With writer-director Richard Ayoade’s great coming-of-age film, Submarine, opening this weekend, I was recently able to interview him here in Los Angeles.  For those unfamiliar with the movie, here's part of Matt's review:

Richard Ayoade’s Submarine is like an indie version of last year’s Scott Pilgrim vs. The World.  Both movies are coming-of-age stories that center on a lead character who views his world through the lens of his interests.  But whereas Scott sees the world in shades of videogames and pop culture, Submarine’s eccentric protagonist, 15-year-old Oliver Tate, brings a French New Wave and erudite nature to his world view.  The film wisely grounds its lead character by having him grapple with simple but relatable problems: he doesn’t know how to be a good boyfriend and his parents’ marriage is disintegrating due in part to his mom’s old flame moving in next door.  Ayoade brings an enchanting and delightful visual style to his debut feature and compliments it with an impressive score and strong performances.

I completely agree with Matt as Submarine is an impressive debut and I can't wait to see what Ayoade does next.  During the interview we talked about the look and feel of the film, what was it like working with the young cast, how much was planned in advance and how much does he find on set.  In addition,  he also talked about directing an episode of Community, making The IT Crowd for NBC, and what's he working on now.  Hit the jump to watch.

Richard Ayoade

  • :40 Talks about his experiences going to college at Cambridge.
  • 3:05 The feel and look of the film.
  • 4:13 How much planning he did beforehand, and how much was decided on set
  • 5:15 Working with a young cast.
  • 6:11 The experience of his first film getting into TIFF and other festivals and being such a great success.
  • 6:58 Talks about critics, and their reaction to work.
  • 7:55 How much input Joe had in the creation of the film.
  • 8:48 Talks about his experience directing an episode of Community
  • 9:43 Talks about the pilot of The IT Crowd for NBC
  • 11:25 His next project. Says he’s writing at the moment.

 

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