Elvis Mitchell: “You’ve made a film where art has replaced religion… The artist, played by Dustin Hoffman, feels patronized by the world. [Through his dialogue] he’s a narcissist writing history as it happens, as if no one around him is living it at the same time.”
Noah Baumbach: “Dustin told me that his lines were hard to remember because they referenced nothing external, but were all self-referential self-assessments… The best compliment I ever got was from Mike Nichols…”
Mitchell: “Well… ” [laughs]
Baumbach: “Nichols said, ‘You realize how embarrassed we all are.’ ”
(Conversation from the October 12 LACMA screening of Baumbach’s THE MEYEROWITZ STORIES (NEW AND SELECTED), which was followed by a Q & A with Mitchell, curator of Film Independent at the museum.)
Embarrassment—recognized and shared—is always a delight in a room full of fellow movie-goers watching a new comedy by Noah Baumbach. And while Baumbach is happy for his current Netflix association, he’d prefer that you see his work in a cinema.
THE MEYEROWITZ STORIES (NEW AND SELECTED), through October 26.
LANDMARK, 10850 West Pico Boulevard, Rancho Park, Los Angeles.
landmarktheatres.com/los-angeles/the-landmark/film-info/the-meyerowitz-stories
LAEMMLE NOHO, 5240 Lankershim Boulevard, North Hollywood.
laemmle.com/films/42922
Opening Friday, October 27:
LAEMMLE MONICA FILM CENTER, 1332 2nd Street, Santa Monica.
TOWN CENTER, 17200 Ventura Boulevard, Encino.
THE MEYEROWITZ STORIES (NEW AND SELECTED), now streaming on Netflix.
netflix.com/title/80174434
Noah Baumbach (left) and Elvis Mitchell at LACMA, October 12, 2017. Image courtesy of WireImage and Film Independent.
