the fields of� technology and astronomy, but at a total loss when it comes to simple human interaction. His new neighbor, Beth (Byrne), just starting to make her own way in the world, takes it upon herself to help Adam get up to speed with this whole relating to people thing. Simple friendship, however, soon blooms into full-on romance, and Beth and Adam — both of whom have other problems to contend with — find themselves in territory where neither person may be able to provide the support that the other needs.

If you’ve watched ALIAS or THE WEST WING, or you’re well-immersed in the� New York theater world, you may have noticed director Max Mayer’s name. He’s making his feature debut with ADAM, and was happy to talk about its inception, how the Method tends to break down when one of your actors is playing autistic, and the dark, dark reality of filmmakers forced to outsource their nature shots to Canada while decent, hardworking U.S. wildlife goes unemployed. Click on the player above to hear the interview.

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Defying the Odds

If you’re still having trouble downloading, I’d appreciate being contacted. Your satisfaction is my only goal (that, and having dinner with Martin Scorsese, but you know…).

In addition, the release date I cited in the IN THE LOOP episode came from old info. Turns out the film is being released in New York on July 24th. Hope that didn’t mess up your plans for the weekend.

That’s all for now. Resume living.

Director Marc Webb (right) works with Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel on (500) DAYS OF SUMMER

Ain’t love grand? Uh, no, not necessarily, and especially not if you’re a character in an independent film, where relationships are far more likely to crash upon the rocky shoals of discord than find a safe harbor in Happily-Ever-Afterland. And I prefer that, really, especially since what passes for mainstream romantic-comedy these days usually turns out to be treacly, contrived, and bearing little resemblance to actual, human behavior.

That isn’t to say that you’re going to mistake (500) DAYS OF SUMMER — the new comedy directed by Marc Webb and starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel — for twenty-first century neo-realism (the dance number set to Hall and Oates’ You Make My Dreams Come True will convince you of that). But director Marc Webb (along with scripters Scott Neustadter and Michael Weber) take the latest configuration for screen couples — he’s an incurable romantic; she’s, eh,� not so much — and gang it to a fractured time-line,� jutting the ecstasy of a relationship a-bloomin’ right up against the agony of its dissolution, in order to come up with a narrative that can indulge in comic hyperbole (look, cartoon birdies!) even as it’s scoring valid, and all too painful, emotional points.

My conversation with Webb uncovered, amongst other things, a bit of the secret history of L.A. architecture, and how easy it is to stir the chemistry between Gordon-Levitt and Deschanel. Click on the player above to hear the interview.

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Did Someone Say ANNIE HALL and MANHATTAN?

Nia Vardalos (center), flanked by Rachel Dratch and Harland Williams and a buncha other folk in MY LIFE IN RUINS

Okay, let’s not kid ourselves, this weekend THE HANGOVER will be the comedy that moviegoers are lining up to see (and I can’t blame them — the thing is damn funny). But there’s another comedy opening this weekend: MY LIFE IN RUINS, starring Nia Vardalos as an ex-pat American turned Greek tour guide, Richard Dreyfuss as the tourist who guides her to reembracing life, and a tour busfull of recognizable types, including doofy Americans (Harland Williams and Rachel Dratch), stuffy Brits (Ian Ogilvy and Caroline Goodall), and raucous Aussies (Simon Gleeson and Natalie O’Donnell). But keep your eye out for Sheila Bernette as the adorably larcenous Dorcas — the Ealing Studios would be proud of her.

Director Donald Petrie — with prior credits that include MYSTIC PIZZA, MISS CONGENIALITY, and HOW TO LOSE A GUY IN 10 DAYS — is no stranger to framing comedy from a woman’s perspective, so he’s on familiar terrain here, even if that terrain includes the Parthenon. Here’s my interview with Petrie.

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Yup, Had to Go There

Paul Dano, Zooey Deschanel, John Goodman (and a baby) in GIGANTIC

Ah, comes the spring! And in the spring, a young man’s fancy turns to thoughts of how to protect himself from getting his butt kicked by a homicidal homeless man. At least that’s the state of things in GIGANTIC, an off-beat, New York based romantic comedy starring Paul Dano, Zooey Deschanel, John Goodman, Jane Alexander, and Ed Asner. In this, our debut episode, we talk to director Matt Aselton about working with film veterans, keeping the most dynamic city in the world from overwhelming your characters, and how to simulate wandering in the woods while high on ’shrooms.

ALL THE GOOD STUFF:

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Crazy in Love, or Just Plain Crazy?

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]]> http://mightymoviepodcast.com/blog/2009/04/02/director-matt-aselton-on-gigantic/feed/ 3 Acting Legend,Comedy,Debut Feature,Drama,Love,New York,Off Beat,Romance,Romantic Comedy Ah, comes the spring! And in the spring, a young man's fancy turns to thoughts of how to protect himself from getting his butt kicked by a homicidal homeless man. At least that's the state of things in GIGANTIC, an off-beat, Ah, comes the spring! And in the spring, a young man's fancy turns to thoughts of how to protect himself from getting his butt kicked by a homicidal homeless man. At least that's the state of things in GIGANTIC, an off-beat, New York based romantic comedy starring Paul Dano, Zooey Deschanel, John Goodman, Jane Alexander, and Ed Asner. In this, our debut episode, we talk to director Matt Aselton about working with film veterans, keeping the most dynamic city in the world from overwhelming your characters, and how to simulate wandering in the woods while high on 'shrooms. ALL THE GOOD STUFF: Trailer & Clips: [youtube rngoGb00Rto] [youtube wY0QgMnj5MM] [youtube CCZc2ROJ_dw] Official Website IMDB Listing: GIGANTIC Save youself the wear and tear. CLICK HERE to subscribe to Mighty Movie Podcast on iTunes (You know you want to.) And while you're at it, why not sign up for our e-mail updates? Crazy in Love, or Just Plain Crazy? Mighty Movie recommends: [amazonify]6305428239[/amazonify] Dan Persons no 14:32