[Listen to a Q&A at the Walter Reade Theater with Alex Ross Perry, Jason Schwartzman, Joséphine de La Baume, cinematographer Sean Price Williams, and editor Robert Greene on their NYFF film Listen Up Philip above.]
Alex Ross Perry’s third feature heralds the arrival of a bold new voice in American movies. With its staunchly New York flavor, calling to mind films like The Squid and the Whale and The Royal Tenenbaums it draws on literary models (mainly Philip Roth and William Gaddis) who Perry noted, "had a huge influence on me. I'm a 29 year old who's ingested every lesson. I feel very connected to these lifelong East Coasters."
Philip is a narcissistic writer, a role not difficult for Jason Schwartzman to connect with, having played Jonathan Ames in HBO's Bored to Death. In the talk he suggested: "The film is not about a writer but an asshole." He continued by saying that unlike his previous writer roles, "we never see him suffereing from writer's block." This is someone who's already carved out a niche for himself in the writer world where his previous characters were struggling: "It's not a writer, just a great character I loved."
The film was expertly shot on Super-16mm by cinematographer Sean Price Williams, who also shot other NYFF titles Heaven Knows What and Iris. Perry, Williams, and Greene met working at Kim's Video and Music in the East Village, a store Schwartzman ironically had previously been intimidated to enter. The filmic education of the three was, like Tarantino, watching movies at the store. Each had some strong words on the fading use of film in the cinema industry. Perry said, "Shooting on 16mm isn't even a choice, it's just what movies are made on. I wouldn't adjust to another format. It's how I want to make movies. Actors respond to it to and it makes shooting feel real."
In the audio recording from the Walter Reade conversation with Alex Ross Perry, Jason Schwartzman, Joséphine de La Baume, cinematographer Sean Price Williams, and editor Robert Greene, moderated by NYFF programmer Dennis Lim, the team talk about the characters, the organic nature of making the film, casting, their influences, among other themes.
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