Welcome back to the Asian A.V. Club interview podcast HANG. This week we’re with first-time director Alex Russell, whose debut feature Lurker premiered at this year's Sundance Film Festival and was quickly picked up by the boutique indie studio Mubi. Starring Theodore Pellerin as Matty, a seemingly impressionable store clerk drawn into the world of pop star Oliver, played by Archie Madekwe. Not only does Lurker dive into the intoxicating world of fame, but we see the dark lengths that someone will go to stay inside it.

Russell started in the writers’ room on the cult tv series Dave and then went on to write and produce for Emmy-winning hits like Beef and The Bear. During lockdown, he penned Lurker as an exercise, never thinking he would be the one to go behind the camera to direct his script. But now the film is one of the year’s best-reviewed films and easily one of our 2025 favorites!

So press play and spend some time with us as we ask Alex about his career, what he learned from writing for top showrunners, and that special moment of getting Auntie approval after a New York Times feature. And remember to subscribe to the podcast from whatever awesome platform you're listening to us on!