"So here’s the challenge: Tell the story of a disturbing legacy of sexual violence systemically perpetrated by one man, but perpetuated by an industry that delivered potential victims to the door of his office almost daily. Any takers? Yeah… Hollywood moguls aren’t exactly leaping at the chance to examine such behavior off-screen, let alone on-screen. It’s why “Bombshell,” Jay Roach’s electrifyingly empathetic new film, feels so necessary and cathartic. Roach directs brilliant actors (Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman, Margot Robbie) as brilliant journalists who blew the whistle on Roger Ailes (John Lithgow), that special brand of psychopath who was not only their abuser but also responsible for their careers. With deft documentary-style camera work, Roach expertly unfurls the vipers nest of cult-like psychosis that permeates every floor of Fox News. His perfected technique of blending existing footage with stunning re-creations make a scene like Megyn Kelly (Theron) and Trump at the Republican Primary debate somehow more realistic than when it actually happened. But rather than leaning into satire, Roach weaves in enough humor and humanity that in some moments “Fox News” could be any office. It’s not a political film. It’s a film about women. Roach understands that workplace sexual assault is not about how you vote or what news channel you watch or even about sex. It’s about fear and power. Human emotions wielded in offices around the country every day. “Bombshell” is the result of a compassionate filmmaker who knew the responsibility of telling this tough but important story."

"In the ’90s and 2000s, HBO Docs and HBO Films were making some of the most incredible documentaries ever. Even while these weren’t being released in theaters, docs were having this crazy renaissance. I have no idea who was in charge or what was happening, but every month there would be some insane, amazing documentary coming out. This one is disturbing. They’re all disturbing, but in a way I find interesting. Maybe because that can make you feel better… I don’t know, but I am interested in this. I really like the backdrop, which is mid- to late-’90s small-town rave culture. This dad has an 18-year-old son and a 16-year-old daughter who are in the rave scene. He’s a preacher, a normal guy, married, has two kids. One day, for whatever reason, he’s like, “Fuck the life I built, I am going to go to the rave with my kids.” He takes ecstasy and becomes their peer: a gnarly, insane raver. He leaves his wife, he gets an apartment with his son, he’s taking ecstasy every night. It’s also funny and obviously more fucked up because it’s real. What I love about documentaries is that Hollywood would take that movie and turn it into a broad comedy and it would be, “Dad parties with his kids!” But to me it’s a drama, it gets into the complexities of what drives someone to do this, how it feels for their kids and for their ex-wife, what experiences led him to break."

"Cool Hand Luke, to me, and I’m not a film historian, but what it feels like to me is it’s in this intersectional point between the glamorization of film and that golden era of Hollywood where everything was meant to look perfect, like all the old Cary Grant movies like His Girl Friday and Arsenic and Old Lace, where everything is supposed to look so nice and everybody’s always impeccably dressed and charming and all that. Cool Hand Luke comes after that, where it’s a more cinema verite realism kind of thing. But also, there are still elements of the older films that you don’t get anymore, like using imagery in a really cool way. Like, there’s one scene where, to inspire a feeling of tension and stress, there’s just a really slow push in on a whirling fan that just keeps whirling and whirling, and I feel like they don’t do that much anymore. Now they have to really pander to the audience, and make sure that they serve up to you exactly what’s going on, instead of using that kind of stuff. Also, Paul Newman is the f—ing best, and he’s so good in that movie, and it’s just cool, man. It’s just a guy who just won’t get beat by the system, and I really like that. There’s so many layers to that movie. It’s one of the few movies that I make sure I keep downloaded on my iPhone or my iPad, just so that I always have it available."