“Let me tell you something. There’s no nobility in podcasting.”
Happy New Year, Huskies! We hope you had a relaxing winter break and are ready to kick things back in gear this quarter. But despite the stress and dread that comes along with the start of winter quarter, also comes the start of awards season! Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman, though earning 5 nominations, was completely shut out of the Golden Globes. Whether that means a shut out from the Oscars remains to be seen, but in the meantime, we’ve decided to talk about another one of Scorsese’s recent gems – The Wolf of Wall Street! In this podcast, we discuss the film’s genius structure, debate whether or not it endorses the actions of Jordan Belfort, and Jim gives his hot takes on Scorsese and (in an unrelated note) the best Star Wars film. Let me give you some legal advice: listen to the 62nd episode of the UW Film Club Podcast now!
You can find us on Facebook at /UWFilmClub, and on Twitter and Instagram @FilmClubUW. Make sure to rate, comment, and subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Spotify, and Google Play, and tune in every Monday for a new episode of the UW Film Club Podcast!
“Hawaii. All right, that’s good. That’s hard to trace, I guess. Wait… you changed your name to… Podcaster?”
In this 47th episode of the UW Film Club Podcast, we talk one of the defining comedies of the 2000s, the endlessly quotable comedy Superbad! Amongst our many topics of discussion, we cover its contemporary relevance, acknowledge some of its more problematic elements as a sign of the times, and ponder over whether this counts as a coming-of-age film. How well does this hold up over 12 years after its initial release? Find out by tuning in now!
You can find us on Facebook at /UWFilmClub, and on Twitter and Instagram @FilmClubUW. Make sure to rate, comment, and subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Spotify, and Google Play, and tune in every Monday for a new episode of the UW Film Club Podcast!
You wouldn’t trade this podcast for anybody else’s podcast! This week, Louie, Greg, and Ivy discuss Jonah Hill’s directorial debut: Mid90s — a coming of age film about a boy named Stevie who joins a group of skaters in the wake of a troubled home life. This episode in particular is extra special because we not only host the usual round table discussion, but we also have an interview with the cast of the film! Give a listen to our thoughts and theirs now!
On this week’s episode: Ivy Pottinger-Glass, Louie Ghalib, Greg Arietta
You can find us on Facebook at /UWFilmClub, and on Twitter and Instagram @FilmClubUW. Make sure to rate, comment, and subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcasts and Soundcloud, and tune in every Monday for a new episode of the UW Film Club Podcast!
We recently had the opportunity to interview the stars of Mid90s, a coming of age film that tracks the trials and tribulations of a rebellious young skateboarder. Headlining Jonah Hill’s directorial debut, is a band of real life skateboarders turned first time actors: Sunny Suljic, Olan Prenatt, Ryder McLaughlin, and Gio Galicia who play Stevie, Fuckshit, Fourth Grade, and Ruben respectively. We sat down and discussed what it was like on set, their personal takeaways from the film, and what it was like to be acting for the first time under a first time director.
This interview has been edited for clarity and readability. Interview was conducted by Greg Arietta and Megan Bernovich.
From left to right: Na-Kel Smith, Olan Prenatt, Gio Galicia, Ryder McLaughlin, Sunny Suljic.
Greg: How did you guys get cast in the film?
Ryder: Mikey Alfred?
Sunny: Yah, Mikey Alfred.
Olan: Mikey got 70 kids that he knew from L.A.. All of them were skateboarders like Jonah asked. He wanted to teach skatborders how to act rather than the other way around because you can’t teach anybody how to be a skateboarder… it takes being apart of the culture to know. From there we were the chosen ones.
Sunny: I went to Stoner [Skatepark] and Mikey Alfred introduced me to Lucas [Hedges] and Jonah [Hill]. I didn’t even know that Jonah was making a movie or anything [ at the time]. I thought he was just stopping by Stoner with Lucas, who I didn’t even know back then. Now, he has three films out this year which is crazy. We all just started talking and he asked me if I had any acting experience, and from that, [he knew] there’s gotta be something. [Jonah] didn’t even know I acted before. I went in for an audition. Got a call back and . . .
Greg: Now you’re here…
Megan: …drinking Starbucks in Seattle.
Sunny: Yo, that’s a good-ass slogan! [laughter]
Greg: So Sunny, you had acted before right?
Sunny: Yah.
Greg: I had looked at your IMDB and I didn’t even know you were in God of War which I had played earlier this year. But for you other three, what was it like being on set [acting] for the first time?
Olan: Every single day on set I didn’t know what level professional actors study [their parts]. Everyday, even if i had one line for that whole day, I practiced that one part literally all day. I’d be nervous up until the cameras started rolling. That was my approach to it. Dedicate every second [on set] I have to it. It was a great environment that was created on set by Jonah… to the point where we can all just have fun with each other and bring it out on film.
Megan: Yah, I was gonna say he’s been directed by some of the greats and he’s on his way to being a director now.
Olan: I can’t believe this was his first time directing. He’s like a genius at this. He choreographed my brain without me even knowing, and it helped my performance.
Sunny: Yah, I think he definitely got the role of the director because he’s really really good at it. He taught me a lot of things with regard to acting too. He’s just a good dude.
Greg: It helps that he’s an actor too. We’re both university students and we took a screen writing course where the teacher told us that if you want to be a director you should probably be an actor first. His logic was if you want to direct actors you have to know what they’re going through and what they’re thinking. I got caught on to Jonah Hill in 2011 with Moneyball, and up until that point I had just known him as the kid from Superbad. Then he went on to do projects like Wolf of Wall Street, work with the Coen brothers, and now he’s directing which is crazy to think about.
Sunny: He has a diverse acting career.
Olan: I’m stoked to see him direct, and [think],”Oh, shit! i’m apart of it.”
Megan: So you guys were previously familiar with him? You had seen him in some of his other stuff…
Olan, Sunny: Oh yah, definitely.
Greg: Any favorite Jonah Hill film?
Olan: The Sitter [laughter]
Sunny: Actually, I like all of them. I’m still watching Maniac right now. You know what’s funny about watching Maniac is that since we’re all close to Jonah, it feels like he’s never acted before… as if he’s a good friend [you know] who does something big, [and makes you] go, “Woah! He’s in this show!” I’m watching it as if I see Olan in a big video or something.
Megan: Just like your friend?
Sunny: Yah. But, I really really really like him in Wolf of Wall Street and War Dogs. I literally just watch little clips of him laughing [in that movie].
Greg: That laugh is so good. When he gets out of the car [in that one scene] because someone insulted him and he pulls out the AK-47…
Olan, Sunny: Oh yah yah yah…
Sunny: …where he gave them money for weed and they didn’t give it to him, so he comes out with the AK. Bro, that [part is so good].
Photo by A24
Greg: He’s just so good. I’m kinda jealous… Did you have a favorite day on set? How long was the shooting process?
Olan: Let’s see… well everyone shot for two and a half months, but Sunny, Lucas, and Catherine [Waterston] shot a little bit before us.
Sunny: My favorite day on set was when we shot the party scenes or when we were outside the [Motor] skate shop and we skated because all the extras were my friends, so it was cool to watch everybody [have a good time].
Megan:Yah, it felt very authentic seeing you guys hang out with your actual friends.
Sunny: And with Jonah he has OCD too, so he’s was very specific with [how the] trash [was displayed] and everything.
Olan: Everyday on set was my favorite day. Another day another person to meet.
Greg: It helps to have a nice working environment too. Most of the time you hear rumors coming out of sets where everything is pure chaos…
Olan: Yah, I think it’s typical to not have a dope environment like ours was. Like, this was crazy.
Sunny: I think it’s also cool that we’re all really close. And I’m not just saying that because I’ve filmed before and it’s been really fun, but I’ve never … ummm, like we all skate and we all hang out outside of shooting so it’s so cool to be going on press and traveling because it just feels like we’re just going on a skate trip. Like we’re going on a plane or we’re going on a train [together], and it’s just so tight.
Megan: Did either of you, Gio orRyder, have a particularly favorite experience?
Ryder: I was just a chaperone.
Gio: Everyday was just something new to learn by everyone on set That’s how it was for me at least.
Megan: I guess for everyone except for Sunny, you guys didn’t get to see alot of the filming of [Stevie’s] home life. What was your guys’ reaction to seeing the finished, full film and all the parts that you weren’t in?
Ryder: I wish there was more because there was a lot of that sort of stuff. I feel like it was supposed to be a bigger chunk of the movie.
Greg: Did it get cut?
Sunny: Yah they cut like a lot.
Gio: The movie was like three hours long…
Sunny: … And now it’s like 80 minutes with credits. I think what Jonah’s goalwhen editing was that he realized that some scenes just didn’t have to go in.
Ryder: He took out all the stuff that didn’t add to the story if that makes sense. It’s literally just enough stuff to get the point across without having parts where we’re just messing around.I also have like no clue [since i didn’t cut it].
Olan: I agree with him, that’s not my check either. I don’t know why he chose the decisions that he did, but I heard him state that it’s so great great to over write and over shoot in the editing places.
Greg: I bet having that in the editing process really helps cause then you can pick and choose what you want… All these characters feel genuine and true to life, do you guys see yourself in any of these characters or have any take aways from them? Obviously they’re your performances, but when I saw the film, I look back and see something different than someone like yourselves who are currently living those lives.
Sunny: What I took away and what I really enjoyed about my character is the subtle facial expression I would make. I watch them, and I would have a little smirk or . . .
Ryder: So you’re just a really good actor [laughter]
Olan: Yah. Pretty much.
Ryder: “Yah so I was watching it and I did a really good job. I killed it…”
Sunny: Yah, I was watching it and I was like, “Damn, I’m the best actor ever and I should just keep going. It’s so crazy!” [Laughter] But actually, I think Jonah wouldn’t “make a meal out of it,” especially with the cameos too. Alot of the violent scenes he would just keep it on wide shot and let it just play out…
Olan: Let it be what it is.
Greg: You guys did all your own stunts right?
Sunny: Yah…
Ryder: That’s crazy that that’s even considered stunts.
Sunny: Yah that’s tight though.
Ryder: The only stunt in that movie is falling off the roof. That’s the only thing I would consider to be a stunt.
Sunny: I did have to bring in a stunt person because of liability, but they still used me. I actually did jump off the roof for one of them. I just jumped on a pad. They brought in a lady [to do another take], but I guess they ended up going with my take because you can kinda tell [if it wasn’t me].
Greg: Yah, I thought it was cool that they just let you guys do your own things. It’s not the most dangerous stuff out there…
Sunny: With skating though, it would be weird if there were stunt doubles doing our skating. Na-Kel [Smith] is pro. Ryder is Am. Olan is one of the fucking best skaters. And Gio is really good too.
Greg: Did you have to fake or act when you had to learn how to ride a skateboard for that one scene?
Sunny: Yah.
Gio: Like Sunny is really good. He’s a talented skateboarder. He needed to play someone who couldn’t skate. But like, that was pretty hard for him.
Sunny: I’ve had people tell me, “Oh so did you have to learn how to skate before the film?” And then I get really happy because I know it looks realistic then.
Ryder: You’re just a really good actor.
A24
Megan: One of the integral parts of Ryder’s character is that you’re the one who is filming all this and going along with all everyone and documenting everything, how was that in addition to skating and playing this character, but also holing a camera? How did that feel for you while you were shooting?
Ryder: I enjoyed filming on set. I really liked my character just from the script because his whole thing he doesn’t talk, and [how] filming and documenting everything is his role. That’s what he can contribute because he doesn’t make jokes. He’s the scapegoat for tense situations… when things get serious and then it’s like, “Oh, yah lets just make fun of Fourth Grade,” and then it goes back to normal and continues on.
Greg: Just out of curiosity, do you know what were you shooting on the handheld? Was that microtape?
Ryder: Yah, it was like a Sony Hi-8. I’m not sure exactly what kind of Sony camera, but I went through alot of tapes.
Megan: Did you get to be apart of the editing process at the editing, putting together your little film?
Ryder: Uhhh, no that was all Jonah. I got sent a couple rough versions and then I didn’t see it for a while. Then later they said, “Hey can you do all these title [cards] for it,” so I did all that stuff for it.
Greg: We’re almost out of time, so final question. You guys do all these junkets, but what is the one thing wish someone would ask about you or just something no one knows?
Sunny: That I skate. I want people to know that.
Ryder: I like to keep it vague so no one really knows. Especially if you’re gonna act, you don’t want people to know too much about you.
Gio: For me at least, [I want people to know] that I’m not like Ruben is in the movie. I’m not a dick I guess [laughter]…
Sunny: Alright, that’s enough. That’s enough. That’s all they need.
Gio: Alright fuck you Sunny. [Laughter]
Megan:That’s a great note to end on, I think. Thanks for your time and we hope the rest of press day goes well!
Mid90s, Jonah Hill’s directorial debut, is a painstakingly authentic homage to the not-so-distant past. Set in the age of camcorders and Discmans, anachronistic Super 16 film gives a charming air of nostalgia to this grungy ‘coming of age’ tale that follows Stevie (Sunny Suljic), a boy on the verge of adolescence, reconciling his developing identity amongst a rag-tag group of skateboarders in 1990s Los Angeles. With impressive attention to detail, down to the accuracy of 90s Dorito packets and the trash bags, Hill, in a feat of first-time-filmmaking, achieves poignancy and humour in this unconventional period feature.
“Doesn’t seem right to be telling people what’s wrong with themselves before they figure it out for themselves.”
After Beasts of No Nation and a tumultuous run on IT, Cary Joji Fukunaga has teamed up with Netflix again to bring us his latest project, Maniac: a retro-future drama about mental health. With it, Fukunaga maintains his serious subject matter like that of True Detective or Beasts of No Nation, but adds in some dark comedy to create brevity in a rather serious topic. The result is a ten part mini-series that commentates on the mental struggles that come with traumatizing events and how the road to recovery isn’t as easy as everyone thinks it is.
Maniac is not a traditional film ‘film,’ but its construction speaks otherwise. It’s a ten episode mini series on Netflix with no theatrical release, so initially one would assume this to be relegated to the TV category, but consider this: there is only one title card, one director across all ten episodes, and there are no opening credits at the beginning of each episode. Think of Maniac in the same vein as Twin Peaks: The Return, OJ Made in America, or the forthcoming The Ballad of Buster Scruggs; the hairsplitter in all of us might raise question with the division of the ‘film,’ but make no mistake, this feels like one continuous, self-contained piece of cinema.
Our main protagonists are Annie (Emma Stone) and Owen (Jonah Hill): the former a drug abuser who uses to repress the memories of her past, and the later a down on his luck, paranoid schizophrenic who is the odd duck of the family but who is now being called upon to protect the family’s name in court. The two are brought together via a drug trial at the NPB Corporation, a pharmaceutical conglomerate on the verge of creating a new drug therapy which aims to rid the mind of any problem. Together the two undergo the trial phase with the hope they will be absolved of their ailments, but as they progress, they learn that overcoming their demons is something not done easily.
Intentionally so, Maniac keeps its cards close to its chest. The show operates under a very cryptic plot structure where revelations in both Annie’s and Owen’s narratives are only revealed as they progress through the trial. This structure not only works to engage the audience to watch the next episode, but the piece-meal approach has a mystique to it, opening our protagonist’s past in weird and unconventional ways. Instead of placing events out of order or merely using a flashback, Maniac uses the A-B-C steps of the drug trial to open Annie’s and Owen’s past. After taking each pill (A for agonia, B for behavioral, and C for confrontation), the show enters what it calls a ‘reflection’: a fantasy/dreamlike state where Annie and Owen are put in outlandish scenarios that draw parallels to their own reality. With the exception of the A phase, these scenarios are cryptic, causing audiences to read between the lines in order to understand the internal issues, guilts, and backstories of our characters. This method can be off-putting at first as they pull you out of the series’s established mode, but they often result in profound character moments that are at the core of what makes Maniac so compelling.
Maniac is interested in the complex issues found in overcoming one’s demons. Both Annie and Owen have a resistance to moving forward from events in their past, and as the trials progress, they try to tackle their own with the help of a ‘magic pill.’ What Fukunaga conveys so well is the unsatisfactory sentiment that comes from the quick and easy solution to our internal struggles. It showcases the difficulty in overcoming these traumas, and that no matter how much we struggle, fight, or combat these inner demons, they never go. They are not fleeting emotions, but rather ones that linger and rear their heads in ugly ways. It says that these struggles are a part of you, that it is ok to grapple with them, and that before you can move past them, you need to reconcile and confront them. Skeletons that inhabit our psyche are not easily vacated with a pill or a quick fix, they are a process that takes time.
Tying these themes together is Maniac’s retro-future aesthetic and dark comedy. The series most closely resembles that of Spike Jonze’s Her which took on a similar look and feel. Technology that opens one’s mind is bulky and dated looking, tube computers run DOS-like programs, and adverts that could only come from the 80s are all a part of the surreal future Maniac paints. In tandem with it is the use of dark comedy which keeps things light. This isn’t a Marvel affair where the humor kills the tone, but rather, the humor here is intrinsically tied to the film’s tonal consistency. Jonah Hill dressed up like Post Malone while having a serious moment with someone who radiates heat waves is something I would never think would work, but it actually manages to hit home deep and substantive meaning. However, there is the occasional outlandish moment that doesn’t work; these moments can most commonly be sourced from the aforementioned ‘reflection’ sequences and can have eyebrow-raising effects, but the missteps are completely overshadowed by the times when it does work because when it does, boy is it good.
As a side note, I think Dan Romer’s score is excellent. I don’t have too much to say, but there are great standout pieces like ‘Annie and Owen’ and ‘Blind Spots’ that help convey a tremendous sense of sympathy, struggle, and heightened emotion. It’s all so beautiful and I love it dearly.
For all its abnormalities and strangeness, Maniac has something to say and an unequivocally unique voice in saying it. From its stylish dressings to its cryptic narrative, Fukunaga has made a ten episode series that not only presents the bleak realities of mental illness, but promotes the process of getting better, and surprisingly, it is a series I wish to revisit so I may find new meaning in all its nuance and subtext, something I can’t say that about any other show. Simply put, Maniac is unforgettable.
This film was seen at the 44th Seattle International International Film Festival. The film is now in wide release in Seattle. You can read our interview with director Gus Van Sant and actor Beth Ditto here.
After a critical misstep in Sea of Trees, Gus Van Sant returns with Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far On Foot (DWHWGFOF). The film has long been on the back burner for Van Sant who started it in the early 2000s with the late Robin Williams originally attached to star, but after a series of untimely set backs, was ultimately delayed. Now, in his first written and directed work since Paranoid Park in 2007, Van Sant has picked the project back up with a new set of stars and an aim to tell the story of a man seeking sobriety. The result is a film with terrific performances that make the film worth the watch, but which are complicated by the nonlinear narrative Van Sant strings together.
Our story follows John Callahan (Joaquin Phoenix): a struggling alcoholic who gets into a car accident that leaves him paralyzed. In an effort to save himself from his destructive behavior, he joins an AA group to help cure him of his addiction. Stubborn and persistent, Callahan finds the road to recover to be much harder than he anticipated, but finds an outlet in drawing cartoons that soon find a place in a local paper.
The film takes a nonlinear approach to its story telling. Cutting between various pre- and post-accident moments, we get to see alternating portraits of Callahan: one of him suffering from his affliction and the other of him trying to recover from it. The back and forth is the most jarring aspect of the film as it can often disorient the viewer; at times, it can feel as if you are continuing a sequence only to learn via continuity that the film is now jumping in time. Perhaps done to replicate the haziness of Callahan’s life, perhaps done to as a stylistic choice, but nonetheless, a jarring effect.
The film is largely carried by terrific performances across the board. After an award worthy performance in You Were Never Really Here, Joaquin Phoenix delivers another well-acted performance as John Callahan; showing the frustrations of addiction, the turbulence of recovery, and the acceptance in moving forward, it is a multifaceted performance that provides the back bone of the film. In supporting roles, we have Jonah Hill, Jack Black, and Rooney Mara — the former two being terrific while the later unnecessary. Hill plays Callahan’s sponsor and carries a smart and light persona that is underscored by his own personal issues. It’s a career best performance that can only be rivaled by his role as Donnie in The Wolf of Wallstreet.Black on the other hand plays a very minor role — so small that he only appears in three scenes —, but, even its minuteness, he still fires on all cylinders; Black plays Callahan’s acquaintance who causes the paralyzing accident and serves as a step in Callahan’s recovery process. While small, his third and final scene is the best three minutes of Jack Black the world has even seen, as we see a man freed from a decade of guilt in the course of forty-five seconds.
On the short end is Mara who’s role is questionable in the film. Serving as a love interest, Mara plays a nurse who starts out as an aide for Callahan, but during a later encounter, they start becoming romantically involved. This romance could be described as nothing short of a stint as her involvement comes and goes quickly, acting as a brief moment in Callahan’s recovery process. It has aspects of contributing to Callahan’s overall character, but it’s rather minor, and could be omitted from the film without question. It’s an unfortunate waste of talent.
These performances really are at the heart of DWHWGFOF. Callahan and the characters around him embody the multidimensional themes found on the road to recovery, and even though the film’s structure up ends some of what they accomplish, it can be appreciated for the incredible performances that are true standouts. If you are ok with piecing together the narrative, you can find solace in performances that move the emotional needle above the norm.
A24
