DAVID GORDON GREEN ON “THE SITTER”

By Scott Macaulay

In our Winter issue Michael Tully sat down with David Gordon Green to discuss the arc of his career, which has gone from small-scale, Malick-inflected indies to big, ’80s-riffing studio comedies. His latest is The Sitter, starring Jonah Hill, and while it may seem like a raunchy take on Chris Columbus’s Adventures in Babysitting, Green said he had a different model in mind. Here’s an except from the interview:

Filmmaker: You’ve just finished shooting. Are you watching movies? Do you watch movies that reflect the mood you’re in and the movie you’re making? Or is it the opposite? Do you watch a scrappy indie while you’re making a big movie?

Green: I always watch the opposite of what [I’m making]. [For The Sitter] I actually watched Adventures in Babysitting and some of these John Hughes movies that I am inspired by. In my head this is my version of an ‘80s John Hughes movie. But when I’m tired I felt that was the wrong headspace to be in, so I very severely contrasted what I watched during production or in the preparation for the movie. I always find it helpful to not hit the nail on the head with a genre that I’m looking at, to think of something that’s a little left-of-center. That helps me re-imagine a genre that could otherwise be very comfortable.

Filmmaker: Watching the sizzle reel at the wrap party, The Sitter seems to have kind of an After Hours vibe. It’s like a hyper, tweaked-out New York.

Green: Yeah, it’s a little surreal — a little heightened reality of New York, that’s definitely the goal. After Hours is absolutely the kind of role model for what we want to do. It’s a comedy on a lot of levels but it’s also kind of upsetting.

The red band, NSFW trailer follows. It’s preceded by awkward “edgy” comedy. Be forewarned.

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THE DUPLASS BROTHERS TALK STUDIOS AND SNUGGLING

Alica Van Couvering’s interview with Mark and Jay Duplass in the current issue of Filmmaker was conducted at the Sundance Film Festival, where their latest film, Cyrus, premiered. Starring John C. Reilly, Marisa Tomei and Jonah Hill, the film is a comedy/drama about mid-life romance and the borderline aggro-child that stands in its way. Alicia’s interview was filmed by Zak Forsman, Kevin Shah and the Sabi Pictures team, and here’s an edit of their conversation. See more videos on our YouTube channel. The film opens Friday, June 18.

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GREG MOTTOLA, “SUPERBAD”

By Nick Dawson

CHRISTOPHER MINTZ-PLASSE, JONAH HILL AND MICHAEL CERA IN GREG MOTTOLA’S SUPERBAD. COURTESY COLUMBIA PICTURES.

It’s a sign of Hollywood’s wrongheadedness that it’s been a decade since Greg Mottola last made a movie. In 1996, Mottola arrived on the scene with his debut, The Daytrippers, a funny and poignant indie that recalled the classy Hollywood comedies of the ’60s and ’70s. Though the film led to Mottola becoming friends with Woody Allen — unquestionably an influence on Daytrippers — his next two projects failed to come to fruition, so he turned his focus to television. Mottola’s work in TV has been exemplary: he has directed Arrested Development, The Comeback, Mike White’s Cracking Up, and no less than six episodes of Judd Apatow’s criminally underrated follow-up to Freaks and Geeks, Undeclared. And it was Mottola’s connection with Apatow and his protégé Seth Rogen that lead to the director’s return to moviemaking.

For years, Apatow had been trying to get funding to make Superbad, a script Rogen had written with writing partner Evan Goldberg while both were still in their teens, but it only got greenlit after the success of The 40-Year-Old Virgin. Though Mottola is a surprising choice to direct a high school comedy, he does a brilliant job with the material. Not only is the film hilariously and unrelentingly funny, but the central relationships — between Seth (Jonah Hill) and his best friend Evan (Michael Cera), and geeky tagalong Fogell (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) and the cops (Seth Rogen and Bill Hader) who take him under their wing — are sensitively and realistically drawn, something totally alien to the genre. Indeed the film is such a crowd-pleaser that it not only consolidates Rogen and Apatow’s places at the top of Hollywood’s hot list, but makes a strong case for Mottola joining them there.

Filmmaker spoke to Mottola about his sabbatical from film, why he’s the natural replacement for Sidney Lumet, and making zombie vomit for George A. Romero.

GREG MOTTOLA ON THE SET OF SUPERBAD. COURTESY COLUMBIA PICTURES.

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