The director of “Beginners” talks about the making of this personal film inspired by his own dad.
Video Content:
– Mike Mills (2011)
SIDEWALKS host Maaika Westen interviews Mike Mills, the writer and director of “Beginners,” a film inspired by Mike’s own father and his true-life coming out at the age of 75.
Mini-Biography:
Born in Berkeley, California, Mike Mills is a feature film director and writer.
Also known as a music video director (directed videos for such artists as Moby, Yoko Ono and Air) and graphic designer for album covers and promotional materials, Mike made his debut as a feature film director with 2005’s “Thumbsucker.”
Studio Synopsis for “Beginners”:
When it comes to relationships, we’re all beginners.
From writer/director Mike Mills comes “Beginners,” a comedy/drama about how deeply funny and transformative life can be, even at its most serious moments.
“Beginners” imaginatively explores the hilarity, confusion, and surprises of love through the evolving consciousness of Oliver (Golden Globe® Award nominee Ewan McGregor). Oliver meets the irreverent and unpredictable Anna (Mélanie Laurent of Inglourious Basterds) only months after his father Hal Fields (Academy Award® nominee Christopher Plummer) has passed away.
This new love floods Oliver with memories of his father, who, following the death of his wife of 45 years, came out of the closet at age 75 to live a full, energized, and wonderfully tumultuous gay life – which included a younger boyfriend, Andy (Goran Visnjic of “ER”). The upheavals of Hal’s new honesty, by turns funny and moving, brought father and son closer than they’d ever been able to be. Now Oliver endeavors to love Anna with all the bravery, humor, and hope that his father taught him.
At once deeply personal and universal, Beginners was inspired by Mike Mills’ own father and is meant in turn to inspire everyone weighing their chances and choices in life and love.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzXkBZc-kX8[/youtube]A Focus Features and Olympus Pictures presentation in association with Parts & Labor. Ewan McGregor, Christopher Plummer.Beginners. Mélanie Laurent, Goran Visnjic, Kai Lennox, Mary Page Keller, Keegan Boos. Casting by Courtney Bright and Nicole Daniels. Music Supervisor, Robin Urdang. Music by Roger Neill, David Palmer, Brian Reitzell. Costume Designer, Jennifer Johnson. Film Editor, Olivier Bugge Coutté. Production Designer, Shane Valentino. Director of Photography, Kasper Tuxen. Co-Producers, Fran Giblin, Geoff Linville. Produced by Leslie Urdang, Dean Vanech, Miranda de Pencier, Jay Van Hoy, Lars Knudsen. Written & Directed by Mike Mills. A Focus Features Release.
Links:
Interview Credits:
Recorded: April 22, 2011
Host/Segment Producer: Maaika Westen
Editor: Richard R. Lee
Special Thanks To: Focus Features, John Weaver and Terry Hines & Associates
