September 24, 2025 • 18 mins
On today's episode, Variety TV chief Michael Schneider speaks to showrunner Sterlin Harjo, whose new series "The Lowdown" bows today on FX. Clayton Davis, Variety's chief awards editor, discusses the surprise news that Christopher Nolan has taken on a side gig as president of the Directors Guild of America.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
And I also want to thank all of you who
was supported our show, cared enough to do something about it,
to make your voices heard so that mine could be heard.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
I will never forget it.
Speaker 3 (00:23):
Welcome to Daily Variety, your daily dose of news and
analysis for entertainment industry insiders. It's Wednesday, September twenty fourth,
twenty twenty five. I'm your host, Cynthia Littleton. I am
co editor in chief of Variety alongside Ramin Setuda. I'm
in LA He's in New York, and Variety has reporters
around the world covering the business of entertainment. On today's episode,
(00:45):
we'll hear from Sterlin Harjoe, creator of Reservation Dogs. He's
back with a new series for FX, The Lowdown. I
hand the mic to my Variety colleague Michael Schneider, who
interviews Harjoe about his new series that you might call
Tulsa Noir. And we'll hear from Variety's Clayton Davis on
the surprise news this weekend that Christopher Nolan has been
(01:06):
elected President of the Director's Guild of America. But before
we get to that, here are a few headlines just
in this morning that you need to know. Jimmy Kimmel
and his return to ABC last night is still the
biggest story in entertainment. That was a clip from Kimmel's
monologue that you heard as the cold open to this episode.
To me and in the view of many critics, he
(01:28):
struck just the right tone. You could hear the crack
of emotion in his voice as soon as he opened
his mouth. He was genuine and emotional without being surupe
He did not apologize, He delivered laugh out loud singers,
and he pulled out their receipts on the hypocrisy of
those self styled free speech warriors who have been trying
(01:50):
to get him pushed off the air. All in all,
Tuesday's episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live was inspired, heartfelt television
from someone who has truly grown up on the airwaves.
All of Variety's coverage and perspective on Kimmel in the
Battle for Late Night can be found on Variety dot
com right now, along with so much more. Now we
(02:18):
turn to conversations with Variety journalists about news and trends
in show business. The new Ethan Hawk drama The Lowdown,
premieres tonight on FX. Michael Schneider, Variety's TV editor, who
is also a producer and a host of Variety's Award
Circuit podcast, checks in here with Sterlin Harjoe, creator and
showrunner of The Lowdown.
Speaker 4 (02:38):
Thanks Cynthia So, I was a tremendous fan of FX's
critically acclaimed three season series of Reservation Dogs and could
tell how much creator Sterlin Harjoe revered the art of cinema.
Episodes would often contain nods to various genres and films,
and even the series finale was an homage to Robert
Altman's Nashville. So it's probably no surprise that when Harjoe
(03:01):
set out to create his follow up to res Dogs,
he decided to tackle another one of his favorite styles,
film noir. The Lowdown, which premieres Tuesday on FX, stars
Ethan Hawke as a citizen journalist named Lee Raybond who
calls himself a truth story and while investigating the CD
under belly of Tulsa, Oklahoma. I recently caught up with
(03:21):
Harjo to talk about The Lowdown, and I began by
asking him how he landed on doing a noir as
the follow up to res Dogs.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
It was during res Dogs I think like a lot
of episodes would be different genres, Like we would play
with different genres within episodes, and that kind of made
me fall more in love with genre. I was always
a fan, but like realizing how much I could say
within the confines and the sort of parameters of genre
was exciting to me. And then one of my favorite
genres is noir. I just have always been drawn to it.
(03:50):
I just am such a fan, you know, Neo noir,
everything under this I just sort of devoured and it's
the most exciting to me. And I just had always thought,
you know, I could set some thing in Tulsa. I
think noirs that are set in La. Right now, she's
kind of been done. You know, the underbelly has been explored,
but the underbelly of Tulsa, conspiracy of Tulsa places in
(04:11):
the middle of America. They haven't been explored yet.
Speaker 1 (04:13):
And Tulsa, obviously, as we know, it has a really
dark history. You touch on that in this show too.
As you know, we discussed more about the nineteen twenty
one massacre, and that's part of the history of this city.
But you're from that area too, so I'm sure you
have a complicated relationship with Tulsa.
Speaker 2 (04:34):
Yeah, I love Tulsa. I mean I think I think
every place has a really dark history in America, every
city does. I think it's about your relationship with that
darkness on how you move forward as a place. You know,
And in the last ten years or so, through some
of the work for an organization I did called This
Land Press, through the show The Watchmen, through a lot
(04:55):
of activists from North Tulsa, a lot of activists from
Tulsa in general, a lot of people have you know,
brought more truths out about the history of Tulsa, especially
when when it pertains to the Tulsa Race massacre. That
truth and being honest with your past is healing and
it brings a community back together and wakes people up.
(05:16):
And you're seeing that happen. Now, there's still a long
way to go, but it's happening. You know. In the
history of Tulsa and the history of Oklahoma in general
is you know, one of darkness, just like the rest
of the United States, but specifically it was Indian territory
and my tribe and a lot of other tribes were
on the trail marched to Oklahoma, on the trail of
tears and you know, displaced. A lot of people died
(05:37):
and had to make a new home out of a
place they didn't understand that well or no that well.
So you know, but then it's also a story of survival,
you know, I mean, those tribes rebuilt and those tribes
are thriving now. So as much as it is a
story of the you know you touch you on darkness,
it's also you know, you see survival in Oklahoma and
(05:57):
in Tulsa. Tulsa was founded by Gogee Creek people, which
is my tribe, and it just felt like, you know,
it hadn't been explored in the film yet, and I
felt exciting.
Speaker 1 (06:09):
I feel like I'm learning a lot. Like I didn't
know about le Roy Chapman, the muckraker who Ethan's character
is kind of loosely based on. Tell me more about that,
Tell me about him and how you like sort of
came upon him to kind of create Ethan's character.
Speaker 2 (06:26):
Yeah, so I was friends with him. I mean, I
worked with him.
Speaker 1 (06:29):
And we well I didn't even realize that amazing.
Speaker 2 (06:31):
So we worked for an organization called This Land Press,
and I was a struggling independent filmmaker. I needed a job.
They gave me free rein to make documentaries in Tulsa
about whatever I wanted to make. And a lot of
that was excitement because we were telling the truth. We
were talking about the race massacre, we were talking about
stories that happened locally, and we were really kind of
holding a mirror up to our city, you know, and
(06:54):
really kind of presenting the city with a reflection of itself,
for better and for worse in the bat and something
about that's very healing, about seeing yourself truthfully, and and
Leroy was a big champion of that. And Leroy I
did a series with him called Tulsa Public Secrets and
where I rode shotgun in his white van. And he
(07:16):
was a journalist. He was also a you know, he
was a historian, a researcher, was he did a lot
of things. He made shirts, he didn't made art, he
was an artist. But one thing that he was obsessed
with it was talking about things that a lot of
people weren't either interested in or didn't want to talk about.
And a lot of that involving the truth. And I
just you know, it took a lot from him, was
(07:38):
inspired by him, as you do a lot of people
and he passed away, and I almost made a feature
film about him, but then I put it away. And then,
you know, once Rezdog's was being made, I knew it
was going to end it. I was like, I still
want to do a noir and I was kind of
just trying to think of the right thing, and so
I just kind of took the concept that I had
before and took inspiration from my old friend and inspiration
(08:01):
from the script that i'd been writing, and turned it
into the pilot for The Lowdown.
Speaker 1 (08:05):
And then, of course you've been buddies with Ethan for
a long time. He showed up and did some great
stuff with you on Res Dogs. Talk about pitching this
to him and getting him involved.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
Yeah, it's funny. I originally, you know, we'd been writing
together before Res Dogs, and then he was in Res Dogs,
and after that, I was like, oh, I just really
want to work with Ethan. And I had this idea
of like he was someone I wanted to cast in
this show, but like he's whenever you become friends, it's
a little you know, you don't want to like hurt
the friendship, and I didn't want to just go, hey,
(08:37):
will you be in this movie? Or show. So I
just sent it to him under the guys that I
wanted notes. I wanted to get notes back from my script,
and I was just trying to see if, you know,
like if he was into it, and see what his
reaction was. And luckily he read it and said, you know,
why am I not playing this guy? And from that
point on, like, well you are, And that point on
(08:57):
we made you know, that's what it was. And you know,
from then on I was writing even though I was
writing for him before, I was really writing for Ethan
after that.
Speaker 4 (09:04):
This cast is ridiculous by the way.
Speaker 1 (09:07):
I mean you pulled off. It's just an amazing set
up both you know, folks who you know were familiar with,
but even folks from other worlds, like I love seeing
Killer Mike on there. I mean, it's just this is
I mean, it sounds it seems like you had a
lot of fun and maybe a little bit of the
pick of the litter in terms of who you wanted
to work with.
Speaker 2 (09:24):
Yeah, it was pretty crazy. I mean, so many people
agreed to be in this show, and uh, you know,
part of that's Ethan, part of that's other actors. But
I think a lot of it as reservation dogs. You know,
a lot of people were inspired and really liked that
show and and it was I think it's a movie
lover show, and they could see that I was also
(09:46):
a movie lover and wanted to support me in some way.
You know, a lot of them, a lot of the
actors are from Oklahoma originally, and I and you know,
like I think you feel some of that, and I
don't know it was I'm totally blown away with the
caliber of actors that I've worked with. I've been doing
this a long time, and I mean, for instance, like
Kyle McLaughlin I met when I was at the Sundance Labs.
(10:06):
He was an actor for another project there. I met
him there and he was in a screenplay reading of
mine and he played white character go to Philip Seymour Hoffman.
And I think about that, Like, I remember he was
saying some line and it made people laugh and someone
in the front row said, you should be in his film.
I remember Kyle saying I'll be in anything he makes.
(10:28):
And I didn't take him up on it then, but
you know, twenty years later, I cashed that check. I
go up and asked if he'd be in the show.
Speaker 1 (10:35):
We talk about the noir and sort of you really
wanted to do in noir? What is it about that
genre and what did you really just enjoy and getting
to do you know, this an eight episode sort of
homage to that genre, but doing it in that very specific,
stro and hardro way.
Speaker 2 (10:52):
I think I love noir because it's about flawed people
and flawed characters, and no one gets out alive. I'm scared.
There's some true to it. It's about human nature. It's
about the darkness. It's about the darkness in our cities.
It's about the darkness and our choices in life, and
it really explores the dark side. And then you kind
of you know, this isn't a genre of Neon and
(11:13):
Warren and funny, and it's like and then you get
to balance the dark and the humor, and I don't know,
it's just an exciting, exciting genre that anything can happen
in and you're dealing with big questions and small questions
and morality and all of these things, and I just
find it exciting.
Speaker 4 (11:28):
But Sterlin Harjoe, creator of The Lowdown, which premieres Tuesday
on FX and the next day on WHO.
Speaker 3 (11:40):
Now. We turned to Clayton Davis catching up with the
surprise news that Christopher Nolan has been elected president of
the Director's Guild of America. Clayton and I try to
pull off our best inception style inquiry as to why
the most prominent director of his generation has taken on
this very big side gig. Clayton Davis, thank you for
joining me.
Speaker 2 (12:00):
Thanks for having me, Cymbia.
Speaker 3 (12:01):
There has been a lot of news the last couple
of days. Of course, everybody has been riveted to the
Jimmy Kimmel story. But on Saturday night, a big thing
happened that didn't get as much attention as it would
have because there were a whole lot of other big
things going on in the world. Christopher Nolan was elected
president of the Directors Guild of America. And on the
one hand, that's not that surprising. Christopher Nolan has been
(12:24):
involved with the DGA, He's been on the board, he
was on the board just before his election. Gets surprised
me and I think a lot of industry people that
a filmmaker of his stature, with a very big project
on the horizon would raise his hand and take on
this considerable job. Clayton, what do you think is going
on here.
Speaker 5 (12:44):
So, I mean, it's definitely the highest profile figure I
can remember see on the head of the DGA. He
has such a great relationship with studios and he's very
pro theatrical. So with the negotiations coming up, that's someone
that's probably going to pound the pageant fighting AI. But
it it caught me by surprise because he just wrapped
(13:08):
shooting The Odyssey, which is next big movie post oppeniveror
he just won the Oscar three years ago, and I
can't recall someone as huge at the top of his
game who is by many measures considered an Awards darling
take on a position as prominent as that.
Speaker 3 (13:27):
I think the timing, especially with The Odyssey, which as
we know now awards campaigns, pr campaigns for big movies,
this can be a year long effort for people in
terms of what we've seen where Christopher Nolan has spoken
out about artist rights issues, about studio and economic issues
affecting artists. He's got a very clear lens on artist rights,
(13:50):
and right now everybody in the industry is grappling with AI.
You've had all these guilds coming up with statements basically
stating explicitly that content is made by humans. My hunches
that he feels like this is a very fraught time
for artists in general, for filmmakers, for directors, and he
wants to be at the table having a voice. Does
(14:12):
that ring true to you from what you know of
Christopher Nolan?
Speaker 5 (14:15):
I would assume that that's a bear assumption, and he
is someone that was very vocal about the way theatrical
needs to continue to live on. And what better not
only for yourself but also the artists that are coming
up underneath you than being the voice at the table.
I'm excited for what he's going to bring.
Speaker 3 (14:35):
I think the industry sees him as a standard bearer
of a certain quality on the big screen. It's no
secret there's historically been a lot of tension between the
Writer's Guild of America and the Director's Guild of America.
But when you have somebody like Christopher Nolan at the table,
it might be a little harder for others to take
cheap shots just because he is so well respected. Segueing
(14:56):
to why Christopher Nolan, why we're talking about him this way?
What is it about him personally that has made him
such a brand? He's not someone out there on social
media all the time. You don't see him in party coverage,
but he's as big a director brand as there exists
right now. Do you agree?
Speaker 2 (15:14):
Oh? Absolutely.
Speaker 5 (15:15):
It's very rare that the director's name can carry the
weight of a movie, and Nolan has built that. And
I think obviously the biggest transition for him was during
the Dark Knight trilogy, because I mean, he was a
known entity and we all love Memento. But when thatman
begins with an obviously the Dark Knight, when that transition happened,
(15:39):
it was kind of game over in terms of this
is a guy who's here to stay and he gets
final cut. You ask Christopher Nolan what movie he wants
to do. He's not pitching you a movie. And I
think if he does what he think he will intend
to do, which is bring fairer things to the members
(15:59):
the studios, they have a different type of negotiation ball
game on their hands next year.
Speaker 3 (16:04):
A very experienced agent years ago told me just emphatically,
as if it was gospel fact, that whoever is elected
the head of SAG, it was SAG back then, DJ
and WGA. They're always punished, they don't work for a while.
The studios always punish them. I don't know if I
entirely believe that. I think there's been some truth to
(16:26):
it at times, but certainly Christopher Nolan is going to
challenge that. And I do want to just say, as
a longtime Leslie linka Glotter fan, the outgoing DGA president
who has directed some incredible episodes of television Homeland mad Men,
I can cite the episode specifically. She served two terms
(16:46):
as president of DGA during very difficult times for the
Helmer's Guild, so she has definitely earned her stripes. Thank you, Clayton,
Thank you. As we close out today's episode, here's a
few things we're watching for. Variety's annual Entertainment and Technology
(17:07):
Conference will be held tomorrow, September twenty fifth in Los Angeles.
Our speakers include the Duffer Brothers of Stranger Things Fame.
We have Jerry Bruckheimer talking about the technological feats of
f one, the movie, and we have an array of CEOs, producers,
talent and technologists talking about the intersection of where we
all live these days. Entertainment and technology Highlights to come
(17:31):
next week and on Daily Variety's companion podcast, Strictly Business
before we Go. Congrats to screenwriter Michelle mulroney and showrunner
Tom Fontana. Mulroney was elected tuesday as president of the
Writers Guild of America West. Fontana was elected last week
to lead the WJ East. Both are seasoned scribes and
(17:53):
both have a lot on their plates, with studio contract
talks coming up next year. Thanks for listening. This episode
was written and reported by me Cynthia Lyttleton, with contributions
from Michael Schneider and Clayton Davis. Stick Snick's hick Picks.
Please leave us a review at the podcast platform of
your choice, and please tune in tomorrow for another episode
(18:14):
of Daily Variety.
And I also want to thank all of you who
was supported our show, cared enough to do something about it,
to make your voices heard so that mine could be heard.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
I will never forget it.
Speaker 3 (00:23):
Welcome to Daily Variety, your daily dose of news and
analysis for entertainment industry insiders. It's Wednesday, September twenty fourth,
twenty twenty five. I'm your host, Cynthia Littleton. I am
co editor in chief of Variety alongside Ramin Setuda. I'm
in LA He's in New York, and Variety has reporters
around the world covering the business of entertainment. On today's episode,
(00:45):
we'll hear from Sterlin Harjoe, creator of Reservation Dogs. He's
back with a new series for FX, The Lowdown. I
hand the mic to my Variety colleague Michael Schneider, who
interviews Harjoe about his new series that you might call
Tulsa Noir. And we'll hear from Variety's Clayton Davis on
the surprise news this weekend that Christopher Nolan has been
(01:06):
elected President of the Director's Guild of America. But before
we get to that, here are a few headlines just
in this morning that you need to know. Jimmy Kimmel
and his return to ABC last night is still the
biggest story in entertainment. That was a clip from Kimmel's
monologue that you heard as the cold open to this episode.
To me and in the view of many critics, he
(01:28):
struck just the right tone. You could hear the crack
of emotion in his voice as soon as he opened
his mouth. He was genuine and emotional without being surupe
He did not apologize, He delivered laugh out loud singers,
and he pulled out their receipts on the hypocrisy of
those self styled free speech warriors who have been trying
(01:50):
to get him pushed off the air. All in all,
Tuesday's episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live was inspired, heartfelt television
from someone who has truly grown up on the airwaves.
All of Variety's coverage and perspective on Kimmel in the
Battle for Late Night can be found on Variety dot
com right now, along with so much more. Now we
(02:18):
turn to conversations with Variety journalists about news and trends
in show business. The new Ethan Hawk drama The Lowdown,
premieres tonight on FX. Michael Schneider, Variety's TV editor, who
is also a producer and a host of Variety's Award
Circuit podcast, checks in here with Sterlin Harjoe, creator and
showrunner of The Lowdown.
Speaker 4 (02:38):
Thanks Cynthia So, I was a tremendous fan of FX's
critically acclaimed three season series of Reservation Dogs and could
tell how much creator Sterlin Harjoe revered the art of cinema.
Episodes would often contain nods to various genres and films,
and even the series finale was an homage to Robert
Altman's Nashville. So it's probably no surprise that when Harjoe
(03:01):
set out to create his follow up to res Dogs,
he decided to tackle another one of his favorite styles,
film noir. The Lowdown, which premieres Tuesday on FX, stars
Ethan Hawke as a citizen journalist named Lee Raybond who
calls himself a truth story and while investigating the CD
under belly of Tulsa, Oklahoma. I recently caught up with
(03:21):
Harjo to talk about The Lowdown, and I began by
asking him how he landed on doing a noir as
the follow up to res Dogs.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
It was during res Dogs I think like a lot
of episodes would be different genres, Like we would play
with different genres within episodes, and that kind of made
me fall more in love with genre. I was always
a fan, but like realizing how much I could say
within the confines and the sort of parameters of genre
was exciting to me. And then one of my favorite
genres is noir. I just have always been drawn to it.
(03:50):
I just am such a fan, you know, Neo noir,
everything under this I just sort of devoured and it's
the most exciting to me. And I just had always thought,
you know, I could set some thing in Tulsa. I
think noirs that are set in La. Right now, she's
kind of been done. You know, the underbelly has been explored,
but the underbelly of Tulsa, conspiracy of Tulsa places in
(04:11):
the middle of America. They haven't been explored yet.
Speaker 1 (04:13):
And Tulsa, obviously, as we know, it has a really
dark history. You touch on that in this show too.
As you know, we discussed more about the nineteen twenty
one massacre, and that's part of the history of this city.
But you're from that area too, so I'm sure you
have a complicated relationship with Tulsa.
Speaker 2 (04:34):
Yeah, I love Tulsa. I mean I think I think
every place has a really dark history in America, every
city does. I think it's about your relationship with that
darkness on how you move forward as a place. You know,
And in the last ten years or so, through some
of the work for an organization I did called This
Land Press, through the show The Watchmen, through a lot
(04:55):
of activists from North Tulsa, a lot of activists from
Tulsa in general, a lot of people have you know,
brought more truths out about the history of Tulsa, especially
when when it pertains to the Tulsa Race massacre. That
truth and being honest with your past is healing and
it brings a community back together and wakes people up.
(05:16):
And you're seeing that happen. Now, there's still a long
way to go, but it's happening. You know. In the
history of Tulsa and the history of Oklahoma in general
is you know, one of darkness, just like the rest
of the United States, but specifically it was Indian territory
and my tribe and a lot of other tribes were
on the trail marched to Oklahoma, on the trail of
tears and you know, displaced. A lot of people died
(05:37):
and had to make a new home out of a
place they didn't understand that well or no that well.
So you know, but then it's also a story of survival,
you know, I mean, those tribes rebuilt and those tribes
are thriving now. So as much as it is a
story of the you know you touch you on darkness,
it's also you know, you see survival in Oklahoma and
(05:57):
in Tulsa. Tulsa was founded by Gogee Creek people, which
is my tribe, and it just felt like, you know,
it hadn't been explored in the film yet, and I
felt exciting.
Speaker 1 (06:09):
I feel like I'm learning a lot. Like I didn't
know about le Roy Chapman, the muckraker who Ethan's character
is kind of loosely based on. Tell me more about that,
Tell me about him and how you like sort of
came upon him to kind of create Ethan's character.
Speaker 2 (06:26):
Yeah, so I was friends with him. I mean, I
worked with him.
Speaker 1 (06:29):
And we well I didn't even realize that amazing.
Speaker 2 (06:31):
So we worked for an organization called This Land Press,
and I was a struggling independent filmmaker. I needed a job.
They gave me free rein to make documentaries in Tulsa
about whatever I wanted to make. And a lot of
that was excitement because we were telling the truth. We
were talking about the race massacre, we were talking about
stories that happened locally, and we were really kind of
holding a mirror up to our city, you know, and
(06:54):
really kind of presenting the city with a reflection of itself,
for better and for worse in the bat and something
about that's very healing, about seeing yourself truthfully, and and
Leroy was a big champion of that. And Leroy I
did a series with him called Tulsa Public Secrets and
where I rode shotgun in his white van. And he
(07:16):
was a journalist. He was also a you know, he
was a historian, a researcher, was he did a lot
of things. He made shirts, he didn't made art, he
was an artist. But one thing that he was obsessed
with it was talking about things that a lot of
people weren't either interested in or didn't want to talk about.
And a lot of that involving the truth. And I
just you know, it took a lot from him, was
(07:38):
inspired by him, as you do a lot of people
and he passed away, and I almost made a feature
film about him, but then I put it away. And then,
you know, once Rezdog's was being made, I knew it
was going to end it. I was like, I still
want to do a noir and I was kind of
just trying to think of the right thing, and so
I just kind of took the concept that I had
before and took inspiration from my old friend and inspiration
(08:01):
from the script that i'd been writing, and turned it
into the pilot for The Lowdown.
Speaker 1 (08:05):
And then, of course you've been buddies with Ethan for
a long time. He showed up and did some great
stuff with you on Res Dogs. Talk about pitching this
to him and getting him involved.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
Yeah, it's funny. I originally, you know, we'd been writing
together before Res Dogs, and then he was in Res Dogs,
and after that, I was like, oh, I just really
want to work with Ethan. And I had this idea
of like he was someone I wanted to cast in
this show, but like he's whenever you become friends, it's
a little you know, you don't want to like hurt
the friendship, and I didn't want to just go, hey,
(08:37):
will you be in this movie? Or show. So I
just sent it to him under the guys that I
wanted notes. I wanted to get notes back from my script,
and I was just trying to see if, you know,
like if he was into it, and see what his
reaction was. And luckily he read it and said, you know,
why am I not playing this guy? And from that
point on, like, well you are, And that point on
(08:57):
we made you know, that's what it was. And you know,
from then on I was writing even though I was
writing for him before, I was really writing for Ethan
after that.
Speaker 4 (09:04):
This cast is ridiculous by the way.
Speaker 1 (09:07):
I mean you pulled off. It's just an amazing set
up both you know, folks who you know were familiar with,
but even folks from other worlds, like I love seeing
Killer Mike on there. I mean, it's just this is
I mean, it sounds it seems like you had a
lot of fun and maybe a little bit of the
pick of the litter in terms of who you wanted
to work with.
Speaker 2 (09:24):
Yeah, it was pretty crazy. I mean, so many people
agreed to be in this show, and uh, you know,
part of that's Ethan, part of that's other actors. But
I think a lot of it as reservation dogs. You know,
a lot of people were inspired and really liked that
show and and it was I think it's a movie
lover show, and they could see that I was also
(09:46):
a movie lover and wanted to support me in some way.
You know, a lot of them, a lot of the
actors are from Oklahoma originally, and I and you know,
like I think you feel some of that, and I
don't know it was I'm totally blown away with the
caliber of actors that I've worked with. I've been doing
this a long time, and I mean, for instance, like
Kyle McLaughlin I met when I was at the Sundance Labs.
(10:06):
He was an actor for another project there. I met
him there and he was in a screenplay reading of
mine and he played white character go to Philip Seymour Hoffman.
And I think about that, Like, I remember he was
saying some line and it made people laugh and someone
in the front row said, you should be in his film.
I remember Kyle saying I'll be in anything he makes.
(10:28):
And I didn't take him up on it then, but
you know, twenty years later, I cashed that check. I
go up and asked if he'd be in the show.
Speaker 1 (10:35):
We talk about the noir and sort of you really
wanted to do in noir? What is it about that
genre and what did you really just enjoy and getting
to do you know, this an eight episode sort of
homage to that genre, but doing it in that very specific,
stro and hardro way.
Speaker 2 (10:52):
I think I love noir because it's about flawed people
and flawed characters, and no one gets out alive. I'm scared.
There's some true to it. It's about human nature. It's
about the darkness. It's about the darkness in our cities.
It's about the darkness and our choices in life, and
it really explores the dark side. And then you kind
of you know, this isn't a genre of Neon and
(11:13):
Warren and funny, and it's like and then you get
to balance the dark and the humor, and I don't know,
it's just an exciting, exciting genre that anything can happen
in and you're dealing with big questions and small questions
and morality and all of these things, and I just
find it exciting.
Speaker 4 (11:28):
But Sterlin Harjoe, creator of The Lowdown, which premieres Tuesday
on FX and the next day on WHO.
Speaker 3 (11:40):
Now. We turned to Clayton Davis catching up with the
surprise news that Christopher Nolan has been elected president of
the Director's Guild of America. Clayton and I try to
pull off our best inception style inquiry as to why
the most prominent director of his generation has taken on
this very big side gig. Clayton Davis, thank you for
joining me.
Speaker 2 (12:00):
Thanks for having me, Cymbia.
Speaker 3 (12:01):
There has been a lot of news the last couple
of days. Of course, everybody has been riveted to the
Jimmy Kimmel story. But on Saturday night, a big thing
happened that didn't get as much attention as it would
have because there were a whole lot of other big
things going on in the world. Christopher Nolan was elected
president of the Directors Guild of America. And on the
one hand, that's not that surprising. Christopher Nolan has been
(12:24):
involved with the DGA, He's been on the board, he
was on the board just before his election. Gets surprised
me and I think a lot of industry people that
a filmmaker of his stature, with a very big project
on the horizon would raise his hand and take on
this considerable job. Clayton, what do you think is going
on here.
Speaker 5 (12:44):
So, I mean, it's definitely the highest profile figure I
can remember see on the head of the DGA. He
has such a great relationship with studios and he's very
pro theatrical. So with the negotiations coming up, that's someone
that's probably going to pound the pageant fighting AI. But
it it caught me by surprise because he just wrapped
(13:08):
shooting The Odyssey, which is next big movie post oppeniveror
he just won the Oscar three years ago, and I
can't recall someone as huge at the top of his
game who is by many measures considered an Awards darling
take on a position as prominent as that.
Speaker 3 (13:27):
I think the timing, especially with The Odyssey, which as
we know now awards campaigns, pr campaigns for big movies,
this can be a year long effort for people in
terms of what we've seen where Christopher Nolan has spoken
out about artist rights issues, about studio and economic issues
affecting artists. He's got a very clear lens on artist rights,
(13:50):
and right now everybody in the industry is grappling with AI.
You've had all these guilds coming up with statements basically
stating explicitly that content is made by humans. My hunches
that he feels like this is a very fraught time
for artists in general, for filmmakers, for directors, and he
wants to be at the table having a voice. Does
(14:12):
that ring true to you from what you know of
Christopher Nolan?
Speaker 5 (14:15):
I would assume that that's a bear assumption, and he
is someone that was very vocal about the way theatrical
needs to continue to live on. And what better not
only for yourself but also the artists that are coming
up underneath you than being the voice at the table.
I'm excited for what he's going to bring.
Speaker 3 (14:35):
I think the industry sees him as a standard bearer
of a certain quality on the big screen. It's no
secret there's historically been a lot of tension between the
Writer's Guild of America and the Director's Guild of America.
But when you have somebody like Christopher Nolan at the table,
it might be a little harder for others to take
cheap shots just because he is so well respected. Segueing
(14:56):
to why Christopher Nolan, why we're talking about him this way?
What is it about him personally that has made him
such a brand? He's not someone out there on social
media all the time. You don't see him in party coverage,
but he's as big a director brand as there exists
right now. Do you agree?
Speaker 2 (15:14):
Oh? Absolutely.
Speaker 5 (15:15):
It's very rare that the director's name can carry the
weight of a movie, and Nolan has built that. And
I think obviously the biggest transition for him was during
the Dark Knight trilogy, because I mean, he was a
known entity and we all love Memento. But when thatman
begins with an obviously the Dark Knight, when that transition happened,
(15:39):
it was kind of game over in terms of this
is a guy who's here to stay and he gets
final cut. You ask Christopher Nolan what movie he wants
to do. He's not pitching you a movie. And I
think if he does what he think he will intend
to do, which is bring fairer things to the members
(15:59):
the studios, they have a different type of negotiation ball
game on their hands next year.
Speaker 3 (16:04):
A very experienced agent years ago told me just emphatically,
as if it was gospel fact, that whoever is elected
the head of SAG, it was SAG back then, DJ
and WGA. They're always punished, they don't work for a while.
The studios always punish them. I don't know if I
entirely believe that. I think there's been some truth to
(16:26):
it at times, but certainly Christopher Nolan is going to
challenge that. And I do want to just say, as
a longtime Leslie linka Glotter fan, the outgoing DGA president
who has directed some incredible episodes of television Homeland mad Men,
I can cite the episode specifically. She served two terms
(16:46):
as president of DGA during very difficult times for the
Helmer's Guild, so she has definitely earned her stripes. Thank you, Clayton,
Thank you. As we close out today's episode, here's a
few things we're watching for. Variety's annual Entertainment and Technology
(17:07):
Conference will be held tomorrow, September twenty fifth in Los Angeles.
Our speakers include the Duffer Brothers of Stranger Things Fame.
We have Jerry Bruckheimer talking about the technological feats of
f one, the movie, and we have an array of CEOs, producers,
talent and technologists talking about the intersection of where we
all live these days. Entertainment and technology Highlights to come
(17:31):
next week and on Daily Variety's companion podcast, Strictly Business
before we Go. Congrats to screenwriter Michelle mulroney and showrunner
Tom Fontana. Mulroney was elected tuesday as president of the
Writers Guild of America West. Fontana was elected last week
to lead the WJ East. Both are seasoned scribes and
(17:53):
both have a lot on their plates, with studio contract
talks coming up next year. Thanks for listening. This episode
was written and reported by me Cynthia Lyttleton, with contributions
from Michael Schneider and Clayton Davis. Stick Snick's hick Picks.
Please leave us a review at the podcast platform of
your choice, and please tune in tomorrow for another episode
(18:14):
of Daily Variety.
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