Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2017

It's hard to say what's better about the first half of Alexander Payne's wonderfully weird — or is it weirdly wonderful? — "Downsizing": the audacity of its premise, or the delicious skill with which Payne executes that premise, detail by comically ingenious detail.

The fact that the film...

Thursday, Dec. 21, 2017

There are rituals to an Alexander Payne production. Movie nights on Wednesdays during pre-production at Payne's house, with pizza and soft drinks. Friday-night screenings during post-production with martinis. And, reliably, an endless struggle to secure financing.

"Only one studio guy...

Friday, Dec. 22, 2017

For her first turn as a solo director—the already widely acclaimed Lady Bird (A24)—Greta Gerwig benefited from having had an extensive, thorough “pre-pro,” one which spanned many years as a writer, producer and actress as well as an experience co-directing (Nights and Weekends...

Thursday, Dec. 7, 2017

Editor Kevin Tent and casting director John Jackson share a common bond--a lengthy, ongoing collaborative relationship with director/writer Alexander Payne, their latest round of creative togetherness having been on Downsizing (Paramount Pictures), a feature that’s part sci-fi, part...

Thursday, Sep. 7, 2017

Few institutions in cinema can match the teeming, overwhelming Toronto International Film Festival as a conversation-starting force. It simply has a lot of movies worth talking about.

And this year, many of the films that will parade down Toronto red carpets will hope to shift the...

Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2017

"Downsizing" has generated jumbo-sized buzz at the Venice Film Festival — not least as viewers debate how to describe it.

Is it a science fiction film, a romantic comedy, a political parable, an apocalyptic thriller? Alexander Payne's movie mixes all those elements in its story of a man,...

Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017

The Venice Film Festival is kicking off the fall cinema season with searing drama, serious glamour and a crop of new movies vying for attention, awards and acclaim.

Thanks to its late-summer time slot, just ahead of rivals in Telluride and Toronto, the world's oldest cinema festival has...

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