Englishman John Boorman has directed 22 films, and is probably best known for Point Blank and Deliverance, two of his early, violent dramas. But in 1988, he earned three Oscar nominations — best picture, best direction, best screenplay — for Hope and Glory, his autobiographical memoir of growing up amid the shelling of London during World War II. Now, 26 years later, comes a … [Read more...]
Director Montiel draws on his tough early life for film
Director-screenwriter Dito Montiel (A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints, Fighting) grew up in the low-income housing projects of Queens, N.Y. Many of the guys that he grew up with are now either in prison or dead, yet through sheer determination he avoided both and became a filmmaker. How did he beat the odds and avoid the violence that he recreates in his latest feature, The … [Read more...]