Host Alison Herman talks to writer and director James Gray about his upbringing as a secular Jew in Queens, attempting to empathize with Maryanne Trump, the purpose of art in encouraging empathy across class and racial lines, and more.

James Gray is the writer and director of eight feature films, beginning with his 1999 debut LITTLE ODESSA, as well as films like the 2007 crime thriller WE OWN THE NIGHT and the 2013 drama THE IMMIGRANT, and the 2016 biopic THE LOST CITY OF Z. Most recently, he directed Brad Pitt in the 2019 space drama AD ASTRA, which he co-wrote with Ethan Gross.

His latest project as writer-director is the semi-autobiographical drama ARMAGEDDON TIME, in which he returns to New York and more specifically Queens for an intimate portrait of social class, assimilation and coming of age.

ARMAGEDDON TIME was released in late October 2022 and is now playing in theaters nationwide.

Alison Herman is a staff writer for The Ringer, where she writes about culture in general and television in specific. When not fighting a losing battle against Peak TV, she tweets at @aherman2006.

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