AVY KAUFMAN (legendary Hollywood casting director) on the DEADLINE panel for The Crowded Room –
"Actors needed to keep up with Tom, you know? They all had a responsability to act opposite Tom and do a great job. Every scene has to go back to the respect for Akiva and how important the story is for the world, for every human being. For whatever you go through, we all have our up's and down's and this is a very important script. So all the actors had to keep up with Tom. Whether it be Amanda [Seyfried] or Lior [Raz]. A lot of the friends in the beginning are first time actors, because they were all simple, they were enjoying life. But then you get the heaviness of it, and then you need stronger actors to present. You need to follow the rhythm to who can bring out those words and keep up with Tom, and express these situations - as heavy as they were."
After winning Best Picture and Best Director for his zeitgeist-seizing debut feature American Beauty, Sam Mendes instantly became a director who generate awards chatter no matter the project. In 2009, he took a noticeable tonal downshift with Away We Go, a minor key comedy about a young pregnant couple on a road trip to decide where they want to grow their roots. Despite praise for Maya Rudolph’s performance as a soon-to-be mother still grieving the untimely death of her parents and John Krasinski opposite her as her jokester partner, the film didn’t succeed as summer counter-programming and mostly forgotten in the season to come.
This episode, we talk about the harsh reviews that found the film more judgmental than reflective and Rudolph’s understated and absorbing performance. We also talk about Alexi Murdoch’s soundtrack, possibly semi-autobiographical screenwriter marrieds Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida, and the film’s bursting ensemble of fantastic character actors from Melanie Lynskey, Allison Janney, and Maggie Gyllenhaal.
Topics also include this year’s New York Film Critics Circle award winners, Mendes’ pivot to Bond, and the lure of Montreal. Don’t forget to get submissions in for our upcoming mailbag episode!