Latest news with #FilmmakerToolkit
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Tony Gilroy on Giving ‘Andor' a ‘Hopeful' End, Bringing Back K-2SO, and Episode 10's Revealing Backstory
On Tuesday, Disney+ dropped the last three episodes of 'Andor,' wrapping up the series and directly setting up 'Rogue One.' It's not typical that a television show needs to pass its baton to a film made almost a decade earlier, and 'Andor' creator Tony Gilroy did not want to approach the show's final episode in a typical way, either. While on this week's episode of the Filmmaker Toolkit podcast, Gilroy talked about fighting against the need to incorporate one final big decision or turning point in wrapping up the series heading into 'Rogue One.' More from IndieWire 'Murderbot' Review: Alexander Skarsgård's Goofy-Great Apple Series Wants Us to Watch TV, Together How 'Love, Death and Robots' Season 4 Made the Ultimate Cute Little Guy 'Episode 12 is really its own thing where we didn't put a lot of pressure to jack anything up,' said Gilroy on the podcast. 'This is kind of a 'deliver the pizza' episode, and the pizza is emotional, and everybody settled into it, and we took the pressure off ourselves.' Gilroy specifically wanted to go out on a hopeful note. 'Andor' Season 2 was about the personal sacrifices and impossible choices characters faced in taking on the cause of the nascent rebellion, and the series creator felt as if 'Andor' had earned the right to end with a measured note of optimism. 'We're really putting the audience through some amazingly difficult journeys [of] what time does to people that hopefully you care about, and [what] time, under these really extreme circumstances and these extreme adventures that they're on, does to them,' said Gilroy. 'So there's a lot of attrition at the end. There's a lot of sadness at the end. But really, in the end, this is the beginning of 'A New Hope.' What's going to come out of this is the phoenix of the Rebellion.' The last three-episode cycle 'Andor' also saw K-2SO (voiced by Alan Tudyk) back into the fold, returning to the prominent supporting role that the modified KX-series security droid plays in 'Rogue One.' It's a move Gilroy purposefully delayed and left to the series end. As Gilroy explained on the podcast, his initial involvement with 'Andor' was as a friend to the franchise, giving notes to Lucasfilm on its initial plans for a 'Rogue One' prequel series. In addition to his advice to take a 'back-to-the-studs' approach to Cassian Andor's (Diego Luna) arc, which would become the basis of his own series, he highly recommended they abandon their ambitious plans for K-2SO. 'I was saying, I don't think you can have K-2 all the way through this show, which they kept wanting to try to do because that was the, 'Let's have a Butch and Sundance' show,' said Gilroy of the initial plans to have Cassian and the droid go on 40-episodes worth of missions together — a proposal that reminded the 'Rogue One' writer of his own story struggles with K-2. 'He's the worst piece of luggage in the world. He's not a spy, you can't take him undercover, he's seven feet tall. KX units are so inhibiting. If you watch 'Rogue' with that in mind, how many times is he is not allowed to get out of the ship, or 'I have to wait here and do something.'' In a series which, at its core, is about supplying an emotional understanding of what brings characters of all stripes to fight a fascist Empire, Episode 10 is arguably the holy grail of 'Why We Fight' Rebellion backstories: Luthen (Stellan Skarsgård) and Kleya (Elizabeth Dulau). Gilroy said very early on he knew he would explore Luthen's backstory, and was saving it for a key storyline of the stealthy underground leader for near the end of 'Andor.' 'I had a variety of backstories that Stellan and I spoke about early in the first season,' said Gilory. 'The one thing he didn't want was he didn't want revenge. He said, 'I don't want it to be a revenge story. I see that in some of the other characters, and I think that's the one I don't want.' The ultimate Episode 210 storyline, and the incorporation of Kleya, as an almost adopted daughter, into Luthen's backstory, was motivated and inspired by the talents of Dulau. Gilroy and Skarsgård had both been impressed by the previously unknown actress's talents, and wanted to give her and the character the opportunity to spread their wings before saying goodbye. 'Elizabeth Dulau, who plays Kleya, was such an incredible surprise. It's her first job. She came right out of RADA, and we had a couple of actresses who were signed up for that part, who got offered other things along the way, and we let them go. And suddenly we have this young actress [who we don't really know,' said Gilroy. '[Her] audition's very good, and her scenes are very good, but how good is she? And oh my God, you start to realize what someone can do. She's a Meryl Streep. I mean, she's just astonishing.' To hear Tony Gilroy's full interview, subscribe to the Filmmaker Toolkit podcast on Apple, Spotify, or your favorite podcast platform. You can also watch the full interview at the top of the page or on IndieWire's YouTube page. Best of IndieWire The 19 Best Thrillers Streaming on Netflix in May, from 'Fair Play' to 'Emily the Criminal' Martin Scorsese's Favorite Movies: 86 Films the Director Wants You to See Christopher Nolan's Favorite Movies: 44 Films the Director Wants You to See
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Mountainhead': Jesse Armstrong Discusses the DOGE-Inspired Dark Second Act Turn and Surprising Final Scene
[Editor's note: The following interview contains spoilers for the HBO movie 'Mountainhead.'] In 'Succession,' the cutthroat Roy family proved capable of covering up even manslaughter to protect their business, but Logan Roy (Brian Cox) himself might blush at the extremes of his tech-mogul counterparts in creator Jesse Armstrong's HBO follow-up 'Mountainhead.' More from IndieWire 'Outlander' Creators Talk Season 7 Highlights and Reveal Why They Had to Make a Big Change to Jamie & Claire's Reunion Love Scene 'Abbott Elementary' Season 4 Took Pains Not to 'Phone It in': 'We Want Every Episode to Be a Surprise' While Armstrong was on the Filmmaker Toolkit podcast, he talked about not wanting to do another story of the uber-rich and powerful following 'Succession,' but after reviewing Michael Lewis' book about crypto-crook Sam Bankman-Fried, and then listening to tech moguls on the 'All In' and Lex Fridman podcasts, he couldn't get the Silicon Valley voices shaping our world out of his head. But it was more than the way tech moguls talked, it was the way they saw the world and justified their increasingly powerful place in it that led Armstrong to the 'Mountainhead' story of four tech bros' weekend getaway and its surprising (murderous) plot twist. 'What I like about it is taking things to their logical conclusion — you know, zero-basing Elon [Musk's] philosophy with DOGE, 'Let's cut everything else away and rebuild,'' said Armstrong of his latest project's dark second act turn. 'Following premises to their logical conclusions is funny and interesting to me, and I think very appropriate for this world. Because like how do you end up taking away HIV drugs from children who are going to die? How the fuck do you get there? Will you get there because you convince yourself that you're following some perfectly logical process? That is terrifying. So I knew that I needed it to go into [another space] morally.' In 'Mountainhead,' the tangible, real-world effects of this thinking are the escalating global eruption of violence and chaos resulting from the generative AI video tools Venis (Cory Michael Smith) has added to his social media platform Traam which, with its four billion users, has made him the world's richest man. While there are visible signs of cognitive dissonance as the four friends take in each new horrific news alert coming across their phones, the group convinces themselves this chaos is ultimately a good thing, akin to a forest fire accelerating the new growth process. On the podcast, Armstrong indicated he couldn't know for sure if the tech bros he's lampooning believe what they say, or if it is something they tell themselves so they can sleep at night, but it almost doesn't matter, as his interest was following their logic in justifying the havoc their tech was now wreaked. 'They often say, 'From first principles, what are the first principles? What we are trying to achieve here?' And if you start taking that approach and looking at it from a comic perspective, you can get to some funny and dark places,' said Armstrong. The dark place Armstrong is referring to is Venis, Randall (Steve Carell), and Souper (Jason Schwartzman) trying to murder the fourth member of their crew, Jeff (Ramy Youssef) after he dares to suggest steps be taken to slow the unhinged Venis and the chaos brought by Traam's new GenAI tools. Armstrong said the murder plot twist was one he came to early, as it was the inevitable result of his 'following premises to its logical conclusions' exercise: Killing Jeff, a threat to a AI utopia (and the tech oligarchs' best opportunity to fix the world's problems) would be for the greater good. Armstrong had a blast writing the three men debating the morality of the proposed murder, including incorporating the philosophies of history's great thinkers into their argument. 'I think one of the things that happens in that world is pulling on the mantle,' said Armstrong of the murder-debate scene. 'They like the stoics and Seneca and Marcus Aurelius, but I think a thing people, especially men, do is reach for some of that appealing-looking scent from the highest cultural shelf.' Even girded by their moral justifications for murder, the three men repeatedly fail in slapstick fashion before Jeff convinces them of a less-violent means to achieve their goal, saving himself by agreeing to sell Venis the AI-anecdote he desperately needs. The biggest surprise comes the next morning. Jeff had been the audience's sliver of hope that at least one of these masters of the universe had the guts to try to stop the world from burning. The audience would naturally assume that after surviving a night of his oldest friends trying to murder him, Jeff's eyes were now fully open. And it's here Armstrong delivers his final gut punch — the final scene of Jeff laughing it all off and striking a Machiavellian deal to partner with Venis. 'Tonally, I knew that was where we would be soon after I had a green light to [make 'Mountainhead'],' said Armstrong of Venis and Jeff's final scene in the driveway. Armstrong admits he was nervous his initial ideas for the film's dark turns had the potential to be problematic, which is why before sitting down to write the script, he gathered four of his 'Succession' writers and producers — Jon Brown, Tony Roche, Will Tracy and Lucy Prebble (all of whom received executive producer credits on 'Mountainhead') — for a one-week writers' room to find potential holes and explore alternate narrative paths. 'I did a one week super-accelerated 'Is this gonna work? Am I crazy? What do you think?' [writers' room],' said Armstrong of his mini-'Succession' reunion. 'We did some thought experiments with what could the worst thing [that could] happen when [Jeff is in the sauna]. So I tried to entertain the different possibilities, but I came out of that room with the same idea that I went in with and that was the ending of the movie. That tone of an accommodation being made was what I wanted.' 'Mountainhead' is now streaming on HBO Max. To hear Jesse Armstrong's full interview, subscribe to the Filmmaker Toolkit podcast on Apple, Spotify, or your favorite podcast platform. Best of IndieWire The Best Thrillers Streaming on Netflix in June, from 'Vertigo' and 'Rear Window' to 'Emily the Criminal' All 12 Wes Anderson Movies, Ranked, from 'Bottle Rocket' to 'The Phoenician Scheme' Nightmare Film Shoots: The 38 Most Grueling Films Ever Made, from 'Deliverance' to 'The Wages of Fear'
Irish Daily Star
22-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Daily Star
'Horror movie of the year' director explains why the film is full of Irish music
Just a few days ago, the gothic horror film Sinners premiered in cinemas, and fans of the genre are already dubbing it the horror movie of the year. However, one aspect of it has viewers feeling puzzled. The movie, starring Michael B Jordan and Jack O'Connell, seems to be full of traditional Irish music - an addition that feels slightly out of place. The opening scene shows a rural Mississippi town, where the opening night of a juke joint is interrupted by none other than a trio of traditional Irish music-playing and jig-dancing vampires. As confusing as it may seem, filmmaker Ryan Coogler had a pretty simple explanation - he's actually just a fan of Irish music. He appeared on an episode of the Filmmaker Toolkit podcast and shared where the choice came from. Read More Related Articles Donald Trump branded 'dumbest President ever' after six-word comment about Congo Read More Related Articles Deranged Trump posts mad 184-word Easter message taking aim at all his enemies Coogler said: 'I'm obsessed with Irish folk music, my kids are obsessed with it, my first name is Irish. I think it's not known how much crossover there is between African American culture and Irish culture, and how much that stuff is loved in our community.' In the movie, the vampires' most powerful weapon is the allure of their music, which, according to Coogler, needed to be good enough to rival the blues music coming from the juke joint. And so, he chose Irish music. Filmmaker Ryan Coogler said he is "obsessed" with Irish folk music (Image: Copyright (c) 2025 Shutterstock. No use without permission.) Jack O'Connell plays Remmick, the lead vampire, in the film. Coogler said it was important for the character to feel old, like he had come from a time long before the one we see on screen. According to Coogler, using traditional music gives Remmick a timelessness. In his speech at Smoke and Stack's club, the vampire recalls Ireland's first colonization, making him hundreds of years old. This also helps set him apart from the white American community that terrorizes the black characters in the film. Folk music helps draw a connection between the two cultures, showing they are more alike than different. In an interview during press for the film, Jack O'Connell shared that it wasn't his first experience with Irish dancing. He actually used to go to lessons as a child, joking that his nickname was "jumping jack.' O'Connell, whose dad hails from Co Kerry , said he was surprised to see the Irish influence in the script when he first read it. He said, 'I had my talking points, I had stuff that I wanted to ask, so the conversation was kind of dominated by that: What is Rocky Road to Dublin doing in this story? Will I really be singing it? Do you like Irish traditional music? I'll talk to anyone all day about Luke Kelly and the Dubliners.' For the latest local news and features on Irish America, visit our homepage here .
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Drew Hancock on Why ‘Companion' Is More ‘Marriage Story' Than ‘Minority Report': ‘This Is a Breakup Movie at Its Core'
Writer/director Drew Hancock's 'Companion' is the best kind of cinematic thrill ride, a combination rom-com, heist movie, and sci-fi thriller that keeps the audience guessing at every turn — yet reveals itself on second viewing to have been carefully constructed so that every twist seems completely inevitable. According to Hancock, it was a structure arrived at by a combination of careful planning and improvisation. 'It was a heavily outlined first half,' Hancock told IndieWire's Filmmaker Toolkit podcast, 'and then I knew where it was going and had the basic ingredients of what we would end up with. But I've written enough to know that if you outline too much, you end up wasting a lot of time on the ending, because most of the time, you'll find a completely different ending while you're writing it.' More from IndieWire Mo Amer Took Season 2 of 'Mo' on a Walkabout from 'Shawshank Redemption' to Bob Ross Karla Sofía Gascón Offers an Apology That May Not Be Enough To that end, Hancock meticulously outlined the first hour of the movie and started writing. Once he figured out the characters' voices, and they were 'telling me what story they wanted to be told,' he closed the Final Draft file and outlined the second half after the first half had been fully written. 'That took about a month to crack, and then I opened the Final Draft file again and just started where I left off and finished it. And then the rewriting process was pretty intense.' One thing that continued to evolve throughout the rewriting process was the film's tone, which is carefully calibrated throughout to walk a fine line between comedy and drama, fantasy and reality, and romance and horror. Many of the genre elements that made it into the final film weren't even there in the original conception. 'The very first draft had no comedy to it,' Hancock said. 'It had no heist element to it. It was a not very good 'Black Mirror' episode.' That forced Hancock to step back and think about the purpose of writing the script to begin with. 'I was in a place where I wasn't being given the career opportunities that I wanted, and 'Companion' sprung from that,' he said. 'It was just, sit down, write something that represents your voice. The irony of that is the first draft didn't represent my voice because I have a very comedic mindset. A lot of people that come from comedy think it's easy, and, therefore, you think, because it's easy, it's not what I should be doing. Writing needs to be tough.' Once Hancock realized that his instincts were wrong, he went back and added the comedy and tonal shifts. 'In hindsight, obviously there were all these genres mixed together because it could easily have been my last script,' Hancock said. 'I was in my 40s and living paycheck to paycheck with a comfortably low cost of living because I don't have a family. So when I look back at the script, it does feel like, oh, this might be the only thing I write, so let's throw everything at the wall. Let's make it a heist movie. Let's make it a horror movie. Let's make it a thriller with a relationship drama at the spine of it.' The ways in which 'Companion' keeps rebooting are what make it such a pleasure for the audience. It gives the viewer the same charge as early John Carpenter or Quentin Tarantino movies in the way that it reinvents and reinvigorates the genres it's riffing on. That grew out of Hancock's desire to go for broke. 'It was me advertising to the world, 'Look, I can do all of these things.' That's something I didn't realize when I was writing it, but I feel now.' Writing the script was one thing, but what makes 'Companion' truly remarkable is how precisely — again, echoes of early Tarantino and Carpenter — Hancock expresses what's in the script and gives it another layer through his visual language. His orchestration of the production design, cinematography, costumes, and other elements to find a pitch-perfect balance between a relatable real world and a slightly futuristic one in which key aspects are just slightly off-kilter exhibits an impressive degree of control and taste for a first-time director. Hancock credits his collaborators with contributing a lot of the film's ideas, explaining that part of directing was not keeping too tight a grip on what he had created as a writer. 'I think the best directing comes from a place of finding the guardrails,' he said. ''This is too far in this direction, this is too far in that direction.' Within this boundary you can play and have fun and make discoveries of your own and figure it out.' Hancock feels that it's especially important to give the actors both freedom and protection, an approach that yields two thrillingly inventive and hilarious performances from leads Jack Quaid and Sophie Thatcher. He said that he let the actors know 'I will protect you and make sure you never color outside the lines. When I'm writing the script, I want to define as much as possible and paint my version of the movie. And then we can change that and mess with it, and I'm always open for any conversations.' In the end, what unifies 'Companion and gives it its impact is Hancock's emphasis on the more grounded aspects of his genre-jumping script. 'There was a very specific directive,' he said. 'I didn't want this movie to look or feel like a sci-fi movie. Let's think of this as a relationship drama and filter everything through that. You want it to be more like 'Marriage Story' than 'Minority Report.' This is a breakup movie at its core.' To hear our interview with Drew Hancock, subscribe to the Toolkit podcast on Apple, Spotify, or your favorite podcast platform. 'Companion' opens nationwide on January 31. Best of IndieWire The 25 Best Sci-Fi TV Series of the 21st Century, Ranked The 15 Best Thrillers Streaming on Netflix in January, from 'Fair Play' to 'Emily the Criminal' The Best Modern Westerns, from 'The Power of the Dog' to 'Killers of the Flower Moon' to 'The Hateful Eight'
