If you’ve ever shared anything with an audience, whether it’s a film, an article, music or any random art project for that matter, you probably know that it can hurt to get negative feedback.  However, even after Labor Day failed to impress critics or thrive at the box office, Jason Reitman got right back at it, putting together another feature that adheres to the reason he makes movies, because he’s in a “deep search to answer personal questions.”

Men, Women & Children focuses on an ensemble of high school students and their parents and covers how the Internet changes the way they communicate, their relationships and their self-esteem as well.  The film is currently playing in select theaters, but with the October 17th nationwide expansion coming up, I got the opportunity to sit down with Reitman and discuss what it took to put it together.  Hear about his photo boarding process, how he created shots that effectively and naturally incorporate texting and web browsing and loads more in the video interview after the jump.

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Jason Reitman:

  • 00:00 – Why make Men, Women & Children now?
  • 01:00 – Pitching the idea to Paramount and his cast.
  • 01:35 – Working with his younger stars – Kaitlyn Dever, Ansel Elgort, Olivia Crocicchia, Katherine C. Hughes and Travis Tope.
  • 02:16 – Tope’s unique training process.
  • 02:55 – His thoughts on going to film school versus getting real world experience.
  • 04:12 – Incorporating Facebook, texting and other computer/cell phone graphics in the film.
  • 06:07 – Reitman’s photo boarding process.
  • 07:08 – When and why he decided to start using photo boarding.
  • 07:53 – Designing the negative space in his shots; how the new visual components affected his editorial vocabulary.
  • 09:03 – Testing out graphic moves, like dragging web browser windows across the frame.
  • 09:45 – Reflecting what we naturally do on computers on the screen.
  • 10:53 – Will Men, Women and Children hold up years down the line?
  • 11:56 – Why we’ll have a better perspective on the film years later.
  • 12:23 – Moving on after a film isn’t well received, like Labor Day.
  • 13:28 – When to take feedback/opinions to heart and when to stick to what you think is right.

 

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