THE SCREEN WATCHING INTERVIEW: MELANIE LAURENT

Mélanie Laurent has been a superstar actress, acclaimed theatre director and fierce filmmaking force for two decades in Europe, with occasional forays into Hollywood for such directors as Quentin Tarantino (Inglourious Basterds, 2009), Denis Villeneuve (Enemy, 2013) and Michael Bay (6 Underground, 2019).

WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW + TRAILER HERE

Her latest project is as writer, director and co-star of Amazon Prime's THE MAD WOMEN'S BALL, the story of Eugenie, a young woman living a well-to-do life in 19th century France whose gift is hearing the dead. After her family discovers her secret, she is taken to La Pitié Salpétrière Hospital, her destiny becoming entwined with that of Laurent's Geneviève, a nurse struggling with her own inner madness.

On the eve of her film's World Premiere at the Toronto Film Festival, and with the September 17 global launch on Amazon Prime just days away, Mélanie Laurent spoke with SCREEN WATCHING's Simon Foster about the relevance of her historical narrative in today's world, the bond she shares with her star Lou de Laâge and embracing the spiritual in a place of madness...

SCREEN WATCHING EPISODE 39

EPISODE 39 FEATURES INTERNS, TRUE CRIME, UFOS AND TEENAGE DOCTORS. NOW THAT'S PODCASTING!

LISTEN HERE

We welcome back a TV favourite with Disney’s gender-swap Hawaiian romp, Doogie Kamealoha M.D. (listen and laugh at Dan’s attempts to pronounce that!); recall that very 90s moment when a US President did not have sexual relations with a young intern; ask the question, “Are we alone?’, with J.J. Abrams’s new series, UFO; plus, this week in film/TV history, celeb birthdays, and some moustache talk. Yeah, that’s right. Enjoy!

REVIEWS (01:55):

AMERICAN CRIME STORY: IMPEACHMENT (Foxtel/Binge); KATE (Netflix); DOOGIE KAMEALOHA, M.D. (Disney+); UFO (Paramount+); Y: THE LAST MAN (Binge)

The MIDDLE BIT (25:08):

OUR FAVOURITE MOVIES & TV SHOWS BASED ON TRUE CRIME: His success with the American Crime Story franchise has made Ryan Murphy the King of True Crime Adaptations, but he’s hardly the first showrunner/producer to dip into real-life felony and misdemeanours to tell a good story…

THE WEEK AHEAD (38:27):

Where to watch the MTV Video Music Awards (hint: on MTV); Dan finds some late night thrills watching The Voyeurs; Queer Screen Mardi Gras Film Festival and Sydney Underground Film Festival go online; and, a happy birthday to the handsome, charismatic, widely adored Friday Night Lights star, who many say looks a lot like Simon…

PLUS LOTS MORE!

SCREEN WATCHING EPISODE 38

TWO OLD SCHOOL COMEDY TALENTS...REVIEW THE LATEST FROM STEVE MARTIN & MARTIN SHORT! 

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As men of a certain vintage, Dan & Simon love the antics of 'Steve & Marty', so their new series Only Murders in the Building made this week a special one. Also, we get funky with a couple of cool music docs; speak with the New Zealand director Hollywood is hot for; and, recall how television brought us the horror of 9/11...

REVIEWS (02:49)
Streamline (In cinemas now); Only Murders in The Building (Disney+ Star / Hulu); Summer of Soul (In cinemas now); War of The Worlds (SBS On Demand / Epix); Under The Volcano (In cinemas now); Vigil (Foxtel / Binge / BBC)

THE MIDDLE BIT (22:32) 
RECALLING 9/11: 20 years after the event, we remember how television brought the World Trade Centre attacks into our lives and modern history changed course…

INTERVIEW (30:39) 
JAMES ASHCROFT (Director: Coming Home in the Dark) A chilling psychological thriller that tells the story of a young family taken hostage by two killers on the remote highways of New Zealand, Coming Home in the Dark stars Erik Thomson and Daniel Gillies and is the feature debut of director James Ashcroft. A hugely respected theatre director in his homeland and now, on the back of the response to his film after its Sundance Film Festival premiere, one of the international cinema's hottest new properties, he spoke with Simon from across ‘The Ditch’.... 

THE WEEK AHEAD (44:07)
With Cinderella debuting on Amazon, we ponder - James Corden, again? WTF?; GOMA gets ghostly with a new retrospective season; and, wish a Happy Birthday to Simon’s teen-dream crush…

PLUS LOTS MORE!

THE SCREEN WATCHING INTERVIEW: JAMES ASHCROFT

COMING HOME IN THE DARK is a chilling psychological thriller that tells the story of a young family taken hostage by two killers on the remote highways of New Zealand.

WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW HERE

Starring Erik Thomson and Daniel Gillies, it is the feature debut of director James Ashcroft, a hugely respected theatre director in his homeland and now, on the back of the response to his film after its Sundance Film Festival premiere, one of the international cinema's hottest new properties.

James sat with Screen Watching's Simon Foster to chat about on-screen violence, why Owen Marshall's short story so engaged him, beating the hell out of everyone's favourite TV dad and exploring Sasquatch lore for his first Hollywood picture...

COMING HOME IN THE DARK is in theatres in New Zealand and opens September 9 across Australia.

THE SCREEN WATCHING INTERVIEW: NEILL BLOMKAMP

Neill Blomkamp burst onto the international film scene with the instant classic, DISTRICT 9 (2009), earning Oscar nominations and blockbuster profits. The Matt Damon/Jodie Foster scifi epic ELYSIUM (2013) and Hugh Jackman robot thriller CHAPPIE (2015) has made him one of the most influential figures in genre cinema.

WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW HERE

His latest film is DEMONIC, a possession thriller starring Carly Pope as a woman able to see exactly what turned her mother into a serial killer when new tech allows her to roam inside her psyche.

Blomkamp has scaled things back a bit, shooting in his hometown of Vancouver and bringing blockbuster ideas to life on an indie budget. From his home, Bloomkamp spoke with SCREEN WATCHING's Simon Foster about the heady mix of ideas that came together to bring DEMONIC to life, his relationship with fans and critics and what to expect from his Oats Studio thinktank...

DEMONIC will release through The Reset Collective across all key digital channels from September 15 and on DVD/Blu-ray from 22 September.