The director of “Blue Valentine” and “I Know This Much Is True”. Derek Cianfrance lightens up the serious and heartfelt release of Paramount Pictures ”Roof man.” The ongoing project, which stars Channing Tatum as a real-life prison escapee named Jeffrey Manchester, reunited the “Place Beyond the Pines” filmmaker with his longtime producer, Jamie Patricofas IndieWire is “Screen Talk” podcast was featured as a guest this week.
Patricof also publishes its own Substack called “Jamie’s list“, where he offers hot posts on food, politics, culture and more, plus a podcast called “Lunch with Jamie”, where he sits down with thought leaders to discuss politics, current events, food, culture, sports and more.
He talks to Anne Thompson and Ryan Lattanzio on “Screen Talk” and shares how “Roof man” balances Cianfrance’s indie signature film sensibility with the draw of a more candid studio image around the time. You know, the kind of movie they just don’t make anymore.
He also discusses the moving screen chemistry between Tatum and Kirsten Dunst (who does career-best work here), how the film went from PG-13 to R-rated, and how they made the film on the modest (for a studio film, anyway) budget of $19 million. It opened just last weekend to $8 million, but Patricof believes it has longevity as a holiday movie.
Elsewhere in this week’s episode, Anne and Ryan also debate “Is this thing on?,” Bradley Cooper’s divorce dramedy starring Will Arnett and Laura Dern, which Ryan gave a mediocre review from the New York Film Festival. Anne calls Arnett’s performance, here as a middle-aged father and soon-to-be-divorced who takes up stand-up comedy as therapy for his personal problems, “a revelation.” Ryan claims that Cooper’s decision to use the camera himself (with Matthew Libatique as DP) leads to a degree of directorial indulgence that makes for a frustrating, muddled experience that could have used more editorial discipline. Anne says it’s not an Oscar contender but instead a film that aims to please its audience.
We also catch up, finallyon “Marty Supreme” after that film’s surprise secret screening premiere at the New York Film Festival last week.
Listen to the “Screen Talk” episode below.
