The National have been so good at producing National songs for so long that it’s been easy to take them for granted. Whenever the Brooklyn indie-rock institution passed a career point at which a lesser band might start breaking down — albums five, six, seven — they just got stronger, releasing some of their best work well into their second decade. In hindsight, this longevity seems obvious. The hallmarks of a National song — wry, affective lyrics; earthquake-proof song structures; painterly arrangements — seem tailor-built to sound more graceful with age.
And yet,...
And yet,...
- 4/26/2023
- by Clayton Purdom
- Rollingstone.com
(Welcome to The Daily Stream, an ongoing series in which the /Film team shares what they've been watching, why it's worth checking out, and where you can stream it.)
The Movie: "Cyrano"
Where You Can Stream It: Prime Video
The Pitch: Adapted from the classic play by Edmond Rostand, Peter Dinklage stars as the titular Cyrano de Bergerac, a celebrated soldier who is hopelessly in love with his friend and confidant Roxanne (Haley Bennett). Though he is replete with charm and intellect, Cyrano does not believe he could ever be loved by her due to his physical appearance. The play historically manifests the physical difference as an incredibly large nose, but here Cyrano's height and his own insecurities are the barriers preventing this from happening. One day, Roxanne catches the eye of a young soldier named Christian (Kelvin Harrison Jr.). He may have every physical attribute any man would wish for,...
The Movie: "Cyrano"
Where You Can Stream It: Prime Video
The Pitch: Adapted from the classic play by Edmond Rostand, Peter Dinklage stars as the titular Cyrano de Bergerac, a celebrated soldier who is hopelessly in love with his friend and confidant Roxanne (Haley Bennett). Though he is replete with charm and intellect, Cyrano does not believe he could ever be loved by her due to his physical appearance. The play historically manifests the physical difference as an incredibly large nose, but here Cyrano's height and his own insecurities are the barriers preventing this from happening. One day, Roxanne catches the eye of a young soldier named Christian (Kelvin Harrison Jr.). He may have every physical attribute any man would wish for,...
- 12/20/2022
- by Mike Shutt
- Slash Film
Anyone who has seen Joe Wright’s musical “Cyrano” will no doubt remember a scene late in the film, in which three anonymous soldiers sing a drum-backed ballad called “Wherever I Fall.” The five-minute sequence, about the message each man would like sent home before he dies, beautifully accentuates the classic story’s theme about the power of language in love.
But according to Wright, the scene required an extra bit of directorial cunning to ensure it wouldn’t be cut from the film.
“Due to circumstances with our filming location in Sicily – we were near Mt. Etna, which had just erupted – we had to reduce our number of shooting days and I had to make some strategic cuts in the script,” the director told TheWrap. “And the studio said, ‘Well, you should cut that song, because it doesn’t star the main cast and it doesn’t matter as much to the central plot.
But according to Wright, the scene required an extra bit of directorial cunning to ensure it wouldn’t be cut from the film.
“Due to circumstances with our filming location in Sicily – we were near Mt. Etna, which had just erupted – we had to reduce our number of shooting days and I had to make some strategic cuts in the script,” the director told TheWrap. “And the studio said, ‘Well, you should cut that song, because it doesn’t star the main cast and it doesn’t matter as much to the central plot.
- 3/2/2022
- by Joe McGovern
- The Wrap
Joe Wright’s Cyrano twirls onto 797 screens, the highest-profile specialty release in weeks (as the market awaits Focus Features The Outfit with Mark Rylance and Sony Pictures Classics Mothering Sunday). But the well reviewed period musical romance from Uar starring Peter Dinklage is landing in a tough place. Industry estimates anticipate a low single digit opening given the inconsistent reception for movie musicals and the fact that its key older demos, especially women, have been the slowest to return to theaters.
Cyrano is based on Edmond Ronstand’s late 19th century drama Cyrano de Bergerac – itself loosely based on a French nobleman known for bold adventures and a large nose. It premiered at Telluride last year, had a weeklong LA theatrical run in Dec. and garnered an Oscar nomination for Costume Design (and BAFTA nom for Outstanding British Film of the Year). It’s 86% Certified Fresh with critics on Rotten Tomatoes.
Cyrano is based on Edmond Ronstand’s late 19th century drama Cyrano de Bergerac – itself loosely based on a French nobleman known for bold adventures and a large nose. It premiered at Telluride last year, had a weeklong LA theatrical run in Dec. and garnered an Oscar nomination for Costume Design (and BAFTA nom for Outstanding British Film of the Year). It’s 86% Certified Fresh with critics on Rotten Tomatoes.
- 2/25/2022
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
The HeyUGuys Film Review Show team is a back with two reviews this week. First up we have the long awaited new adaptation of Cyrano de Bergerac. Joe Wright’s Cyrano stars Peter Dinklage as the titular character. The film also stars Haley Bennett, Kelvin Harrison Jr. & Ben Mendelsohn. It’s based on the stage musical adapted and directed by Erica Schmidt, from “Cyrano de Bergerac” by Edmond Rostand, with music by Aaron & Bryce Dessner and lyrics by Matt Berninger & Carin Besser.
You can find our premiere and junket interviews with Joe Wright and his main cast right here:
Find Scott on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/scottwritesfilm
and follow Linda here: https://twitter.com/Linda_Marric
Cyrano will be released in UK cinemas from 25th of February, 2022
Cyrano Film Review
Plot:
Cyrano re-imagines the timeless tale of a heartbreaking love triangle. A man ahead of his time, Cyrano de...
You can find our premiere and junket interviews with Joe Wright and his main cast right here:
Find Scott on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/scottwritesfilm
and follow Linda here: https://twitter.com/Linda_Marric
Cyrano will be released in UK cinemas from 25th of February, 2022
Cyrano Film Review
Plot:
Cyrano re-imagines the timeless tale of a heartbreaking love triangle. A man ahead of his time, Cyrano de...
- 2/25/2022
- by Jon Lyus
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Musicalizing Edmond Rostand's 1897 play "Cyrano de Bergerac" is no novel idea — but cutting Cyrano's infamous nose may be a daring creative choice. Stage director and playwright Erica Schmidt was well acquainted with the "Cyrano" musicals when she adapted Rostand's work into her 10-actor stage musical at the Chester, Connecticut Goodspeed Theatre for a 2018 run. With music by Aaron Dessner and Bryce Dessner and lyrics by Matt Berninger and Carin Besser of the indie band The National, the production starred her husband Peter Dinklage as the sharp-witted but lovelorn Cyrano who loves the poetry-loving Roxanne, played by Haley...
The post How Cyrano Evolved From a Sparse Connecticut Stage Show to a Sprawling Sicily-Set Movie [Exclusive] appeared first on /Film.
The post How Cyrano Evolved From a Sparse Connecticut Stage Show to a Sprawling Sicily-Set Movie [Exclusive] appeared first on /Film.
- 2/24/2022
- by Caroline Cao
- Slash Film
There is a moment forty minutes into Joe Wright’s Cyrano where everything kicks up a notch. As a military regiment practices their swordcraft on a stunning pier in Sicily the titular Cyrano de Bergerac (Peter Dinklage) crafts an agreement with new recruit Christian (Kelvin Harrison Jr.). He will write beautiful poetry as correspondence to Roxanne (Haley Bennett) from Christian—who lacks the words—thereby espousing his own love for the same woman. “I will make you eloquent while you make me handsome,” Cyrano explains, convinced they do not live in a world wherein someone like him could be with someone like her. Christian breaks into song and the camera runs away, darting through the regiment training on the pier. Soon enough we cut above the action, taking in the pier and the seas that surround it. The sequence is exhilarating and the film’s pace does not slow from there.
- 2/23/2022
- by Dan Mecca
- The Film Stage
Peter Dinklage is nothing if not soulful. The 52-year-old actor can do comedic, and charming, and a color palette’s worth of rage; in movies like The Station Agent (2003) or on any given Game of Thrones episode, you’ll likely get a lovely combo of all three. But give him the chance to communicate melancholia — let this veteran thespian unleash a sad-eyed look under a heavy brow — and you see an entirely different side of Dinklage come out. It makes perfect sense that he’d take on the title character...
- 12/29/2021
- by David Fear
- Rollingstone.com
This year’s 10 Oscar shortlists are voted on by six branches of the Academy — Music, Documentary, Animation and Shorts, VFX, Makeup and Hairstyling and, for the first time, Sound — as well as willing members from all over the world able to watch a minimum of a dozen qualifying international features. Parsing these shortlists reveals the strengths and weaknesses of Oscar contenders heading into the final round of voting for the final five nominations, which begins on Thursday, January 27, 2022, and ends on February 1, 2022. Nominations are announced on Tuesday, February 8, 2022.
With the calendar back to normal, more Oscar voters went out to screenings and theaters, although many made their selection from a wide range of movies available on the Academy portal. Back in the mix were such postponed movies as Denis Villeneuve’s day-and-date success “Dune” and Steven Spielberg’s success d’estime “West Side Story,” along with a smattering of arthouse and streaming fare.
With the calendar back to normal, more Oscar voters went out to screenings and theaters, although many made their selection from a wide range of movies available on the Academy portal. Back in the mix were such postponed movies as Denis Villeneuve’s day-and-date success “Dune” and Steven Spielberg’s success d’estime “West Side Story,” along with a smattering of arthouse and streaming fare.
- 12/21/2021
- by Anne Thompson and Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
This year’s 10 Oscar shortlists are voted on by six branches of the Academy — Music, Documentary, Animation and Shorts, VFX, Makeup and Hairstyling and, for the first time, Sound — as well as willing members from all over the world able to watch a minimum of a dozen qualifying international features. Parsing these shortlists reveals the strengths and weaknesses of Oscar contenders heading into the final round of voting for the final five nominations, which begins on Thursday, January 27, 2022, and ends on February 1, 2022. Nominations are announced on Tuesday, February 8, 2022.
With the calendar back to normal, more Oscar voters went out to screenings and theaters, although many made their selection from a wide range of movies available on the Academy portal. Back in the mix were such postponed movies as Denis Villeneuve’s day-and-date success “Dune” and Steven Spielberg’s success d’estime “West Side Story,” along with a smattering of arthouse and streaming fare.
With the calendar back to normal, more Oscar voters went out to screenings and theaters, although many made their selection from a wide range of movies available on the Academy portal. Back in the mix were such postponed movies as Denis Villeneuve’s day-and-date success “Dune” and Steven Spielberg’s success d’estime “West Side Story,” along with a smattering of arthouse and streaming fare.
- 12/21/2021
- by Anne Thompson and Bill Desowitz
- Thompson on Hollywood
This evening the UK premiere for Joe Wright’s Cyrano was held in London. The film stars Peter Dinklage, Haley Bennett, Kelvin Harrison Jr. & Ben Mendelsohn. It’s based on the stage musical adapted and directed by Erica Schmidt, from “Cyrano de Bergerac” by Edmond Rostand, with music by Aaron & Bryce Dessner and lyrics by Matt Berninger & Carin Besser.
Scott Davis and Colin Hart are on the red carpet, here are their interviews.
Plot: Cyrano re-imagines the timeless tale of a heartbreaking love triangle. A man ahead of his time, Cyrano de Bergerac (played by Peter Dinklage) dazzles whether with ferocious wordplay at a verbal joust or with brilliant swordplay in a duel. But, convinced that his appearance renders him unworthy of the love of a devoted friend, the luminous Roxanne (Haley Bennett), Cyrano has yet to declare his feelings for her – and Roxanne has fallen in love, at first sight,...
Scott Davis and Colin Hart are on the red carpet, here are their interviews.
Plot: Cyrano re-imagines the timeless tale of a heartbreaking love triangle. A man ahead of his time, Cyrano de Bergerac (played by Peter Dinklage) dazzles whether with ferocious wordplay at a verbal joust or with brilliant swordplay in a duel. But, convinced that his appearance renders him unworthy of the love of a devoted friend, the luminous Roxanne (Haley Bennett), Cyrano has yet to declare his feelings for her – and Roxanne has fallen in love, at first sight,...
- 12/7/2021
- by Jon Lyus
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
In Cyrano, director Joe Wright found his first opportunity to direct a musical, bringing both intimacy and scope to the adaptation of Erica Schmidt’s 2018 stage musical of the same name, which was itself based on the classic 1897 play Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand.
While Wright had fallen in love with the story of Cyrano as a teenager, he’d come to consider making his own version after seeing Peter Dinklage and Haley Bennett perform in a Connecticut staging of Schmidt’s play. “There was something very immediate and authentic about the intimacy of that relationship that I thought we could translate cinematically,” he said Saturday on a panel with the film’s stars Bennett and Kelvin Harrison Jr at Contenders Film: New York.
The musical romantic drama from MGM and United Artists Releasing is centered on Cyrano de Bergerac (Dinklage), a wordsmith who falls in love with a...
While Wright had fallen in love with the story of Cyrano as a teenager, he’d come to consider making his own version after seeing Peter Dinklage and Haley Bennett perform in a Connecticut staging of Schmidt’s play. “There was something very immediate and authentic about the intimacy of that relationship that I thought we could translate cinematically,” he said Saturday on a panel with the film’s stars Bennett and Kelvin Harrison Jr at Contenders Film: New York.
The musical romantic drama from MGM and United Artists Releasing is centered on Cyrano de Bergerac (Dinklage), a wordsmith who falls in love with a...
- 12/4/2021
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Joe Wright’s “Cyrano,” starring Peter Dinklage and Hayley Bennett, based on the 2018 stage musical by Erica Schmidt (derived from the classic French play of unrequited love from Edmond Rostand), has surprisingly qualified for Best Original Score Oscar consideration. That’s because brothers Aaron and Bryce Dessner, of the folk group The National, composed an original score separate from their theatrical score. Additionally, the Dessners reworked the songs for the movie as well, with lyrics from National frontman Matt Berninger and his wife Carin Besser.
Plus, “Cyrano” boasts two new Oscar-contending original songs: “Every Letter,” sung by Bennett, and “Somebody Desperate” (appearing over the end credits), an all-Nationals collaboration sung by Berninger, who wrote with Bryce and Aaron.
In 2021, the Academy rules were changed for the category, lowering the minimum percentage of original music from 60 to 35 percent of the total music in a movie — a threshold easily cleared by “Cyrano.
Plus, “Cyrano” boasts two new Oscar-contending original songs: “Every Letter,” sung by Bennett, and “Somebody Desperate” (appearing over the end credits), an all-Nationals collaboration sung by Berninger, who wrote with Bryce and Aaron.
In 2021, the Academy rules were changed for the category, lowering the minimum percentage of original music from 60 to 35 percent of the total music in a movie — a threshold easily cleared by “Cyrano.
- 11/9/2021
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
Best original song Oscar contenders Beyoncé and Van Morrison are among those who received nominations in the visual media categories at the Hollywood Music in Media Awards (Hmma). Composers Hans Zimmer and Nicholas Britell were included among the familiar names picking up nods in the score categories.
The awards will be presented Nov. 17. The HMMAs honor composers, songwriters, and music supervisors for their work in music for film, television, and videogames.
Nominations here have historically been a harbinger or guide for what nominees and winners will pop up in the Golden Globes, Oscars, Grammys and Emmys that occur later in awards season, although there is a much wider field in the HMMAs, since there are separate divisions for sci-fi, animation, documentary and independent films in the score categories. The Hollywood Music in Media Awards will feature music performances, celebrity presenters, tributes to music industry icons, awards for composers, songwriters and...
The awards will be presented Nov. 17. The HMMAs honor composers, songwriters, and music supervisors for their work in music for film, television, and videogames.
Nominations here have historically been a harbinger or guide for what nominees and winners will pop up in the Golden Globes, Oscars, Grammys and Emmys that occur later in awards season, although there is a much wider field in the HMMAs, since there are separate divisions for sci-fi, animation, documentary and independent films in the score categories. The Hollywood Music in Media Awards will feature music performances, celebrity presenters, tributes to music industry icons, awards for composers, songwriters and...
- 11/4/2021
- by Jazz Tangcay
- Variety Film + TV
Peter Dinklage and Haley Bennett offer a fresh take on Edmond Rostand’s classic French play in the newly released trailer for “Cyrano,” which hits theaters on Dec. 31.
The film, based on Rostand’s “Cyrano de Bergerac,” follows the chivalrous poet Cyrano (Dinklage) as he attempts to win the love of Roxanne (Bennett), all while convinced his physical appearance makes him unworthy of it. However, Roxanne has eyes for another man, Christian (Kelvin Harrison Jr.), who cannot speak eloquently, so he enlists the help of Cyrano to write his love letters to Roxanne for him. The two men must then battle for Roxanne’s love, all while singing songs in late 19th-century Italy.
While the original story’s protagonist sports an oversized nose, screenwriter Erica Schmidt reimagines Cyrano as a dwarf, recruiting none other than her own husband — Dinklage — to play the lead role.
With songs composed by Bryce and...
The film, based on Rostand’s “Cyrano de Bergerac,” follows the chivalrous poet Cyrano (Dinklage) as he attempts to win the love of Roxanne (Bennett), all while convinced his physical appearance makes him unworthy of it. However, Roxanne has eyes for another man, Christian (Kelvin Harrison Jr.), who cannot speak eloquently, so he enlists the help of Cyrano to write his love letters to Roxanne for him. The two men must then battle for Roxanne’s love, all while singing songs in late 19th-century Italy.
While the original story’s protagonist sports an oversized nose, screenwriter Erica Schmidt reimagines Cyrano as a dwarf, recruiting none other than her own husband — Dinklage — to play the lead role.
With songs composed by Bryce and...
- 10/6/2021
- by Ethan Shanfeld
- Variety Film + TV
The Mill Valley Film Festival will open with the California premiere of “Cyrano,” directed by Joe Wright and written by Erica Schmidt, adapted from Schmidt’s 2018 stage musical of the same name, which is based on Edmond Rostand’s 1897 play “Cyrano de Bergerac.” Opening night takes place on Oct. 7 at the Sequoia Theatre and Smith Rafael Film Center.
Peter Dinklage stars as Cyrano de Bergerac, who, believing himself to be ugly, feels unworthy of the love of his friend Roxanne (Haley Bennett). Before he confesses his feelings, Roxanne falls in love at first sight with Christian. Bashir Salahuddin and Ben Mendelsohn also star. The film features music by Aaron Dessner and Bryce Dessner with lyrics by Matt Berninger and Carin Besser. Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner and Guy Heeley produce, with Cass Marks as co-producer and Enrico Ballarin as line producer.
The 44th annual Mill Valley Film Festival runs from Oct.
Peter Dinklage stars as Cyrano de Bergerac, who, believing himself to be ugly, feels unworthy of the love of his friend Roxanne (Haley Bennett). Before he confesses his feelings, Roxanne falls in love at first sight with Christian. Bashir Salahuddin and Ben Mendelsohn also star. The film features music by Aaron Dessner and Bryce Dessner with lyrics by Matt Berninger and Carin Besser. Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner and Guy Heeley produce, with Cass Marks as co-producer and Enrico Ballarin as line producer.
The 44th annual Mill Valley Film Festival runs from Oct.
- 9/8/2021
- by Ethan Shanfeld and Selome Hailu
- Variety Film + TV
English audiences have long been partial to Romeo and Juliet, but in this critic’s outside-the-box opinion, Edmond Rostand’s “Cyrano de Bergerac” is the more romantic play. For starters, its tragedy hinges not on teenage impatience and suicide but deep, long-unrequited affection. Convinced that his physical appearance makes him unworthy of his beloved Roxanne, the chivalrous Cyrano dares not express his ardor directly, ultimately taking his secret to the grave. And yet, Shakespeare’s tale of star-crossed lovers is told and retold infinitely more often than Rostand’s.
On those occasions when “Cyrano de Bergerac” is performed in English, it’s often stripped of its verse or played for laughter and farce (à la 1987’s “Roxanne”), whereas Joe Wright’s splendid new adaptation presents “Cyrano” as 21st-century MGM musical. By enlisting Bryce and Aaron Dessner of the National to compose the songs — lovely, wistful pop ballads for which Matt Berninger...
On those occasions when “Cyrano de Bergerac” is performed in English, it’s often stripped of its verse or played for laughter and farce (à la 1987’s “Roxanne”), whereas Joe Wright’s splendid new adaptation presents “Cyrano” as 21st-century MGM musical. By enlisting Bryce and Aaron Dessner of the National to compose the songs — lovely, wistful pop ballads for which Matt Berninger...
- 9/4/2021
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
There was something moving and even poignant in watching the MGM Lion logo roaring once again at the opening of director Joe Wright’s new musical adaptation of Cyrano last night at the Telluride Film Festival, where this lovely new telling of the classic story of Cyrano de Bergerac had its world premiere. Both MGM and de Bergerac have had a storied history in show business, and both are still very alive through a series of reincarnations. MGM in its golden era was the movie musical factory, but it has been some time since the studio has taken on one of this scale. It is just like old times, eh? Fortunately, this Cyrano is worthy of that tradition — and then some.
Wright, no stranger to period pieces like Pride & Prejudice, Darkest Hour, Atonement and Anna Karenina, has brought almost a simplicity and quiet dignity to his first musical film.
Wright, no stranger to period pieces like Pride & Prejudice, Darkest Hour, Atonement and Anna Karenina, has brought almost a simplicity and quiet dignity to his first musical film.
- 9/3/2021
- by Pete Hammond
- Deadline Film + TV
Peter Dinklage may be one of the most recognizable actors working today, but that doesn’t limit his range. As a clip reel of his nearly 30-year career in film and TV proved ahead of a tribute on the first day of the Telluride Film Festival, Dinklage can play a sensitive loner (“The Station Agent”) just as well as an icy mob boss (“I Care a Lot”) and the anarchic schemer Tyrion Lannister from “Game of Thrones.” The screening of his new movie that followed a brief onstage conversation, “Cyrano,” also proved that Dinklage can sing.
Director Joe Wright’s lavish adaptation of the 2019 off-Broadway musical, written by Dinklage’s wife Erica Schmidt, finds the actor embodying Cyrano de Bergerac as a swashbuckling 17th century wordsmith who buries his attraction to childhood friend Roxanne (Haley Bennett) by helping an inarticulate guardsman (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) romance the woman by writing love letters for him.
Director Joe Wright’s lavish adaptation of the 2019 off-Broadway musical, written by Dinklage’s wife Erica Schmidt, finds the actor embodying Cyrano de Bergerac as a swashbuckling 17th century wordsmith who buries his attraction to childhood friend Roxanne (Haley Bennett) by helping an inarticulate guardsman (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) romance the woman by writing love letters for him.
- 9/3/2021
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
It’s 7 a.m. in Venice, and Matt Berninger has already been up for four and a half hours. Why? The National frontman and his wife, Carin Besser, are still polishing up songs for Cyrano, a years-long musical project based on the 1897 play about the life of a 17th-century French writer. Besser, who writes best at night, had been working on the songs until 2:30 a.m., at which point Berninger woke up and spent the dark hours of the morning finishing up what she started.
This type of creative...
This type of creative...
- 10/16/2020
- by Jonathan Bernstein
- Rollingstone.com
“Game of Thrones” star Peter Dinklage is set to reprise his title role in a film adaptation of the off-Broadway musical “Cyrano” that Joe Wright will direct and MGM has acquired, an individual with knowledge of the project told TheWrap.
Also reprising her role is Haley Bennett, who played the role of Roxane in the musical alongside Dinklage when it debuted in 2018 at the Terris Theater. Ben Mendelsohn and Brian Tyree Henry will also star in the film.
“Cyrano” was written by actress, director and playwright — and Dinklage’s wife — Erica Schmidt, who gave a new spin on the classic “Cyrano de Bergerac” play by Edmond Rostand about the French cadet with an unusually large nose. Though in the new production, Dinklage never dons a prosthetic nose but instead is chastised for his stature.
Also Read: 'Cyrano' Theater Review: Peter Dinklage Drops the Big Schnoz to Sing
Tim Bevan...
Also reprising her role is Haley Bennett, who played the role of Roxane in the musical alongside Dinklage when it debuted in 2018 at the Terris Theater. Ben Mendelsohn and Brian Tyree Henry will also star in the film.
“Cyrano” was written by actress, director and playwright — and Dinklage’s wife — Erica Schmidt, who gave a new spin on the classic “Cyrano de Bergerac” play by Edmond Rostand about the French cadet with an unusually large nose. Though in the new production, Dinklage never dons a prosthetic nose but instead is chastised for his stature.
Also Read: 'Cyrano' Theater Review: Peter Dinklage Drops the Big Schnoz to Sing
Tim Bevan...
- 8/4/2020
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
Exclusive: MGM has acquired Cyrano, a musical film adaptation that will bring four-time Emmy winning Game of Thrones star Peter Dinklage back in the title role he played onstage, and Haley Bennett reprising as Roxanne that she played alongside him at the Goodspeed Opera House’s Terris Theatre in 2018. The film will be directed by Joe Wright (Darkest Hour), and Brian Tyree Henry and Ben Mendelsohn will also star. The film will be produced by Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner of Working Title, along with Guy Heeley.
The musical, which also played Off Broadway at the Daryl Roth Theatre last year, is written by veteran director, writer and stage actress Erica Schmidt (she is also Dinklage’s wife), adapted from Edmond Rostand’s Cyrano de Bergerac. Schmidt wrote the libretto and the music is by The National’s Aaron Dessner and Bryce Dessner, with lyrics by Matt Berninger, also from The National,...
The musical, which also played Off Broadway at the Daryl Roth Theatre last year, is written by veteran director, writer and stage actress Erica Schmidt (she is also Dinklage’s wife), adapted from Edmond Rostand’s Cyrano de Bergerac. Schmidt wrote the libretto and the music is by The National’s Aaron Dessner and Bryce Dessner, with lyrics by Matt Berninger, also from The National,...
- 8/4/2020
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
MGM has landed another star-studded package. The studio has picked up Cyrano, a musical adaption of Edmond Rostand's 1897 verse drama Cyrano de Bergerac that will see Peter Dinklage reprise the role he played onstage in 2019.
Joe Wright is set to direct a cast that also includes Haley Bennett, Brian Tyree Henry and Ben Mendelsohn. Erica Schmidt wrote the screenplay. Music is by The National songwriter-musicians Aaron and Bryce Dessner, with lyrics by lead vocalist Matt Berninger and longtime collaborator Carin Besser.
Working Title's Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner will produce along with Guy Heeley.
CAA Media Finance brokered the ...
Joe Wright is set to direct a cast that also includes Haley Bennett, Brian Tyree Henry and Ben Mendelsohn. Erica Schmidt wrote the screenplay. Music is by The National songwriter-musicians Aaron and Bryce Dessner, with lyrics by lead vocalist Matt Berninger and longtime collaborator Carin Besser.
Working Title's Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner will produce along with Guy Heeley.
CAA Media Finance brokered the ...
MGM has landed another star-studded package. The studio has picked up Cyrano, a musical adaption of Edmond Rostand's 1897 verse drama Cyrano de Bergerac that will see Peter Dinklage reprise the role he played onstage in 2019.
Joe Wright is set to direct a cast that also includes Haley Bennett, Brian Tyree Henry and Ben Mendelsohn. Erica Schmidt wrote the screenplay. Music is by The National songwriter-musicians Aaron and Bryce Dessner, with lyrics by lead vocalist Matt Berninger and longtime collaborator Carin Besser.
Working Title's Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner will produce along with Guy Heeley.
CAA Media Finance brokered the ...
Joe Wright is set to direct a cast that also includes Haley Bennett, Brian Tyree Henry and Ben Mendelsohn. Erica Schmidt wrote the screenplay. Music is by The National songwriter-musicians Aaron and Bryce Dessner, with lyrics by lead vocalist Matt Berninger and longtime collaborator Carin Besser.
Working Title's Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner will produce along with Guy Heeley.
CAA Media Finance brokered the ...
The National’s Matt Berninger and his wife and co-songwriter Carin Besser recently wrote a love song while lingering by baggage claim at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City. That might not seem like the most romantic setting, but the impromptu writing session led to “Write Me a Love Song,” a track from Cyrano, a new off-Broadway production set to open at New York’s Daryl Roth Theatre on November 7th, courtesy of The New Group.
“The characters in this play cannot just tell each other...
“The characters in this play cannot just tell each other...
- 10/28/2019
- by Brenna Ehrlich
- Rollingstone.com
It wasn’t exactly typecasting when the makers of the new Zach Galifianakis comedy “Between Two Ferns: The Movie” signed up singer-songwriter Phoebe Bridgers and the National’s Matt Berninger to play the resident band of a generic drinking hole. But the movie makes the most of this duet between two indie heroes in a “nameless bar in the middle of America” — and Variety has the exclusive video premiere of the new song they perform together, “Walking on a String.”
The cameos in the Netflix comedy arrive so fast and frequently that it can be difficult to catch them all in one viewing. The film expands on the Funny or Die series first created by Galifianakis and writer/director Scott Aukerman in 2008, following the fictional “Between Two Ferns” crew as they travel the country in search of celebrities to interview. As a result, the movie is packed with hilariously uncomfortable encounters...
The cameos in the Netflix comedy arrive so fast and frequently that it can be difficult to catch them all in one viewing. The film expands on the Funny or Die series first created by Galifianakis and writer/director Scott Aukerman in 2008, following the fictional “Between Two Ferns” crew as they travel the country in search of celebrities to interview. As a result, the movie is packed with hilariously uncomfortable encounters...
- 10/17/2019
- by Zack Ruskin
- Variety Film + TV
The New Group presents Cyrano, beginning October 11, ahead of an official opening night on November 7. Cyrano is adapted by Erica Schmidt from Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand, with Music by Aaron Dessner and Bryce Dessner of The National, Lyrics by Matt Berninger of The National and Carin Besser, and Choreography by Jeff and Rick Kuperman, directed by Erica Schmidt.
- 9/9/2019
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
The National made an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Monday night to perform “Oblivions,” a track from their latest album I Am Easy to Find and its accompanying short film.
The contemplative song was co-written by frontman Matt Berninger and his wife Carin Besser, and features the vocals of Mina Tindle and the Brooklyn Youth Chorus. Both Tindle and members of the Chorus appeared alongside The National on The Tonight Show, along with an orchestral sextet. Even though the five-piece band had ballooned into nearly 30 people onstage,...
The contemplative song was co-written by frontman Matt Berninger and his wife Carin Besser, and features the vocals of Mina Tindle and the Brooklyn Youth Chorus. Both Tindle and members of the Chorus appeared alongside The National on The Tonight Show, along with an orchestral sextet. Even though the five-piece band had ballooned into nearly 30 people onstage,...
- 6/11/2019
- by Claire Shaffer
- Rollingstone.com
The National’s new short film I Am Easy to Find, a companion piece to their upcoming eighth album of the same name, is now available to stream online. Mike Mills (20th Century Women, Beginners) directed the artful, 24-minute project, which stars Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl, Ex-Machina) and features new music from the band.
The film was recently screened during five shows in Paris, New York, London, Toronto and Los Angeles that featured Q&As with Mills and the National; the New York event, hosted by musician Julien Baker,...
The film was recently screened during five shows in Paris, New York, London, Toronto and Los Angeles that featured Q&As with Mills and the National; the New York event, hosted by musician Julien Baker,...
- 5/13/2019
- by Claire Shaffer and Ryan Reed
- Rollingstone.com
The National lead singer Matt Berninger is currently developing a TV show based on his own life, according to Pitchfork. Following the “Crashing”/”Better Things”/”I’m Sorry” mold, Berninger would play a version of himself, as would his brother Tom. Working alongside Trent O’Donnell (creator of “No Activity” and the original Australian series that formed the basis for “Review”), the creative team for this new Berninger show would also include Matt’s wife Carin Besser.
What this show doesn’t have yet is a title. Since there’s a .001% chance it doesn’t take the name from one of The National’s songs, we thought we’d offer up our ideas for the series’ best prospective titles. Some of the band’s top songs don’t lend themselves well to a TV show. (“Empire Line” is objectively the greatest song of 2017, but it’s hard to see that...
What this show doesn’t have yet is a title. Since there’s a .001% chance it doesn’t take the name from one of The National’s songs, we thought we’d offer up our ideas for the series’ best prospective titles. Some of the band’s top songs don’t lend themselves well to a TV show. (“Empire Line” is objectively the greatest song of 2017, but it’s hard to see that...
- 2/21/2018
- by Steve Greene
- Indiewire
Matt Berninger of band The National, Karim Amer and Jehane Noujaim from Academy-nominated The Square and Blue Valentine co-writer Cami Delavigne are among participants selected for Sundance Institute’s second Episodic Story Lab.
The 10 Fellows are:
Michael Krikorian for 12 Miles South;
John Lopez for Crude;
Christianne Hedtke for Degenerates;
Maria Melnik for Hell or High Water;
Mishna Wolff for I’m Down;
Matt Berninger and Carin Besser for Mistaken For Strangers;
Mac Smullen for Mk-ultra;
Karim Amer and Jehane Noujaim for Radicals;
Cami Delavigne for The Sleep; and
Akilah Hughes and Lyle Friedman for Unlikely.
Fellows will receive yer-rund support and will work under creative advisors Rich Appel from Family Guy, Mara Brock Akil from Being Mary Jane, Howard Gordon from Homeland and Jenni Konner from Girls, among others.
The 2015 Episodic Story Lab is one of the 24 workshops the Institute hosts each year for independent artists in theatre, film, new media and episodic content.
“By offering...
The 10 Fellows are:
Michael Krikorian for 12 Miles South;
John Lopez for Crude;
Christianne Hedtke for Degenerates;
Maria Melnik for Hell or High Water;
Mishna Wolff for I’m Down;
Matt Berninger and Carin Besser for Mistaken For Strangers;
Mac Smullen for Mk-ultra;
Karim Amer and Jehane Noujaim for Radicals;
Cami Delavigne for The Sleep; and
Akilah Hughes and Lyle Friedman for Unlikely.
Fellows will receive yer-rund support and will work under creative advisors Rich Appel from Family Guy, Mara Brock Akil from Being Mary Jane, Howard Gordon from Homeland and Jenni Konner from Girls, among others.
The 2015 Episodic Story Lab is one of the 24 workshops the Institute hosts each year for independent artists in theatre, film, new media and episodic content.
“By offering...
- 9/22/2015
- ScreenDaily
Months after Tom Berninger's documentary “Mistaken for Strangers” opened the Tribeca Film Festival, I became aware of The National’s plan to premier the film in L.A. with a concert event at The Shrine. At this point, and despite having read several glowing reviews of the film, I must admit that my interest was sparked mostly by the fact that The National is one of my favorite bands. Their incredibly nuance sound and their quietly vibrant lyrics have an intoxicating quality loved by hordes of fans around the world. Yet, when I finally had the chance to see the film, I instantly realized that I was witnessing something real, perhaps too honest to be on screen. There was of course great behind the scenes footage of The National and striking images of lead singer Matt Berninger losing himself to the tunes. But above all that there was Tom Berninger’s profound quest to find purpose in his own life and reconnect with his rock-star brother.
For years they had in fact, unintentionally, mistaken each other for strangers because their lives had taken different roads. Tom wanted to make movies and Matt’s band had earned a great following and critical praise. But through the making of this documentary, which changed courses during editing, they both rediscovered each other beyond the glossy stage lights and the endless tour bus trips. Tom joined Matt on the High Violet tour for several months to work as a crewmember and to make a fun film about The National and his perception of them. Still, as things usually go, this plan did not turn out as clear-cut as either of them had expected. What was meant to be a humorous depiction of a heavily poetic indie rock band turned out to be a story about two brothers and how one of them struggles to overcome self-doubt in order to make an utterly enjoyable, but deeply touching film.
This week I met with Tom and Matt Berninger in Los Angeles to chat about this personal and uproarious movie that will forever be a testimony to their fraternal reconnection. There were some margaritas involved, there was maddening rain in L.A, and there were fan-boy questions on my part that were difficult to avoid. Yet, what was most present during this interview was truth. Their brotherly love and all the intricacies it involves was always there, in the flesh, real. One can only be thankful to have talked to a pair of very different, but unquestionably talented people. Here is what they had to say.
Carlos Aguilar: Tell me about this insane and touching journey you both went through while spending time on tour and making the film. What were you expecting to be the outcome in terms of the film and what it would represent for each one of you? The film certainly is much introspective than just simply a film about a band.
Tom: It’s been so long ago now. I was working in few movies as a Pa, but mostly I was working at a TV station in Cincinnati as a tech person. I always wanted to make movies. I went to film school. Matt knew that this is what I wanted to do. We would talk movies all the time when we saw each other over the holidays. I hardly ever got to see him, but when I did we would talk about movies. I was stuck in a rot and feeling like I could live in Cincinnati, Ohio for the rest of my life or I could do something fun and kind of experience what he experiences, such as traveling around the world with a band.
I also knew that the band was getting bigger and I wanted to see that. I wanted to taste a little bit of his fame [Laughs]. He brought up this idea that I should come on tour and bring a camera, film some fun goofy stuff, and see what could come out of it. I hoped it would be something that I could use to further my career as videographer or to get a job maybe in NYC with some multimedia firm thanks to the fact that I had this little thing I made with The National. I didn’t know what it was going to be, but that was the idea, to get on my feet using their name or their kind of cloud as this cool indie rock band to get my foot in the door into some sort of job opportunity in NYC. At least that was my angle.
Matt: Mostly it was to give him a job and to get him out of Cincinnati for a while, but also because I missed him. A third of it was a charity thing, another third was that I missed him, and the last third was me thinking “Hey, maybe he could make something cool.” What I had thought he would make was not what he made in the end, but it wasn’t a fake job. I actually did believe he could make something cool and that together we could have fun trying to make, and we did. You don’t actually see much of us goofing around and having fun in the final product because it wasn’t that interesting to the real story.
What became the film was Tom struggling with his other job of being a roadie and struggling with the making of this project. Focusing on Tom’s struggle made for a much better film and not what we had originally set out to do. Originally we though of making a goofy film, almost like a Monkey’s movie or “A Hard Day’s Night,” a tour film that’s all wacky and silly, but all that stuff is just stupid.
My wife Carin Besser, who edited the film alongside Tom, thought that stuff was kind of boring. She was looking at all the footage of when Tom started to go off the rails and said, “You don’t have a movie with that stuff.” But when she saw him drunk on the bus and the other humiliating things Tom went through, she was like, “That’s what I’m interested in!” I think we were already half way into that direction anyway and I thought, “Yes, let’s just throw everything out and let’s just focus the movie on what happened to you, not the band”
Tom: The National, the band members are super cool. I’ve known these guys long before they were in a band. I’ve known them throughout their careers and through many years of struggling. I knew whatever I would be filming wouldn’t be a real documentary about the band, because I don’t really listen to them. I’m a fan of them and I’m a fan of their success and I know they make music that’s very special to some people, but the music was never really important to me simply because it’s not my taste in music or my scene.
I didn’t really have any idea of what to make. I certainly didn’t want to dive into something like, “Matt, what’s your creative process?” I wouldn’t even know where to go from there, but what I was interested in was getting to know these guys behind the scenes and seeing them start get famous. I was very interesting in things like, “What’s it like to have all these people staring at you? And all these girls!” To me that’s awesome, and that’s what I think most people want to know, “What does it feel to be super famous to your group of fans?”
That was the most interesting part to me and that’s what I wanted to figure out. I wanted to try to make them feel embarrassed and get some real funny stuff. I kind of got that, there are some elements of that in the movie, but it became something else. Also I felt like I had to somewhat document myself like on the tour bus when I was getting drunk by myself.
Matt: [To Tom] You thought that would be funny
Tom: Yes, I thought that would be funny and I thought, “I’m the only one on this tour bus and I’m going to get wasted because that’s what people do on tour buses. The band is in their nice hotel sleeping and I’m the only one taking advantage of this tour bus”
Matt: [To Tom] And it was funny but not quiet in the way you thought it would be
Tom: No, it wasn’t funny at all
Matt: It was kind of depressing. That’s some of the most uncomfortable stuff to watch, which are the things that he thought would be kind of funny or cool.
Tom: When I filmed them I thought, “Let’s see how it plays” [Laughs]. “We’ll see if this is as fun as I think it is.”
Matt: [To Tom] There was a point where you were filming stuff and you were like “Oh, this is so awkward and terrible.” You would tell the other guys in the band to do something because you were trying to get “cool” stuff, but then you thought, “This is all going to be garbage.” Then early in the editing process you realized “Actually this stuff is funny! The stuff about me trying to make this other movie is actually what’s funny.” You recognized the comedy quickly. It didn’t take anybody else to show you what worked. Like when you made Bryce pick up the sunglasses, that’s funny.
Tom: There were a bunch of moments, that one included, where I thought” What kind of footage do I have of this band, The National. I don’t know if it’s any good or not but it’s weird and I kind of like it.” Early on I had shot my brother casually looking at the camera and though “He looks good there, he looks cool.” I looked at the footage and it was great. I thought” Wow, if I could get a moment like with every single guy in the band that’d be great. I don’t know where I’d used it but it’d be great”
Matt: [To Tom] Which one is the one of me?
Tom: It’s a shot I used in the “Terrible Love” music video. In that video there is a shot of Matt, which is very casual and it’s like four seconds long, but he looks like a rock star. I wanted to get everyone of them in a cool rock star pose. I wanted something like a moving portrait or a video portrait.
Aguilar: Tom, at what point did you look at all this footage and decided what you were going to do with it to make a meaningful film out of this experience?
Tom: We saw the footage where I shot these guys in “cool” poses and we realized they were awful and awkward [Laughs]. That’s when I started to think that I had failed to get what I wanted, I failed at making a cool movie. Instead I felt like I kind of took advantage of them, but I was also getting them in a real moment. They are trying to be rock stars but then you see how awkward they are. There is something underneath. They are these normal guys who happen to have an awesome job. That’s when we started trying to figure out how to piece together all this footage of me trying to make an awesome movie and failing at that, but at the same time capturing this journey to try to find myself and finish my project.
Aguilar: Making such a personal film, were there moments where it became to intimate to show? How difficult was it to look at this footage, which sometimes shows both of you in an unflattering way?
Matt: There were many times during the process when he was shooting stuff on tour and asking questions to which I would say, “Don’t use any of this.” At some point Bryan literally says, “Don’t use any of this interview,” and Tom laughs. It didn’t make into the film because it was too personal. There were also a lot of times that I just didn’t want him filming, but when the story started to come together and I saw some of he unflattering stuff, I was fine with it because I knew he was already putting so much unflattering stuff about himself in the film.
By the time they were actually creating something that was coming together, they had changed the focus and turned it inward towards Tom’s relationship with me. At that point all of these unflattering elements became relevant and interesting in the context of this new movie. I was Ok with it. The other guys in the band, well, I didn’t tell them what was happening for a long time. I kept them in the dark about it. They were pretty much in the dark until they saw part of a rough cut at a screening that went badly. It’s the screening you see in the film where the screen goes blank. That was the first time anybody in the band had seen anything.
All they saw was about 10 minutes of awkward, weird, uncomfortable stuff and then the screen went blank, but they were laughing at that. They got it. They thought that stuff was cool. It was actually kind of a lucky thing that when Tom tried to screen it the band didn’t get to see very much because what they saw was the funny stuff. At that point they backed away and let Tom go ahead and finish it. If they had seen the whole thing I bet they would have jumped in and gotten more involved. Tom would have lost some control.
The finishing of it was like a cat-and-mouse game between what the movie really was and what the band thought it was. Even with me, Corine and Tom were not totally letting me understand that it was going to be about until they started getting close to something good.
Tom: It took a long time to make it what it is. In the first 6 months of working on it, when Matt didn’t know anything and it was only me trying to figure out what I had shot, that was when I noticed the awkwardness of some of the things that I did with the guys. Then I saw myself crying and getting drunk on the bus and I thought,“ I don’t know how this goes into a movie. “ I was still thinking it was going to be about the band.
For a long time that was the driving force, it had to be about the band with an undercurrent about the brother making this documentary and screwing up. Mainly it was all about he band, but slowly we showed it to a few friends and, with me being the room, Matt would ask them, “ How much of Tom do you want to see? Are you annoyed at Tom? Are you guys tired of seeing Tom or do you like seeing Tom?” And they would all say “We like seeing Tom.”
I thought, “Alright, they like seeing me. “ We thought that stuff with me was funny and somewhat dramatic and sad, and I didn’t know how to react to that. I also thought it was sad, but it was also my life. Still, I’m all about making a good movie and if people like that and people think that makes it a better movie then I’m all for it. I thought, “Ok, let’s take more of The National out and put more of the shit that I was going through in the movie.” It just became a better movie that way.
Aguilar: What have you learned about each other after looking at one another through this filter, the film? Tom as the one behind the camera and Matt as sort of the original subject for the documentary.
Matt: It’s been funny. Through the process of him being of tour making the film I learned a certain type of thing: I learned that I missed my brother and I learned that I liked having him around. Putting it in perspective, I also realized that when he was around while we where on tour I was much happier, even if you don’t see much of that in the film [Laughs]. I don’t like to tour. I like doing shows, but I don’t like being away from home. I don’t like to travel that much, and I get really lost. I get pretty weird in the head after 5 or 6 weeks traveling around on a bus, doing shows, and the anxiety of it all. Having Tom around kept me grounded and more connected to the things that are important. Having him around put this whole rock and roll thing in perspective, which is good for me.
Tom: [To Matt] Also, when the shows are not going on the two pairs of brothers in the band pair up and go out to do some shopping, or whatever brotherly things they do. But you don’t really have anybody to go with. It was fun for me because I had never been to Europe and I was able to go out with him, eat dinner, and see all these places I had never been to. It was also a great chance for him to get out of the hotel room occasionally.
Matt: The band is a crucible of creative tensions, and it was nice to be able to go out to dinner with Tom, just Tom and I, and let out all my frustrations with the tour or the shows, or even share my enthusiasm and happiness. It’s hard to do it sometimes with the band because we are in this thing together and it’s loaded with all kinds of other tensions. Therefore, having Tom around was a huge tension release, a relief valve that released a lot of the pressure.
Tom: I was so unaware of the band’s small talk, subtle innuendos, and the subtle ways a band rips each other apart.
Matt: [To Tom] They went totally over your head. You didn’t even know.
Tom : I didn’t know that things weren’t going well certain days. I’m kind of everybody’s friend because everyone knows that I have no idea what’s going on.
Matt: If there were some sort of tension going on in the bad for whatever reason Tom wouldn’t have any idea of what was going on. So he and I would go out to dinner and I’d be bitching about the show and he would say, “I though the show was awesome!” It would put it in perspective for me. “Why am I complaining?” [To Tom] You did that for everyone else, having you around just relieved all kinds of tension within the band, mostly because you were making everybody laugh.
Tom: I’m at 0 for 80 as far as The National shows I’ve seen and how always I get their reaction to the show wrong. Sometimes I’d say, “That was a good show,” and they’ll say, “No, that was a terrible show.” Then another time I’d say, “That was really bad show,” and they’ll be like “We all thought that was a great show.” My read of every show was different from the band’s reaction. I couldn’t understand it. When I felt the energy apparently nobody else did.
Matt: He always got it wrong. Or maybe you always got it right [Laughs]. Another thing that happened in the process of this whole thing is that I saw Tom’s talents that I didn’t actually know of. There are a lot of things that I would not do the way Tom does. He is a very different person from me. I saw how different he is from me….
Tom: Like how I drink my Margarita? [Laughs]
Matt: I saw how different he is from me, and how brilliant he is in some things. I think through the process of him being on tour and him living with us, I think Tom and I are starting to understand what we are good at and what the other person is good at. We are starting to respect each other in a different way. Our old dynamic of older successful brother and younger less successful brother, that cliché, has changed.
I was always trying to help him and give him guidance, and all that. At a certain point I was giving him guidance that was meant for me not for him. I started recognizing that he is on a different road than I am. I started to understand his road and I think he understood where I’m coming from. What has happened is that a lot of the animosity between us has dissolved. He still drives me crazy and I drive him crazy, but underneath all that he knows that what I do is good even if it’s not his type of thing. I know that the things that he does are good, we just do different types of things
Aguilar: Was making the film a cathartic experience? Do you guys now see each other more like different creative people, besides being brothers, thanks to this shared experience?
Tom : Making this film has helped me discover things that I’m good at. As far as how the movie works, how it plays, how funny it is, I have my own take on that. Making it I did find some fun, comfort, and success. It was fun to see people liked the movie. That’s what I always wanted to do. With me being in my own movie so much, I didn’t know that it was going to be such a fun thing for people to watch me.
Matt: We know the movie is funny, and we knew what was funny about it when we were editing it, but there is a lot of therapy in there too. The movie is a lot about us working out problems. The editing of the movie was an extension of us trying to, not only look for what’s interesting about each other, but also finding what’s interesting about our relationship. Ultimately we wanted people to not be bored, and we wanted to tell a story that was meaningful and we kept coming back to our relationship and the complicated thorns that are in a real relationship between brothers or between anybody. This just happens to be about two brothers that are far apart in age.
Even if we had to show unflattering sides of each other that was what we were most interested in. My wife was definitely interested in the weird details of any relationship. Two human beings trying to understand each other, who love each other, but who also hate each other. How does that play out? All the most important things that happen in a human being’s life are usually the things that have to do with communicating with another human being. Everything revolves around that.
A person’s success - in terms of critical success or financial success - is pretty insignificant to a person’s happiness, but their relationships with themselves and people that are close to them that’s all that matters. The movie became about Tom’s search to understand his relationship with himself and with me. The process of making the film made me think about Tom differently than just being my little brother. He is another man in the world who has struggles. He is going to have to solve his struggles in a different way than I did mine.
Tom: My struggle is that this is not spicy tequila, it’s regular tequila [Laughs]
Aguilar: What was your parents' reaction to the film? It's clearly a film that revolves around your family more than the band.
Tom: Our parents love it. My mom loved being in a movie.
Matt: When they both saw the whole thing for the first time we were at our house in Cincinnati, my dad had to get up and leave the room. I think both of them when into the next room and cried for about 20 minutes. My dad didn’t want to openly cry in front of us. He couldn’t talk on the way out.
Tom: We didn’t realize that we had such a family oriented movie on our hand until it was almost finished and our sister Rachel was a little bit bummed out because she was not in it.
Matt: She lives in Seattle and we had footage of her, and when the movie ended being so much about our family and my sister was not in it, she was bummed. There is a really funny piece of bonus material out there, which is an interview with her.
Tom: Our sister loves the movie, but she was little upset. She was like “I had some things to say too.” [Laughs]
Aguilar: The title "Mistaken for Strangers" is of course from one The National’s songs, but how did you guys come to an agreement to name the film after this particular phrase? It's definitely very fitting.
Matt: We didn’t know what to call this thing and it had many, many names.
Tom: The firs title was a lyric from one of The National’s song, “Summer lovin’ torture party,” which I wasn’t so sure about.
Matt: I still like that title
Tom: I thought it was a mouthful. Our second idea was going to play the themes of me being a heavy metal fan trying to make a movie about an indie rock band, and it was going to be taken from the Acdc album “For Those About to Rock.” Our title was going to be “For Those About to Weep,” because The National is such a sadsack kind of band [Laughs]. I really liked that title.
Matt: Then, when the film was about to open the Tribeca Film Festival, the head of Tribeca said, “I love your movie, but the title ‘For Those About to Weep,’ I don’t know what that meas.” She didn’t know about the Acdc album. For Tom and I it made sense, that’s a household phrase “For Those About to Rock.” She didn’t understand our title, and she didn’t really know much about The National. It wasn’t funny to her because she wasn’t aware that we are known as a sad, depressing band.
That’s when we thought, “We don’t want only The National fans to like this movie.” So we were stuck, and this is the night before Tribeca’s press release was going to go out. They were asking, “What are you guys calling your movie? Because we are telling the world that we are opening our festival with it.” We were walking in circles thinking of what to call it. I said, “Let’s just call it ‘Lemonworld,’ that’s another thing that means nothing but is kind of mysterious”
Tom: It was going to be called “Lemonworld,” that night I was fine with that. The next morning - and this is the only time I went over anybody’s head - I called the band’s manager who was in talks with Tribeca. I said, “Wait, I don’t want my life to be called ‘Lemonworld,’ my life is not a lemmondworld!”
Matt: I had sent out an email to a bunch of trusted friends asking for suggestions since many of them had seen pieces of the film. Then my wife’s old work colleague in New York, his name is Willing Davidson who works as an editor at The New Yorker, wrote back saying, “I’ve always wonder why you guys aren’t calling this film ‘Mistaken for Strangers,’ it just seems like a perfect title for your movie.”
Tom: I thought, “That’s it ‘Mistaken for Strangers,’ done.”
Matt: That was a leap of faith. We didn’t know if it would work, but I think it’s a good title. Willing Davidson than you!
Tom: You know how we were talking about The National being known as a sadsack, depressing band. I wanted to say that, though I’m not a big fan of their music, but the one thing I know is that they are not a sadsack, depressing band. They just write songs that may be deeper than those from a lot of other bands. The one think I knew going on tour was that Matt wanted a fun movie that played with their image, taking the piss out them, making fun of the fact that people think they are sad and depressing, and showing that they are not.
I didn’t want super serious The National film showing Matt writing lyrics in a serious pose because I know that’s not how he writes lyrics, he does it in the back getting drunk. [Laughs]. The last thing I wanted was a black and white, deep and serious indie rock movie. No, I thought, “Let’s make a fun movie.” Yes they write god songs and they play music that’s very meaningful to a lot of people, but they are also good guys. They are just normal dudes that are not always trying to be the super serious artist.
Aguilar: [To Tom] I know you are not a big fan of their music, but do you a have a favorite song by The National?
Tom: I think “Friend of Mine” was always kind of my favorite song from them. There are other good ones out there but I’ve always liked “Friend of mine.”
Aguilar: [To Matt] What’s your favorite film by Tom?
Matt: Definitely “Mistaken for Strangers,” his other films are less good. [To Tom] I’m not saying they are bad…
Tom: [To Matt] I’m not saying they are good either, but I think they are interesting [Laughs]. The one I’m very proud is “Insane Animal Trapper.” I know they are very weird.
Matt: He’s also got a movie about Johnny Appleseed. In “Mistaken for Strangers” there is clip from Tom’s movie “Wages of Sin,” in that scene there is a guy who is tied to a rock and is hanging there dead. That guy is the star of Tom’s Johnny Appleseed film.
Tom: I think that all the movies I’ve made have always been weird ideas, granted I haven’t made many and most are shorts. Still, I’m proud of the fact that I’ve never made a movie just to hop of a trend. I’ve never made a rip-off of “The Matrix” and I haven’t tried to make another “Usual Suspects,” like a lot of film students do. I want to make a Johnny Appleseed movie!
Aguilar: [To Tom] Would you ever direct one The National's music videos?
Tom: Before I did this movie I directed the “Terrible Love” music video, the alternate version, and it’s all made up of tour footage.
Aguilar: How about a music video with more a narrative story?
Matt: There have been talks about Tom making a feature film based on a whole album by The National, sort of like Pink Floyd’s “The Wall,” but that’s not going to happen because the band and I would have to have most of the creative control.
Tom: And I don’t want to have my brother breathing down my neck. [Laughs]
Aguilar: [To Tom] After this very particular filmmaking experience, what are you working on next? Another documentary?
Tom: I’m taking it slow. I’ve got a few things going with some friends that might involve some Internet content. I’m taking acting lessons while being a dishwasher. I’m trying to do my best to work in this industry. I’m definitely going more on the acting route, but I still would like to direct my own stuff. I’m not a documentarian, and I feel like that’s how people see me right now - if they see me as anything that's probably what they see me as. People might think, “What other band is Tom going to follow now?” But I think that boat has sailed. I’m trying to figure out what's next.
Aguilar: [To Matt] I know you just finished touring with The National last week, are you taking a break now or working on a followup to Trouble Will Find Me?
Matt: I think we are all recalibrating. We hadn’t been actively on tour, but the last show of the tour just happened last week in London. I think everybody is trying to fix the rest of their lives, but everybody is really happy. We are getting along better than we ever have. I think this is because it’s gone well for us and because almost everybody has a family now. Family puts everything into perspective so that we realize how great we have it and how lucky we are to be where we are. Any petty resentments, anxieties, problems or tensions within the band pale in comparison to the big picture. This is the first time in along time we’ve been in that spot. We are going to start working on a new record, we sort of already are.
Aguilar: Certainly, with both with film and music, after you make something successful people have high expectations for the followup .
Mat: It’s a great problem to have. We’ve done stuff that people really think is good and now we have to do more! [Laughs]. People anticipating and having high expectations is a great problem to have, and we do have that problem. The National is not going to make another record like the ones we’ve made before, so it might take longer. [To Tom] You don’t want to make another documentary, but you also want to do something different.
Tom: It will definitely be something different, and not necessarily what people expect.
"Mistaken for Strangers" will have a one-week run at the Laemmle's Music Hall starting today December 5th. Tom and Matt Berninger will be there for a Q&A following the film tonight Friday Dec. 5 and tomorrow Saturday Dec 6 after the after the 7:10 and 9:30 shows.
For years they had in fact, unintentionally, mistaken each other for strangers because their lives had taken different roads. Tom wanted to make movies and Matt’s band had earned a great following and critical praise. But through the making of this documentary, which changed courses during editing, they both rediscovered each other beyond the glossy stage lights and the endless tour bus trips. Tom joined Matt on the High Violet tour for several months to work as a crewmember and to make a fun film about The National and his perception of them. Still, as things usually go, this plan did not turn out as clear-cut as either of them had expected. What was meant to be a humorous depiction of a heavily poetic indie rock band turned out to be a story about two brothers and how one of them struggles to overcome self-doubt in order to make an utterly enjoyable, but deeply touching film.
This week I met with Tom and Matt Berninger in Los Angeles to chat about this personal and uproarious movie that will forever be a testimony to their fraternal reconnection. There were some margaritas involved, there was maddening rain in L.A, and there were fan-boy questions on my part that were difficult to avoid. Yet, what was most present during this interview was truth. Their brotherly love and all the intricacies it involves was always there, in the flesh, real. One can only be thankful to have talked to a pair of very different, but unquestionably talented people. Here is what they had to say.
Carlos Aguilar: Tell me about this insane and touching journey you both went through while spending time on tour and making the film. What were you expecting to be the outcome in terms of the film and what it would represent for each one of you? The film certainly is much introspective than just simply a film about a band.
Tom: It’s been so long ago now. I was working in few movies as a Pa, but mostly I was working at a TV station in Cincinnati as a tech person. I always wanted to make movies. I went to film school. Matt knew that this is what I wanted to do. We would talk movies all the time when we saw each other over the holidays. I hardly ever got to see him, but when I did we would talk about movies. I was stuck in a rot and feeling like I could live in Cincinnati, Ohio for the rest of my life or I could do something fun and kind of experience what he experiences, such as traveling around the world with a band.
I also knew that the band was getting bigger and I wanted to see that. I wanted to taste a little bit of his fame [Laughs]. He brought up this idea that I should come on tour and bring a camera, film some fun goofy stuff, and see what could come out of it. I hoped it would be something that I could use to further my career as videographer or to get a job maybe in NYC with some multimedia firm thanks to the fact that I had this little thing I made with The National. I didn’t know what it was going to be, but that was the idea, to get on my feet using their name or their kind of cloud as this cool indie rock band to get my foot in the door into some sort of job opportunity in NYC. At least that was my angle.
Matt: Mostly it was to give him a job and to get him out of Cincinnati for a while, but also because I missed him. A third of it was a charity thing, another third was that I missed him, and the last third was me thinking “Hey, maybe he could make something cool.” What I had thought he would make was not what he made in the end, but it wasn’t a fake job. I actually did believe he could make something cool and that together we could have fun trying to make, and we did. You don’t actually see much of us goofing around and having fun in the final product because it wasn’t that interesting to the real story.
What became the film was Tom struggling with his other job of being a roadie and struggling with the making of this project. Focusing on Tom’s struggle made for a much better film and not what we had originally set out to do. Originally we though of making a goofy film, almost like a Monkey’s movie or “A Hard Day’s Night,” a tour film that’s all wacky and silly, but all that stuff is just stupid.
My wife Carin Besser, who edited the film alongside Tom, thought that stuff was kind of boring. She was looking at all the footage of when Tom started to go off the rails and said, “You don’t have a movie with that stuff.” But when she saw him drunk on the bus and the other humiliating things Tom went through, she was like, “That’s what I’m interested in!” I think we were already half way into that direction anyway and I thought, “Yes, let’s just throw everything out and let’s just focus the movie on what happened to you, not the band”
Tom: The National, the band members are super cool. I’ve known these guys long before they were in a band. I’ve known them throughout their careers and through many years of struggling. I knew whatever I would be filming wouldn’t be a real documentary about the band, because I don’t really listen to them. I’m a fan of them and I’m a fan of their success and I know they make music that’s very special to some people, but the music was never really important to me simply because it’s not my taste in music or my scene.
I didn’t really have any idea of what to make. I certainly didn’t want to dive into something like, “Matt, what’s your creative process?” I wouldn’t even know where to go from there, but what I was interested in was getting to know these guys behind the scenes and seeing them start get famous. I was very interesting in things like, “What’s it like to have all these people staring at you? And all these girls!” To me that’s awesome, and that’s what I think most people want to know, “What does it feel to be super famous to your group of fans?”
That was the most interesting part to me and that’s what I wanted to figure out. I wanted to try to make them feel embarrassed and get some real funny stuff. I kind of got that, there are some elements of that in the movie, but it became something else. Also I felt like I had to somewhat document myself like on the tour bus when I was getting drunk by myself.
Matt: [To Tom] You thought that would be funny
Tom: Yes, I thought that would be funny and I thought, “I’m the only one on this tour bus and I’m going to get wasted because that’s what people do on tour buses. The band is in their nice hotel sleeping and I’m the only one taking advantage of this tour bus”
Matt: [To Tom] And it was funny but not quiet in the way you thought it would be
Tom: No, it wasn’t funny at all
Matt: It was kind of depressing. That’s some of the most uncomfortable stuff to watch, which are the things that he thought would be kind of funny or cool.
Tom: When I filmed them I thought, “Let’s see how it plays” [Laughs]. “We’ll see if this is as fun as I think it is.”
Matt: [To Tom] There was a point where you were filming stuff and you were like “Oh, this is so awkward and terrible.” You would tell the other guys in the band to do something because you were trying to get “cool” stuff, but then you thought, “This is all going to be garbage.” Then early in the editing process you realized “Actually this stuff is funny! The stuff about me trying to make this other movie is actually what’s funny.” You recognized the comedy quickly. It didn’t take anybody else to show you what worked. Like when you made Bryce pick up the sunglasses, that’s funny.
Tom: There were a bunch of moments, that one included, where I thought” What kind of footage do I have of this band, The National. I don’t know if it’s any good or not but it’s weird and I kind of like it.” Early on I had shot my brother casually looking at the camera and though “He looks good there, he looks cool.” I looked at the footage and it was great. I thought” Wow, if I could get a moment like with every single guy in the band that’d be great. I don’t know where I’d used it but it’d be great”
Matt: [To Tom] Which one is the one of me?
Tom: It’s a shot I used in the “Terrible Love” music video. In that video there is a shot of Matt, which is very casual and it’s like four seconds long, but he looks like a rock star. I wanted to get everyone of them in a cool rock star pose. I wanted something like a moving portrait or a video portrait.
Aguilar: Tom, at what point did you look at all this footage and decided what you were going to do with it to make a meaningful film out of this experience?
Tom: We saw the footage where I shot these guys in “cool” poses and we realized they were awful and awkward [Laughs]. That’s when I started to think that I had failed to get what I wanted, I failed at making a cool movie. Instead I felt like I kind of took advantage of them, but I was also getting them in a real moment. They are trying to be rock stars but then you see how awkward they are. There is something underneath. They are these normal guys who happen to have an awesome job. That’s when we started trying to figure out how to piece together all this footage of me trying to make an awesome movie and failing at that, but at the same time capturing this journey to try to find myself and finish my project.
Aguilar: Making such a personal film, were there moments where it became to intimate to show? How difficult was it to look at this footage, which sometimes shows both of you in an unflattering way?
Matt: There were many times during the process when he was shooting stuff on tour and asking questions to which I would say, “Don’t use any of this.” At some point Bryan literally says, “Don’t use any of this interview,” and Tom laughs. It didn’t make into the film because it was too personal. There were also a lot of times that I just didn’t want him filming, but when the story started to come together and I saw some of he unflattering stuff, I was fine with it because I knew he was already putting so much unflattering stuff about himself in the film.
By the time they were actually creating something that was coming together, they had changed the focus and turned it inward towards Tom’s relationship with me. At that point all of these unflattering elements became relevant and interesting in the context of this new movie. I was Ok with it. The other guys in the band, well, I didn’t tell them what was happening for a long time. I kept them in the dark about it. They were pretty much in the dark until they saw part of a rough cut at a screening that went badly. It’s the screening you see in the film where the screen goes blank. That was the first time anybody in the band had seen anything.
All they saw was about 10 minutes of awkward, weird, uncomfortable stuff and then the screen went blank, but they were laughing at that. They got it. They thought that stuff was cool. It was actually kind of a lucky thing that when Tom tried to screen it the band didn’t get to see very much because what they saw was the funny stuff. At that point they backed away and let Tom go ahead and finish it. If they had seen the whole thing I bet they would have jumped in and gotten more involved. Tom would have lost some control.
The finishing of it was like a cat-and-mouse game between what the movie really was and what the band thought it was. Even with me, Corine and Tom were not totally letting me understand that it was going to be about until they started getting close to something good.
Tom: It took a long time to make it what it is. In the first 6 months of working on it, when Matt didn’t know anything and it was only me trying to figure out what I had shot, that was when I noticed the awkwardness of some of the things that I did with the guys. Then I saw myself crying and getting drunk on the bus and I thought,“ I don’t know how this goes into a movie. “ I was still thinking it was going to be about the band.
For a long time that was the driving force, it had to be about the band with an undercurrent about the brother making this documentary and screwing up. Mainly it was all about he band, but slowly we showed it to a few friends and, with me being the room, Matt would ask them, “ How much of Tom do you want to see? Are you annoyed at Tom? Are you guys tired of seeing Tom or do you like seeing Tom?” And they would all say “We like seeing Tom.”
I thought, “Alright, they like seeing me. “ We thought that stuff with me was funny and somewhat dramatic and sad, and I didn’t know how to react to that. I also thought it was sad, but it was also my life. Still, I’m all about making a good movie and if people like that and people think that makes it a better movie then I’m all for it. I thought, “Ok, let’s take more of The National out and put more of the shit that I was going through in the movie.” It just became a better movie that way.
Aguilar: What have you learned about each other after looking at one another through this filter, the film? Tom as the one behind the camera and Matt as sort of the original subject for the documentary.
Matt: It’s been funny. Through the process of him being of tour making the film I learned a certain type of thing: I learned that I missed my brother and I learned that I liked having him around. Putting it in perspective, I also realized that when he was around while we where on tour I was much happier, even if you don’t see much of that in the film [Laughs]. I don’t like to tour. I like doing shows, but I don’t like being away from home. I don’t like to travel that much, and I get really lost. I get pretty weird in the head after 5 or 6 weeks traveling around on a bus, doing shows, and the anxiety of it all. Having Tom around kept me grounded and more connected to the things that are important. Having him around put this whole rock and roll thing in perspective, which is good for me.
Tom: [To Matt] Also, when the shows are not going on the two pairs of brothers in the band pair up and go out to do some shopping, or whatever brotherly things they do. But you don’t really have anybody to go with. It was fun for me because I had never been to Europe and I was able to go out with him, eat dinner, and see all these places I had never been to. It was also a great chance for him to get out of the hotel room occasionally.
Matt: The band is a crucible of creative tensions, and it was nice to be able to go out to dinner with Tom, just Tom and I, and let out all my frustrations with the tour or the shows, or even share my enthusiasm and happiness. It’s hard to do it sometimes with the band because we are in this thing together and it’s loaded with all kinds of other tensions. Therefore, having Tom around was a huge tension release, a relief valve that released a lot of the pressure.
Tom: I was so unaware of the band’s small talk, subtle innuendos, and the subtle ways a band rips each other apart.
Matt: [To Tom] They went totally over your head. You didn’t even know.
Tom : I didn’t know that things weren’t going well certain days. I’m kind of everybody’s friend because everyone knows that I have no idea what’s going on.
Matt: If there were some sort of tension going on in the bad for whatever reason Tom wouldn’t have any idea of what was going on. So he and I would go out to dinner and I’d be bitching about the show and he would say, “I though the show was awesome!” It would put it in perspective for me. “Why am I complaining?” [To Tom] You did that for everyone else, having you around just relieved all kinds of tension within the band, mostly because you were making everybody laugh.
Tom: I’m at 0 for 80 as far as The National shows I’ve seen and how always I get their reaction to the show wrong. Sometimes I’d say, “That was a good show,” and they’ll say, “No, that was a terrible show.” Then another time I’d say, “That was really bad show,” and they’ll be like “We all thought that was a great show.” My read of every show was different from the band’s reaction. I couldn’t understand it. When I felt the energy apparently nobody else did.
Matt: He always got it wrong. Or maybe you always got it right [Laughs]. Another thing that happened in the process of this whole thing is that I saw Tom’s talents that I didn’t actually know of. There are a lot of things that I would not do the way Tom does. He is a very different person from me. I saw how different he is from me….
Tom: Like how I drink my Margarita? [Laughs]
Matt: I saw how different he is from me, and how brilliant he is in some things. I think through the process of him being on tour and him living with us, I think Tom and I are starting to understand what we are good at and what the other person is good at. We are starting to respect each other in a different way. Our old dynamic of older successful brother and younger less successful brother, that cliché, has changed.
I was always trying to help him and give him guidance, and all that. At a certain point I was giving him guidance that was meant for me not for him. I started recognizing that he is on a different road than I am. I started to understand his road and I think he understood where I’m coming from. What has happened is that a lot of the animosity between us has dissolved. He still drives me crazy and I drive him crazy, but underneath all that he knows that what I do is good even if it’s not his type of thing. I know that the things that he does are good, we just do different types of things
Aguilar: Was making the film a cathartic experience? Do you guys now see each other more like different creative people, besides being brothers, thanks to this shared experience?
Tom : Making this film has helped me discover things that I’m good at. As far as how the movie works, how it plays, how funny it is, I have my own take on that. Making it I did find some fun, comfort, and success. It was fun to see people liked the movie. That’s what I always wanted to do. With me being in my own movie so much, I didn’t know that it was going to be such a fun thing for people to watch me.
Matt: We know the movie is funny, and we knew what was funny about it when we were editing it, but there is a lot of therapy in there too. The movie is a lot about us working out problems. The editing of the movie was an extension of us trying to, not only look for what’s interesting about each other, but also finding what’s interesting about our relationship. Ultimately we wanted people to not be bored, and we wanted to tell a story that was meaningful and we kept coming back to our relationship and the complicated thorns that are in a real relationship between brothers or between anybody. This just happens to be about two brothers that are far apart in age.
Even if we had to show unflattering sides of each other that was what we were most interested in. My wife was definitely interested in the weird details of any relationship. Two human beings trying to understand each other, who love each other, but who also hate each other. How does that play out? All the most important things that happen in a human being’s life are usually the things that have to do with communicating with another human being. Everything revolves around that.
A person’s success - in terms of critical success or financial success - is pretty insignificant to a person’s happiness, but their relationships with themselves and people that are close to them that’s all that matters. The movie became about Tom’s search to understand his relationship with himself and with me. The process of making the film made me think about Tom differently than just being my little brother. He is another man in the world who has struggles. He is going to have to solve his struggles in a different way than I did mine.
Tom: My struggle is that this is not spicy tequila, it’s regular tequila [Laughs]
Aguilar: What was your parents' reaction to the film? It's clearly a film that revolves around your family more than the band.
Tom: Our parents love it. My mom loved being in a movie.
Matt: When they both saw the whole thing for the first time we were at our house in Cincinnati, my dad had to get up and leave the room. I think both of them when into the next room and cried for about 20 minutes. My dad didn’t want to openly cry in front of us. He couldn’t talk on the way out.
Tom: We didn’t realize that we had such a family oriented movie on our hand until it was almost finished and our sister Rachel was a little bit bummed out because she was not in it.
Matt: She lives in Seattle and we had footage of her, and when the movie ended being so much about our family and my sister was not in it, she was bummed. There is a really funny piece of bonus material out there, which is an interview with her.
Tom: Our sister loves the movie, but she was little upset. She was like “I had some things to say too.” [Laughs]
Aguilar: The title "Mistaken for Strangers" is of course from one The National’s songs, but how did you guys come to an agreement to name the film after this particular phrase? It's definitely very fitting.
Matt: We didn’t know what to call this thing and it had many, many names.
Tom: The firs title was a lyric from one of The National’s song, “Summer lovin’ torture party,” which I wasn’t so sure about.
Matt: I still like that title
Tom: I thought it was a mouthful. Our second idea was going to play the themes of me being a heavy metal fan trying to make a movie about an indie rock band, and it was going to be taken from the Acdc album “For Those About to Rock.” Our title was going to be “For Those About to Weep,” because The National is such a sadsack kind of band [Laughs]. I really liked that title.
Matt: Then, when the film was about to open the Tribeca Film Festival, the head of Tribeca said, “I love your movie, but the title ‘For Those About to Weep,’ I don’t know what that meas.” She didn’t know about the Acdc album. For Tom and I it made sense, that’s a household phrase “For Those About to Rock.” She didn’t understand our title, and she didn’t really know much about The National. It wasn’t funny to her because she wasn’t aware that we are known as a sad, depressing band.
That’s when we thought, “We don’t want only The National fans to like this movie.” So we were stuck, and this is the night before Tribeca’s press release was going to go out. They were asking, “What are you guys calling your movie? Because we are telling the world that we are opening our festival with it.” We were walking in circles thinking of what to call it. I said, “Let’s just call it ‘Lemonworld,’ that’s another thing that means nothing but is kind of mysterious”
Tom: It was going to be called “Lemonworld,” that night I was fine with that. The next morning - and this is the only time I went over anybody’s head - I called the band’s manager who was in talks with Tribeca. I said, “Wait, I don’t want my life to be called ‘Lemonworld,’ my life is not a lemmondworld!”
Matt: I had sent out an email to a bunch of trusted friends asking for suggestions since many of them had seen pieces of the film. Then my wife’s old work colleague in New York, his name is Willing Davidson who works as an editor at The New Yorker, wrote back saying, “I’ve always wonder why you guys aren’t calling this film ‘Mistaken for Strangers,’ it just seems like a perfect title for your movie.”
Tom: I thought, “That’s it ‘Mistaken for Strangers,’ done.”
Matt: That was a leap of faith. We didn’t know if it would work, but I think it’s a good title. Willing Davidson than you!
Tom: You know how we were talking about The National being known as a sadsack, depressing band. I wanted to say that, though I’m not a big fan of their music, but the one thing I know is that they are not a sadsack, depressing band. They just write songs that may be deeper than those from a lot of other bands. The one think I knew going on tour was that Matt wanted a fun movie that played with their image, taking the piss out them, making fun of the fact that people think they are sad and depressing, and showing that they are not.
I didn’t want super serious The National film showing Matt writing lyrics in a serious pose because I know that’s not how he writes lyrics, he does it in the back getting drunk. [Laughs]. The last thing I wanted was a black and white, deep and serious indie rock movie. No, I thought, “Let’s make a fun movie.” Yes they write god songs and they play music that’s very meaningful to a lot of people, but they are also good guys. They are just normal dudes that are not always trying to be the super serious artist.
Aguilar: [To Tom] I know you are not a big fan of their music, but do you a have a favorite song by The National?
Tom: I think “Friend of Mine” was always kind of my favorite song from them. There are other good ones out there but I’ve always liked “Friend of mine.”
Aguilar: [To Matt] What’s your favorite film by Tom?
Matt: Definitely “Mistaken for Strangers,” his other films are less good. [To Tom] I’m not saying they are bad…
Tom: [To Matt] I’m not saying they are good either, but I think they are interesting [Laughs]. The one I’m very proud is “Insane Animal Trapper.” I know they are very weird.
Matt: He’s also got a movie about Johnny Appleseed. In “Mistaken for Strangers” there is clip from Tom’s movie “Wages of Sin,” in that scene there is a guy who is tied to a rock and is hanging there dead. That guy is the star of Tom’s Johnny Appleseed film.
Tom: I think that all the movies I’ve made have always been weird ideas, granted I haven’t made many and most are shorts. Still, I’m proud of the fact that I’ve never made a movie just to hop of a trend. I’ve never made a rip-off of “The Matrix” and I haven’t tried to make another “Usual Suspects,” like a lot of film students do. I want to make a Johnny Appleseed movie!
Aguilar: [To Tom] Would you ever direct one The National's music videos?
Tom: Before I did this movie I directed the “Terrible Love” music video, the alternate version, and it’s all made up of tour footage.
Aguilar: How about a music video with more a narrative story?
Matt: There have been talks about Tom making a feature film based on a whole album by The National, sort of like Pink Floyd’s “The Wall,” but that’s not going to happen because the band and I would have to have most of the creative control.
Tom: And I don’t want to have my brother breathing down my neck. [Laughs]
Aguilar: [To Tom] After this very particular filmmaking experience, what are you working on next? Another documentary?
Tom: I’m taking it slow. I’ve got a few things going with some friends that might involve some Internet content. I’m taking acting lessons while being a dishwasher. I’m trying to do my best to work in this industry. I’m definitely going more on the acting route, but I still would like to direct my own stuff. I’m not a documentarian, and I feel like that’s how people see me right now - if they see me as anything that's probably what they see me as. People might think, “What other band is Tom going to follow now?” But I think that boat has sailed. I’m trying to figure out what's next.
Aguilar: [To Matt] I know you just finished touring with The National last week, are you taking a break now or working on a followup to Trouble Will Find Me?
Matt: I think we are all recalibrating. We hadn’t been actively on tour, but the last show of the tour just happened last week in London. I think everybody is trying to fix the rest of their lives, but everybody is really happy. We are getting along better than we ever have. I think this is because it’s gone well for us and because almost everybody has a family now. Family puts everything into perspective so that we realize how great we have it and how lucky we are to be where we are. Any petty resentments, anxieties, problems or tensions within the band pale in comparison to the big picture. This is the first time in along time we’ve been in that spot. We are going to start working on a new record, we sort of already are.
Aguilar: Certainly, with both with film and music, after you make something successful people have high expectations for the followup .
Mat: It’s a great problem to have. We’ve done stuff that people really think is good and now we have to do more! [Laughs]. People anticipating and having high expectations is a great problem to have, and we do have that problem. The National is not going to make another record like the ones we’ve made before, so it might take longer. [To Tom] You don’t want to make another documentary, but you also want to do something different.
Tom: It will definitely be something different, and not necessarily what people expect.
"Mistaken for Strangers" will have a one-week run at the Laemmle's Music Hall starting today December 5th. Tom and Matt Berninger will be there for a Q&A following the film tonight Friday Dec. 5 and tomorrow Saturday Dec 6 after the after the 7:10 and 9:30 shows.
- 12/5/2014
- by Carlos Aguilar
- Sydney's Buzz
There comes a time in every band's life when the music video merely isn't enough of an art form. Some put out live DVDs; some concert films; some even musicals. The National - Brooklyn's indie darlings who seem to get bigger and better with every album - didn't get to decide.
See, Tom Berninger is the 34-year-old younger brother of lead singer Matt. Tom is a loveable slacker who still lives with their parents in Cincinnati. Matt, possibly feeling a little sorry for Tom, invited him on tour with the band to work as a roadie. What Matt didn't realise, however, was that Tom was taking his camera along for the ride.
But what started as a rock doc of The National accidentally turned into Mistaken for Strangers - a brilliantly funny, sad, weird film about two brothers who've been given conflicting lemons in life and the literal tears and tantrums that come with.
See, Tom Berninger is the 34-year-old younger brother of lead singer Matt. Tom is a loveable slacker who still lives with their parents in Cincinnati. Matt, possibly feeling a little sorry for Tom, invited him on tour with the band to work as a roadie. What Matt didn't realise, however, was that Tom was taking his camera along for the ride.
But what started as a rock doc of The National accidentally turned into Mistaken for Strangers - a brilliantly funny, sad, weird film about two brothers who've been given conflicting lemons in life and the literal tears and tantrums that come with.
- 6/5/2014
- Digital Spy
If there's one thing that can fill a room full of journalists with envy, it's a great, original question.
Director Tom Berninger came up with an instant classic for "Mistaken for Strangers," his new documentary about Brooklyn indie-rock band The National. He asks a member of The National -- whose lead singer, Matt Berninger, happens to be Tom's brother -- if he brings his wallet onstage with him when he performs.
After the film opened the Tribeca Film Festival on April 17, all the writers in the room were smacking themselves in the forehead. Why didn't we think of that?! we kept asking each other.
"He asked a lot of questions like that," Matt, 42, said with a rueful laugh during an interview at the Hilton Fashion District in New York City.
"It kinda came up on the spot," added Tom, who's 33. He got the idea from watching his brother go through his pre-show routine.
Director Tom Berninger came up with an instant classic for "Mistaken for Strangers," his new documentary about Brooklyn indie-rock band The National. He asks a member of The National -- whose lead singer, Matt Berninger, happens to be Tom's brother -- if he brings his wallet onstage with him when he performs.
After the film opened the Tribeca Film Festival on April 17, all the writers in the room were smacking themselves in the forehead. Why didn't we think of that?! we kept asking each other.
"He asked a lot of questions like that," Matt, 42, said with a rueful laugh during an interview at the Hilton Fashion District in New York City.
"It kinda came up on the spot," added Tom, who's 33. He got the idea from watching his brother go through his pre-show routine.
- 4/26/2013
- by Michael Hogan
- Huffington Post
Tribeca has begun announcing lineups for the 12th annual festival, April 17-28. Opening the festival this year is Mistaken For Strangers. The film tells the story of two very different brothers—one a struggling artist, the other the lead singer of The National—to be followed by a special concert by the band itself. See below for the official press release and video of the band performing the song inspiring the film’s title, live at Terminal 5.
2013 Tribeca Film Festival To Open With The World Premiere
Of Mistaken For Strangers And Special Performance By
Critically Acclaimed Band The National
Tom Berninger’s Film Chronicling His Personal Journey On Tour with the Brooklyn Band to Kick Off Tff’s 12th Edition on April 17
The Tribeca Film Festival recently announced that the world premiere of Mistaken for Strangers, executive produced by Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Marshall Curry and produced by Matt Berninger, Carin Besser and Craig Charland,...
2013 Tribeca Film Festival To Open With The World Premiere
Of Mistaken For Strangers And Special Performance By
Critically Acclaimed Band The National
Tom Berninger’s Film Chronicling His Personal Journey On Tour with the Brooklyn Band to Kick Off Tff’s 12th Edition on April 17
The Tribeca Film Festival recently announced that the world premiere of Mistaken for Strangers, executive produced by Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Marshall Curry and produced by Matt Berninger, Carin Besser and Craig Charland,...
- 3/16/2013
- by Christopher Clemente
- SoundOnSight
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