A domestic terrorist who claims to hear the voice of God commanding her to attack federal buildings
Inspiration from Bresson’s The Trial of Joan of Arc
Joan’s belief in the soil, the bloodline of the people, making America Christian again, and against the elites
Joan’s ideology as a miss mash of the Alt-Right, Cliven Bundy, and Christian Fundamentalist
The theme of having high ideals and coming to grips with one’s fragility
The question of whether Joan is a villain or sympathetic character
How the film does not give a moral judgement of Joan
The dialogue between Joan and the Judges
The office politics of the people judging her
The Guantanamo Bay like setting and theme of government tyranny
Characters who represent Deep State figures
The triad of judges arranged in a pyramid
The dream like surreal quality to the film
The minimalist aesthetic
The casting and discovering of the lead actress Nicole LaLiberte from the New Twin Peaks
The production of the film
Writing for the new film Looking Glass
Robert suggests Matthew make his novel Journey to Vapor Islandinto a film
Matthew David Wilder has worked as a screenwriter, writing for some of America’s most well known directors including Oliver Stone and Paul Schrader. He’s also directed a number of independent films.
Topics:
Matthew’s background, growing up in a trailer park in Des Plaines, Illinois, studying theatre at Yale, and his mentor Peter Sellars
Matthew’s first major project writing for Clive Barker’sThe History of the Devil
Matthew’s work with Oliver Stone on a film about the war on terror right after 9/11 which was never released
The film Dog Eat Dog, staring Nicolas Cage, written by Matthew, directed by Paul Schrader, which was released last fall, and was Matthew’s first major Hollywood project
The process of transforming the crime novel by Edward Bunker into a film
Reviews of the Dog Eat Dog, by The Guardian and Anne Thompson
Matthew’s film Your Name Here, which is a surreal dramatic fantasy biopic loosely based on the life of Philip K. Dick
How to effectively take the audience out of their comfort zone as a director
Matthew’s upcoming film REGARDING THE CASE OF JOAN OF ARC, with Taryn Manning playing Joan of Arc as an alt-right, Christian fundamentalist terrorist put on trial in a Guatanamo Bay-like setting
Matthew’s upcoming film Morning Has Broken
Robert Stark and Alex von Goldstein talk to Director and Screenwriter Matthew David Wilder
Topics include:
Matthew’s background, growing up in a trailer park in Des Plaines, Illinois, studying theatre at Yale, and his mentor Peter Sellars
Matthew’s first major project was writing for Clive Barker’sThe History of the Devil
Matthew’s work with Oliver Stone on a film about the war on terror right after 9/11 which was never released
The film Dog Eat Dog, staring Nicolas Cage and Willem Dafoe, written by Matthew, directed by Paul Schrader, which will be released to theatres next month
Matthew directed, and wrote Your Name Here, staring Bill Pullman, which is a surreal dramatic fantasy biopic loosely based on the life of Philip K. Dick
Director Paul Schrader, how he inspired Matthew as a screenwriter, and his concept of the monocular film, which is one protagonist alone against the world
The notion of God’s lonely man, and how Matthew wrote a one act play in college by that name Film noir, the aesthetic, the story of fate hanging over the characters, and the Neo-noir genre
Matthew’s interest in combining genres, rather than sticking with one particular one Brett Easton Ellis praises Matthew in his interview with Paul Schrader
Matthew’s upcoming film Morning Has Broken, about a young runaway girl who moves in with a seemingly harmless, elderly, Academy Award-winning songwriter, staring Lydia Hearst and Peter Bogdanovich
Matthew’s point as a filmmaker, that what influences you is not the most obvious
The importance of breaking taboos, and taking the audience out of their comfort zone
The upcoming film, the Looking Glass, written by Matthew, staring Nicolas Cage, about a couple who buy a desert motel where they find out that strange, mysterious events occur
The film is inspired by a story of a motel owner who watched guest have sex through peep holes, and David Lynch’s film Lost Highway
Mid-century Roadside Architecture and Vintage Vegas
Matthew’s political views, how he identifies with the left on the hard issues, but is critical of the micro-issues and political correctness
Alex’s point that troll culture is a form of critiquing society, and how that’s lacking in Hollywood today True Detective
LA culture, vapid conversations in coffee shops, obnoxious roidheads, and capturing LA in film
Matthew’s experiences directed a play at CalArts, and his observations of young actors wanting the celebrity status more than valuing the content of the work
The shortened attention span and how it effects our culture
Alex’s point that there is no longer a mainstream culture, and people have the freedom to find their own creative niches
