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Arliss Howard is best known for his portrayal of Cowboy in Stanley Kubrick's
Full Metal Jacket. Co-writing, directin and acting in
Big Bad Love,?i> this is poised to change. Howard talks to Chris Neumer to get inside this American independent gem.
After an extremely successful time at AOL, Brad Zions cashed out at the right time and began looking at his next challenge: making it in the film world. Zions connected with Jennifer Westfeldt and Eden Wurmfeld and helped fund and produce the indie gem,
Kissing Jessica Stein. The rest, as they say, is history. Chris Neumer talks to Zions to get the full story.
Director Bruce Brown's seminal film,
On Any Sunday, remains the best motorcycle movie ever made several decades after its initial release. Brown chats with Chris Neumer about filming life in the (racing) pits and what it took to get this Oscar nominated film made... namely Steve McQueen's checkbook.
Conrad Vernon directed the third highest grossing film in American history and you've never heard of him. Shame on you. Chris Neumer shares a margarita with Vernon and gets into why Vernon calls the experience "absolutely horrendous".
After a bad experience on a troubled production in 1996, Debra Winger stepped down from her position atop the Hollywood leaderboard. Coaxed into doing one more project by her husband, Arliss Howard, Winger sits down with Chris Neumer to get into the ups-and-downs of indie filmmaking, why Iranian cinema is boring and how having a reputation as a temperamental witch can help you on set.
After a bad experience on a troubled production in 1996, Debra Winger stepped down from her position atop the Hollywood leaderboard. Coaxed into doing one more project by her husband, Arliss Howard, Winger sits down with Chris Neumer to get into the ups-and-downs of indie filmmaking, why Iranian cinema is boring and how having a reputation as a temperamental witch can help you on set.
Producer Eden Wurmfeld was handed an unenviable task: grab the producer reins of a small, $1 million movie being made in New York with two unknowns in the lead... and make it good. And Wurmfeld delivered. Here she talks to Chris Neumer about the difference between shooting in New York and LA, what having no money means and how making indie films can influence your friendships.
Emilio Ferrari sits down with Chris Neumer on the set of his film,
Baby on Board, to discuss the financial side of filmmaking. Ferrari and Withers touch on several points including why comedy is a tough genre to sell overseas, how important your A.D. is and why no one except the producer cares about money that you won't see anywhere else.
CHRIS NEUMER: There’s a lot of interesting stuff out there, it’s just exciting and vibrant, and bold. It seems pretty synonymous with the way you go about things. It’s a different color scheme, and a different style of shooting, and …
CHRIS NEUMER: I don’t see it as a bad thing that you are doing The Coven, which is something different. As a matter of fact I see that as a good thing it seems also like it would be …
Actress Heather Graham is a true free spirit. She flops down on a bed on location of her film,
Baby on Board and talks to Chris Neumer about fleshing out a character, why actors have no idea what they're doing and why she doesn't like thinking too much.
Producer Ismail Merchant has as recognizable a brand as any other producer in Hollywood: the Merchant/Ivory film. Branching out from simply producing, Merchant talks to Chris Neumer about directing, shooting in the Caribbean and why the Merchant/Ivory audience turns out even on Super Bowl Sunday.
Jeff Nathanson made a name for himself scripting
Rush Hour 2, Catch Me If You Can and
The Terminal. Moving from behind the laptop to behind the camera for the first time on
The Last Shot, Nathanson talks to Chris Neumer about the craziness that is today's Hollywood and when the right time is to bring in a rubber chicken.
Actress/screenwriter, Jennifer Westfeldt, was one of the major driving forces behind the delightful indie,
Kissing Jessica Stein/. Chris Neumer chats with Westfeldt about frat boys watching lesbian romantic comedies, creating a female Alvy Singer and why happy endings aren't always the best way to go.
Renowned French writer/director Luc Besson is retiring. There are, however, enough asterisks and footnotes to that statement that the movie-going public doesn’t need to worry about an absense of Besson in any conventional sense.
From very early on in his …
Luc Besson is one of the greatest cinematic talents ever to have come out of France. From
Big Blue to
The Professional to
The Fifth Element, Besson has carved out quite a reputation for himself. He chats with Chris Neumer about retirement, casting British actors and the pains of paying to make things look worse.
You might not know Mace Neufeld's name, but you'll definitely know the films he has produced, including
No Way Out, The Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger and
The Sum of All Fears. Chris Neumer chats with Neufeld to get into the art of producing big budget films as well as the death of the hands-on producer.
MATTHEW VAUGHN: Where’s your revenue from? Mostly from advertising?
CHRIS NEUMER: Both. We have… if we sell our cover ads, that’s it we’re done.
MATTHEW VAUGHN: You’ve only got three cover adds.
CHRIS NEUMER: That’s what I’m saying. It’s nice.…
Peter Guber is at the top of his game. And having previously produced films like Batman and The Color Purple, this is saying something. Guber sits down with Chris Neumer to talk about adversaries in the industry, why Rain Man could have been made for TV and why understanding the past in no way prepares you for the future.
Director Phil Alden Robinson created one of the most touching and well made baseball movies of all time in Field of Dreams. In honor of the film's 15th anniversary, Robinson spoke with Chris Neumer about life, work and what makes Kevin Costner tick.
CHRIS NEUMER: Based upon how well our last interview went, I said I have to go see The Company. So I was in New York six to seven weeks ago and saw it up there. I was really impressed …