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‘Shell’ | Deadline Studio at TIFF 2024
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9/11/2024
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00:00
Hi, this is Anthony D'Alessandro from Deadline Hollywood, and this is our TIFF Studio interview
00:17
with the producer and director of Shell, Mr. Max Minghella.
00:22
How are you?
00:23
Thanks for having me, man.
00:24
So this is a very different movie from Teen Spirit.
00:27
But talk about the origins, and then Lizzie Moss is a producer on this as well, in addition
00:35
to starring.
00:36
So my first movie, Teen Spirit, which I was at this festival with about six years ago,
00:41
you know it was my first movie.
00:42
It was a very personal film, and I think as a result of that, it's quite a melancholic
00:48
movie.
00:49
And it was a very, you know, I'm a very introverted person, the film itself is actually quite
00:54
introverted.
00:55
And I think I came out of that experience yearning to make something that was more audience-facing
01:04
and kind of extrovert in a way.
01:06
So what's interesting about these two movies is they explore very similar themes, but they
01:10
approach it in almost an antithetical way.
01:13
Well expound on that, the themes that you, that are in this, that you found in the script.
01:18
I mean, there are interesting parallels.
01:20
Both stories are about women entering different aspects of like the entertainment industry,
01:27
and there being some kind of disillusionment in different ways.
01:32
And then also there's a kind of Mephistopheles character that exists in both movies.
01:38
In Teen Spirit it's Rebecca Hall, in this film it's Kay Hudson.
01:41
Both of the films, the color aesthetic, just amazing.
01:45
Can you talk about that?
01:46
Like already, in a great way, I could see you have a distinguished visual style.
01:52
I've worked with two very different cinematographers on these movies, both of whom are extraordinary,
01:57
and I credit all of that to them.
01:58
So my first movie I got to work with Orton Durrell, who is here actually with Gia Coppola's
02:03
movie The Last Showgirl, and she's a genius, everybody knows that, and we have a long-standing
02:08
history of working together.
02:10
On this movie I worked with Drew Daniels, who I have been a fanboy of for a decade.
02:17
To be honest, I didn't think we would ever be able to get Drew to do this movie.
02:21
He's extremely particular about who he works with.
02:24
If you look at his resume, it's hard to get him to make a movie.
02:27
But he is so gifted.
02:30
Obviously he shot Sean Baker's film Onora, which won the Palme d'Or this year.
02:33
This is a very different kind of film for him, stylistically.
02:37
I think one of the most interesting parts of this movie is Drew's work in it.
02:40
He's never shot a film like this.
02:43
His films tend to exist in a very naturalistic universe.
02:46
Shell is not that.
02:47
It's a very artificial aesthetic.
02:50
It's really a love letter to a kind of studio filmmaking that doesn't really exist anymore.
02:56
So I think for both Drew and I it was really exciting to challenge ourselves in this way.
03:02
So you grew up on your dad's sets.
03:05
And I'm just curious, what are some of the takeaways for you, even at a young age, that
03:10
you either noticed about the way he worked or his approach?
03:16
Anything that stayed with you?
03:18
The boring answer is that my parents were fierce academics, so they didn't love to pull
03:22
me out of school.
03:23
So I was on set for a chunk of The English Patient and a chunk of The Talented Mr. Ripley.
03:30
But mostly I was around for post-production.
03:35
That was my childhood, honestly, because my father had a company, Sidney Pollock, so they
03:39
also produced a lot of movies.
03:42
And I basically spent most of my time either in ADR sessions or test screenings, watching
03:48
multiple cuts of movies.
03:50
So the part of the process for me that I'm by far the most comfortable with is post.
03:55
I sort of work backwards from the edit.
04:00
Even when I'm writing, I really try to think about where we're going to land and work backwards.
04:05
I also make movies on very limited budgets, which are very ambitious.
04:08
So part of that is kind of having a good plan, going into it.
04:12
The other question I wanted to ask you is, what's the next film?
04:16
Do you have something else that you're going to direct?
04:19
I will absolutely, hopefully, be making more movies.
04:24
It's my passion in life.
04:27
I've put everything into this basket.
04:30
I'm a slightly crazy person, I think, to the people around me.
04:33
It's all I kind of think about.
04:35
I've worked with Fred Berger and Brian Kavanagh-Jones now on two projects in a row.
04:40
They're really incredible collaborators, and I just hope we get to continue working together.
04:45
So Rosie Cordero, our TV reporter, is a huge fan of Handmaid's Tale.
04:51
And I'm not allowed to let you leave until we ask you, you know, is there any clue you
04:57
can give us?
04:58
Is there any happy ever after for Nick and June?
05:01
Or is Nick going to, is he the sacrificial lamb to keep June alive?
05:07
What's so interesting about the show is I don't know any more than anybody else.
05:12
We don't get the episodes ahead of time.
05:15
So much like life, I don't know what will happen tomorrow.
05:21
So the very honest answer is I don't know what will happen with Nick and June this season,
05:24
except I'm very excited for it.
05:27
I'm really excited to shoot this, yeah, and it's going to be very sad and sentimental.
05:31
It's our last season.
05:32
It's been a beautiful experience, but I love this character and I love the relationship
05:38
between Nick and June, and I hope we get some really fun stuff to do.
05:43
When does it start shooting?
05:44
I will shoot my first day tomorrow, Wednesday?
05:47
Wow, here?
05:48
Here in Toronto.
05:49
Oh, I love it.
05:50
I love it.
05:51
That's great.
05:52
Take off my hat and put on a different hat.
05:54
Max Minghella, director and producer of Shell, here at the Toronto International Film Festival.
06:01
Thank you, boss.
Recommended
8:14
|
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