Alexander Payne: Interviews - Conversations with Filmmakers Series

Marc Notes: Includes index.; Description based on print version record and CIP data provided by publisher;resource not viewed. Table of Contents: Introduction -- Chronology -- Filmography -- Writing and Directing Citizen Ruth: A Talk with Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor / Tod Lippy/1996 -- An Interview with Citizen Ruth Director Alexander Payne / Angie Drobnic/1997 -- Adapting and Directing Election: A Talk with Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor / Annie Nocenti/1999 -- Bringing on the Payne / Jeffrey M. Anderson, Rob Blackwelder/1999 -- Fresh Air Interview with Alexander Payne / Terry Gross/2003 -- About Schmidt Director Alexander Payne Does Have Something Interesting to Say / Walter Chaw/2003 -- Interview: Alexander Payne / Jeff Otto/2004 -- Interview: Alexander Payne / Scott Tobias/2004 -- Alexander Payne: Sideways / Adrian Hennigan/2005 -- Alexander Payne / Kate Donnelly/2005 -- Alexander Payne: Staying Straight While Making Sideways / Brad Balfour/2004 -- Alexander Payne: Sideways Glance at America / Kenneth Turan/2005 -- Alexander Payne Talks The Descendants, Clooney, Next Black and White Film, New Trailer / Anne Thompson/2011 -- Alexander Payne on The Descendants and Why It's a Minor Work / Eric Kohn/2011 -- Director's Chair: Alexander Payne's The Descendants / Iain Blair/2011 -- Filmmaker Alexander Payne on The Descendants / Edward Douglas/2011 -- Interview: Alexander Payne / Scott Tobias/2011 -- Payne Find His Way to The Descendants / Marshall Fine/2011 -- An Interview with Alexander Payne / Glenn Kenny/2011 -- Interview: Alexander Payne / Dave Davies/2011 -- Alexander Payne Talks The Descendants and His Next Two Projects, Nebraska and Wilson / Christina Radish/2011 -- Interview with Alexander Payne / Charlie Rose/2011 -- Alexander Payne Prefers Actors Who Can Communicate / Jennelle Riley/2011 -- The Lei of the Land: A Few Moments with Alexander Payne / Christy Grosz/2012 -- Director of The Descendants, Alexander Payne, Talks Bristling Egos and Putting Life on Film / Alanna J. Lawson/2012 -- Omaha and the Perfect Ending: The Alexander Payne Interview / Erich van Dussen/2013 -- Film Director Alexander Payne: Greece Energizes My DNA! / Demetrios Rhompotis/2013 -- Whittling Birch Bark: A Conversation with Alexander Payne / Julie Levinson/2013 -- Director Alexander Payne on Nebraska / Damian Houx/2013 -- Additional Resources -- Index. Publisher Marketing: Since 1996, Alexander Payne has made six feature films and a short segment of an omnibus movie. Although his body of work is quantitatively small, it is qualitatively impressive. His movies have garnered numerous accolades and awards, including two Academy Awards for Best Adapted Screenplay. As more than one interviewer in this volume points out, he maintains an impressive and unbroken winning streak. Payne's stories of human strivings and follies, alongside his mastery of the craft of filmmaking, mark him as a contemporary auteur of uncommon accomplishment. In this first compilation of his interviews, Payne reveals himself as a captivating conversationalist as well. The discussions collected here range from 1996, shortly after the release of his first film, "Citizen Ruth," to the debut of his film "Nebraska" at the Cannes Film Festival in 2013. Over his career, he muses on many subjects including his own creative processes, his commitment to telling character-centered stories, and his abiding admiration for movies and directors from across decades of film history. Critics describe Payne as one of the few contemporary filmmakers who consistently manages to buck the current trend toward bombastic blockbusters. Like the 1970s director-driven cinema that he cherishes, his films are small-scale character studies that manage to maintain a delicate balance between sharp satire and genuine poignancy.

Contributor Bio:  Levinson, Julie Julie Levinson, Newton, Massachusetts, is professor of film at Babson College and has been the film curator for several arts organizations and film festivals. She is the author of "The American Success Myth on Film" as well as book chapters and articles on a wide range of topics including screen acting, genre and gender, documentary film, and metafiction.