One of my favorite movies of 2015 is Ramin Bahrani‘s heart-wrenching look at the foreclosure crisis, 99 Homes. Inspired by true events, the film stars Michael Shannon as a businessman who makes a comfortable living serving eviction notices and carrying out removals of people from their homes. Andrew Garfield is a single father who experiences Shannon’s work first hand, but is then given the opportunity to try and get his house back by working for Shannon’s character.

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Besides the amazing performances by both Shannon and Garfield, what’s exceptional about 99 Homes is the way Bahrani lets scenes play out by refusing to embellish them. At times you feel like you’re in the middle of a documentary because Bahrani likes to use real people, and that authenticity works flawlessly in the film. Trust me, you want to see this movie. 99 Homes also stars Laura DernNoah LomaxTim GuineeJ.D. Evermore, and Clancy Brown.

During my video interview with Ramin Bahrani, he talked about getting 99 Homes made, landing high caliber actors like Garfield, Shannon, and Dern, using non-professional actors in key supporting roles, his first cut, favorite filmmakers, Woody Allen, and so much more. In addition I even got him to play “Save or Kill.” Watch what he had to say below. 99 Homes is now in theaters.

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Ramin Bahrani:

  • 0:00 - Talks about difficulty in getting a project like this off the ground
  • 99-homes-andrew-garfield
    Image via Broad Green Pictures
    1:02 - How he was able to land high caliber actors like Andrew Garfield, Michael Shannon, and Laura Dern
  • 3:17 - The excitement on working with such talented actors
  • 5:59 - Using non-professional actors
  • 7:32 - How long was the first cut versus the final cut of the film
  • 9:02 - If the DVD will include an extended cut or deleted scenes
  • 10:03 - Working with the one and only Michael Shannon
  • 10:33 - The Choices of Andrew Garfield's character
  • 11:40 - The impact positive reactions to this film can have on future projects
  • 12:29 - The studio system approach to ambiguous versus clear-cut moral tales
  • 13:32 - Save or Kill
  • 15:48 - Woody Allen tangent
  • 17:21 - Favorite filmmaker?
  • 18:28 - How your reaction to a film changes upon different viewings as you get older
  • 19:13 - Bahrani challenges us viewers! Name the best American film?
  • 20:11 - Future projects
  • 20:50 - Bahrani insists on showing off Steve's sweet shirt

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