Indiewire's Filmmaker Toolkit

Veteran producer Alex Baskin takes us behind the scenes of one of the best non-scripted shows on television. Hear how they balance reality with emotional storytelling, and how they prevented last season's 'Scandoval' from breaking the show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The great actor-turned-director talks about developing the film for his daughter Maya Hawke (who stars as author Flannery O’Connor) after "Stranger Things" blew up, wrestling with O’Connor’s history with racism, what he learned about directing from all the greats he’s worked with as actor, and why the theme of creativity and what it means to be an artist has become the driving force behind so much of his own work as an artist at this stage of his career. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For his fourth time joining the Toolkit discussion, director Luca Guadagnino takes us into the sultry, sweaty world of "Challengers." Much more than just a tennis movie, this film pushed Guadagnino to make bold choices with camera and music, and lean into storyboards and rehearsal more than his previous work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The co-creators of the stunning FX miniseries join us to discuss the rigorous process that made the show so captivating, from period detail to character psychology and a nuanced approach to subtitles. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This little seen 1991 gem is coming to the Criterion Collection. And even if you have seen this movie, the story of how it got made will shock you. Savoca talked about how she transformed a studio film destined to be another Porky’s teen sex comedy into a subtle masterpiece. Savoca talks about how her young star, River Phoenix, saved the ending from being reshot by the studio and his incredible talent and moral compass at just 20 years old. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You may remember "The People’s Joker" as that film Warner Brothers tried to shut down for copyright infringement during the 2022 Toronto film Festival. The more interesting story about this film is the ingenuity and a punk rock spirit in which it was created. Drew takes us on a journey of how her origin story as a trans woman coming up in the comedy world started (in her head at least) to merge with that of the Joker, and the rather unusual way this film was dreamed up. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thomas Kail, of Hamilton and Fosse/Verdon joins us to discuss this gripping series about a Jewish family in Poland surviving WWII, and how he worked to make sure this holocaust story reflects upon the modern day. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Having helmed their big grudge match in 2021's Godzilla vs Kong, director Adam Wingard is now back for the big team up. Hear how Wingard and his team expanded the mythology of the series, introduced several new titans, and integrated VFX with some spectacular location shooting. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The director of "Saint Maud" takes us into the dark heart of her new noir romance. From the shocking gore to the authentic sex scenes, and even a touch of the cosmic, Glass breaks down how this movie goes so hard. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Michael Keaton joins us today for a chat about his work Directing and starring in this modern day film noir about a hitman with rapid-onset dementia. Hear how Keaton defied the expectations of a thriller in order to deliver a movie that is contemplative, tragic, and yet dryly funny. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's time to go back to the desert! The mastermind behind the Dune series returns to Toolkit to breakdown the complicated hero's journey, making sandworm riding a reality, and why this sequel feels like such a different kind of movie than the first. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Series creator and director Lulu Wang discusses carrying around a Zoom recorder on scouts and finding the rhythm (in more ways than one) of "Expats." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Apple TV Plus series “Masters of the Air” reunites screenwriter John Orloff with his “Band of Brothers” producers Gary Goetzman, Tom Hanks, and Steven Spielberg. On this episode, Orloff discusses his rigorous approach to research and how that manifests itself as drama in some of the most visceral combat scenes ever filmed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You probably know Dolph Lundgren as an actor from films like ROCKY IV and UNIVERSAL SOLDIER, but over the last 20 years he has quietly forged a directing career making modestly budgeted action films in the character-driven tradition of Don Siegel and Clint Eastwood. He joins Filmmaker Toolkit to talk about his latest movie, WANTED MAN. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ava Duvernay joins us to dig into the deep emotions and complex histories that make up her extraordinary new film Origin. Hear how she saw a vision for a film within the 'unadaptable' best selling book by Isabelle Wilkerson, and how she blended genre and film form to not only connect important moments of human suffering across time, but also infuse them with love. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It has been nine years since Under The Skin, the last film from Jonathan Glazer. Once you hear him discuss the approach to the harrowing and complex subject matter of his new film, including bold approaches to the look and sound, you will understand why it took almost a decade to develop one of the best films of 2023. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Editor William Goldenberg has cut all but one of director Ben Affleck’s features, and Affleck says their partnership was the key to making “Air” fly. On today’s episode Affleck and Goldenberg talk about evoking period through editing, fine-tuning performances, and much, much more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The director and writer of Occupied City join us this week to explain how they crafted this very particular and precise cinematic experience, which presents a unique approach to a dark chapter in world history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Director Michael Mann joins Filmmaker Toolkit to talk about his latest film, “Ferrari,” a movie he’s been working on in one form or another for decades. Mann discusses how he conceived and executed the film’s extraordinary racing sequences, why the movie contains two complementary styles of filmmaking, and how he worked with actors Adam Driver and Penelope Cruz to build their characters. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Peter Sohn has long been a fixture at Pixar, and this week he spoke with us about taking the leap from voice acting and writing to directing. Hear how he finds his story through his drawing pen, and why his family's immigrant experience formed the beating heart of Elemental. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices