NYFF51 Live: Bruce Dern (Nebraska)

Free and open to the public on a first come, first served basis!

Actor Bruce Dern will discuss his role in Alexander Payne’s film, Nebraska. Moderated by Brian Brooks.

On the outskirts of Billings, Montana, an old man named Woody (Bruce Dern) is picked up by the roadside. He is going for a long walk, to Lincoln, Nebraska where he believes a million dollar prize awaits. His mild-mannered son Dave (Will Forte), tired of explaining reality to his taciturn dad and pacifying his exasperated mom (June Squibb), agrees to drive Woody all the way to Lincoln. Alexander Payne’s new film, from a script by fellow Nebraskan Bob Nelson, is a melancholy comedy that shades into multiple hues and overtones – the most hilarious stretch logically develops into the most moving passage (the family’s return to their old house); the sharp comic edges, based on a close understanding of Midwestern reserve, form just one element in Payne’s greater emotional pattern. Filled with wonderful characters and composed in the most expressive black and white in years, Nebraska is a portrait of a way of life and of the single life of one quiet man. A Paramount Vintage release.