Breakfast with Gilroy

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I ran down to the Four Seasons this morning for a breakfast chat with Michael Clayton director-writer Tony Gilroy, and right away it was relaxation time. I asked him two or three toughies, but we talked about everything and could have gone on and on. It felt so easy and unforced that I figured I'd run 95% of the recording, or about 45 minutes worth. It involves the ordering of food and personal stuff here and there, and the sound skips once or twice.

Michael Clayton director-writer Tony Gilroy in the Four Seasons dining room -- Friday, 10.5.07, 10:20 am

Michael Clayton is a tense adult thriller about some unsettled and anxious people, but it's also the kind of film you'd almost like to crawl inside of and settle down in. (I wanted to taste the Italian bread that Tom Wilkinson carries around in a certain scene.) Like American Gangster, I could have rolled with a three-hour version. Said it last month, saying it again -- Gilroy's film is "always 'on the case' and never boring. The material that Gilroy, the director-writer, runs with feels as seasoned and authentic as this kind of thing can be. There's no shovelling -- no 'oh, come on...give me a fucking break' moments whatsoever."

"When critics complain about the dumbing down of movies into franchise popcorn, what we're really doing is yearning for a terrifically engrossing, tethered-to-the-real-world drama like Michael Clayton." --- Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly.

"This uncommonly intelligent thriller evokes the great films of the 1970s (All the President's Men, Klute, Three Days of the Condor) that managed to elicit gritty urban realism while maintaining a suave sense of style and moral complexity." -- Ann Hornaday, Washington Post.

Incidentally, Gilroy mentioned that the latest rumor is that the Writers Guild now may be looking to strike on November 1st. Anyone...?

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on October 5, 2007 at 2:52 PM

comment #1

Larry says ...

The Guild contract runs out at the end of October. As far as I've heard, a strike is inevitable, but that could just be a bargaining posture.

Posted by Larry at October 5, 2007 3:05 PM

comment #2

Devin Faraci says ...

Did you ask Gilroy about the sheer stupid implausibility of

SPOILERS

anyone thinking Clayton was dead when they just found his watch and phone in his car and no sign of a body at all? So fucking stupid.

Posted by Devin Faraci at October 5, 2007 3:14 PM

comment #3

MASON says ...

The guild just took a Strike Authorization Vote. If it passes, and no doubt it will, it gives the negotiating commitee the power to strike on Nov 1st. But that in no way means they will. Right now, it's all saber-rattling, with the guild threatening to strike at the end of the month to prevent stockpiling and the studios threatening to get rid of residuals (yeah, that will ever happen). No one really knows what's going to happen, but I think the "inevitable strike talk" is more of a product of fear than anything else.

Posted by MASON at October 5, 2007 3:19 PM

comment #4

Kristopher Tapley says ...

Good lord, they're doing a good job of getting this cat out there. I was sitting, I think, in that exact same spot talk to the exact same person 24 hours ago.

Weird.

David has his "Lunch with David" and Gilroy's on the cover of Written By. Talking about doing the damn thing...

Posted by Kristopher Tapley at October 5, 2007 3:47 PM

comment #5

malibugigolo says ...

Olives. Wise move.

Posted by malibugigolo at October 5, 2007 3:52 PM

comment #6

berg says ...

... there are more than a few 2007 films i like more than Michael Clayton, however MC was an extremely good sit for me ... when a character repeats the line near the end I Am Shiva the God of Death, i wanted to yell out Yeah!

Posted by berg at October 5, 2007 5:13 PM

comment #7

Mr. Gittes says ...

Pardon me for not knowing, but why doesn't Gilroy like talking about Bourne?

Posted by Mr. Gittes at October 5, 2007 5:31 PM

comment #8

OddDuck says ...

Wells, that's an awesome interview, but about three quarters in you casually refer to what I presume is a pretty major plot point, and with that spoiler you pretty much crossed this movie off my list of things to do this weekend and relegated it to netflix.

THE MOVIE PREMIERED YESTERDAY. PUT A FUCKING SPOILER WARNING NEXT TIME!!!!!!

Posted by OddDuck at October 6, 2007 8:44 AM

comment #9

CleftClips says ...

Why on Earth would anyone listen to this podcast before seeing the movie? I waited and it was fine. Obviously, they were going to talk about the movie in some detail. A little common sense helps.

Great podcast/interview.

Posted by CleftClips at October 6, 2007 9:02 PM

comment #10

OddDuck says ...

CleftClips, your comment makes no sense. Wells put up the interview the weekend the movie premiered -- not even wide I might add. So who he'd expect to listen? If this were say three or four weeks later it'd be a different scenario. Under your reasoning just what exactly would it be ok to listen to or read about the movie? Reviews? Commentary? Anything?

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I have common sense and go fuck yourself :)

Posted by OddDuck at October 7, 2007 2:25 AM

comment #11