Awards Circuit Podcast: The roundtable discusses the “Blue Tsunami” on Election Day, and the movies still to come. Jesse Eisenberg has a confession about the biggest moment in “The Debut.” When the crowd at the Telluride world premiere broke into mid-film applause after a showdown between Julianne Moore and Paul Giamatti, also known as “the rent is due” scene, his first thought wasn’t relief. Can they go on the ride?” he recalls to Variety.
That’s because the next scene is dramatic. He also built the entire film around his muse, Oscar winner Julianne Moore, who plays Mona Friedman, a shy housewife who picks up a flyer and auditions for a community theater musical for the first time in her life. Eisenberg wrote the role for her.
On this episode of the Variety Awards Circuit podcast, we sit down with the two collaborators to discuss their latest film, their anxieties about the future of the industry and Eisenberg’s hopes for another “Now You See Me” sequel. Moore has been nominated for five Academy Awards — supporting actress for “Boogie Nights” (1997) and “The Hours” (2002) and lead actress for “The End of the Affair” (1999), “Far From Heaven” (2002) and “Still Alice” (2014), winning for the latter. Eisenberg was nominated for best actor for his portrayal of Mark Zuckerberg in David Fincher’s “The Social Network” (2010) and for best original screenplay for “A Real Pain” (2024), which won supporting actor for Kieran Culkin.
A24’s “The Debut,” Eisenberg’s third feature as a director, had its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival to rave reviews. It has since played the Toronto, New York and Middleburg Film Festivals, the latter of which is where this podcast episode was recorded. Moore has spent decades as Todd Haynes’ muse.
Now she belongs to Eisenberg, too. When I ask whether he’s warned Haynes off, he says jokingly, “He gets it.” Eisenberg’s explanation for why directors keep coming back to her is one of the best cases for her career I’ve heard in a while. He gets “pissed off” reading reviews of “May December” that praise its depth and darkness without recognizing what he sees: “an unbelievably brilliant comic creation.” She has, he says, “a funny bone within drama that is so unusual,” the kind drama school trains out of you.
A24 opens “The Debut” in theaters on Dec. 11 The conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity. Eisenberg: Oh my God, of course. You hope there’s some sentient reaction from the audience.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
