Jason Reitman in conversation

Thanks, Eeb.

These are great, Roger!

Nice reminded me of James Laxton.

Jason Reitman is such an interesting person. Thanks for uploading the videos! I really hope he can keep up the quality...loved his work so far and I'm definetely looking forward to his next projects.

Thanks for asking about the prospect of filming Catcher in the Rye. The subject has long been a fascination for me. It should get made, and in the right hands it could work. Jason Reitman seems like a very nice man, but I see this project in the hands of a more subversive director. I'm thinking of Gondry or Lynch. And maybe Jeremy Sumpter or Jacob Kogan as Holden.

Ebert: Lot of buzz about Michael Cera. All academic, because the movie will never be made.

Isn't it interesting that no author's death in years has caused as much discussion? This is that rare book almost everybody read at just the right age.

this was all really good but i have to say my favorite part was when he asks, "what is this stuff for roger?"

Thank you sharing these Roger. Jason Reitman seems like he knows what he's doing. I love watching natural conversations like these.

Gee, I wish Jason Reitman would stop by my house before going to an airport. He really seems like an awesome guy.

Nice cinematography in your videos, Mr. Ebert.

Dear Jason,

LOL. Thanks for confirming what I thought and said recently on another thread, three film arc indeed. Here's why “Up In The Air” doesn't work all that well (for me) – a major chunk of your emphasis is on the “evil corporation”, just because you make the evil corporate entity the backdrop supported by minor characters, doesn't mean that its influence will not seem pervasive; the way you address it, is by turning the persecutor into the persecuted, a risky move and it could've worked, should you have not made him enjoy “the life” so much. As it stands, the character is unintentionally contradictory and the reason why your “millionth mile” set piece isn't as effective as it should have been. Yes, you've also got the “out with the old guard, in with the new”, but, you've made the new so jaded, that her turning a corner isn't believable.

I like the female identity crisis juxtaposition. Farmiga was brilliant, her acting as Roger pointed out seems deceptively effortless and is very effective. Kendrick's brief was tough, she didn't pull it off. There're very few things Clooney can't do, bopping to hip-hop clearly is one of them. I get the feeling he held back, maybe because a topic or two in the film hit a little too close to home.

Your pacing was spot on in “Thank You For Smoking” and “Juno”, it was off in this. You're right it is complex making a film about identity in a land where corporate intrusiveness is ubiquitous. Well done on trying to make a good film. I don't think you made a bad film. I loved the “troubled waters ahead” segue, when the smooth, suave executive dives in after the “cardboard cutout” couple/family option, that was a very nice touch, quite subtle.

On “improving” Salinger – David Lean filmed “Great Expectations” and he didn't “improve” it – it remains one of the best films I've ever watched.

On “District 9” – aliens: discovery – oppression – salvation. Come on, be serious.

Good luck on your next film, I hope they're at least as good as your first two. Also, at the next awards, remember – you're on camera – crestfallen doesn't do your countenance at the Globes sufficient justice. At least you didn't walk out like Will Smith. You'll have other chances. I'll be surprised if you don't win an Oscar for one of your future films.

My best to Michelle.

Sincerely,

Indian Idiot (H.W.)

P.S. Roger, saw what you wrote about “Avatar's” Oscar aspirations. Justice is done. Thank you. Also, cool 'droid voice dude, I hope Cereproc do a good job restoring your old organic one.

Ebert: Lean's "Great Expectations" is in my Great Movies Collection. A masterpiece.

Thanks a lot, Mr. Ebert. I really admire Jason Reitman's work and this was a pleasure to watch.

A few pleasures in watching these videos.

One is the frank, reflective comments about a person's work and abilities. Reitman is so frequently dressed in flannel or sweatshirts, and it seems to reflect a casual, yet appropriately serious nature (rather than shopping mall fashion choices). I enjoy listening to people enjoy what they are doing, in that sense of "vocation."

The other is the sense of the participating spouse (i.e. the team). There is this sense that in his work she is his cheerleader, his critic, his cushion, his sounding board...his partner.

The third is the sense that the above two points apply to the people in front of the camera *and* to the people behind the camera.

Omer M

Thank you for these, Roger. Keep up the amazing work.

Oh come on Rog, you know as well as I do, that there's "shot by shot" and then thematic inferences which can be drawn from clear markers, such as the colour scheme of "Schindler's List".

In the corporate world 51% is a majority - in "Up In The Air" Clooney is wearing a suit for the first 77 minutes of the film, which, of the running time of 109 minutes, is somewhere in the region of 70% of the film, therefore the backdrop of the evil corporate entity is pretty firmly established. In fact, when Clooney is not in the shot, the suit is probably not off him for longer than 12-15 minutes in the entire film.

Just saying..

Indian Idiot (H.W.)

Thanks indeed for sharing these.

The possibility of Jason Reitman directing "A Confederacy of Dunces" made my eyes pop out of my head! Next time you see him, ask him all about that one. What killed the idea? Is it something he might still get around to doing one day? I wonder who one would cast as Ignatius J. Reilly.

Rog, I think Reitman won't be dropping by again. Poor guy comes to chill and ends up being recorded in a stalker-rific manner.

Ebert: He knew I was taping, and, more importantly, I wouldn't have used anything that put him in a negative light. I think he comes across as the smart, decent, sincere person he is.

Who do think should direct and star in Catcher in the Rye? I would love to hear your opinion.
p.s - You have a fan in Israel.

Roger said: "Lean's "Great Expectations" is in my Great Movies Collection. A masterpiece."

I wholeheartedly concur. I read it awhile back and upon hearing of the passing of Jean Simmons, revisited a few of her films, Lean's "Great Expectations" was one of them. I also reread your essay and enjoyed your thoughts on it, as much as I did the film itself. I cannot for the life of me imagine anyone else playing Estella as well as she did. You're right, "Black Narcissus" was her best performance, watched that again recently too.

It has been a sad decade for cinema, bereft as it is of so many of its greatest and polluted by so much utter drivel.

Oh well..such is life..

Indian Idiot (H.W.)

P.S. Did you know that if you bisect the word concur, you get one very rude French insult and one mildly rude English one? Just noticed that today I did. They don't much respect Latin the French youth these days. Shame.

..was wondering how best to respond to this "A real human being.." and decided to leave the response merely at two amused musings, out of respect for you, despite a certain transgression by..well, I'm sure you know who..anyway, here goes -

am I to suppose you do not think much of the epic classic Beowulf, regardless of "dark and scary" imagery contained therein, considering the fact that the writer of said work remains anonymous?

I was under the illusion that the aesthetic within which a work is created, matters inherently more than the creator itself, or the detritus which she/he is liable to create, but then again I wouldn't know much about such strange things, being as I am, an anonymous dehumanised internet phony..

Ebert: I wasn't calling you a phony. I was talking about people on promo tours who are on autopilot.

When I'm tempted to post an anonymous comment somewhere, I ask myself why. All depends on the snswer.

He is a very charming man.

Jeez, us Canadians are great. Funny though, Reitman is from Canada, I am from Canada, and I don't know him.