Great Collaborations
through March 2005
Why collaborate? What are the benefits—and risks—of working with the same people on multiple films? A great deal of curiosity surrounds successful film-industry collaboration, and this series addresses issues specific to that tradition, exploring the dynamic between artists who create memorable films together, and showcasing some of the industry's strongest partnerships. The series focuses on a variety of collaborations: director/actor, director/writer, and director/producer. Each evening, a moderated conversation between the collaborators is illustrated with film clips and scene readings. On January 10, writer-director Quentin Tarantino and actor Uma Thurman discuss the films they have made together; on January 19, filmmaker Alexander Payne and his longtime writing partner Jim Taylor discuss their screenwriting process; on February 28, writer-director Richard Linklater and actor-writer Ethan Hawke discuss the films they have worked on together; and on March 2, writer-producer-director Robert Zemeckis and writer William Broyles discuss their work on Cast Away and Polar Express.
Organized by Natalie Hirniak, Manager, Department of Film and Media, The Museum of Modern Art, and Christy Prunier, a freelance producer.
A Conversation with Quentin Tarantino and Uma Thurman
Of all the characters in Pulp Fiction, Mia Wallace was Quentin Tarantino's favorite. "I knew her backward and forward," he says, "but I had no idea what she looked like." From the moment he met her during the casting of Pulp Fiction, though, Tarantino knew that Uma Thurman would get the part. Describing her as his Marlene Dietrich, he would go on to collaborate with Thurman on the critically acclaimed Kill Bill Vol. 1 and Kill Bill Vol. 2.
Monday, January 10, 8:15. T1
A Conversation with Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor
Payne, an award-winning director and screenwriter, and Taylor, his award-winning writing partner, started out as roommates, wrote four films together, and still manage to call each other friends. Their collaborative process is intense, to say the least: spending many long days together, and sharing the same computer as they write. The results, however— Citizen Ruth, Election, About Schmidt, and, most recently, Sideways—are always first-rate.
Wednesday, January 19, 8:30. T1
A Conversation with Richard Linklater and Ethan Hawke
Texas natives Richard Linklater and Ethan Hawke have collaborated on five films. While a deep friendship was launched when Linklater directed Hawke in Before Sunrise (1995), they independently pursued directing and screenwriting projects before reconnecting on films like The Newton Boys (1998). With their latest production, Before Sunset (2004), which was shot in fifteen days, they have also become screenwriting partners.
Monday, February 28, 8:00. T1
A Conversation with Robert Zemeckis and William Broyles
Hollywood veterans Zemeckis and Broyles first collaborated in 2000 on Cast Away. Tom Hanks and Broyles, who had been working on the script, enlisted Zemeckis to assist on the film’s difficult plotting and character development. Zemeckis and Broyles then joined forces again on the 2004 film adaptation of Chris Van Allsburg’s book Polar Express, which Zemeckis directed and coscripted with Broyles, and in which Hanks also stars.
Wednesday, March 2, 8:00. T1
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