Shailene Woodley will play singer Janis Joplin in a new movie.
She’s also producing the film.
The biopic is benefitting from a $2.5 million tax credit handed out by California.
Given her albeit tragically short-lived but storied contribution to the world of music, it’s shocking that no-one has been able to bring a movie about Janis Joplin to screens yet.
Still, that isn’t stopping Shailene Woodley, who has plans to star in and produce exactly that.
Few details have emerged about who else is involved –– we don’t, for example, know who the writer or director are yet –– but production company Temple Hill is backing the film, which has now received $2.5 million in funding from the California Film and Television Tax Credit Program.
Who was Janis Joplin?
Janis Joplin in the 1974 documentary ‘Janis’. Photo: Universal Pictures.
Joplin was a musical icon of the 1960s, known as much for her searing blues songwriting and powerful voice as she was for her turbulent rock-and-roll lifestyle. The powerhouse behind ‘Mercedes Benz’ and a variety of respected covers, she died of an overdose in 1970, aged 27, shocking the music world.
Her life has been brought to screens in a couple of TV movies, but so far, big screen attempts have all faltered (see below).
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Who else has tried to make a Janis Joplin biopic?
‘Wayne’s World’ director Penelope Spheeris.
At this point, it might be easier and quicker to fill a list of who hasn’t tried to make a film about, or star as, Joplin.
‘Wayne’s World’ director Penelope Spheeris had first Pink attached in 2004 and then Zooey Deschanel in 2006, looking to get ‘The Gospel According To Janis’ into theaters ahead of an effort by Lakeshore Entertainment, which boasted of landing Renee Zellweger to star.
Sean Durkin, who most recently made ‘The Iron Claw’, took a stab at the idea back in 2012, with Tony winner Nina Arianda playing Janis, but nothing came of that one. Durkin popped back up again with an effort in 2016 that seemingly landed Michelle Williams to star, only for things to go very quiet once more.
You’ll forgive us, then, for not holding our breath until the movie is actually in theaters.
Woodley seems excited that her version of the story now has a boost for its funding.
Here’s her statement:
“I have a feeling Janis would be smiling ear to ear, zipping down the PCH in her psychedelic Porsche knowing her story is bringing opportunities and funding to the city and people that held so much significance to her. Thank you to the California Film Commission’s Film & Television Tax Credit Program — myself and the other producers on this project believe California is the only place to film a slice of Janis’s life with authenticity and truth — and we are so grateful to have received the green light to do so!”
(L to R) Himesh Patel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt in ‘Greedy People’. Photo: Lionsgate.
Opening in theaters on August 23rd, ‘Greedy People’ comes across like a Coen brothers movie made by people who have not actually seen the siblings’ work, only heard it described by someone who remembered the wrong things.
Though Joseph Gordon-Levitt leads an accomplished cast, the film around them simply can’t find the right gear and is neither as funny nor as impactful as it believes.
Darkly comic crime thrillers are a tricky genre to get right. And yes, while we keep bringing up the Coen brothers, that’s because they effectively mastered it with the likes of ‘Fargo’ and ‘The Big Lebowski’, among others.
Which is not to say that other directors haven’t made it work, but when you have a movie that so clearly wants to stand alongside some of the classics, you need to make sure it really works. It’s regrettable to report that ‘Greedy People’ simply doesn’t. It’s far from unwatchable but scuppered by some serious issues.
‘Greedy People’: Script and Direction
(L to R) Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Himesh Patel in ‘Greedy People’. Photo: Lionsgate.
Writer Mike Vukadinovich is probably better known for TV than movies –– he’s worked on shows such as ‘Kidding’ and Marvel’s ‘Runaways’. Yet his big screen script work has been eclectic, including ‘Rememory’ and contributing to one of the many development drafts of the upcoming ‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’.
Here, though, he’s come up with a spin on a familiar concept –– cash found in a small town that has all manner of shysters, grifters and struggling family types willing to go to any lengths to get their hands on it –– and, well, pumped out the latest generic version of said story. There are quirky characters galore, but so many of them feel like bland copies of earlier, better examples. And tonally, the movie is all over the place, seemingly unable to decide if it wants to be wacky, somber or wannabe-insightful about human greed.
Director Potsy Ponciroli, sadly, never overcome the issues of the script given to him. While he gets a handful of solid performances from a game cast, none of it adds up to anything really worth spending much time with. And one moment in particular –– which features the death of an animal played for laughs –– is so unfortunate as to sour reactions to even the most interesting character of the story.
‘Greedy People’: Performances
The one person who truly seems to be having fun here is Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who absolutely consumes the role of corrupt cop Terry. Around him, everyone else (except possibly Tim Blake Nelson and, in a brief appearance, Traci Lords) feel like they’re in another movie.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Joseph Gordon-Levitt in ‘Greedy People’. Photo: Lionsgate.
A wacky whirlwind of a performance, Terry the cop allows Gordon-Levitt to truly cut loose in a way he’s rarely allowed. And he commits, bringing the foul-mouthed, moral-free law enforcement officer to life with gusto. Yet, as mentioned before, he feels apart from pretty much everyone else, as if he wandered in from another set.
Effectively our audience surrogate leading us into the weird world of the Nantucket island setting, Patel opts mostly for earnest, which sort of works when playing off Gordon-Levitt’s firecracker of a role, but more honestly fits with Lily James (in a ‘Yesterday’ reunion) as his wife.
He’s not bad by any means, but he’s also something of a wet sponge compared to his co-star.
Tim Blake Nelson
Nelson –– a Coen stalwart –– definitely knows what he’s doing in this type of movie, ratcheting up the quirk levels and committing to being a scheming weirdo. Yet his role is still relatively small and what happens to him is fairly predictable.
Supporting cast
Around the main characters, there is the typical ensemble of townsfolk and friends/family. All the cast do what they can, some with underwritten roles. Lily James does what she can with the part of Will’s pregnant wife, playing her with a welcome mix of pragmatism, spirit and vulnerability. Traci Lords has a glorified cameo as the housewife (and aggrieved other half to Nelson’s character), whose 911 call sets the film’s plot into motion.
Other notable people deserving of praise? Jim Gaffigan is great in small role (and a big wig) as local assassin-for-hire The Irishman. His delivery and manner are really suited to this sort of movie, and he makes the character believably odd. Ditto Uzo Aduba as the police captain, whose cheery professionalism masks real grief.
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‘Greedy People’: Final Thoughts
‘Greedy People’ is probably best described as a worthy failure. It certainly has some watchable performances, decent lines and a handful of fun scenes, but overall, it just can’t maintain its momentum, nor figure out exactly what it wants to be.
As the body count rises, the tone becomes increasingly tiresome, and while Joseph Gordon-Levitt shines in his role, even Terry becomes grating. If you’re a small-town noir completist, maybe give this a look, but otherwise it never works as well as it might.
‘Greedy People’ receives 5.5 out of 10 stars.
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What’s the story of ‘Greedy People’?
Rookie cop Will (Himesh Patel) and his rogue partner Terry (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) upend their small island town when they accidentally discover one million dollars at a crime scene (of their own making).
After the duo unwisely decides to steal the money, the community’s quirky residents are lured into the mad dash for cash — ranging from an expectant mom (Lily James) to a masseur (Simon Rex) to a shrimp company owner (Tim Blake Nelson) — and everyone learns just how far they are willing to go for the almighty dollar.
(L to R) Andrew Liner and Tim Blake Nelson in ‘Bang Bang’.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with director Vincent Grashaw, as well as actors Tim Blake Nelson and Andrew Liner about their work on ‘Bang Bang’, Grashaw’s first reaction to the screenplay and what he wanted to say about the sport of boxing, Nelson’s approach to his character and playing a former boxer, the fight sequences, Liner’s character’s relationship with his grandfather and working with Nelson and Kevin Corrigan, and why Nelson enjoyed making the movie.
You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Tim Blake Nelson and Andrew Liner.
(L to R) Andrew Liner and Tim Blake Nelson in ‘Bang Bang’.
Moviefone: To begin with, Vincent, can you talk about your first reaction to Will Janowitz’s screenplay and the themes you wanted to explore as a director?
Vincent Grashaw: The script speaks for itself. As a director, unless you write the thing, which I always feel, you’re a little more naked and probably protective and less collaborative, not even something you’re aware of. I always find you’re a little more guarded, and I don’t like that. That’s why I prefer to read somebody else’s material, fall in love with it, and then take it and bring yourself to it. Will’s script, when you’re reading something like that, you find yourself disappearing in it, and it doesn’t take long. I can gauge my interest based on how long it takes me to read a script based on the page count and how long, and it’s one that I breezed through, and everything happened quickly from there in terms of getting it made. But I was really excited about the boxing aspects to it on top of the intimate characters and their relationships. It was an unexpected direction that the script takes that also just, it kept surprising me, and by the end, you’re throwing the script across the room because you’re just like, “Dude, it’s fantastic.” I think it’s one of those things, as a filmmaker, you see an opportunity and you’re like, “I want to tell the story.” It becomes an obsession almost until it gets done.
MF: Tim, can you talk about your approach to playing Bernard and what were some of the aspects of the character you were excited to explore on screen?
Tim Blake Nelson: I’ve never encountered a character quite like this. The swerve to which Vince refers also interested me and recalled the John Huston film ‘Fat City’ and how deeply that movie delved into the aftermath of a career in boxing. I felt that I hadn’t read a script or seen a boxing movie that had those sorts of ambitions. I was very excited to lend myself to that. The big question for me was how credible I could be as this guy, particularly as somebody with a boxing past. Luckily Vince, in addition to being a wonderful director in his own right, regardless of his association with boxing, has a boxing past, comes from a family with boxers in it and has boxed himself. He was able to talk me through not only the simple aspects of the fact that I could have been a lightweight or a featherweight fighter, and in fact it would make perfect sense for my build if I could devote myself to the training, which I was certainly willing to do. But he helped me start to think about the mindset and allowing that to seep in during the training process. Because of Vince, I had the confidence that I was going to be able to fill the character out inside of this rather slight diminutive frame. Then at the time we made this movie, I guess I was 59, and to be able to continue acting at my age, and not only that, but be given a challenge like this, this is why I set out on this career path in the first place. I couldn’t be happier. I’m a lucky soul to have been guided through this character by Vincent Grashaw.
Tim Blake Nelson in ‘Bang Bang’.
MF: Can you talk about the anger that Bernard carries with him and his obsession with his past?
TBN: Well, the script is so well written that in the way I was trained way back, as my wife would say in the Mesozoic era, I am guided by the writing and Will Janowitz‘s script supplies an actor with everything an actor needs. Really, I just answered that without ladling a bunch of confusing stuff on top of that. I just played the truth of the character as written, as directed by Vince, refracted through a lot of boxing training and hanging around boxers. In terms of the relationship with the grandson, I had this wonderful scene partner in Andrew who was open, honest, available, professional and everything you’d want in a scene partner. The anger, the love, the disappointment was just all readily there for me to open myself up to it.
MF: Andrew, can you talk about Justin’s relationship with his grandfather and what he learns from training with him?
Andrew Liner: I think it’s interesting having Justin be a young man trying to find who he is without a male role model in his life until Bang Bang. The messy weird relationship that Bang and Justin have is in a way cathartic for both because in a way they needed each other and they have a deep love for one another, even though it does get messy because Bang gives Justin purpose. I think that in exploring these characters, I think Tim and I also just were very prepared and got to talk and listen with one another. I think at the end of the day, the writing was so good that there was nothing else needed. You could just talk to one another, and it’ll ring true. Having the characters be so real and so thought out, thanks to Will and Vince bringing those characters to life, the story fell in place. I think that Vince is very specific as well. If he wasn’t getting what he wanted, he would very much explain what exactly he wants. I think through that, it’s hard to mess up. It was a great experience because we all came together and told a story.
Andrew Liner in ‘Bang Bang’.
MF What was your experience like working with Tim, and what did you learn from him while making the film?
AL: I learned a lot working with Tim. He’s one of the best actors of his generation, and he pours himself into these characters not only emotionally and spiritually, but physically as well, which is everything that I want to do with what I take to acting. Just picking his brain and seeing how he operates during rehearsals, or asking Vince questions about what the shot is, or asking Will questions about where the character is going in this scene, what the target is, just watching him do his thing. With Bang being the character that he is, it’s daunting and it’s hard. Seeing him obsess over who he is and the relationships, that was a learning experience for me because it got me to a place where I was like, “Okay, I can start trying this. I can start pushing this envelope here, and I’m not so much in a box.” He broke that box down for me.
MF: Tim, you have some very physical scenes, did you work with a stunt coordinator for the fight sequences?
TBN: I don’t think I’ve ever been so despised by a stunt coordinator as I was on this movie because I just kept saying, “No, let us just, please don’t worry about us.” I think the guy wanted to kill me. Stunt coordinators, to their credit, it’s their job. I admire it. I fault myself in the way that I was at times with this guy, who’s a perfectly wonderful guy and good at his job. But he was protecting us and really protecting me because Andrew is, he’s like an Adonis and I’m getting a little superannuated. So, he didn’t want me to get hurt, but I’m also in really good shape and I wanted Andrew to be able to whack me. It was that kind of thing. I think the guy very much, I take his side against me on this. I think at times he was just saying, “Would this guy just get over himself and let me do my job?” But I wanted to get whacked and really play the scene, and I didn’t feel that Andrew Liner, the actor, was going to be irresponsible in that scenario.
Glenn Plummer in ‘Bang Bang’.
MF: Glenn Plummer, who plays Darnell Washington, has a great speech at the end of the film where he talks about the “truth” behind boxing. Vincent, as a filmmaker, what did you want to say about the sport of boxing with this movie?
VG: It’s a beautiful seven-minute back and forth between these two, and mainly Glenn speaking, just how things really are. On an intimate level, for me, its exploring what boxers are left with post-career. A lot of times it’s a sad, lonely place. You see it all the time. Boxers don’t know when to retire. Not all of them, but a lot of them aren’t really left with much money. They’re forgotten by an audience that if you were at the height of the sport, it’s a drug. That’s one of the reasons they don’t know when to retire. That was the heart of it. Then, almost all sports are regulated, and they have a commission. As much as boxing does have a state-by-state commission, it’s the wild, wild west. There’s no union, there’s no protections. There was a fighter, not too long ago, he was a young prospect, undefeated, good-looking kid, and he got knocked out in a fight that was six months or three months after a previous time he lost. He wasn’t protected. The athletic commission typically would suspend you after a knockout to give your brain a certain amount of time to recover. He ended up with brain damage and ended up thankfully recovering and being able to live a life. But he’s out of the sport and he was forgotten by his own promoter. You’re done at that point, who do you turn to? He’s got his family and he’s able to live now and have a life. I don’t want to spoil anything, but there was a similarity to the character of Bang Bang’s brother that this guy went through. It just breaks your heart. I wanted to be honest about the sport, really.
MF: Andrew, you have a scene with Kevin Corrigan where he starts singing spontaneously at the end of a monologue. Was that in the script or something he improvised?
AL: Yeah, that was in the script and that was also Kevin’s first day, and that was my first day as well. That was the last shot of the day, I think. It was like a crazy experience for me to just sit there and watch and listen and it made my acting job easy because he was so phenomenal. I think it just showcased the bizarre world that they both live in. Also, you feel a lot of what these characters are going through with that scene because Kevin is so emotional and powerful and boosts my ego and tells me how Bang feels about me. It’s not like Justin and Bang are going to go sit, get coffee and be like, “I actually love you so much.” It was a very important scene that not only told Justin, but told the audience that “No, no, no. You got to understand how he looks at you. He looks at you like you’re a king, and he believes that, and that’s why he’s giving you this tough love.”
Kevin Corrigan in ‘Bang Bang’.
MF: Finally, Tim, what was the experience of making this movie and working with Andrew and Vincent like for you?
TBN: Well, I loved working with Andrew. He was wonderfully open, available, and generous as a scene partner. I couldn’t have asked for a better scene partner. I think he’s going to have an incredible career, and anybody would be lucky to work with him. That was fantastic. I was somewhat involved in the casting process, not with any final decisions, but with a bit of a say-so and certainly supported Vince in his choice of Andrew. It was clear this was going to be a great citizen on the film, and the unknown was what performance he would give, and I think it’s extraordinary. As for Vincent, I’m incredibly grateful to him for trusting me with this role. I credit him very much for guiding what the performance is and for giving me the space and wherewithal to give him what he needed for his movie. I think Vince is going to make some extraordinary films in his life, and I hope I’m a part of them.
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What is the plot of ‘Bang Bang’?
Retired pugilist Bernard “Bang Bang” Rozyski (Tim Blake Nelson) is inspired to try his hand at training once he reconnects with his estranged grandson (Andrew Liner). While their training brings Bang Bang out of the hole he’s been living in, everyone questions his motivations, including an ex-girlfriend (Erica Gimpel) from decades ago, who was privy to Bang Bang’s meteoric rise in the sport in the 80s as well as the rivalry with his former opponent, her cousin and Detroit’s Mayoral candidate Darnell Washington (Glenn Plummer). Is Bang Bang merely passing down inherited rage, or is there true altruism behind his tutelage?
Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem in ‘Being the Ricardos’
Currently, in theaters, before streaming on Amazon Prime December 21st, is the biopic ‘Being the Ricardos,’ which was written and directed by Oscar-winner Aaron Sorkin (‘The Trial of the Chicago 7’). The film follows the working and personal lives of legendary television pioneers Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, as the married couple try to produce their hit show ‘I Love Lucy’ the same week Ball is accused of being a communist during the height of the McCarthy hearings in the 1950s.
The movie boasts a stellar cast of actors that includes Oscar-winners Nicole Kidman (‘The Hours”) as Lucille Ball and Javier Bardem (‘No Country for Old Men’) as Desi Arnaz, respectively, as well as Oscar-winner J.K. Simmons (‘Whiplash’), Nina Arianda (‘Stan & Ollie’), Tony Hale (‘Toy Story 4’), Alia Shawkat (‘The Runaways’), and Clark Gregg (‘Avengers’). The result is a brilliant, moving and entertaining movie that illuminates Ball and Arnaz’s groundbreaking work and difficult marriage, while featuring Oscar worthy performances from Kidman, Bardem, and Simmons.
The film begins like a documentary with several interviews from former ‘I Love Lucy’ writers, now in their 80s, narrating the story, which then cuts to the set of the series in the 1950s and focuses on a specific week in history. As the movie begins, ‘I Love Lucy’ is the most popular show on television and Lucy and Desi have become the biggest stars in Hollywood. But trouble begins when it is reported on the radio that Lucy is a former member of the communist party, which happens at the height of both her fame and McCarthyism. Fearing that it is true, the heads of the network and the advertisers meet with Desi, who assures them it was just a mistake, and that Lucy simply checked the wrong box. But Lucy would rather have the country know the truth, that she was influenced by an Uncle, rather than think she made a “ditzy” mistake.
Meanwhile, Lucy is also dealing with her new-found fame, Desi’s adulteress behavior and being pregnant, which also threatens the future of the show. Understandably stressed out, Lucy focuses on work, taking time to make sure everything on the show is done right, which begins to anger the director, writers, and other cast members. Lucy’s co-star, Vivian Vance (Arianda) is battling her own demons playing the “frumpy friend” on the series, fighting to have her character appear “prettier” on the show. While Lucy’s other co-star, William Frawley (Simmons) has a hard time staying sober through the day, he also hates communists but sympathizes with Ball instead of condemning her. The story culminates with the production of that week’s episode and Lucy discovering if America will still love her or not when they discover the truth. The film also flashes back periodically to important moments from Ball and Arnaz’s lives, including how they met and fell in love, and what led to their career resurgence and the creation of ‘I Love Lucy.’
I’ve been a fan of Aaron Sorkin for a long time. The first play I ever read was ‘A Few Good Men,’ and I was a huge fan of ‘The West Wing.’ While he did not direct them, I love many of the movies that have been made from his screenplays, including ‘Charlie Wilson’s War,’ ‘Moneyball,’ ‘Steve Jobs,’ and ‘The Social Network,’ for which he won Best Adapted Screenplay at the Academy Awards. However, his first directorial effort, 2017’s ‘Molly’s Game’ didn’t work for me. The dialogue and characters were great, but cinematically I was not impressed. That changed with last year’s ‘The Trial of the Chicago 7,’ which was visually stunning but still had the weight of strong characters and fascinating dialogue.
But ‘Being the Ricardos’ is Sorkin’s best work yet as a director, creating an almost flawless movie that seemingly jumps time periods without ever losing the audience or the themes of the story. The writer/director also hits on many themes from the 1950s that still resonate today, like political fear and women’s rights, through the lens of Ball’s unusual predicament. I expect the film is in the running to receive Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay nominations, and maybe even a Best Director nomination for Sorkin too, at the 2022 Academy Awards.
The supporting cast is terrific with a lot of familiar TV faces to recognize including ‘Arrested Development’s Tony Hale and Alia Shawkat, ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Clark Gregg, and even ‘Alice’s Linda Lavin as the older version of writer Madelyn Pugh. While she will probably get left out of this year’s Oscar race, actress Nina Arianda should definitely not be! She gives a tremendous supporting performance as Vivian Vance and brings a lot of humanity and vulnerability to the role. But I’m really hoping J.K. Simmonds will get an Oscar nomination this year for his role as William Frawley. You think that the usually drunk and crusty Frawley is going to be an antagonist to Ball in the beginning, but he becomes one of her strongest supporters thanks to a beautiful and earnest performance from Simmons.
But there is no doubt in my mind that Kidman and Bardem will receive Oscar nominations for their performances in ‘Being the Ricardos’ this year. Bardem will have a tough time winning, since this is “Will Smith’s year,” but Kidman could very well win her second Academy Award for this performance, but she will have to beat front-runner Kristen Stewart first. Bardem is absolutely mesmerizing as Desi Arnaz and gives one of the most multifaceted performances of his career, both singing and dancing as the charismatic performer. I can’t say I’ve always been a Nicole Kidman fan, but she was nothing short of incredible as Lucille Ball. She was so good that there were times I actually forgot I was watching Kidman and thought it was Ball, and that’s probably the best compliment you can give an actor that is portraying a real person. Kidman perfectly captures the drive, confidence and determination it took for Ball to become the legend she is, and has wonderful onscreen chemistry with Bardem.
In the end, ‘Being the Ricardos’ hits a new level for Aaron Sorkin as a filmmaker and is fairly close to a perfect film. It’s entertaining, moving, funny, and tells a true story that still feels relevant today.
In the final season of the Amazon Prime Video series ‘Goliath,’ Billy McBride (Billy Bob Thornton) takes on the pharmaceutical industry, and he’s joined in that battle by Samantha Margolis, played by Jena Malone. Thornton, Malone and series regulars Nina Arianda and Tania Raymonde talked to Moviefone about the show’s fourth and final season.
First, Billy Bob Thornton talks about saying goodbye to the series.
Moviefone: What big Goliath is Billy McBride tackling in season four?
Billy Bob Thornton: This time, its the big pharmaceutical companies. And that is a Goliath, for sure.
MF: Absolutely. Each season has been so great, and I’m so sad to see it ending. What has been the thing that you have loved most about playing Billy McBride?
Thornton: You know, I loved every day. I loved playing that character. It was very close to what I would be if I were a lawyer in LA. And when I read the script in the beginning, I thought, yeah, that’s kind of me there. And so it kind of fit like a glove, as they say. I loved all the co-stars and the cast who came in and out, and the guest stars for each season. The cast and crew were always wonderful. And I got to shoot at home here in LA.
It wasn’t a tension filled set, like you read about. People always say… It sounds corny, but they say it became a family. But it really did. After that long, it does. You know? And so you miss people. And you always think that you’re going to stay in touch, but usually maybe you stay in touch with a couple of people, but for the most part, people are so busy, you go your different ways. And so hopefully we’ll reconnect somewhere down the road. But I’m going to miss the people and the stories. The writers were so good on it. Steve Turner and Jennifer Ames were just terrific writers and so easy to talk to about things, about dialogue or the characters or the story and that kind of thing. The locations were great because we actually used LA properly, and the final season, San Francisco. But I guess probably the thing I’ll miss the most is probably playing that character.
MF: I noticed your name as directed by after the first episode of season four. Is that the only episode you directed in this series?
Thornton: Yes.
MF: And you haven’t directed in a while, right? Movie or TV or anything.
Thornton: In probably a decade anyway.
MF: What was the decision to direct this episode, and what was that experience like?
Thornton: They said, “Hey, how would you like to direct an episode this year?” And I said, “Nah, you don’t want me to do that. I don’t consider myself a director.” And they said, “Aw, come on.” And then my manager said, “Do it.” And he has some kind of odd Svengali power over me. I don’t know. But it turned out I actually enjoyed it. My episode, the first one, is sort of the more artsy kind of episode, and also you have to set everything up for the season. So it’s not the big splashy episode, which I actually preferred. I like to direct more character based things. And so it was good. And also having a hand in who was cast for different parts was really nice. I have had a say-so the whole time, but when you direct the first episode, you get a little bit more juice that way.
Next, series newcomer Gena Malone talks about joining the show and working with Thornton.
Moviefone: How would you describe this season of ‘Goliath?’
Jena Malone: Well, what’s interesting about ‘Goliath’ is it always sort of tends to tackle a big American crisis while it’s also exploring the sort of humanity or the everyday in that, so here we are in tackling, trying to understand the pharmaceutical industrial complex with big pharma and the opioid crisis, and then, you have on the human level, people who are just dealing with pain, right? And just pain in different ways, whether it’s like you’re affected personally by physical pain, emotional pain, deep-rooted trauma or someone that you know is affected, a family member. It’s sort of, that’s kind of the critical point that this, we meet all of the characters.
MF: What did you love most about playing Samantha?
Malone: I feel like I was given, as an actor thing, I had so many things that I had to learn about. I had to learn about how to be a lawyer, running and managing a law firm, which is enough in itself to learn about. And then also understanding sort of chronic pain, where you’re having to live with a medical condition that can be debilitating at times, and how to sort of allow that physical body to enter the world of the legal system, which is high paced, high stakes, high fast. Everything’s very intense. And I felt like I was constantly trying to kind of figure out how the two could work together.
Jena Malone and Billy Bob Thornton in ‘Goliath’
MF: What’s Billy Bob Thornton like as a scene partner?
Malone: He’s like a thoroughbred. He’ll go anywhere. He’s very professional, but also very forgiving and kind, and he’ll go off book, on book. He’s very game for anything, which I find sometimes my favorite kind of sparring partner.
MF: You were talking about what was going on and there’s pain, and there’s just so much going on. And all the things you mentioned, I feel Sam Margolis is going through.
Malone: Well, it’s her father’s firm, and it’s slowly crumbling. She’s having to hold it all together and not have to basically fold the firm whilst also dealing with one of the biggest lawsuits, multi-billion dollar lawsuits within big pharma and trying to sort of… It’s not an easy game to enter. There’s a lot of high stakes there.
MF: Were you a fan of ‘Goliath’ before you got this role?
Malone: I didn’t know the series. I just wasn’t watching a lot of series in my parent journey at that time, but then I got to catch up all of the seasons, and I’m a really big fan, so.
Tania Raymonde talks about how much she’s enjoyed working on the series.
Moviefone: How would you describe season four of ‘Goliath?’
Tania Raymonde: Season four of ‘Goliath’ picks up in the same tradition as all the other seasons, but this year, Billy is fighting back against big pharma. And it’s all about the opioid epidemic, which is super topical and interesting in this show because we get to see what it is behind the curtain. So, we all know, a lot of shows show what it’s like to suffer from opioid addiction and what drugs do, destroying families and all that, but here we really get to see where the money and power’s involved and who the lawyers are that represent these drug companies and how they’re connected to the pharmaceutical distributors and all the little ways in which it works behind the curtain. So, to me, it was super informative and also really interesting for that one reason of like how this big business of drug manufacturing works and how twisted it is. Yeah.
MF: Last season, ‘Goliath’ tackled the big issue as well, water rights, so I’m just wondering when you get the script, like when you got the script for the season, and you knew it was going to be about big pharma and the opioid crisis, do you do any research for that?
Raymonde: Yeah, I mean, we read a lot about… I think that the show is loosely based on the Sackler family, who are the family that made Oxycontin. And they’re the ones that have just been on trial and are now in serious trouble, finally, and all that, but it’s been really cool on Goliath from the beginning because every story is sort of loosely followed like a real life headline, whether it’s the drug cartels or the water thefts in the Central Valley last year with almond farming, which I knew nothing about. It takes a gallon of water to make one almond. I mean, I’d never known that before. I certainly didn’t know that people have amputee fetishes. That was really new for me, also, so I learned that from Goliath, and then, this year really seeing how these drug companies, how they get away with what they get away with was really cool. So, yeah. So, there’s been a lot of, for the writers, especially, a lot of research done trying to make this as real as possible.
MF: What’s your favorite thing about playing Brittany Gold?
Raymonde: I think she’s super brave, and I don’t know, she’s a really good example of like, you aren’t defined by what you do, and you can make mistakes in your life when you’re young and still recover. She’s super smart and really kind of a bold, brave person, and I find that admirable. I wish, in some ways, like I try to mimic that because it’s scary being brave sometimes. I like that about her.
MF: You know, Billy Bob Thornton is such an icon in the industry. What’s it like having him as a scene partner?
Raymonde: It’s like the best feeling in the world. I feel so spoiled. I wish I could, I would act in movies for the rest of my life with Billy, and everybody on the show feels the same. He makes it so fun and easy, and it just feels like real life, so I don’t even know if you’d call it acting really, whomever works with him is extremely lucky. It’s been such a fun ride with everyone, and him, especially.
MF: It’s been four incredible seasons, even for us as an audience, and all the great guest actors you’ve had on the different seasons. How do you feel now that it’s done?
Raymonde: You know, when really good things happen to you, you just live through it as it goes on, and then, you look back on it, and you think, “Wow, that was so cool.” William Hurt and Maria Bello and getting to work with these… Beau Bridges and Dennis Quaid, Amy Brenneman, Bruce Dern, JK Simmons, Dwight Yoakam. I mean, I can’t believe the cast of the show and every single year, that everyone, that they got these new, fabulous actors to join and Billy at the center of it all and Nina Arianda and all the… I mean, it’s been like a complete dream. I can’t believe it. It’s like too many great things happening in one show at once. I wish it were more spread out.
Nina Arianda shares her love for her character and the production as a whole.
Moviefone: What do you love about your character, Patty Solis-Papagian?
Nina Arianda: I love her straightforwardness. I love that she’s pretty brazen, mildly unfiltered, and still vulnerable at the same time, and it’s a pleasure to play a character that’s that layered.
MF: Is she vulnerable? I guess she is vulnerable, but she puts on a really hard front. It’s like, to me, nothing phases her.
Arianda: Oh yeah, I think that’s certainly the external. I think internally, I think she occasionally questions herself. I think she questions her life decisions, career-wise, is she valuing herself enough? And which I think is kind of great about this season is that we do finally see Patty owning her talents unapologetically.
MF: What is the subject of season four?
Arianda: In season four, we’re we’re tackling the opioid crisis in America, and the influence that pharmaceutical companies have pushing these drugs with the full knowledge that they are, in fact, addictive and have deadly consequences.
MF: What is it like working with Billy Bob Thornton as a scene partner?
Arianda: I mean, again, I don’t want to sound cliché, but it really is a dream scenario, because you’re working with somebody who’s always on it, always present, always generous, fun. You really kind of can’t ask for anybody better.
MF: This is the last season, the final season, so kind of what are you feeling now that it’s ending?
Arianda: Sad. I think sad, but also very grateful. I think anyone who’s a fan of the show or was a fan working on the show, we’re going to have to go through a couple of stages of grief, and eventually we’ll get to acceptance, but all the while, loving the experience.
MF: The series for an audience has been a great experience. It’s been really fun to see these three central main characters, but every season there’s been a whole cast of great actors who have come in. What is that like for you, having a new storyline and new actors each season?
Arianda: It’s terribly exciting. It’s terribly exciting, and nerve-wracking too. This year, I couldn’t believe that I was in the presence of Bruce Dern, or JK Simmons. I was nervous. At first, I was scared to go up and say hi, so Billy had to introduce me, and it turned out to be brilliant.
MF: And the show has gotten, I think, more noir as it’s gone on through the seasons, and this season, I love the setting, San Francisco, and Chinatown and the back alleys. What were the sets like for you?
Arianda: Incredibly magical, really? I was thinking when I was on set at one point, I was like, “Boy, my four-year-old self would just lose her mind,” because you’re so in it. Your imagination can do anything, but kind of just explodes when you have set designers, the kind that we had, and the art department. It was gorgeous, from even the tiniest piece of gum on a cobblestone. I appreciate that kind of detail so much, because it adds to you being able as an actor to disappear.
