Lynn Shelton, the acclaimed film and TV director, is known for working quickly and loosely, letting her actors improvise but keeping tight deadlines. Though she's directed shows as varied as Mad Men, Master of None and GLOW, she's best known as the writer-director of indie dramedies like Humpday (2009), Your Sister's Sister (2011) and Laggies (2014).
She's worked a lot with Jay and Mark Duplass, the brothers who are almost an industry unto themselves. Her latest collaboration with them is Outside In, which she co-wrote with Jay. He plays a newly released prisoner, who embarks on a relationship with his high school teacher, played by four-time Emmy winner Edie Falco.
The Orchard has been one of the most interesting distributors of recent years. Other than A24, they're probably releasing the most fascinating projects around, including some of my recent favorites like Blue Jay and The Overnight. Outside In will premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival next month and is scheduled for an early 2018 release.
About Kip Mooney
Like many film critics born during and after the 1980s, my hero is Roger Ebert. The man was already the best critic in the nation when he won the Pulitzer in 1975, but his indomitable spirit during and after his recent battle with cancer keeps me coming back to read not only his reviews but his insightful commentary on the everyday. But enough about a guy you know a lot about.
I knew I was going to be a film critic—some would say a snob—in middle school, when I had to voraciously defend my position that The Royal Tenenbaums was only a million times better than Adam Sandler’s remake of Mr. Deeds. From then on, I would seek out Wes Anderson’s films and avoid Sandler’s like the plague.
Still, I like to think of myself as a populist, and I’ll be just as likely to see the next superhero movie as the next Sundance sensation. The thing I most deplore in a movie is laziness. I’d much rather see movies with big ambitions try and fail than movies with no ambitions succeed at simply existing. I’m also a big advocate of fun-bad movies like The Room and most of Nicolas Cage’s work.
In the past, I’ve written for The Dallas Morning News and the North Texas Daily, which I edited for a semester. I also contributed to Dallas-based Pegasus News, which in the circle of life, is now part of The Dallas Morning News, where I got my big break in 2007. Eventually, I’d love to write and talk about film full-time, but until that’s a viable career option, I work as an auditor for Wells Fargo.
I hope to one day meet my hero, go to the Toronto International Film Festival, and compete on Jeopardy. Until then, I’m excited to share my love of film with you.
