This episode of BEHIND THE LENS shifted midstream on air when a scheduled guest failed to appear, but that didn’t diminish the filmmaking fun thanks to the wonderful JOAN CARR-WIGGIN (who did join us live) talking about A GRAND ROMANTIC GESTURE; not to mention our prerecorded exclusive interview with TIM KIRKBY talking LAST LOOKS!
First up we welcome JOAN CARR-WIGGIN back to the show. Always a joy to not only speak with Joan but watch her films, she’s here just in time for Valentine’s Day with a romantic comedy with the mature audience in mind – A GRAND ROMANTIC GESTURE. Sweet and charming with a light humorous touch, this is the story of Ava, a longtime medical professional who loses her job thanks to forced early retirement. Lost without her career, Ava’s husband and daughter strong-arm her into taking a cooking class at the local adult school, as well as preparing to be a grandmother. Clearly not cut out for cooking, Ava quickly jumps into a drama class where she is cast as a Juliet – and falls in love with her Romeo.
Joan dives right in discussing her Shakespearean inspiration of “Romeo and Juliet” but turning the story on its head by casting Gina McKee and Douglas Hodge as Ava and Simon aka Romeo and Juliet. Casting in the mature age bracket for both leads opened up the story for Joan, allowing her to bring in all the baggage and experience of lives already lived which proves to be delicious. Listen as we talk about casting, the importance of color (key in all of Joan’s films), cinematography and Joan’s long collaboration with Bruce Worrall, the challenges of editing in terms of not only finding pacing but a balance between the lives of Ava and Simon, Kenneth Harrison’s score and so much more.
A GRAND ROMANTIC GESTURE is available now on all digital platforms.
And then we shift gears a bit, and you’ll hear our exclusive interview with director TIM KIRKBY, talking about LAST LOOKS, a film that is not only fun but thanks to an amazingly hilarious performance by Mel Gibson will have you repeatedly laughing out loud. A smartly crafted genre meld from scribe Howard Michael Gould filled with madcap mystery, Sam Spade noir whodunnit, acerbic comedy, some police procedural and a touch of thriller, LAST LOOKS boasts some terrific performances from not only Gibson, but Charlie Hunnam, Rupert Friend, Lucy Fry, Clancy Brown, Morena Baccarin, and a standout turn by Jacob Scipio. Listen as Tim goes deep into the construct of this film, including having Atlanta stand-in for Hollywood, working with cinematographer Lyle Vincent and designing a visual palette that is light both emotionally and visually, finding the beats with editors Joe Landauer and Nicholas Monsour, Peter Nashel’s bouncy scoring, and more.
LAST LOOKS is now in theatres and available on digital platforms and on VOD.
