In 2018 alone, three documentaries: Won’t You Be My Neighbor, RBG, and Three Identical Strangers have exceeded $10 million at the domestic box office, a remarkable trend considering only 25 other documentaries has reached this milestone in the past 35 years. To find out what is leading to this sudden increase in the genre’s popularity, Rob and Geoff are joined by TIFF programmer, and host of the documentary themed podcast ‘Pure Nonfiction’, Thom Powers.   Powers discusses how “documentary”...

This week on TIFF Long Take, Geoff sits down with independent filmmaker Desiree Akhavan. Following her acclaimed 2014 debut, Appropriate Behavior, Akhavan’s latest is an adaptation of Emily. M Danforth’s novel The Miseducation of Cameron Post. The film, which stars Chloë Grace Moretz and Sasha Lane, won the Grand Jury Prize for US Drama at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. Akhavan is also an actress, appearing in projects like Girl’s and Creep 2.   Akhavan talks about how she approached...

Last week, Disney and Fox shareholders approved a deal that would see Disney acquire 21st Century Fox for a whopping $71.3 billion. The deal  - which includes properties like Fox Searchlight, X-Men, Avatar, The Simpsons, and many more - gives Disney an unprecedented market share in the film and television industry. To find out how this acquisition will impact audience members, as well as the industry at large, Rob and Geoff speak with Kayleigh Donaldson, staff writer and editor for Pajiba. ...

This week on TIFF Long Take, Rob and Geoff speak with Nadira Azermai, founder of the script analysis company, ScriptBook. Founded in 2015, ScriptBook claims they will be able to save film studios a fortune using artificial intelligence to more accurately identify which scripts will lead to financially successful films. Azermai discusses how ScriptBook functions, the product’s track record of accurately (and sometimes inaccurately) predicting which films will hit or flop, and the most glaring...

This week on TIFF Long Take, Rob and Geoff are joined by TIFF’s Director of Programming, Kerri Craddock, to discuss some of the most exciting and anticipated titles on this year’s Toronto International Film Festival slate. Craddock gives her thoughts on some of the Gala and Special Presentation titles that TIFF just announced, including Elizabeth Chomko’s directorial debut, 'What They Had'; Paul Dano’s family drama, 'Wildlife'; Bradley Cooper’s musical drama, 'A Star is Born'; Claire...

This week on TIFF Long Take, Rob and Geoff sit down with filmmaker Boots Riley. Although he is perhaps better known as an activist and the front man for the popular political hip-hop group The Coup, Riley has recently focused his talents on filmmaking, writing, and directing the critically adored 'Sorry to Bother You', starring Lakeith Stanfield, Tessa Thompson, and Armie Hammer. Riley talks about the six-year battle to get Sorry to Bother You made, why he wanted the screenplay to read more...

This week on TIFF Long Take, Rob and Geoff sit down with award winning independent film director and writer, Debra Granik. Granik, whose films include Down to the Bone and Winter’s Bone, is recognized as one of film’s great talent spotters, casting actors Jennifer Lawrence and Vera Farmiga in their star-making roles. Her latest film, Leave No Trace, starring Ben Foster and rising star Thomasin McKenzie, is playing now at TIFF Bell Lightbox. Granik discusses what she looks for most in her...

This week on TIFF Long Take, Rob and Geoff sit down with one of the industries most versatile and compelling actors, Ben Foster. Whether he’s playing a Texas bank robber in ‘Hell or High Water’, Lance Armstrong in ‘The Program’, or William S. Burroughs in ‘Kill Your Darlings’, Foster’s legendary range has earned him some of the most interesting rolls in film over the last decade. He most recently collaborated with filmmaker Debra Granik on ‘Leave No Trace’, which opens on July 6th. Foster...

This week on TIFF Long Take, Geoff sits down with Vanessa Matsui, the creator and star of the web series 'Ghost BFF'. A dark comedy about depression, 'Ghost BFF' is yet another example of creators using the web series medium as an alternative to network or cable television. The show, which was recently greenlit for a second season, is distributed by WhoHaHa, a creative studio co-founded by Elizabeth Banks that celebrates and elevates women in comedy.   Matsui talks about how she came up...

This week on TIFF Long Take, Rob sits down with Indonesian filmmaker Mouly Surya whose latest film, ‘Marlina: The Murderer in Four Acts’, was released earlier this year to great acclaim. The movie, which follows a Sumba woman taking revenge against the the men who have wronged her, is the director’s Indonesian spin on the Spaghetti Western genre. Surya discusses why Indonesia, the fourth largest country in the world, has such a small national cinema, her earliest inspirations as a filmmaker,...

This week on TIFF Long Take, Rob and Geoff sit down with Pixar animation artist, Domee Shi. Shi made history this month, when her animated short film ‘Bao’ became the first Pixar short to be directed by a woman. The film, which is based loosely her experiences as a child of Chinese immigrants in Toronto, is currently being shown prior to screenings of ‘Incredibles 2’. Shi talks about how she went from Sheridan College’s animation program to landing one of the most coveted jobs in the...

This week on TIFF Long Take, Rob sits down with documentary filmmaker Sarah Burns, best known for her acclaimed film The Central Park Five, which she co-directed with her father, legendary documentarian Ken Burns, and her husband, David McMahon. Her second film, a documentary about Jackie Robinson, was released on PBS in 2016. Burns talks about what she learned growing up in a house full of filmmakers, why she initially resisted her parent’s career path, and how her connection to the ...

This week on TIFF Long Take, Rob chats with producer and YouTube personality Adi Shankar. Last month, Shankar (whose films include Dredd and The Grey) launched The Apu Screenwriting Contest, an online competition to which writers are encouraged to submit a spec script for The Simpsons that subverts, pivots, or writes off the character of Apu. A mainstay in The Simpsons’ universe, Apu has long been a controversial figure for what many see as a stereotypical and hurtful portrayal of Indian...

This week on TIFF Long Take, Rob sits down with acclaimed writer and director Ramin Bahrani. Bahrani, who is best known for his independent dramas 'Man Push Cart', 'Chop Shop' and '99 Homes', has recently released the new film through HBO; an adaptation of Ray Bradbury’s 1953 dystopian classic ‘Fahrenheit 451’, starring Michael B. Jordan and Michael Shannon. The novel was previously made into a film by François Truffaut in 1966. Bahrani talks about why he wanted to engage with Bradbury in...

This week on TIFF Long Take, Rob and Geoff sit down with the founder of MoviePass, Stacy Spikes. MoviePass has been making waves in the industry for the last few months after unveiling a plan that allows its users to see one movie a day in theatres for $9.95 a month. While many cinephiles are applauding the company for championing the in-cinema experience, other industry insiders are wondering if the MoviePass vision is too good to be true. Spikes discusses how MoviePass’ business plan has...

This week on TIFF Long Take, Rob sits down with actor and filmmaker Mark Duplass. Along with his brother, Jay, the Duplass brothers have become two of the most influential figures in independent film, writing and directing films like 'The Puffy Chair', 'Cyrus', and 'Jeff, Who Lives at Home', as well producing films like 'Safety Not Guaranteed', 'The Skeleton Twins', and the recent Netflix documentary series 'Wild, Wild Country'. Their recently published memoir, 'Like Brothers', is in stores...

This week on TIFF Long Take, Rob and Geoff sit down with director and screenwriter Jason Reitman. Although only 40 years old, Reitman already seems like a seasoned veteran in Hollywood, with four Oscar nominations to his name as well an impressive filmography of critical and commercial successes like 'Juno', 'Up in the Air', and 'Young Adult'. His latest film, 'Tully', starring Charlize Theron and Mackenzie Davis is in theaters now. Reitman talks about his unglamorous beginnings in...

This week on TIFF Long Take, Rob and Geoff sit down with celebrated director Andrew Haigh. Over the last decade Haigh has established himself as one of the most daring new filmmakers in the industry, writing and directing films 'Weekend', and '45 Years', as well as creating the HBO series 'Looking'. His latest film, 'Lean on Pete', was released earlier this month to critical acclaim. Haigh discusses his early struggles as a filmmaker, why he prioritizes creative control over a higher budget,...

Last month, the Chilean film 'A Fantastic Woman' won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and made history as the first Oscar-winning film with a transgender performer in the lead. Now transgender activists in Chile are hoping to use the film’s success to push forward a 2013 bill that would allow transgender people to legally change their names and gender marker on official documents. To get the full story, Rob and Geoff speak with Isabel Amor, Director of Education at Iguales...

This week on TIFF Long Take, Rob and Geoff sit down with celebrated character actor and filmmaker Steve Buscemi. Although his name rarely appears at the top of the credits, Buscemi has gained a level of recognition comparable to most A-List actors, with iconic roles in films like Reservoir Dogs, Fargo, The Big Lebowski, and Ghost World. He can also be seen in Lean on Pete and The Death of Stalin, two of this year’s most acclaimed new films. Buscemi talks about his early days in New York...

This week on TIFF Long Take, Geoff chats with social activist and founder of the famous #OscarsSoWhite movement, April Reign. Reign has recently started a new project, Akuarel;  a digital database for minorities seeking work in Hollywood and other creative industries. Reign talks about how she started an online movement completely by accident, how the mission of #OscarsSoWhite has evolved over the last three years, how she and her campaign have navigated the darker side of Twitter. She also...

This week on TIFF Long Take, Rob and Geoff sat down with veteran Canadian film producer J. Miles Dale, who recently brought a Best Picture Oscar home to Toronto for his work on The Shape of Water. Even though the movie is not typically viewed as a “Canadian film,” Dale argues that its success has been a watershed moment for our national cinema, given that it was filmed in Toronto and was made by a largely Canadian crew. Dale discusses the unique challenges of making Hollywood films in...

Editing is one of the most integral parts of any film, yet a good editor often doesn’t receive the level of recognition that a director, cinematographer, or composer would. To take a closer look at the often unappreciated craft Rob and Geoff sit down with one of the best film editors working today, Tatiana S. Riegel. Over her 30 year career Riegel has worked on a number of beloved films including Pulp Fiction, There Will Be Blood, and Lars and The Real Girl, and recently won an Independent...

One of the most interesting success stories in Hollywood this decade has been the meteoric rise of A24. The upstart distributor has built a reputation as one the film industry’s top tastemakers, releasing films like Lady Bird, Ex Machina, Room, The Witch, and a little film called Moonlight. To get the story of how A24 went from nonexistence to Best Picture status in just five years, Rob and Geoff speak with New York Times reporter Brooks Barnes. Barnes discusses A24’s origin story, how its...

This week on TIFF Long Take, Rob and Geoff chat with Katey Rich and Richard Lawson, the hosts of Vanity Fair’s 'Little Gold Men' podcast, about the biggest winners, surprises, and storylines coming out of the 90th Academy Awards. Rich and Lawson chat about the thrill of seeing James Ivory and Jordan Peele step to the podium, the agony of watching Lady Bird go home empty handed, and whether the Oscar’s preferential ballot voting method is leading to good results. They also talk about the...