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Sundance 2012: Goats – Movie Review

Mali Elfman — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 00:57:36 +0000

I woke up early to catch a 9:00am screening of Goats at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. It’s hard to enjoy just about any film at that hour of the morning, get caught up in a not-so-fast-moving drama, or let alone laugh out loud at a odd concept, but somehow Goats managed it all and had me leaving the theater ready for more.

The Players:

Director: Christopher Neil
Screenwriter: Mark Jude Poirier, based on his novel
Producer: Daniela Taplin Lundberg, Eric Kopeloff, Shannon Lail
Cast: Graham Phillips, David Duchovny, Vera Farmiga, Ty Burrell, Justin Kirk, Keri Russell

Sundance Synopsis:

Having a self-absorbed New Age mother and an estranged father means 15-year-old Ellis Whitman has grown up relying on an unconventional guardian: a goat-trekking, marijuana-growing sage called Goat Man. So when Ellis decides to leave the alternative ways of his desert homestead for a stuffy East Coast prep school, major changes are in store. But not in the way you’d think. Though often stoned, the exceedingly smart and capable Ellis effortlessly aces school and excels at track. As the year progresses, it’s his relationships with the adults in his life that test him, challenging his beliefs about responsibility and trustworthiness.

The Good:

The Supporting Cast: Vera Farmiga goes over, David Duchovney goes under, Justin Kirk wiggles through and all together they somehow manages to create a perfectly balanced, albeit insane cast.
The Goats: The meaning behind them and how they’re weaved into the story works perfectly. They are the perfect balance of purpose and comedic value that helps move the story forward while also decorating the scenery.
The Dynamics: In any good drama, the thing that sells it is the chemistry between the characters and this film has just that. With odd but realistic responses that seem completely appropriate in the situation provided and story-line that doesn’t take their audience for granted, the characters and the script really are what makes this film.

The Bad:

Lack of a Solid Ending: The ending is sweet and nice, but the film as a whole feels like it needed the stakes raised and the ending to have more purpose. This comment may have been the result of seeing too many films without a grand finale on the same day, but there was so much build up, that it was a shame to see it not add up to more.
No Emotional Release: Though Graham Phillips gives a solid performance in the lead role, it’s frustrating that his character never gets to release the tension that he’s caring with him throughout the entire film. Not that the film needed a cliched, over the top dramatic scene, but the fact that you’re so invested in his character makes you want to see him have his moment and allow him to release all the frustration that we, the audience, feel for him.

Overall:

It’s a nice, sweet comedy, with some fun moments at an interesting family dynamic. Much like all of the Sundance film this year, there’s nothing ground-breaking nor innovative about it, but it is an easy watch, and a very good representation of the dramedy genre.

Rating: 7/10

Henry’s Crime: Movie Review

Mali Elfman — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 00:26:26 +0000

This week in theaters is Henry’s Crime, a sweet, cops and robbers film, with a bit of a romantic -omedy edge hits theaters with Keanu Reeves and Vera Farmiga. All I can say is that if you can find it, you should see it. It’s a sweet film, with a lot of interesting twists that gives it, it’s own edge in the sea of mundane cinema.

The Plot:

Henry’s Crime centers on a man who’s down on his luck, who joins a play in order to successfully pull off a bank heist. It sounds ridiculous, but there’s more. He falls in love with his leading lady all the while getting advice from a convict who happens to really love prison.

The Players:

Directed by: Malcolm Venville
Writing credits: Sacha Gervasi and David N. White (screenplay) and Stephen Hamel and Sacha Gervasi (story)
Actors: Keanu Reeves, Vera Farmiga, James Caan, Judy Greer, Fisher Stevens
Cinematography by: Paul Cameron

The Good:

Vera Farmiga: She seems to be the woman to go to when you want a strong female to play the cliched male role but as a hot lady. She’s wonderfully insane and risks being completely unlikable (which is why she’s so interesting to watch and ironically quite likable) and really takes the comedy of this role as seriously as any major drama she’s impressed us in before.
It’s Cute: For such a convoluted plot, there are a number of rather sweet, and for lack of a better word, cute moments throughout the film that really make you side with it even in the most insane of situations.
The Last Line: Don’t worry! I won’t give it away, but it was a nice touch and much like the characters in the film are saying “damn the man” to the police force, this ending does the same to the cliched Hollywood ending — sometimes not giving us the answer gives us everything we need.
Mocking a Production: Film/theater — they’re different but the people who make them are equally as crazy and the filmmakers obviously know this. It was nice to see the insanity and behind the scenes banter portrayed in such a humorous and at times sadly realistic way.

The Middle:

Keanu Reeves: When in the right role, he’s amazing. This was ALMOST the perfect role for him. The simple, sweet character fit him perfectly, it’s just hard to believe that someone who would go through with such an elaborate plan wouldn’t have some kind of twist or dark side. Maybe that’s a writer/director choice, or maybe that’s a lack of character — either way, I was always waiting for that other shoe to drop and was slightly disappointed when it didn’t — though it did make me ponder and think more about his character!

The Bad:

Not Everything Makes Sense: There were definitely a few moments where your brain had to stretch in order for some concepts to fully work. Not enough to ruin the film or leave one disappointed, but they were there.
The Pace: There were a few moments where the pace felt a little slow and this might have been helped by a score. From what I can find, the film only had songs and a music supervisor, no composer, and it definitely could have been helped with a little bit of original music to keep it flowing.

Overall:

It was a pleasent, fun film with a few moments of fine acting and a couple of chuckles. It’s any easy watch if you’re looking for something relaxing and not to emotionally strenuous or taxing, and it’s not without its clever moments that will keep you engaged.

Rating: 7/10

Henry’s Crime is in select theaters in LA starting April 15th

Trailer:

Photo Gallery:

Michael C. Hall And Vera Farmiga To Star In ‘Dexter’ Creator’s Film About ‘Dexter’ Creator

Travis Woods — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 16:22:04 +0000

How’s this for meta: according to Cinema Blend, Dexter creator James Manos Jr is set to direct his feature film debut, a film based on his own script called Love, Scotch and Death—which was originally called The Slow And Complete Decompensation of Jim Manos. So Dexter creator Jim Manos has written and directed a film about… Jim Manos.

Not only that, but he’s gathered together some stellar talent for the flick: Dexter lead hotshot/ serial killer Michael C. Hall and Vera Farmiga will costar in the film together. The film tells the story of Jim Manos during a very strange and disturbing week:

“After returning from a stressful vacation, he discovers his parents have died of natural causes together in bed, which forces him to navigate his way past an unsympathetic funeral director, his bewildered children and manic wife, an eccentric priest and some over-sexed neighbors. There is also an arrest for assault and the death of his wife’s beloved dog.”

So it basically sounds like a weird take on Charlie Kaufman’s Adaptation—the writer of the film is a character in the film—and Dexter hasn’t exactly been great television since whenever it was that Jimmy Smits showed up on the series and started offing people, but hey, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right?

What do you think about the Love, Scotch And Death news?

Source Code: Movie Review

Mali Elfman — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 03:00:35 +0000

Visionary director Duncan Jones is back with Source Code a film that maintains the intellect and sophistication of his first work Moon, but this time with whole lot more punch. His latest film somehow manages to appeal to mainstream audiences with pace, action and effects, without losing the details, story and character development that we loved in Moon. Truly it’s the best of both. A number of directors fumble on their second films after having their first film have such an impact. Many people questioned Jones but any doubts that you might have are blown away by the time you’re finished with the opening sequence of Source Code.

Watch out JJ and Nolan, you’ve got some serious competition in town that’s ready to take you on…

The Players:

Director: Duncan Jones
Writer: Ben Ripley
Actors: Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farmiga, Jeffrey Wright
Original Music by: Chris Bacon
Cinematography by: Don Burgess

The Plot:

I don’t want to tell you. It’s a sci-fi film about two people on a train — that’s really all you need to know.

The Good:

The Pacing: The film begins with a jolt and keeps moving until the credits roll. There was absolutely no time to think about whether or not this film lagged because you’re so involved as to what will happen next. There’s hardly even time for popcorn in this bad-boy!
The Acting: If there’s one thing that’s for sure, it’s that Duncan Jones’ asks a lot of his actors and when cast right he gets a lot out of them. It’s hard to single out any actor because all of them played their roles so well. Some had to cover their emotions, others were more over the top, all of them had a serious set of challenges in front of them and it was nice to see them all put to the test, succeed and give us a real show .
The Twists: I pride myself on predicting the ending of films and I even thought I had this one pegged and then it threw me and I couldn’t have been more pleased. Perhaps it was because I was so engaged in the story or maybe it was because they made great choices — any way you cut it, great twists always come down to great writing and it’s obvious that this film had a great screenplay to set up the rest of the film for success.
Similar to Moon But Different: I can’t get too in-depth on this without giving too much away and I would hate to ruin such a great experience for you, but there are a number of interesting similarities to Moon (which I will write about on a later date when people have had the chance to see the film) that were nice to see back on screen. There wasn’t enough repetition for anyone to feel like Jones was repeating himself, but enough to draw parallels to themes and characters that he obviously enjoys dissecting. Which leads me to…
Why That’s Good: Not enough people saw Moon, so hopefully after they see this film and know that it has some strong, enjoyable parallels it will finally receive the wide audience it always deserved.

The Bad:

Zip, zero. Go see it!

Overall:

Go see this film. You should have seen Moon - if you didn’t, it’s time to experience the brilliance of Duncan Jones; if you did you will not be disappointed with his second film. This is a bigger, more mainstream Duncan Jones film, but it somehow manages to maintain the intellect and sophistication of his first work. It’s not quite as raw (which is something I love) BUT it’s much more accessible without being dumbed down. It’s without a doubt the best sci-fi, action thriller you’ll see this year – very few directors are able to make such a big film and still remember the small details that make film worth loving. Don’t miss it!

Rating: 9.25/10

Source Code played opening night of SXSW March 11th and will be in theaters April 1st!

Photo Gallery:

Trailer:

I’m not putting the trailer into this review because there are too many spoilers. If you really need more convincing you can watch the trailer here.

Keanu Reeves and Vera Farmiga in Henry’s Crime Movie Trailer

Krystal Clark — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 20:36:12 +0000

The first trailer has been released for Keanu Reeves’ dark comedy Henry’s Crime. The film centers on a robbery and prison but it’s a lot lighter than we thought it would be. There’s an unsuspecting romance thrown into the plot. Besides Reeves, the film features performances by Oscar nominees Vera Farmiga and James Caan, who plays the typical veteran crook role. Check out the trailer…

The film is directed by Malcolm Venville, and the script was written by Sacha Gervasi, who recently produced and directed Anvil! The Story of Anvil. No release date has been announced as of yet, but the film did debut at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival. The reviews weren’t horrible so that means that it might see the light of day. Let’s keep our fingers crossed for the cast.

What do you think of the trailer for Henry’s Crime?

Jake Gyllenhaal in Duncan Jones’ Source Code Trailer

Krystal Clark — Sat, 20 Nov 2010 02:35:49 +0000

After the critical success of his 2009 film Moon, all eyes have been on Duncan Jones to see if he’s a one trick pony or the real deal. His latest film is entitled Source Code and it’s a sci-fi flick that stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan, and Vera Farmiga. Over at Apple, they’ve released the first trailer for the film and we’ve got it for your viewing pleasure right here. Check it out…

Official Synopsis:

When decorated soldier Captain Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal) wakes up in the body of an unknown man, he discovers he’s part of a mission to find the bomber of a Chicago commuter train. In an assignment unlike any he’s ever known, he learns he’s part of a government experiment called the “Source Code,” a program that enables him to cross over into another man’s identity in the last 8 minutes of his life. With a second, much larger target threatening to kill millions in downtown Chicago, Colter re-lives the incident over and over again, gathering clues each time, until he can solve the mystery of who is behind the bombs and prevent the next attack.

This is like Groundhog Day for sci-fi fans. Doesn’t it seem that towards the end of this trailer they try to make the film look more action heavy than it probably is?

Source Code hits theaters on April 15, 2011.

What do you think of the trailer for Source Code?

Charlize Theron, Vera Farmiga, Kacie Thomas Rumored For The Dark Knight Rises

Krystal Clark — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 18:51:30 +0000

Besides a solid villain, The Dark Knight Rises is missing one crucial element, a female lead. We’ve heard rumors of Tom Hardy possibly playing Clayface in the sequel, and the idea of The Riddler has been ruled out by director Christopher Nolan himself. But we haven’t heard anything about bringing on a woman to replace Rachel Dawes — until now.

According to ComicBookMovie, three actresses are rumored to be in the running to play love interests in the film. Here’s the twist, Bruce Wayne/Batman isn’t the only one getting some action, one of the parts is for James Gordon (Gary Oldman). Oscar winner Charlize Theron, Oscar nominee Vera Farmiga, and Kacie Thomas are the candidates.

There are two female characters up for grabs: Julie Madison and Sarah Essen. Do you know who either one of them are? Essen was the former partner of Gordon. The duo had an affair (he’s a married man) and she ended up getting murdered by The Joker. There’s also a hint that she might be Barbara Gordon’s real mother. Theron is up for the role.

Next there’s Madison, who’s a love interest for Bruce Wayne. Like most, if not all of the women in his life, Madison had no idea who Wayne really was when she got involved with him. But she’s been linked to the villain Clayface, which would only make the Tom Hardy rumor sound even more legit. Farmiga and Thomas are up for the role.

The idea of bringing on Essen is an interesting choice because it sounds like they’re trying to flush out the Gordon character and add more dimension to him, which works in a comic series but will they have enough time to fit it into one movie? Perhaps if they started with hints of it in The Dark Knight and finished it up in The Dark Knight Rises, there wouldn’t be a problem. What do you think?

What do you think of the possible female characters appearing in The Dark Knight Rises?

Vera Farmiga To Direct Higher Ground

Laura Aguirre — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 23:02:56 +0000

2009 was a big year for Vera Farmiga. The actress starred opposite George Clooney in Jason Reitman‘s witty Up in the Air, and nabbed an Oscar nomination to top it off. So what comes now? Directing. Today, Production Weekly tweeted that Farmiga will star and direct the indie Higher Ground, based on Carolyn Briggs’ memoir This Dark World.

Farmiga has been working in film since the late 90′s. Some of her more notable credits include Running Scared, The Departed, Orphan and well, Up in the Air. She’s a good actress and has consistently delivered good performances, so it’s fair to say that she’ll probably nail the starring role in Higher Ground.

Check out the full synopsis below…

Carolyn Briggs (Farmiga) grew up with modest means in the Iowa heartland. Pregnant at seventeen, married a few months later, by the age of eighteen she found herself living in a trailer with no plans beyond having more babies-until she found Jesus. It began innocently enough-a few minutes lingering on the televangelist stations, a cursory look at the Bible-and soon she had wholly given herself over to a radical, apocalyptic New Testament church. Her daily life was permeated with a sense of the divine-she spent hours a day in prayer and Bible study, wore modest clothing, even braced herself for the Rapture every time she heard trumpet music over the supermarket loudspeaker. It was only when her marriage began to unravel that Carolyn dared to question the religious dogma she had embraced for all of her adult life to date.

As of now, Farmiga has a full plate. This year she has Henry’s Crime coming out, followed by Source Code and Madonna‘s W.E. next year so it will probably be sometime before Farmiga yells action from a set. Nonetheless I’m excited to see what she has to offer as director.

Are you excited to see her direct Higher Ground?

Vera Farmiga, Michelle Monaghan Join Source Code

Krystal Clark — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 19:26:58 +0000

Vera Farmiga has had one hell of a year. She starred opposite George Clooney in Jason Reitman‘s latest flick Up in the Air, and it’s brought her a boatload of critical praise, and movie offers. The Golden Globe nominated actress and Michelle Monaghan have both signed on for the upcoming Duncan Jones film, Source Code.

Jones is no stranger to recent success, after the positive reception of his previous film Moon. Staying in his sci fi element, Source Code will be a time traveling thriller, with Jake Gyllenhaal set in the lead role. The film centers on a soldier (Gyllenhaal) who, as part of an experimental government program to investigate a terrorist incident, finds himself in the body of an unknown commuter living and reliving a harrowing train bombing until he can find out who is responsible for it. It sounds confusing on paper, but I’m sure visually it will blow us away.

In the film, Farmiga will play a hands-on communications officer controlling Gyllenhaal as he travels through time, and Monaghan will be a fellow passenger and his love interest. Source Code is scheduled to begin production this March, with Summit Entertainment distributing. In the past year the studio has been trying branch off into other genres of film that aren’t so Twilight oriented. The franchise still has two more films under its belt, but they’ve continued to stay active in all markets.

I’m interested in seeing the onscreen dynamic between Farmiga and Gyllenhaal as well as the chemistry between him and Monaghan. All three are good actors, but Farmiga is definitely a dynamo by herself. With the direction of Jones, this should be one stimulating film.

What do you think about the combo of Farmiga, Monaghan, Gyllenhaal, and Jones all working together?

Source: Yahoo

Up In The Air: Movie Review

Krystal Clark — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 03:30:52 +0000

Jason Reitman once again tackles comedy and drama with his latest film entitled, Up in the Air. The film stars Oscar winner George Clooney and features Twilight co-star Anna Kendrick as his naive young sidekick. Up in the Air is a refreshing look at a career driven man and his inability to connect with those around him. The film offers a humorous yet relevant take on how technology effects people’s ability to have healthy, normal relationships.

Check out our review below…

The Players:

Director: Jason Reitman
Writer: Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner, Walter Kirn (novel)
Cast: George Clooney, Anna Kendrick, Vera Farmiga, Jason Bateman, Danny McBride, Amy Morton, Melanie Lynskey

The Plot:

Up in the Air follows Ryan Bingham, a man who fires people for a living. He travels the majority of the year and has an estranged relationship with his family because of it. As one of his company’s top employees he’s asked to mentor a recent college graduate named Natalie, but he’s reluctant to do so. The duo are polar opposites and aren’t very fond of each other. Throughout their trip across the country they learn multiple things from one another that end up changing their lives forever. Natalie shows Ryan that love and family isn’t such a bad thing, and he shows her how to live a little.

The Good:

Vera Farmiga: Farmiga has always been a great actress, and as Alex she pulls off a level of confidence that not many women could. She’s very strong but laid back, and in opposition to Clooney almost comes off as the alpha male in their relationship.
Screenplay: This story is unpredictable. The majority of the film you think it’s going in one direction and it turns and becomes something else. It’s rooted in reality, where things don’t always go according to plan. That random action is what makes the screenplay so refreshing.
Opening Montage: The editing, the music, and the visuals used for the opening sequence in the film gets you in the mindset of the journey you’re about to take with the characters. It establishes the setting in an entertaining way that sticks with you even after the movie has ended.
Direction: Reitman did an excellent job at shooting a film that’s supposed to take place in multiple cities and airports around the country. You get a feeling for each location and identify with them even though their only covered for a short period of time.
Anna Kendrick: At first glance you may see this actress as someone who could get eaten up by the persona of Clooney, but she holds her own. She stays strong in some very intense scenes, yet manages to show vulnerability at the same time.

The Bad:

Nothing: It was that good.

Overall:

Up in the Air can easily fall in line with Jason Reitman’s previous work, yet it can also stand on its own merit. The story is amazing, the performances are outstanding, and the direction is beautiful. The film gives a subtle social commentary about people using their careers, the internet, or even cell phones to fill a void that can only be satisfied with human connection.

Up in the Air hits theaters in limited release on December 4th and wide on December 25th.

Rating: 10/10

Photo Gallery:

Trailer:

Up in the Air’s Vera Farmiga Thrives in a Man’s World

Krystal Clark — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:19:52 +0000

This weekend the talented Vera Farmiga will star opposite George Clooney in director Jason Reitman‘s latest film, Up in the Air. In the movie she plays Alex Goran, a successful and confident woman who complicates Clooney’s life in more ways than one. She’s a love interest who plays by her own rules, and makes men follow her and not the other way around.

She’s the latest in a string of female characters written by Reitman who thrives in what’s considered a “man’s world.” We recently spoke to Farmiga about playing such an alpha female, and she gave an interesting take on how she views the flawed yet human characteristics of Alex.

Check out more below…

Vera had the rare opportunity to play a female character who was in control of her romantic situation. Reitman is known for writing powerful female characters, and Up in the Air’s Alex is no different. Farmiga liked her tone and attitude and saw her flaws as strengths instead of a weaknesses.

I thought it was a really interesting portrayal of female desire that you don’t often get to see. Usually when a female character is so demanding in her sexuality and unapologetic she usually lacks some dignity. It was cool to see someone who’s completely self-possessed, had class, had depth and yet was operating in a very masculine way. From the start she set up her parameters and said these are the rules come in for the enjoyment of it and just think of me as yourself.

Alex isn’t your run of the mill career driven woman. She has multiple layers that are revealed to the audience in due time during the film.

This is a woman, complicated, complex has needs, and has certain desires. [I didn't want] to judge her actions but just embody her and make her as full bodied as possible and human. That’s what’s so incredible about Jason’s characters in all of his films thus far, you don’t necessarily like them or condone their behavior but they are utterly human, [with their] eccentricities and deficiencies and everything that makes us imperfect.

Even though so much can be said about the male-female dynamic in Up in the Air, Farmiga was actually attracted to an old fashioned convention that the movie has to offer.

I was initially attracted to the romance, I’m a sucker for a good old fashioned romance, and this one came disguised as a modern relationship. That’s what I was looking for, that twist and turn–I love twists and turns in films anyway as an audience member, when I look at it I can see them coming a mile away and I love being surprised. I love when characters and story lines take unexpected turns and that has to do with Jason being adamant about untidy resolutions and not making some sweeping statement, but asking questions.

In order to pull off the relationship between Alex and Ryan (George Clooney) the chemistry had to be there. It’s easy to think that any woman, dead or alive would be able to click with Clooney, and luckily the two actors hit it off from the very beginning.

I think it’s something you know immediately. I’m not sure what it has to do with, but it’s just the principle of adding baking soda and moisture and an acidic and then watching things explode when heat is added. It’s either there or it’s not and if it’s there you ride that wave. I know that Jason organized a table read and that’s when George and I met, and after that table read he canceled all further rehearsals and allowed us to just play it out on set.

Up in the Air hits theaters in limited release on December 4th, and wide on December 25th.

LFF: Up in the Air Press Conference – Reitman, Farminga, Kendrick

Mali Elfman — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 17:21:16 +0000

Director Jason Reitman is on a role! First with Thank You for Not Smoking, then Juno, and now Up in the Air, he’s proved that all three times can be a charm. If you liked either of his previous works, than you’re going to love his latest film, Up in the Air starring George Clooney, Vera Farmiga, Anna Kendrick, with a number of amazing supporting roles by Jason Bateman, J.K. Simmons, Zach Galifianakis and more.

Sadly, at the press conference for for the film at The London Film Festival, Clooney was unable to show up because (as always) he was busy working away on another one of his many projects. But! We were graced by the extremely humble and hilarious, Jason Reitman who is just as charming and funny as his films, the gorgeous and talented Vera Farminga, and the adorable new-comer who will blow you away Anna Kendrick.

You can read my first response to the film or check out what they had to say about the film below in one of the most laid back and entertaining press conferences I’ve ever been to…

Up In The Air is based on a book. If I were to read the book, would I recognize it in the film?

Jason Reitman: Yes and No. The book is about a man who fires people for a living and is about a man who obsessively collects air miles, but if I had directed the book exactly as if was, these two lovely ladies next to me would not be here because their characters are not in the book. The way I use source material, I see it as a tool box. There’s a story that I want to tell, and I’m looking for the right words. I’ll read a book or i’ll read an article and suddenly it will just be the language that I’ve been looking for to say something that I mean to say, or ask something that I’ve been meaning to ask. At that point it just becomes a tool box of ideas that I can either follow literally or sometimes I take someones dialogue and give it to someone else, or in this case I really chose a main character that would ask the questions that I wanted to ask.

Jason, I read that you wrote the role with George Clooney in mind. Is that true?

Jason: Yeah, I wrote the role with him in mind and with Vera and Anna in mind as well. It’s easier for me to write when I know who I’m actually writing for. That’s often how I identify the voice of the character. I had met Vera before and I’d seen many of her films. I knew the things that she was able to do that no other actresses is capable of doing. It was because she was able to walk that very fine line of being aggressive and feminine at the same time that I was able to write balance for what I did. It was because I saw Anna in “Rocket Science” and knew the sparkle and brilliance of her mind and how fast she is that I was able to write Natalie the way I did. If you’re going to make a movie about a guy who fires people for a living and you still want to like him, that actor better be dam charming and I don’t think there’s a more charming actor alive than George Clooney. I was very lucky he said yes.

What if he’d say no?

Jason: I would probably just ended my career right there and then. The story is actually kind of funny. I had been writing it for six years and I told his agent, “Look I’m about a week away or a month away from finishing this screenplay. In the middle of that I’m going to Italy on vacation with my wife,” and he said, “Well if you’re going to go to Italy you should just go see him.” I said, “That sounds like an awful idea, I don’t want to go see him if he hates my screenplay,” and he’s like, “No, no. Just go, he’ll love to see it.” I told him that I would send him the screenplay and if (George) enjoyed it, I would drop by. So I get to Italy and I call his agent up and ask him if he liked it and he told me to go see him.

We drive there and get to his house in Como. One of the first things he asks me is, “So what are you working on these days?” It’s a screenplay, it’s called Up In the Air and he says, “Oh I got to find that, I got to read that.” I was just trying to prove that I was a man to George Clooney. I played basketball with him; I hand’t done that since 8th grade. I never drink; I tried drinking with George Clooney. He opened four bottles of wine and I don’t know how I didn’t die of alcohol poisoning. Finally, around the end of the second day, he disappeared for a while and we walk into a room and he said, “I just read it, it’s great. I’m in.” Those are the words that changed my life and one of the greatest moments I’ll ever remember from my career.

Where the interviewers in the film authentic fired people?

Jason: When I started writing the screenplay seven years ago, the economy in America was very different. We were basically at the table end of an economic boom and I decided to write a corporate satire of a man who fired people for a living and wrote comedic scenes in which people lost their jobs. By the time it came to shoot this film, it just wasn’t funny anymore. I couldn’t go about shooting these scenes as written. We were scouting in St. Louis and Detroit, and the idea just came that we should try to use real people.

So we put an add out in the help wanted section saying, “We’re making a documentary about job loss and we’re looking for people who would go on camera and talk about their experience.” We got an overwhelming amount of response and we brought in 100 people. 25 are in the finished film, so the outside the people you recognize like J.K. Simmons, Zach Galifianakis, and Tamala Jones, everyone else who loses their job in this movie is a real person who came in and sat down at the table with an interviewer and for about 10 minutes answered questions about what it’s like to lose your job in an economy where really there is nothing available and you have to consider some very dire decisions.

After then we would fire them and asked them to respond the way they did the day they lost their job, or whatever they wished they had said. This would turn into improv scenes in which they would pelt our interviewer with all sorts of questions that he did not know the answer to. Their severance about why they lost their jobs instead of Jeff and they just went on. Some people were really angry. Some people got emotional and cried. Some people were really funny and I’m so grateful for their participation in the film. I could of never written the type of things that they said.

Jason you have a history of writing strong female characters. Do you think there’s a shortage of those in Hollywood right now?

Jason: Yes. I like to write original films and many of the men stories have been told and so many of the women stories haven’t. I’ve fallen in love with many really smart women over the course of my life. The most recent and personally the last one being my wife. I enjoy spending time with my wife, talking about these things. The best scene I’ve ever written and I only wrote half of it and that’s the scene in this movie where Vera and Anna talk about what they look for in a man at each of their ages. The only way I could write that is I asked my wife to have a conversation with herself at 18-years-old about what she looked for in a man. Everything they say is true to her, which breaks my heart every time she watches an audience because they laugh at her for five minutes. I enjoy writing for women and I enjoy working with actresses and I’ve just very fortunate. I’ve made three movies now and throughout all of them from Maria Bello on Thank You for Smoking and then with Ellen Page and Jennifer Garner on Juno and then not only Anna and Vera, but also Amy Morton, Melanie Lynskey — I’ve just been surrounded by great actresses. I just hope I can work for more and more.

Vera, how did you access your character when you first read them?

Vera Farminga: I didn’t have the luxury of reading the script without knowing what happens in the end. It was challenging to play a woman who is very much like a man. Often times when a women behaves this was it can be interpreted as — it was difficult for me to — it was a fine line, I found, to thread to have the softness and yet take control of her sexuality. I really like the male perspective of heartbreak.

In the nude scene, was that really you?

Vera: I had about six pounds more chunk on badonka donk. I was pregnant. And I did do the scene. I think my bottom half had become too large. I did attempt to do nudity. I got to choose my body-double and I thought that Jason did a good job in selecting someone that was pretty accurate.

Jason: [Joking] I studied her films to make sure that it was the exact representation. I’m a very specific director, both actresses will tell you that.

Anna, what in particular appealed to you about your character?

Anna Kendrick: First it’s that sort of rare thing. This girl who is so intelligent and complicated and her character does not revolve around a romantic story line. That was enough to make it fascinating in itself because it just doesn’t happen, you don’t read scripts like that. I was normally so timid in real life that I’m really excited my character is someone who gets to tell people off and I’m telling off George Clooney, which is pretty awesome.

Anna, how did you feel when you got this role?

Anna: I was shocked beyond belief because I thought Jason hated me. My audition was very plain and I think Jason was trying to suck me out by showing any kind of enthusiasm, but I thought he hated me. When I got the job I was so shocked and I thought he we just like that, he’s just going to be a time rack on set. But he’s very, very nice. I was surprised. I was thrilled beyond words. the script is so beautiful. And I didn’t think that George was doing it, for whatever reason I just assumed it was just too good to be true for a script to be this good and to be working with George Clooney, I just thought it was one of those things were it was rumored. And then Jason told me the Italy story and I got really excited. That was one of the funnest parts, seeing him, eating lunch with him, trying to act like, “Oh right, of course, you knew me,” because I’d do that kind of thing.

Why did Anna think you hated her Jason?

Jason: Well look, one, I’m a mean guy (laughs), but two — I wrote the role for Anna and Anna auditioned against thirty of the best actresses of her generation and I needed to know that she could actually do it. I basically saw her in one movie, and she’s great, but I needed to see her actually read the lines. When she walked in, I didn’t want her to get psyched out by saying, “Hey, I wrote this role for you,” because then she would probably freak out because it would become hers to lose. Since I’m a horrible actor myself, in trying not to show that I was already a huge fan of hers, I probably wasn’t as nice as could have been. It’s like when you meet a pretty girl and you don’t want to show her that you think she’s pretty so you’re trying to act as discreet as possible, and not yourself, and pretty soon you’re acting like a jerk.

The Up In The Air script was 7 years in the making. How did your timeline work?

Jason: The time line is that no one would make Thank You for Smoking. So I started looking for something else to write and direct. I found this book, fell in love with it, and I started writing it. Then out of nowhere, a millionaire, one of the creators of PayPal, who had sold PayPal to Ebay for $1.5 billion with his partners decided he wanted to make movies. He read my script, he got it form a friend, and called my agent and said, “Hey, I’d love to make this movie.” He wrote a check for $6.5 million and made Thank You For Smoking and all of a sudden I wasn’t writing Up In The Air anymore.

I made Thank you For Smoking, went back to writing Up In The Air and then Juno came into my life and it was this irresistible screenplay that I knew if I didn’t direct, I would regret for the rest of my life. The interesting thing was that I basically finished the screenplay after Juno, out five years into it, I basically got to the end of the script having never gone back and reread what I’ve been writing and as I read from start to finish, I watched myself grow up.

Over the course of the six years that I wrote the script, I became a professional director, I bought a home, I got married, I became a father. In the first act, we have a cynical guy in his 20s who’s really just a satirist and over the six years I became a bit more sophisticated as a writer, but I also realized that this was important in my own life and that really changed Ryan’s journey as I continued to write.

What was your experience having to do emotional scenes in the middls of airports?

Anna: Well actually it was a hotel lobby and it was a little uncomfortable. It was still just the space and the extras and even though their a part of the film, you don’t know them. It’s still sort of embarrassing. On that particular day, it was less about other people, it was more about the space.

Vera: What was most amusing for me was the fanaticism that George attracts and that was overwhelming and so odd. For me, no one ever knows who I am, they always think I’m a producer of the film. But watching George have to deal with that and having just to simply open the door and close it and there’s a standing ovation that goes lost, and he’s so gallant and gracious and takes his bow.

What was the overall experience like shooting in so many public places?

Jason: It’s a total pain in the ass. Shooting in airports is very difficult. We shot in four international airports. There was actually a fair amount of access and because American Airlines partnered in this film basically our trade was that they were our airline and hay gave us access to all their checking gates, as well as their departure gates. But still all the actors had to go through security, everyday, on the way to the set. They would put George through as much security as they possibly could. We had to bring in our own electricity and the wire from our generators through an airport. It was really tricky. We are the first film to actually shoot the TSA — it’s this thing of going through security — usually if you see that in a movie, you’re looking at metal detectors that were thrown at a convention center hallway or something. This is the real thing and all of the people on camera were real TSA security people who volunteered their time.

Anna: They were really picky about what they did and didn’t want to do onscreen. You had to talk this woman into crossing off the name and then stamping the thing. She was like, I don’t wear gloves. Her supervisor had to come over and tell her it was okay.

Is this the first time you and your father have worked together? How was it?

Jason: This is the first film that my father and I have actually worked on together. I avoided doing it in the first movies. I wanted to make a name for myself. And once I made a couple films, there’s nothing that made me more proud. My father wrote one line in this movie and that line is, “Oh that’s like firing people on line.” It’s a monster line. It’s a really proud moment for me it’s as if we were in a baseball game and he just showed up and was like, “Oh you want me to hit one? Sure.” [Home-run expression]

How to you get distinguished actors to do such small roles, how much explanation do they need?

Jason: Once I give a great role like the ones I gave to Vera and Anna, I presume that on the next film, they’ll come in for free and offer four lines of dialogue each. I’ve begged all of them to come in and do those roles and they’ve all been very gracious. I try to keep a strong relationship with them so that when I ask to come back and do these roles. When I started my career, my thing in school was I wanted to be a director that actors want to work with. Actors make movies, not only fiscally, but they make them work and I knew that the only way I would ever be a successful director in the way that I want to be a filmmaker would be if good actors actually wanted to work with me. I’m slowly trying to work my way towards that. And I look at people like Sam Elliot, who show up for a day, and that makes me more proud than anything.

Jason can you talk about your choice in your films?

Jason: I start putting together my Itunes library while I’m writing a screenplay and I’m very specific about music and it’s a very personal thing for me. I originally thought that this movie was going to be done to Hank Williams music and then I got into the edit and realized I was wrong and started moving into folk music. But it’s very personal for me.

The film balances between the darkness of everybody getting fired and the optimism of these people finding new jobs and the cherry on top of that was the song that came in at the end of the credits. How did that come about?

Jason: That was dumb luck. After Juno, I’d gotten use to teenagers sending these songs. The idea of them appearing in one of my films, but I’d happen to be speaking in a college in St. Louis, where we were shooting, and a man in his mid-50s came to me with this song and that was unusual. He handed me a cassette tape. So first off I had to find a please to actually listen to this. We find a car and sat back and I was ready for something ridiculous and instead along came this voice, which is in the credits now, and he introduced himself, explained how he had lost his job. He was now in the middle of his life trying to figure out the purpose of his life. He started to singing a song that had never been written, but it’s an authentic song.

I guess my feeling was that we’re in the middle of one of the worst recessions on record in America and about a million people have lost their jobs in the last year. But we really don’t experience who these people are, they’re often just numbers on newspapers, percentages. And he was a guy who was able to sing very authentically about how he felt and I thought what a better tribute than to end the movie. And I new halfway through listening that it was going to be in the credits.

The film will be hitting theaters December 25th.

ScreenCrave.com » Vera Farmiga

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