Movie Meltdown: Alexandre O. Philippe: Documenting Film Itself

This week Movie Meltdown talks with filmmaker Alexandre O. Philippe about his early pop culture interests and the influences that led to his specific documentary style. In particular, those that led him to direct his films The People vs. George Lucas, Doc of the Dead and 78/52: Hitchcock’s Shower Scene.

And as we realize we all come from the same international pop culture beginnings, we also discuss… Star Wars, Night of the Living Dead, Blade Runner 2049, Isle of Dogs, respecting the past, Charles Dickens, Rian Johnson, we don’t remember all the bad movies made, actively thinking about your role as a filmmaker, a tremendous amount of fun, the more you start peeling the layers, a completely unique phenomenon in pop culture, World War Z, Denis Villeneuve, he still has so many mysteries, I do what I do because I adore those films, Pontypool, testified before Congress against the colorization of black and white films, Ridley Scott, the idea of rules in any sub-genre, a passion for communication the discoveries I make, Danny Boyle, walking into this dysfunctional relationship, sloppy writing coming out of Hollywood, the great Dune that we deserve, Alfred Hitchcock, endless discovery, those principles don’t apply to him, George Romero, it’s a shell without the ghost, looking at how those great filmmakers work at the top of their game, Fido, 28 Days Later, restoring and releasing the original films, Scanners, the understanding of art and storytelling, Dawn of the Dead and did nerd rage really begin with Star Wars?

“…you know, of course the behind the scenes stuff is really cool, and interesting, and it’s ‘how do movies get made’ you know… but I’m more interested really in the craft and the thinking of the filmmaker behind it.”