Author: Robert Greenberger

There’s something about the fall and the beginning of the school year that forces us to crave weightier matters. Popcorn nonsense like Independence Day Resurgence makes way for more thoughtful science fiction fare. While a lot of attention was devoted to the serious Arrival, there was another offering that had some strong themes undercut by weak execution.

From producer Ridley Scott came Morgan, out this week from 20^th Century Home Entertainment. The film, starring Kate Mara, Michelle Yeoh, Toby Jones, and Paul Giamatti, came and went in a blink so don’t be surprised you don’t recall it.

Today, in our world, scientists are actively growing organs and meat in test tubes, perfecting the process before unleashing their work on society. In Morgan, things have progressed much further, having developed Morgan (Anya Taylor-Joy) in an isolated lab. Coming to check it out is corporate risk assessor Lee Weathers (Kate Mara) and as she speaks with Dr. Lui Cheng (Michelle Yeoh) and Dr. Simon Ziegler (Toby Jones), the moral and ethical issues of their work is up for debate.

Lee and Morgan spend a lot of time together, as the human tires to determine if the five year old lab experiment is a good thing or not. Dr. Alan Shapiro (Paul Giamatti) is also brought in to probe it, not her, and he asks a lot of questions without following what appears to be proper lab protocols for an experiment. He delves deep and given that it’s Giamatti asking the aggressive questions, it’s done with verve. He and Taylor-Joy, she of the large, expressive eyes, do a great job together, giving us all issues to chew over.

Many of these themes came up last year in the superior Ex Machina, but given how close this issue is coming to fruition, we should have having these debates with regularity. Starting in our entertaining makes the most sense since news pieces on this topic normally would be glossed over or more easily ignored.

Of course it’s not all talk as Morgan snaps and becomes a threat, attacking Kathy (Jennifer Jason Leigh), maiming the aide, thus summoning Lee to investigate.

If only the Seth Owen’s story were better crafter and weak characterization and pacing made more sense. Scott’s son, Luke, makes his directorial debut here and between the two, they should have recognized these weaknesses and addressed them. The twist at the end is fairly clear to those paying attention but here, Luke Scott pulls it off nicely.

The high definition transfer looks just fine and is well matched with the audio.

There are handful of special features, the best of which is Modified Organism: The Science Behind Morgan, with a good look at the real world issues the film addresses. There are some Deleted Scenes, a mildly interesting Audio Commentary from Luke Scott; his short film Loom (complete with a commentary track, and a Still Gallery.

Last week was an odd one for Warner Bros.’ Suicide Squad. On the same day it received three Grammy nominations for the soundtrack while Time named it one of the ten worst films of the year, and the Honest Trailer folk skewered it.

Now, Warner Home Entertainment is releasing the film on disc tomorrow, complete with Theatrical and Extended versions so if you liked it, you get 11 more minutes.

I’m biased. With writer and ComicMix columnist John Ostrander, we created the comic series the film is based on. There’s a building named after him in the movie and he’s a talking head in one of the extras where I get name checked twice (thanks, John). I can see our collective fingerprints all over the film, where David Ayer lifted tone, theme, or plot points from our first 18 months on the title. It’s something I never expected to see.

And yet…I am also cognizant that the film is incredibly flawed for a variety of reasons, starting with the idiotic idea that Ayer can writer and prep a film in a mere six weeks. Then there was the heavier than expected third act reshooting followed by word there were as many as seven different cuts of the film. When you have that many cooks, the results are rarely what one hopes for.

If anything, the film is wildly uneven as we veer from exposition to action to conversation to exposition to action, etc. At worst, it failed to live up to the expectations set by the brilliant trailers and marketing campaign. At best, it was a step in the right direction to a more enjoyable DC Cinematic Universe but not quite there yet.

The Squad is simply too large to properly service the characters with some having little to do so had their roles been combined, we might have had a tighter story. While Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney) was sleazy and amusing, he had nothing substantive to do, for example. When Slipknot (Adam Beach) shows up without exposition, he may as well have been wearing a red shirt. That they traveled to Midway City to rescue Amanda Waller (Viola Davis), not once but twice, without explanation for why she was there, was weak.

Worse, the villain was sexy and all, but her ultimate goal made little sense. Like Apocalypse in the year’s earlier X-Men: Apocalypse, Enchantress (Cara Delevigne) is an ancient goddess now in the modern world and finds it wanting. She wants to build a “machine” to fix things and recruits her brother to help her achieve her goals since Waller literally holds her heart. We see energy and a ring of debris then we see she has tapped Waller’s mind and is taking out America’s satellites but exactly what was the end game? Dunno.

Yes, Will Smith’s Deadshot and Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn are the film’s brightest spots. Their easy alliance, thanks to having starred previously in 2015’s more entertaining Focus, gives the movie an emotional core.

On the other hand, Jared Leto’s Joker is nicely distinct from his cinematic predecessors, but is entirely superfluous to the story. Cut his scenes and the story still works so it would have been better to keep him to the flashbacks, as a carrot motivating Harley’s actions.

Speaking of which, the bulk of the new footage are the flashbacks deepening their backstory at Arkham Asylum, as the Joker manipulates Dr. Quinzel into helping him escape and then he can’t shake his unhinged groupie.

There’s a good story buried amidst the wreckage that the film proves to be and it’s a shame Ayer didn’t have the time to find it, shape it, and deliver it to the fans.

The high definition transfer of both versions (stacked one atop the other in the case) is excellent, capturing the shadows and colors with equal intensity. The Dolby Atmos soundtrack is equally good, so if you like those songs, they sound great at home.

The combo pack comes with two Blu-ray discs, the DVD, and a Digital HD code. It should be noted that Warner has partnered with Vudu for something new, dubbed VUDU Extras+. If you buy the theatrical cut of the film from them for use on an iOS or Android device, there’s an app that will allow users to watch the movie and simultaneously experience synchronized content related to any scene, simply by rotating their device.  Synchronized content is presented on the same screen while the movie is playing, thus enabling users to quickly learn more about any scene, such as actor biographies, scene locations, fun trivia, or image galleries.

There is a nice assortment of extras available on the discs, starting with Task Force X: One Team, One Mission as Ostrander, Ayer, Geoff Johns, producer Charles Roven, and others talk about the Squad’s comic book roots, dating back to The Brave and the Bold and the members. Jai Nitz is also there to talk his take on El Diablo, the one which made it on screen. There’s nice behind-the-scenes footage that shows how tight the ensemble grew together.

Additionally, there are other features focusing on different aspects of the production including Chasing the Real, Joker & Harley: “It” Couple of The Underworld, Squad Strength and Speed, Armed to the Teeth, This is Gonna Get Loud: The Epic Battles of Suicide Squad, The Squad Declassified, and of course, the Gag Reel.

The film has been an unexpected financial windfall for Warner given its global box office so the movie definitely struck a chord with some of the fans. Will there be a sequel? One hopes but Ayer seems out of the picture and the announced Harley Quinn solo film may preclude the need for a Squad 2. Time and final financial tallying will tell.

There is a weight and heaviness to being Jason Bourne, nee David Webb, given that your life is constantly being manipulated and/or endangered. Trust doesn’t come easily and those around him tend to get hurt. Through three films, we’ve thrilled to Matt Damon’s interpretation of Robert Ludlum’s espionage hero in part thanks to the excellent filmmaking from directors Paul Greengrass and Doug Liman.

After skipping an installment that shifted the focus to a new agent played by Jeremy Renner, Greengrass and Damon returned this summer with Jason Bourne. Things have changed since 2007’s The Bourne Ultimatum as skullduggery has increasingly gone digital so the lengths required to keep secrets buried have to go further. The film, out now from Universal Home Entertainment, explores what all that means.

Bourne has been in hiding these last few years, travelling the world as a bare-knuckled boxer, using physical pain to tamp down the metal anguish he has been dealing with. After all, he knows bits and pieces about his previous life and has questions that haunt him, notably about his father’s involvement.

One of the few people he likes and trusts, Nicky Parsons (Julia Stiles) unexpectedly turns up with the answers. She has chosen to go rogue, taking stolen data from the CIA, and is on the run in the hopes of exposing the US Government’s dirtiest secrets. Unfortunately, she is also being hunted by a man known as the Asset (Vincent Cassel), kicking off the first of the anticipated action set pieces the series has been known for.

There is globetrotting, there are car chases, there are fistfights, and of courses there are twists and turns. Greengrass keeps things moving, throttling back when we need some exposition and then kicking things back into high gear as Bourne gets closer to the truth and the Asset gets closer to Bourne.

Orchestrating things from Washington is the new CIA director Robert Dewey (Tommy Lee Jones), aided by an ambitious and smart analyst Heather Lee (Alicia Vikander). Bourne doesn’t know or trust them (he, like I, miss Joan Allen) and yet, he can’t be rid of them either. All the threads come together in Las Vegas for the final portion of the film and it’s an overly extended assortment of chases, fights, and betrayals.

As a popcorn film, this is a cut above as it offers up thrills and raises topical issues. Bourne is one of the few figures on screen whose mere presence makes other characters truly worried (not something you can say about Superman, Bond, or Optimus Prime). His search for identity continues to propel him and things get explained at last but there are also contrived connections that undercut the drama.

Overall, it’s fun but Bourne never seems to change and grow from these experiences and Washington’s players seem to have traded in their humanity for ambition.

The film is offered in a variety of formats including the latest version of a combo pack: 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and Digital HD (goodbye DVD). Visually, the Blu-ray transfer is very good, which it needs to be considering the constantly changing pace, setting, and lighting. The DTS:X is also very good so you can hear the gun shots, tires screeching, and eavesdropping with clarity.

Damon turns up as host for several of the film’s by-the-numbers special features. There’s Bringing Back Bourne (8:15), a brief overview of how the team reuniting for a new chapter; Bourne to Fight, a three-parter featuring Bare-Knuckle Boxing (7:55), Close Quarters (4:27), and, Underground Rumble (5:59); The Athens Escape (5:37); and the two-part Las Vegas Showdown which focuses on Convention Chaos (6:36) and Shutting Down the Strip (8:24). Overall, you get a sense of the scope and scale of the physical action but the lack of attention to theme and character is actually quite telling.

In the 1970s, there were few genuine heroes on prime time television and even fewer of them were close to being considered “super”. Instead, the three networks fed us giggly television, glossy and empty private eyes, and increasingly silly fare. As a result, our affection for the few genuine heroes is probably enhanced. Over on ABC, there was the Six Million Dollar Man and its spinoff, The Bionic Woman, along with Wonder Woman, for one season before it was moved to CBS. You might consider Kwai Chang Caine from Kung Fu or Carl Kolchak from The Night Stalker, but they lacked what you would consider powers.

Fans, of course, imagined these characters interacting since, after all, they were on the same network, which felt like the same comic book company. Sadly, though, the Amazon Princess’ adventures were during World War II, complicating any such meetings.

By 1977, though, she was having escapades in the present so such thoughts were possible. It just never happened until today when crossovers and mashups were possible. In the wake of fun things like Batman ’66 & Steed and Mrs. Peel¸ Dynamite’s Wonder Woman ‘77 Meets the Bionic Woman arrives today. I can think of no one better suited for the task than Andy Mangels, the most knowledgeable historian of all things Amazonian, who is also an accomplished historian of that era in pop culture.

He’s paired with Judit Tondora, a relatively new artist, with just a handful of credits to date. The basic premise has the world on high alert as a sinister cabal has a weapon and world peace is threatened. So mighty is the threat that rare interagency cooperation is required from the Office of Scientific Intelligence, where Jamie Sommers works as a special operative, and the National Security Bureau, where Wonder Woman slums as agent Diana Prince.

For vague reasons, Prince and Sommers are partnered to provide protection to CASTRA’s theoretical next target, a doctor. Before they can arrive, the building is under attack and in the aftermath, Steve Trevor is now convinced there is a mole in the Inter Agency Defense Command operation. Things blow up, people die, the heroes strut their stuff with accomplished ease but it all seems for naught as CASTRA inches closer to their goal.

As the first in a six part series, the elements, threat, and key players are introduced and we’re off to the races. Mangels characterizes the main cast nicely while everyone else feels straight from central casting. His script is overstuffed and despite the experienced lettering team of Tom Orzechowski and L. Lois Buhalis, the pages are jammed with word balloons.

Tondora gets the heroines looking right but his storytelling needed far stronger art direction so the pages and panels flowed more smoothly. Characters move about in questionable ways and actions in one panel don’t always make sense in the next. Complicating his work is the volume of words and balloons, making attractive page design almost impossible.

These are 22 jam-packed pages that sets things up but maybe we needed a little less opening action and a little more airing out so the characters could do more than trade quips. It’s a promising enough start and maybe these issues will be addressed in subsequent installments.

Director George Miller first thought of Mad Max’s world in black and white terms as far back as the production of The Road Warrior. Now, after the smash success of Mad Max: Fury Road, he has the freedom to explore what that world would really look like. Out today from Warner Home Entertainment is Mad Max: Fury Road Black & Chrome Edition, which you can obtain as a two-disc Blu-ray or find it included in the complete High Octane Collection.

The film is here in its entirety but has been carefully processed in black and white by Miller and chief colorist Eric Whipp. Max’s desolate world of the future looks even bleaker and less welcoming in two colors but, interestingly, the grays, the in-between tones actually allow you to assess characters and situations through fresh eyes.

The story, as mentioned when the theatrical edition was released on disc, is about independence and family, the need to perpetuate the species before things grow too desolate. Max (Tom Hardy) gets involved with the rebellious Furiosa (Charlize Theron) as she escapes with Immortal Joe’s five wives, hoping to bring them to a safe place. Hot on the trail is the most visually impressive array of vehicles ever assembled on land. While it works as a fast-pace chase film, second and third viewings reveal other layers to the story and characters.

The film and all the Blu-ray extras are intact with the sole addition of a new introduction from Miller (1:37).

So, is it worth plunking down more money? It looks good, but different, in monochrome with the same thrills. I’d opt for the complete collection if you lack the other entries in your library otherwise, it will look great under your Christmas tree.

This summer we had some excellent choices for family fare and it boiled down to a contest between an adaptation of a beloved children’s novel and a sequel to a previous blockbuster. It was also a contest in whimsy and effective use of computer technology and in all cases, Pixar’s Finding Dory triumphed over Steven Spielberg’s The BFG.

Spielberg has always had a fondness for childish innocence, capturing their sense of wonder time and again in his films. As a filmmaker, he is always stretching and pushing himself so he can seamlessly go from high adventure in the Indiana Jones films to suspense in Jaws to wonder with E.T. He is always mixing and matching his genres and subject matter but it also means the results can be uneven. The BFG, now out on disc from Walt Disney Home Entertainment, is a bittersweet entry into his oeuvre because it represents the final screenwriting from the late Melissa Mathieson and a magical film that failed to connect with its audience.

The $140 million dollar film was a major misfire at the box office, earning a mere $177 million worldwide. When adapting the works of Roald Dahl, author of such wonders as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, and Fantastic Mr. Fox, directors have also been uneven in their successes. This film is based on the 1982 novel, itself an outgrowth of a short story included in Danny, the Champion of the World. In this case, BFG stands for Big Friendly Giant (Mark Rylance) who ventures into the world and is spied by Sophie (Ruby Barnhill), an orphan who can’t sleep. He takes her with him, to protect the secret of his existence, and brings her into his oversized, remarkable world.

Everything is a matter of scale and as big as he is to Sophie, there are nine man-eating giants who belittle the BFG and he needs her help to stop them. Along the way, she realizes he can control dreams, something the insomniac finds fascinating. Reality and the dreamscape are equally explored throughout the film as is the frequently-seen Spielberg theme of family.

It’s engaging and entertaining, but the characters and set pieces are as ephemeral as cotton candy, the magic is weak here, and the overall combination does not thrill as anticipated. We’re not as invested in Sophie or the BFG the same way kids thrilled to Dory. Rylance, in his motion captured form, is sympathetic and likeable but everything around him is just fine, not fantastic. In fact, he just won the Washington D.C. film critics’ award for Best Motion Capture Performance (when will this become an Oscar?).

The amount of CGI involved in this film looked good on screen and the high definition transfer is superb, capturing the colors in their richness, and dazzles on your television. The DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 lossless soundtrack is almost as good, allowing you to enjoy another solid John Williams score.

Given the lackluster public response to the film, it’s little surprise to find an underwhelming assortment of extras found on the Blu-ray disc. The longest and most interesting piece is Bringing the BFG to Life (27:09) with a set of video diaries from Barnhill. There is also The Big Friendly Giant and Me (1:55), Gobblefunk: The Wonderful Words of the BFG (3:16), Giants 101 (4:54), and a touching Melissa Mathieson: A Tribute (5:54).

Out today is the Blu-ray edition of Game of Thrones: The Complete Sixth Season from HBO Home Entertainment.

We previously reviewed the Digital HD version of the season here but there are new elements to consider with the box set.

The vast majority of Digital HD releases do not come with the bonus features, extra, and Easter Eggs we have come to know and love about the disc format. As a result, the Digital HD version is a nice add-on for on-the-go viewing, but the complete immersive experience, the special features add interviews, behind-the-scenes information, commentary, and deleted scenes to enhance your appreciation of the material. This season set, though, does come with some, but all, the extras found on the Blu-ray box set.

This season was a mixed bag with incredibly strong storytelling undercutting its strength by not surprising us. No one, except readers of the novel, expected Ned Stark to die or what was to happen at the Red Wedding. But here, across ten episodes, producers David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, consistently gave viewers what they wanted as they use elements from the unpublished sixth novel and continue to deviate from the core texts, creating a parallel but not identical version of events.

Jon Snow (Kit Harrington)’s fate was the most discussed cliffhanger since “Who Shot JR?” He survived and went on to abandon his post at The Wall in order to reunite the north now that it’s clear the Night King is coming closer. This led to episode nine’s incredibly satisfying but unsurprising “Battle of the Bastards” as Ramsay Bolton (Iwan Theon) gets his comeuppance. Long-lost Uncle Benjen Stark (Joseph Mawle) turns up long enough to help Bran (Hempstead Wright). Cersei (Lena Headey) exacts her revenge and the one real surprise this season was an unintended consequence. Little in the way of surprises here.

The 1.78:1 ratio is retained and overall, the high definition transfer is sharp as details pop and you don’t get lost in the many shadows. The discs come with Dolby Atmos with a Dolby TrueHD 7.1 core so they sound terrific.

The special features, listed below per disc, provides you with some important information regarding the thinking that went into the rise of the women, the resurrection of Jon Snow, and charting a path further from Martin’s novels.

Disc One

• In Episode Guides
• Audio Commentaries:
  • Episode 1with Director Jeremy Podeswa, Director of Photography Greg Middleton and Daniel Portman (Podrick Payne)
  • Episode 2with Writer Dave Hill, Michael McElhatton (Roose Bolton), Iwan Rheon (Ramsay Bolton), Liam Cunningham (Davos Seaworth) and Ben Crompton (Dolorous Edd)
  • Episode 3with Director Daniel Sackheim, Production Designer Deborah Riley, and Dean-Charles Chapman (Tommen Baratheon)

Disc Two

• In Episode Guides
• Audio Commentaries:
  • Episode 4with Nathalie Emmanuel (Missandei, Iain Glen (Jorah Mormont), and Jacob Anderson (Grey Worm)
  • Episode 5with Gemma Whelan (Yara Greyjoy), Pilou Asbaek (Euron Greyjoy), Ellie Kendrick (Meera Reed) and Kristian Nairn (Hodor)
  • Episode 5with Prosthetics Supervisor Barrie Gower, Camera Operators Chris Plevin and Ben Wilson and Executive Producer Bernadette Caulfield)
• Recreating the Dothraki World(20:15) documents the efforts to revive elements that hadn’t been seen since season one.

Disc Three

• In Episode Guides
• Audio Commentaries:
  • Episode 6with Director Jack Bender, Director of Photography Jonathan Freeman, John Bradley (Samwell Tarly) and Hannah Murray (Gilly)
  • Episode 7with Producer/Writer Bryan Cogman, Ian McShane (Septon Ray), and Natalie Dormer (Margaery Tyrell)
  • Episode 8with Director Mark Mylod, Essie Davis (Lady Crane) and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jaime Lannister)

Disc Four

• In Episode Guides
• Audio Commentaries:
  • Episode 9with Director Miguel Sapochnik, Sophie Turner (Sansa Stark), and Kit Harington (Jon Snow)
  • Episode 9with Director of Photography Fabian Wagner, Visual Effects Producer Steve Kullback, and Visual Effects Supervisor Joe Bauer
  • Episode 10with Executive Producers/Writers David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, Lena Headey (Cersei Lannister), and Peter Dinklage (Tyrion Lannister)
  • Episode 10with Special Effects Supervisor Sam Conway, Camera Operator Sean Savage and Producer Chris Newman
• The Battle of the Bastards(1080p; 30:01) is a detailed look at one of the largest set pieces in the series’
• 18 Hours at the Paint Hall(1080p; 28:17) is a “you are there” featurette showing what a day on set can be like.
• Histories and Lore
  • The Old Way(4:25)
  • The Kingsmoot(3:45)
  • The Summer Sea(4:05)
  • War of the Ninepenny Kings(2:49)
  • The Great Tourney at Harrenhal(6:07)
  • Robert’s Rebellion(1080p; 6:07)
  • Vaes Dothrak(3:56)
  • The Dothraki(4:43)
  • Northern Allegiances to House Stark(4:56)
  • Children of the Forest vs. The First Men(4:43)
  • Brotherhood Without Banners(3:56)
  • Oldtown(5:35)
  • House Dayne(4:11)
  • The Little Birds(3:12)
  • Knights of the Vale(5:35)
  • House Tarly(4:35)
  • Riverrun(3:35)
  • Great Sept of Baelor(4:23)
  • Deleted Scenes(11:08)

The American Dream, a term coined in 1931, essentially says that for any citizen, the possibilities for success are limitless if you work hard. That ethic was reinforced last week and today as Warner Home Entertainment releases a 75^th Anniversary edition of Citizen Kane.

Orson Welles was a wunderkind, harnessing his many talents for the radio, scaring the beejezus out of the country with his adaptation of H.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds. With his ensemble, dubbed the Mercury Players, he was a powerhouse entertaining so it was no wonder he was enticed west to try his hand at film.

At 25, he cowrote, produced, directed, and starred in the story that was inspired by publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst, tracing the humble beginnings and rise then spectacular fall of a great man. It was a riveting portrait of a man in search of happiness, seeking pleasure in fame, fortune, and feminine companionship, failing time and again. He parlayed his fame into a run for governor, speaking truth to power, challenging the political machine of the day – sound familiar? – until the machine bit back and the dream faded. This is one of the first mass media productions to explore how the medium can be used to manipulate public opinion.

As a filmmaker, Welles attempted things that few other directors seemed interested in. He played with story structure, starting with Kane’s death, using a news reel to relay the vital facts, before a reporter investigated further, attempting to understand his final word, “rosebud”. We meet the great and small people who encountered Kane and their flashbacks tell the real story.

Visually, Welles was the first to combine a variety of techniques already in use by German directors — deep focus cinematography, shots of the ceilings, chiaroscuro lighting, and temporal jump-cuts – into an American production. He claims he did this through ignorance of the rules, much as Kane wrote his own rules along the way. Welles also brought his radio know-how to the screen, so overlapping dialogue and sound effects deepened the film experience.

The movie was a success, and one of the few to enjoy 100% fresh at Rotten Tomatoes. It has withstood the test of time, staying atop AFI’s Greatest Films of All Time list. The virtuoso production, which gave us actors such as Joseph Cotton and Agnes Moorehead, endures because of its themes and rock solid production. It forces you to watch, to pay attention, and understand one of the most complex figures introduced during Hollywood’s Golden Age.

It remains watchable and entertaining, such is its power. Warner has remastered the film, previously released in DVD and Blu-ray, in 4K resolution, making for the 1080p 1.33:1image even sharper image on Blu-ray players. The audio is DTS-HD Master Audio is superb.

The 70^th Anniversary box set remains the best package overall with the bonus material included but this Blu-ray still comes with many previously released features such as separate commentaries from Roger Ebert and Peter Bogdonavich, Turner Archive Project interviews with actress Ruth Warwick and film editor Robert Wise, Opening: World Premiere of Citizen Kane, and “The Production,” a 15-minute onscreen slideshow with contextual commentary from Ebert.

If you have never seen this, now is the time. Its lessons and entertainment value cannot be overstated.

On Story – Screenwriters and Filmakers on Their Iconic Films
Edited by Barbara Morgan and Maya Perez
247 pages, $20, University of Texas Press

The Austin Film Festival is a great place to watch films and hear from filmmakers as co-founder and Executive Director Barbara Morgan assembles a winning lineup of producers, directors, screenwriters, and performers to come talk about their craft.

Thankfully, Morgan and Maya Perez, producer of the Emmy-winning PBS series Austin Film Festival’s On-Story, have collected an assortment in a too-short collection, On Story – Screenwriters and Filmakers on Their Iconic Films. After a James Franco introduction, we get the best from the last 20 years’ worth of conversations in transcript form.

Among the highlights is the Conversation with Shane Black, David Milch, and Sydney Pollack, where the diverse filmmakers talk character, plot, structure, theme and favorite moments from across their careers.

Similarly, genre devotees will appreciate the focus on comic book adaptations during the A Conversation with Michael Green, Ashley Miller, and Nicole Perlman, who have given us X-Men, Heroes, and Guardians of the Galaxy among other projects. The talk between John Milius and Oliver Stone, sadly, barely touches on Conan.

Callie Khouri provides a lot of details behind how Thelma and Louise came together and the unexpected manner in which is got from handwritten script to studio production and its aftermath for her career and the feminist cause.

Comedy fans will find the creation process for Groundhog Day interesting as Harold Ramis talks on his own and then chats with Danny Rubin, the man who first had the notion that became the film’s core. And for thriller fans, Jonathan Demme and Ted Tally walk you through the writing of Silence of the Lambs.

Perhaps the most interesting dissection of a film is when Ron Howard, Jim Lovell, Sy Liebergot, John Aaron, Jerry Bostick, Michael Corenblith, Al Reinert, and William Broyles Jr., discuss the making of Apollo 13, considering most of the speakers were the astronaut and engineers who actually made history and how Howard used them as advisors.

Would-be screenwriters will find the anecdotes and process discussion fascinating while ore casual students of film will find the majority of the conversations entertaining reading. It’s not a How To book by any means, but a series of discussions on the process and business behind the films. You came away impressed by their thoughtfulness and by how no two films go from idea to screen in exactly the same way.