IndieWire's Filmmaker Toolkit

The great actor-turned-director talks about developing the film for his daughter Maya Hawke (who stars as author Flannery O’Connor) after "Stranger Things" blew up, wrestling with O’Connor’s history with racism, what he learned about directing from all the greats he’s worked with as actor, and why the theme of creativity and what it means to be an artist has become the driving force behind so much of his own work as an artist at this stage of his career. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For his fourth time joining the Toolkit discussion, director Luca Guadagnino takes us into the sultry, sweaty world of "Challengers." Much more than just a tennis movie, this film pushed Guadagnino to make bold choices with camera and music, and lean into storyboards and rehearsal more than his previous work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The co-creators of the stunning FX miniseries join us to discuss the rigorous process that made the show so captivating, from period detail to character psychology and a nuanced approach to subtitles. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This little seen 1991 gem is coming to the Criterion Collection. And even if you have seen this movie, the story of how it got made will shock you. Savoca talked about how she transformed a studio film destined to be another Porky’s teen sex comedy into a subtle masterpiece. Savoca talks about how her young star, River Phoenix, saved the ending from being reshot by the studio and his incredible talent and moral compass at just 20 years old. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You may remember "The People’s Joker" as that film Warner Brothers tried to shut down for copyright infringement during the 2022 Toronto film Festival. The more interesting story about this film is the ingenuity and a punk rock spirit in which it was created. Drew takes us on a journey of how her origin story as a trans woman coming up in the comedy world started (in her head at least) to merge with that of the Joker, and the rather unusual way this film was dreamed up. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thomas Kail, of Hamilton and Fosse/Verdon joins us to discuss this gripping series about a Jewish family in Poland surviving WWII, and how he worked to make sure this holocaust story reflects upon the modern day. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Having helmed their big grudge match in 2021's Godzilla vs Kong, director Adam Wingard is now back for the big team up. Hear how Wingard and his team expanded the mythology of the series, introduced several new titans, and integrated VFX with some spectacular location shooting. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The director of "Saint Maud" takes us into the dark heart of her new noir romance. From the shocking gore to the authentic sex scenes, and even a touch of the cosmic, Glass breaks down how this movie goes so hard. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Michael Keaton joins us today for a chat about his work Directing and starring in this modern day film noir about a hitman with rapid-onset dementia. Hear how Keaton defied the expectations of a thriller in order to deliver a movie that is contemplative, tragic, and yet dryly funny. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's time to go back to the desert! The mastermind behind the Dune series returns to Toolkit to breakdown the complicated hero's journey, making sandworm riding a reality, and why this sequel feels like such a different kind of movie than the first. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Series creator and director Lulu Wang discusses carrying around a Zoom recorder on scouts and finding the rhythm (in more ways than one) of "Expats." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Apple TV Plus series “Masters of the Air” reunites screenwriter John Orloff with his “Band of Brothers” producers Gary Goetzman, Tom Hanks, and Steven Spielberg. On this episode, Orloff discusses his rigorous approach to research and how that manifests itself as drama in some of the most visceral combat scenes ever filmed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You probably know Dolph Lundgren as an actor from films like ROCKY IV and UNIVERSAL SOLDIER, but over the last 20 years he has quietly forged a directing career making modestly budgeted action films in the character-driven tradition of Don Siegel and Clint Eastwood. He joins Filmmaker Toolkit to talk about his latest movie, WANTED MAN. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ava Duvernay joins us to dig into the deep emotions and complex histories that make up her extraordinary new film Origin. Hear how she saw a vision for a film within the 'unadaptable' best selling book by Isabelle Wilkerson, and how she blended genre and film form to not only connect important moments of human suffering across time, but also infuse them with love. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It has been nine years since Under The Skin, the last film from Jonathan Glazer. Once you hear him discuss the approach to the harrowing and complex subject matter of his new film, including bold approaches to the look and sound, you will understand why it took almost a decade to develop one of the best films of 2023. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Editor William Goldenberg has cut all but one of director Ben Affleck’s features, and Affleck says their partnership was the key to making “Air” fly. On today’s episode Affleck and Goldenberg talk about evoking period through editing, fine-tuning performances, and much, much more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The director and writer of Occupied City join us this week to explain how they crafted this very particular and precise cinematic experience, which presents a unique approach to a dark chapter in world history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Director Michael Mann joins Filmmaker Toolkit to talk about his latest film, “Ferrari,” a movie he’s been working on in one form or another for decades. Mann discusses how he conceived and executed the film’s extraordinary racing sequences, why the movie contains two complementary styles of filmmaking, and how he worked with actors Adam Driver and Penelope Cruz to build their characters. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Peter Sohn has long been a fixture at Pixar, and this week he spoke with us about taking the leap from voice acting and writing to directing. Hear how he finds his story through his drawing pen, and why his family's immigrant experience formed the beating heart of Elemental. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Director Emerald Fennell joined us to the joys of crafting a deeply unsubtle movie without being foolish, and how the many lush details of Saltburn illuminate its characters' murky morality. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“The Color Purple” has already been a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Alice Walker, Academy Award-nominated film by Steven Spielberg, and Tony Award-winning Broadway show, but director Blitz Bazawule still found new areas to explore in his new adaptation of the stage musical. On this episode he talks about finding a visual language for the heroine Celie’s imagination, making the leap to big budget filmmaking, and choreographing every scene of the movie like a musical — even when the characters were just talking. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This podcast was always conceived as a place where filmmakers could have the kinds of detailed, craft-centric discussions that Martin Scorsese would love. Now, for our 250th episode, the master himself joins us explain why his new film both is and isn't inspired by the American Western, and reflects on what keeps him passionate so far into his career. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Director Yorgos Lanthimos and Emma Stone were nominated for Oscars for their first collaboration, “The Favourite,” and their new film “Poor Things” is even funnier, more moving, and more original. Lanthimos and Stone sat down with us to talk about their collaboration, the benefits of a stripped-down set even for an epic, and the challenges of editing such a unique movie. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nikki Giovanni was one of the most prominent poet-activists to come out of the late-60s Black Arts Movement, and, as this film explores, is one of the Godmothers of Afrofuturism and the Afropunk alternative arts scene. But "Going to Mars" is far from your standard issue profile documentary, instead husband-wife co-directors Michèle Stephenson and Joe Brewster use Giovanni's life and writing as a jumping off point for their own formal exploration as they "delved into the soul of a poet." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Errol Morris has interviewed many controversial figures from Donald Rumsfeld to Steve Bannon, but when he sat down with author and former spy David Cornwell - aka John le Carré - he finally met his match in terms of intelligence and preparation. Morris joined us to discuss the interview with Cornwell that resulted in “The Pigeon Tunnel,” one of the director’s most compelling and entertaining films to date. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ridley Scott is one of those directors with almost too many great films to count, from classics like Blade Runner to modern favorites like The Martian. He joined us to discuss his newest film, detailing how he manages to shoot epics like this in a fraction of the time it takes other filmmakers, and how his partnership with Joaquin Phoenix has strengthened since Gladiator. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The director of the boundary pushing documentary joins us to illuminate how this famous character from Virginia Woolf remains strikingly relevant in our time, and how we are all a bit of an Orlando. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The directing team behind the latest Disney animated feature join us to discuss tapping into 100 years of Disney movie history to craft a film with its own sense of magic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After helming the last three films in the previous Hunger Games film series, director Francis Lawrence returns for the much anticipated prequel. He joined us to discuss how he returned to the franchise, and how he attempted to take every aspect of the series in new directions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sixteen years after the world saw a trailer for it in Grindhouse, Eli Roth has turned Thanksgiving into a real horror movie. Roth shares how the movie finally made it to the screen, and the slasher b-movies he paid homage to with this throwback. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Whether you know it or not, today's guest has probably been involved in a movie or TV show you love. The celebrated director, writer, & producer joins us for the 40th anniversary of his directorial debut Terms of Endearment. Brooks shares memories from working with an all star cast as a first time director, and how his clear vision for the comedic tone made the movie a success. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The director of one of the most talked about movies of the fall joins us to discuss making a courtroom thriller quite unlike any other, using film form to challenge the tropes of the genre and our obsession with true crime. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we are joined by the captain himself: show-runner, creator, and now director David Jenkins. We go deep below decks to learn why Jenkins rejects many typical pirate tropes in order to protect the emotional truth of his characters, and how they represent his views on comedy and romance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The director of Once (2007) and Sing Street (2016) joins Toolkit today to discuss his latest film about creativity, music, and finding connection in Dublin. Listen to hear how classic musicals influence how Carney sees his stories, and even what he thinks of Taylor Swift. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The creator & showrunner of this darkly funny look at 80s culture and gender roles joined Toolkit to discuss the series' three season arc, the moving final episode, and that cruel inner voice so many of us seem to have. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jon Bois talks the many facets of creating the epic nine-hour documentary "The History of The Minnesota Vikings" from the boss chart that anchors the series to unexpected music cues to novel uses for Google Earth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Emma Seligman discusses creating the riotous action comedy "Bottoms" from casting and stunt work to music and production design, and the project of bringing queer characters into timeless high school tropes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

John Wilson discusses his approach to both documentary and comedy, how he keeps track of all his b-roll, and what things he wanted to make sure How To With John Wilson taught audiences before he wrapped the series. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The epic political thriller "JFK" was featured last weekend at the American Cinematheque, and we had the privilege to interview writer & director Oliver Stone live on stage. Stone talks about the impact of this controversial film, and reflects on its legacy today. You'll also hear some of the filmmaker's thoughts on the state of the industry today, and why he's an even angrier, more passionate filmmaker than ever. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After seven years of scoring HBO’s “Succession,” Nicholas Britell reflects on completing his first TV series. What did he learn about working in TV? How did the series and his process evolve over the course of four seasons? Would he ever sign on to do another serialized series? Was it helpful for the “Succession” editors to use his previously recorded music to temp new episodes? Did his experience working on Wall Street, before becoming a film & TV composer, inform his understanding of the Roys? Plus, Britell explains why he wrote the last two pieces of “Succession” music (including the choir music used over the final end credits) well before seeing the series finale. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Director Peter Hoar joins us to talk about the episode of The Last of Us that had us all in tears. Peter discusses the power of telling gay stories, using both natural light and "On The Nature of Daylight," and how the crew of "The Last of Us" fell just as hard for Bill (Nick Offerman) and Frank (Murray Bartlett) as the characters did for each other. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As part of 80s week over on the IndieWire site, we are featuring a special conversation with a filmmaker who forever changed the ways movies look and feel. His early work created the iconic look of movies like Rocky and The Shining, and today we are all living in the world Steadicam built. Garrett tells the story of why he needed to invent a new tool for cinematic motion, and reflects on how its legacy has shaped cinema in the decades since. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be in The Truman Show, with every aspect of your reality crafted by a team of filmmakers? Showrunner and executive producer Cody Heller was tasked with creating just such a world for the star of Jury Duty; an entirely fake, month-long court case built from scratch and performed live for the unaware protagonist. Heller shares the wildly creative tricks her team used to keep up with the chaos of real life, and discusses how did Jury Duty managed to be a fascinating social experiment and a goofy hysterical comedy all at the same time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Toolkit we dive deep into a single episode of the Netflix hit series Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story. The episode in question, Silenced, is one of the best hours of TV this year, and director Paris Barclay walks us through the incredible craft that made this story of a black, gay, deaf man so transporting and emotionally resonant. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode is everything...because today we are talking Barbie! Both writer/director Greta Gerwig AND editor Nick Houy join us this week, and if you've seen the movie you know how crucial editing was to pulling it all off. The movie is a big swing, a wild ride, and a surprisingly personal and intimate project for something branded with one of the biggest names in the world. Greta walks us through how all that is possible, and the pair explore how they think about assembling stories not just on Barbie, but across their collaborations on Lady Bird and Little Women. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One of the greatest series in the history of TV, Justified, is back on the air with a haunting new subtitle. We talk this week with showrunner, writer, and director of Justified: City Primeval, Michael Dinner. He explores the reasons the show is making a triumphant return, what it was like coming back to a career-defining project after many years, and how this season was adapted from unexpected source material. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you've seen Across the Spider-Verse you won't be surprised to learn such a complex film took three directors to helm. One of those directors, Kemp Powers, joins us to explain how they pulled it off with the same grace, ambition, and heart that defines the spider-people at the center of the story. Kemp breaks down the experience of essentially "shooting" the movie for four years, and how even when directing a crew of thousands he managed to work in personal inspiration from his own life. After you listen you'll want to run right out to the theater to catch all the incredible details Kemp points out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One of our favorite things to do on Toolkit is speak with rising stars in the world of directing, and we got to do just that this week with Celine Song, whose debut film 'Past Lives' is landing firmly in the top of most "best of the year so far" lists. She explores how she tackled challenges unique to this particular love story, especially the careful presentation of language. Song wrote the script in two languages and sought an unusual level of control over subtitles in order to protect the nuances of the love story, just two of many reasons 'Past Lives' feels both deeply personal and incredibly confident in its craft. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The creator and star of one of the most visually inventive and challenging shows of the year sits down with us this week to discuss the rich culture (and pop-culture) that informs the project. It's a series you have to see to fully comprehend, and Terence provides fascinating insights into how such an ambitious project came to life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Helming any superhero blockbuster is a massive balancing act, and few filmmakers had as much to bring together as Andy Muschietti for this multiverse-hopping epic. Hear him explain how he approached the legendary iconography of Batman (Batmen?) and the impressive technique used to capture his star's dual performance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices