Cary Joji Fukunaga Film Club

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  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    Posts: 12,459
    Yeah, first season True Detective only.
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 23,449
    Why only the first season?
  • peterpeter Toronto
    Posts: 8,255
    DarthDimi wrote: »
    Why only the first season?

    He didn't direct the following seasons (and there was a tremendous drop in quality, especially in Season 2; Season 3 was better, but nowhere close to the first season).

    And BoNN is a killer. Such a wonderful, diabolical, almost drug-induced, anti-fairy tale...

  • Posts: 4,400
    Has anyone seen Maniac yet?

    _103423349_maniac_109_unit_03444_rc.jpg

    It must be said that it's a marked departure from Fukunaga's previous projects. Nonetheless, it is still a very directed and individualistic show. Gone is the nihilistic sense of gloom. Instead, Fukunaga replaces it with a more playful, mischievous and flamboyant energy.

    Here the director is playing 'genre tourist' and hop-scotching through different tones, sometimes more successfully than others. Essentially, the show is a dramedy. Though I should say that the comedic side is less successful and the laughs are few and far between. Maniac doesn't quite have my sense of humour and the gags can feel a little laboured and strained.

    Where the show really excels is (unsurprisingly given the talent involved) is in the drama department. At its essence, Maniac is about the realities of mental illness and, in this respect, the show captures the core truths about them. At no point does the show demean or smirk at its characters despite the kooky premise. Instead, Maniac explores how mental illness can isolate people by playing tricks inside the brain, and how it can’t necessarily be cured through any single, simple means.

    v1.dDszNDQ3NTU7ajsxODEzODsxMjAwOzMwMDA7MjAwMA

    There are some truly fanatic performances throughout the great ensemble. In particular from Emma Stone, who is not only a gifted comedian but a brilliant dramatic actress. She is the MVP here. Jonah Hill does an excellent job playing against type as a troubled man suffering from schizophrenia, but he's less successful during the mind-meddling dream sequences (which occupy around half the episodes). There are also some really fun turns elsewhere, especially Billy Magnussen who is hilarious. Plus it's always nice to see Gabriel Byrne.

    I found the sub-plot concerning Justin Theroux (a little slapstick and distracting) and Sally Field (a tad lost) to be underwhelming. But it's mostly redeemed by a cool and, a soon to be iconic, turn by Sonoyo Mizuno as Dr Azumi Fujita.

    It's clear Fukunaga is imposing his own visual styles and quirks in the show and he's created an immensely gorgeous show. The production design is stunning, the widescreen compositions are stunning (even if the lighting is a little flat - though I think this was deliberate to suit the 1980s retro-alternative present). The costumes are also very cool. This show is very much the product of an auteur director. Though you'd struggle to make the connection that the man between True Detective and Sin Nombre cam up with this. It's by far not a career best.



    Maniac is a show brave enough to be surreal and weird, whilst maintaining an off-beat and eccentric style. It's during these bouts where the show transcends above other streaming shows. But it is still messy and the narrative is unwieldy and overly busy. In the end you're left with a show that is as exhausting as it is ambitious.
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    Posts: 12,459
    I just like that he does different kinds of films and is so great visually.
  • Posts: 725
    Yeah. A lot of Bond fans were devastated to learn he is American. But he is more like a person who was born in America, not an American in any real sense. His sensibilities and style give him the right frame to don the mask of a proper, European auteur. The Brocoli's chose him well. They didn't doom the franchise by Americanising it. They chose an international-minded talent who was just born on a different soil.
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    Posts: 12,459
    I'm American. Perfectly fine with any talented American writing, directing, producing, acting in anything regarding Bond. Always have felt that way. And I love Fleming, read the books before my first Bond film decades ago. I think it a near certainty time will prove Cary to be a great hire by EON.
  • Posts: 4,400
    Cary is a very cosmopolitan individual.

    I must say I love Cary's long tracking shots in both Beasts of No Nation and True Detective (the latter in particular was bind-blowing stuff when I saw it in 2014).....but the shoot-out in Manaic was not good.



    It felt like a sub-par John Wick or Kingsman sequence. Emma Stone clearly didn't get much stunt training (which is fine, as I guess she is supposed to be in a 'dream' sequence) but there are clearly some hidden cuts and it all feels too 'video-gamey'.

    Bit of a let down after the hype I heard............
  • CraigMooreOHMSSCraigMooreOHMSS Dublin, Ireland
    Posts: 8,009
    I'm American. Perfectly fine with any talented American writing, directing, producing, acting in anything regarding Bond. Always have felt that way. And I love Fleming, read the books before my first Bond film decades ago. I think it a near certainty time will prove Cary to be a great hire by EON.

    I agree. I think he'll do a great job.
    Cary is a very cosmopolitan individual.

    I must say I love Cary's long tracking shots in both Beasts of No Nation and True Detective (the latter in particular was bind-blowing stuff when I saw it in 2014).....but the shoot-out in Manaic was not good.



    It felt like a sub-par John Wick or Kingsman sequence. Emma Stone clearly didn't get much stunt training (which is fine, as I guess she is supposed to be in a 'dream' sequence) but there are clearly some hidden cuts and it all feels too 'video-gamey'.

    Bit of a let down after the hype I heard............

    If you look at it from the perspective of a dream sequence, it does its job. It's nothing mindblowing, but it succeeds in what it's trying to do.
  • edited August 2019 Posts: 4,400
    Fukunaga claims in this interview that the sequence was indeed done in one take. apparently:

    https://www.businessinsider.com/director-cary-joji-fukunaga-takes-us-inside-making-netflix-series-maniac-2018-9?r=US&IR=T

    Guerrasio: In episode 9 you do a single-shot scene of Emma's character, who is a CIA agent in that episode, killing a bunch of guards in a hallway? What was the motivation behind doing a "oner" there.

    Fukunaga: That was efficiency. One of the reasons to do that oner in "True Detective" is because there's no way in the schedule that we can shoot this in a real action sequence. It would be a bad version of it. So a oner actually, if you have the time to get the choreography down, is just more efficient. For "Maniac," we shot that whole thing in less than half a day.

    Guerrasio: Wow! But what about Emma getting down the choreography for it? How long did that take?

    Fukunaga: She had like a couple of hours. She's not doing anything extremely "Aeon Flux"-like. But she's a good dancer, she understands her body. She hurt her wrist doing it in one of the takes. I don't remember what take we ultimately used. But there's no place to do a splice to cut together, so she just had to kind of get through the whole thing.


    Very interesting....

    Also, here are some cool screencaps of Maniac. The show has serious style.

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    4DlNtD9.jpg

    DwqfbiUX0AMoS9D?format=jpg&name=large

    yyMBS3N.png

    r523tuvsihp11.png

    maniac-frame-grab-13.jpeg?w=640

    maniac-frame-grab-4-e1542337321385.jpeg?w=640

    maniac-frame-grab-108.jpeg?w=640
  • peterpeter Toronto
    Posts: 8,255
    Fukunaga claims in this interview that the sequence was indeed done in one take. apparently:

    https://www.businessinsider.com/director-cary-joji-fukunaga-takes-us-inside-making-netflix-series-maniac-2018-9?r=US&IR=T

    Guerrasio: In episode 9 you do a single-shot scene of Emma's character, who is a CIA agent in that episode, killing a bunch of guards in a hallway? What was the motivation behind doing a "oner" there.

    Fukunaga: That was efficiency. One of the reasons to do that oner in "True Detective" is because there's no way in the schedule that we can shoot this in a real action sequence. It would be a bad version of it. So a oner actually, if you have the time to get the choreography down, is just more efficient. For "Maniac," we shot that whole thing in less than half a day.

    Guerrasio: Wow! But what about Emma getting down the choreography for it? How long did that take?

    Fukunaga: She had like a couple of hours. She's not doing anything extremely "Aeon Flux"-like. But she's a good dancer, she understands her body. She hurt her wrist doing it in one of the takes. I don't remember what take we ultimately used. But there's no place to do a splice to cut together, so she just had to kind of get through the whole thing.


    Very interesting....

    Also, here are some cool screencaps of Maniac. The show has serious style.

    DwqfcJDWsAAtmaJ?format=jpg&name=large

    4DlNtD9.jpg

    DwqfbiUX0AMoS9D?format=jpg&name=large

    yyMBS3N.png

    r523tuvsihp11.png

    maniac-frame-grab-13.jpeg?w=640

    maniac-frame-grab-4-e1542337321385.jpeg?w=640

    maniac-frame-grab-108.jpeg?w=640

    I have a serious crush on Sonoya Mizuno ... I think it's her sarcastic pout and her addiction to cigarettes (usually repulses me; but in Maniacs it was like... an oral fixation...-- to the point it hurt my lungs watching her)... She would have made a great Irma Bunt.
  • edited August 2019 Posts: 4,400
    peter wrote: »
    Fukunaga claims in this interview that the sequence was indeed done in one take. apparently:

    https://www.businessinsider.com/director-cary-joji-fukunaga-takes-us-inside-making-netflix-series-maniac-2018-9?r=US&IR=T

    Guerrasio: In episode 9 you do a single-shot scene of Emma's character, who is a CIA agent in that episode, killing a bunch of guards in a hallway? What was the motivation behind doing a "oner" there.

    Fukunaga: That was efficiency. One of the reasons to do that oner in "True Detective" is because there's no way in the schedule that we can shoot this in a real action sequence. It would be a bad version of it. So a oner actually, if you have the time to get the choreography down, is just more efficient. For "Maniac," we shot that whole thing in less than half a day.

    Guerrasio: Wow! But what about Emma getting down the choreography for it? How long did that take?

    Fukunaga: She had like a couple of hours. She's not doing anything extremely "Aeon Flux"-like. But she's a good dancer, she understands her body. She hurt her wrist doing it in one of the takes. I don't remember what take we ultimately used. But there's no place to do a splice to cut together, so she just had to kind of get through the whole thing.


    Very interesting....

    Also, here are some cool screencaps of Maniac. The show has serious style.

    DwqfcJDWsAAtmaJ?format=jpg&name=large

    4DlNtD9.jpg

    DwqfbiUX0AMoS9D?format=jpg&name=large

    yyMBS3N.png

    r523tuvsihp11.png

    maniac-frame-grab-13.jpeg?w=640

    maniac-frame-grab-4-e1542337321385.jpeg?w=640

    maniac-frame-grab-108.jpeg?w=640

    I have a serious crush on Sonoya Mizuno ... I think it's her sarcastic pout and her addiction to cigarettes (usually repulses me; but in Maniacs it was like... an oral fixation...-- to the point it hurt my lungs watching her)... She would have made a great Irma Bunt.

    Surprised to hear myself say it, but I couldn't agree more with you.

    source.gif

    Sonoya Mizuno is stunning...
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    edited August 2019 Posts: 12,459
    I'm simply glad he is directing Bond 25 as I think he is an excellent director and storyteller.
    I have not seen his other work, so I appreciate the bits put into this thread. He puts together film that is definitely interesting, thought provoking.
  • RichardTheBruceRichardTheBruce I'm motivated by my Duty.
    Posts: 12,916
    Isn't that Blofeld's wall art in the first Maniac screencap.
  • peterpeter Toronto
    Posts: 8,255
    Surprised to hear myself say it, but I couldn't agree more with you.

    Come, come, don't be a little snot.
  • I think it's interesting that CJF was really at the forefront of two big movements in entertainment in recent years:
    1. The 'Netflix' film: Beasts of No Nation was the first ever Netflix movie. It was considered a major reason why the Academy snubbed the movie. Every other major award branch acknowledged Idris Elba's terrific performance, but curiously he was absent from the Oscar nominations. In hindsight, this seems crazy as Netflix are huge players across the field now. They have had 'Roma', and now 'The Irishman' and 'Marriage Story' get Oscar attention.
    2. The auteur TV series: TV was always a writers' medium, but CJF was one of the first directors to direct an entire show. Essentially, True Detective was an 8 hour movie. It was also the show that put CJF on the director A-list. Now many great directors have either earned their recognition through directing an entire series. Also, we have seen top talent moving to TV and making their own 8 hour films.

    I found these interesting featurettes on True Detective. What did people think of the show?


  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 23,449
    I loved that first season!
  • talos7talos7 New Orleans
    Posts: 7,890
    I went to the Red Box to rent a movie and ended up buying True Detective ( season 1) for Four dollars.
    I’m looking forward to finally watching it.
  • Posts: 3,336
    The first season of True Detective was fantastic, great job from CJF
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,372
    The first season of True Detective was fantastic, great job from CJF

    I'm still hoping NTTD delivers some sort of tracking shot like that one from the neighborhood heist sequence, or even the gunfight from his Netflix limited series Maniac.
  • peterpeter Toronto
    Posts: 8,255
    Creasy47 wrote: »
    The first season of True Detective was fantastic, great job from CJF

    I'm still hoping NTTD delivers some sort of tracking shot like that one from the neighborhood heist sequence, or even the gunfight from his Netflix limited series Maniac.

    Have you seen the one in Beasts Of No Nation? Whoa!
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,372
    peter wrote: »
    Creasy47 wrote: »
    The first season of True Detective was fantastic, great job from CJF

    I'm still hoping NTTD delivers some sort of tracking shot like that one from the neighborhood heist sequence, or even the gunfight from his Netflix limited series Maniac.

    Have you seen the one in Beasts Of No Nation? Whoa!

    I saw the film upon release (loved it!) but can't say I recall what the tracking shot in that one entailed. I bet it was fantastic! Completely forgot about it so it does seem to be a staple of his - will be really upset if he doesn't opt to include one in NTTD, then.
  • Posts: 3,336
    Creasy47 wrote: »
    The first season of True Detective was fantastic, great job from CJF

    I'm still hoping NTTD delivers some sort of tracking shot like that one from the neighborhood heist sequence, or even the gunfight from his Netflix limited series Maniac.

    Yes that scene was quite intense. I think Bond 25 is in good hands :)
  • peterpeter Toronto
    Posts: 8,255
    @Creasy47 ... it's when Agu storms a home with his crew and believes he's come across his mother... bloody disturbing.
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,372
    peter wrote: »
    @Creasy47 ... it's when Agu storms a home with his crew and believes he's come across his mother... bloody disturbing.

    Oof, I recall that scene but couldn't remember it being a tracking shot. That was one of the more visceral, violent and upsetting sequences in the whole film. What an experience, I need to rewatch it before NTTD is released.
  • Posts: 3,336
    Creasy47 wrote: »
    The first season of True Detective was fantastic, great job from CJF

    I'm still hoping NTTD delivers some sort of tracking shot like that one from the neighborhood heist sequence, or even the gunfight from his Netflix limited series Maniac.

    Yes that scene was quite intense. I think Bond 25 is in good hands :)

    I keep writing Bond 25 :=0. Not used to the new title yet...
  • edited April 2020 Posts: 4,400
    Cary Joji Fukunaga Is In Talks To Direct Next Film For Netflix (EXCLUSIVE)

    https://discussingfilm.net/2020/02/28/cary-joji-fukunaga-is-in-talks-to-direct-next-film-for-netflix-exclusive/
    https%3A%2F%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2F_%2Fmedia%2F2018%2F09%2F21%2F10%2F47%2FCary_Fukunaga.jpg

    Interesting.....it's said to involve a lot of 'visual effects.' Could this be the Kubrick-written Napoleon film?

    Fukunaga was one of my favourite director before Eon appointed him, so i'm excited regardless.
  • Posts: 4,400
    Cary Joji Fukunaga Is In Talks To Direct Next Film For Netflix (EXCLUSIVE)

    https://discussingfilm.net/2020/02/28/cary-joji-fukunaga-is-in-talks-to-direct-next-film-for-netflix-exclusive/

    Interesting.....it's said to involve a lot of 'visual effects.' Could this be the Kubrick-written Napoleon film?

    Fukunaga was one of my favourite director before Eon appointed him, so i'm excited regardless.

    Does Cary's recent photo with Jan Harlan at Kubrick's grace confirm that his next film is 'Napoleon?'



    It certainly feels like something Netflix would have the confidence to finance. The project is generally considered an unfilmed masterpiece. I do hope that he mades it. I'very excited.

    @peter Didn't you hear that it was on the cards for Cary next?

    Here's a short documentary on it:

  • peterpeter Toronto
    Posts: 8,255
    Yes, I heard that his down-time on Bond wasn’t spent playing video games, but, while in London, he was pouring over the Kubrick/Napoleon notes; ideally this would be his next project. It’s a weighty one with loads of history, and it would take Netflix balls and money to push this over the finish-line (and as we know with The Irishman, they’ve got deep pockets, and they do eye prestige films for awards season).

    I hope that this is indeed a signal that this is what he’s working on.
  • edited April 2020 Posts: 4,400
    IMDB just realised this awesome video examining Cary Joji Fukunaga's filmmaking style...anyone yet to watch CJF's back catalogue should check this out.

    He has such a distinct cinematic style. Makes me so hyped for NTTD!! The cinematography is stunning.

    MV5BZTFhZWEyNDItODY0OS00MDMzLWJiZjktMjdhYzgzNDA2OTYzXkEyXkFqcGdeQW1hZGV0aXNj._V1_SY351_SX624_AL_.jpg
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