In part two of our three part jeff nichols interview, the director looks back on maybe his most popular movie, mud, and tells us about michael shannon. Mud director jeff nichols sets up shop at warner bros. Nichols third film, mud 2012, is something else entirely. During our hourlong conversation, nichols generously shared many details of his writing and directing processes, including the origins of his characters, the progression of his career as. Jeff nichols, who directed shotgun stories and take shelter, spins another southern tale with mud.
And seriously, the whole lovestory business between mud and juniper not very believable. The take shelter directors latest feature follows two teenage boys elis tye sheridan and neckbone jacob lofland who encounter mud matthew mccougnahey, a fugitive who hopes to be reunited. Has anyone tried jeff nichols performance first programs. By continuing to browse this site, you agree to this use. Jeff nichols talks about the river that runs through it. I think i had just seen a scorsese film, jeff nichols, the director of the new drama.
First image from jeff nichols mud we got this covered. He was a hit with both the faculty and the students. In the preface to the adventures of tom sawyer, which jeff nichols, the writerdirector of the 2012 film mud cites as more of an influence than its celebrated sequel, the author informs us that his. Mud is a 2012 american comingofage drama film written and directed by jeff nichols. Classic, your name is mud mud at any price the reluctant. Mark twain, whom mud writer and director jeff nichols mentions in an extra after the. He plays a charismatic drifter named mud in jeff nicholss third feature, which traffics unerringly in truth, delicious surprise, unadorned beauty. Born and raised in little rock, arkansas, nichols is a graduate of the north carolina school of the arts, school of filmmaking, and is a current resident of. The film competed for the palme dor at the 2012 cannes film festival.
The film stars matthew mcconaughey, tye sheridan, jacob lofland, sam shepard, and reese witherspoon. Today we have the first photo from jeff nichols new film mud, which can been seen above. Portions of content provided by tivo corporation 2020 tivo corporation whats new. The arkansasborn jeff nichols first two films, shotgun stories 2007 and take shelter 2011.
Using specific examples from his three films shotgun stories, take shelter, and mud, jeff nichols talks about his approach to characters and writingdirecting, and he also hints at how his upcoming film midnight special will be different from his previous work. I came across jeff nichols youtube channel a while back and he seems incredibly knowledgeable, having been a seal for more than a decade and now being a physiologist. A pair of inquisitive adolescents encounter a charismatic drifter with an incredible story in this drama from take shelter writerdirector jeff nichols. Take shelter, was a festival hit and awards winner while matthew mcconaughey takes the lead in mud. Nichols is most known for his films take shelter 2011, mud 2012, and. I was going to take the entire weekend off from running and test my 1. Two young boys encounter a fugitive and form a pact to help. Mark twain bottled what it felt to be a child river adventure movie mud unleashes the spirit of tom sawyer and huck finn.
He studied filmmaking at the university of north carolina school of the arts. Matthew mcconaughey as mud, reese witherspoon as juniper. Any duplication, retransmitted, or account of these programs without the express written consent of jeff nichols or performance first llc, is prohibited. Jeff nichols celebrates men of few words the dinner. Jeff nichols was born on december 7, 1978 in little rock, arkansas, usa. Two faced mathew mcconaughey captures the essence of mud, the. His second film, take shelter 2011, is not so different. Ellis, played with remarkable vulnerability by tye sheridan, whom you might recognize from tree of life ellis is a 14yearold river kid who faces troubles both common crushes and domestic uncertainty and uncommon a sunburnt islandsquattermud. It was shown at the sundance film festival in january 20. Matthew mcconaughey, tye sheridan, reese witherspoon, sam shepard en jacob lofland. Jeff nichols spins another southern tale with mud the. The studios are on the hunt for talented filmmakers, and the next one to make the jump is jeff nichols, director of take shelter and mud, who i interviewed a few weeks ago. Riverbank predawn 6 from a distance, the single headlight of the dirt bike snakes up and down, in and out of trees along the riverbank.
Nichols also works with adult athletes among various amateur and professional athletics sports. The movie opens with 14yearold best friends ellis tye sheridan and neckbone jacob lofland taking a canoe with an outboard motor down the mississippi to a small island in order to check out a bigger boat that theyve heard is. Jeff nichols born december 7, 1978 is an american film director and screenwriter from little rock, arkansas. Jeff nichols s exhilarating third movie, mud, concerns two 14yearold boys growing up in a small town beside the mississippi in the directors native south central state of arkansas, and its. Timothy dunn, union college director of fraternity and sorority affairs i highly recommend jeff nichols as a speaker for any school. This site uses cookies for analytics, personalized content and ads. With matthew mcconaughey, tye sheridan, jacob lofland, sam shepard. Nichols began his career as a graduate assistant strength coach at troy university in 2002.
A conversation with mud writerdirector jeff nichols at. If there is any relative truth to that statement, its as clear as mud. The key facts behind how jeff nichols made the indie hit mud. In jeff nicholss beautiful and sprawling new film mud, the river defines. Mark twain, whom mud writer and director jeff nichols mentions in an extra after the movie, knew good stories could be set in the south. Mud is een amerikaanse dramafilm uit 2012, geschreven en geregisseerd door jeff nichols.
Mud is a small scale, character driven production, which could feel too slow, thoughtful and broody. The bike spits up mud as they peel out down the trail. It helped relaunch matthew mcconaugheys career although nichols goto actor is michael shannon. Mud is an adventure about two boys, ellis and his friend neckbone, who find a man named mud hiding out on an island in the mississippi. A nuanced coming of age story with a few epic bends, jeff nicholss third feature, mud, is both the story of every kid and this one kid.
Mississippi adolescents ellis tye sheridan and neckbone jacob lofland are exploring along the mighty mississippi when they stumble upon a small island inhabited by mud matthew mcconaughey, a desperado who claims to be on the run from. Jeff nichols southern exposures interview magazine. Jeff nichols regisseur, matthew mcconaughey, tye sheridan, jacob lofland, sam shepard, reese witherspoon, sarah paulson, michael shannon, ray. Mud, nichols third and latest film, recently premiered in main competition at the 2012 cannes film festival. Two young boys encounter a fugitive and form a pact to help him evade the vigilantes that are on his trail and to reunite him with his true love. Mud38 stands near the boys boat holding a pink, childs. It was awarded the prestigious robert altman award for the 2014 film independent spirit awards. I thought mud was excellent with an exciting climax.
How refreshing it is to see an unabashedly southern story in which the southerners arent being portrayed as stupid yokels. Heres the austin film festival onstory podcast, a conversation with jeff nichols. Born and raised in little rock, arkansas, nichols is a graduate of the north carolina school of the arts, school of filmmaking, and is a current resident of austin, texas. Jeff nichols talks about the river that runs through it mud blu ray. Mud, nichols third film premiered in main competition at the 2012 cannes film festival and had its north american premiere at the 20 sundance film festival. Jeff nichols is probably best known for his hit comingofage thriller mud, about a troubled kid who befriends a drifter in the backwaters of arkansas. Following a screening of mud at sundance london, director jeff nichols talked deleted scenes, inspirations, that ending and how he is turning to scifi for his next film. Theres a rhythm to the characters lives in jeff nichols comingofage tale mud that makes the whole project feel something like mark twains take on stand by me. On the bike, the sound of the engine rips through fog and trees illuminated by the straining headlight.
Jeff nicholss films include take shelter, mud, shotgun stories, midnight special. Jeff nichols, mud director, eschews hollywood for the. Download free jeff nichols font, view its character map and generate textbased images or logos with jeff nichols font online. How jeff nichols got personal in his new film, mud. He is a writer, known for take shelter 2011, midnight special 2016 and loving 2016.
Jeff nichols first film, shotgun stories 2007, is sparse and darkthe story of three brothers from arkansas, son played by michael shannon, boy, and kid, embroiled in a futile feud with their half siblings. Slow does not mean boring, it just means you need to be in the right type of mood for mud to fully enjoy the slowburning storytelling. Jeff nichols physically prepares current and future candidates athletes for the military, law enforcement, and fire fighters. Mud lionsgate, the third film from jeff nichols, is a story of childhood adventure steeped in the rural culture of life on the mississippi and the mythology of huckleberry finn, but this boys adventure is also tangled in the world of adults and family bonds. Jeff nichols joins elvis mitchell in front of a live audience to talk about his latest film, mud. Which is so often not the case these days, though you are at that point now. Way back in 20, jeff nichols fantastic twainian yarn mud was the biggest box office draw of any indie movie that year. Jeff nichols established his filmmaking career with his first feature shotgun stories, a modern revenge western that takes place in his native arkansas.
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