Alexander Payne

Europeans created America by landing on the East Coast and moving West, in the process confecting the nation’s near-Biblical legend of Manifest Destiny. (Sorry, Indians.) That hope (or illusion) nourished our indigenous art forms: the picaresque novel and its cinematic equivalent, the road movie. The directors of the Cannes Film Festival must also be smitten with the genre. Last year they invited three films about young people... | time.comRead Full Story

Just returned from three days in Hollywood with Alexander Payne to observe the final mix process on his highly anticipated new film “Nebraska.”  It was quite the experience to see him and his team putting the finishing touches on the film.  Those behind-the-scenes glimpses will inform coming stories I’ll be writing and posting here. I was privileged to see the film in its entirety at a screening on the Paramount lot.  It’s a superb work of cinema.  With “Nebraska” Payne has gone ever deeper...Read Full Story

This first (low-res) clip has arrived online from Alexander Payne’s (The Descendants) ‘Nebraska.’ Paramount Pictures is priming the film for an awards-season run with a limited rollout starting November 22nd. ‘Nebraska’ centers on an aging alcoholic father (Bruce Dern) who decides to take a road trip from Montana to Nebraska to collect what he believes to be a million dollar Publisher’s Clearing House prize. His estranged son (Will Forte) reluctantly agrees to accompany his father in order to...Read Full Story

Come to my 1 pm signing this Saturday, May 11 at The Bookworm in Countryside Village. I’ll be signing my book, “Alexander Payne: His Journey in Film.” I had a great response there the first time and I’m hoping to repeat the magic. This is a great time to get the book because it will be a valuable reference come awards season, when Payne’s new film “Nebraska” is contending for Golden Globes and Academy Awards. The book’s a great source of Payne trivia to impress your fellow film buffs with. It...Read Full Story

USA Today has unveiled this first official look at Bruce Dern and Will Forte in Alexander Payne’s (The Descendants) ‘Nebraska.’ Paramount Pictures is priming the film for an awards-season run with a limited rollout starting November 22nd. The drama centers on an aging alcoholic father (Bruce Dern) who decides to take a road trip from Montana to Nebraska to collect what he believes to be a million dollar Publisher’s Clearing House prize. His estranged son (Will Forte) reluctantly agrees to...Read Full Story