The Cinema Files

During the "Eighth Grade" festival run, we had the chance to talk to Youtube personality, turned stand-up comedian, turned Writer/Director, Bo Burnham, about the inspiration behind this wonderful movie, and how his own experiences and opinions on social media are reflected in the lead character.

The day after screening "Super Troopers 2" for an early audience in Phoenix, we sat down with the guys of Broken Lizard, the minds behind "Club Dread", "Beerfest", and "Super Troopers."

We asked about their experiences bringing a comedic sequel to the screen nearly two decades after the original, and how it was all because of a successfull crowd funding campaign that hit it's first goal in only 24 hours.

Recently, fellow Cinema File Dan Silva was able to speak with "Peter Rabbit" Composer, Dominic Lewis. Dominic is currently scoring the third season of Amazon's "The Man in High Castle."

He has composed scores for a number of movies and TV shows, including the new "Ductales", Sony's "Rough NIght" and "Fist Fight" In addition to this he's contributed to scores for "How to Train Your Dragon", "Wreck-it Ralph", and "Captain America: Winter Soldier"

We catch up with composer Ben Lovett just before the 2017 TIFF premier of "The Ritual" (Now available on Netflix)

Ben is best known for his score on Magnolia Pictures’ “The Signal,” which received an Independent Spirit Award nomination. He has also scored the Duplass Brothers’ thriller “Black Rock,” and Magnolia Pictures’ sci-fi noir “Synchronicity”

“12 Strong” is based on the TRUE story, of a 12-man team sent to Afghanistan mere WEEKS after 9/11.

I along, with a few of my colleagues, was given the chance to sit down talk with the two, real life, ex-special forces, whom the lead characters are based on, Bob Pennington and Mark Nutsch.

Actor, Academy Nominated writer and now director, Jason Hall was in Phoenix last week promoting his upcoming film “Thank you for Your Service” While here, we spoke with him about his process as a screenwriter, why he felt the importance of making this film, and his particular attention to detail as a director.

Last week I sat down with NYT bestselling author, Jeannette Walls to chat about “The Glass Castle”, a new film based on a book she penned about her experiences growing up in poverty. While her story is quite engaging, it pales in comparison to the enchanting presence Jeannette has in person. It’s not a word I use often, but “vivacious” is the perfect description for her. Our ten minutes together blew by as we discussed the impact her youth had on her adult life, and how well the film captured the essence of her family.

Shortly before the wide release of the inspiring documentary “STEP” I was part of a round-table discussion with Writer/Director Amanda Lipitz, Director of College Counselling Paula Dofat, Step Team Coach Gari McIntryre, and three of the Lethal Ladies of BLSYW(Baltimore Leadership School for Young Women), Tayla Solomon, Blessin Giraldo, and Cori Grainger. The ladies had plenty to say about their their experiences during the documentary which filmed most of their teenage years, and what they’ve been up to in the two years since graduation.

On the night of March 13th, 1997 two major UFO sightings occurred over Phoenix. Collectively they have been known has “The Phoenix Lights” The first was a massive V-shaped object that blocked out the stars as it flew overhead. It traveled southeast from Prescott, over Phoenix, and then down past Tucson. Later that same evening, a formation of large shimmering lights hung over the Estrella mountains to the southwest of Phoenix. This has become the most widely seen and documented UFO sightings in history. A new film is coming out that tells a fictional story framed against these events. We had the chance to talk to director Justin Barber about what to expect from his upcoming thriller “PHOENIX FORGOTTEN”

Last week we caught up with the multitalented comedian, Demetri Martin, at a small cafe just outside of the Phoenix Film Festival. That night his film “DEAN”, which he wrote, directed, and starred in, would be screening at the festival. We chatted about his experiences as a first-time director and some of the more interesting and risky elements that made his film stand out.