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Director Johan Renck joins Kyle Meredith to talk about Spaceman, the new Netflix film starring Adam Sandler and Carey Mulligan that follows an astronaut on a solitary research mission who encounters a mysterious, benevolent spider creature (just don’t tell Consequence Senior Entertainment Editor Liz Shannon Miller). Listen to the new episode above, or wherever you get your podcasts.
The filmmaker talks about how directing Sandler in a non-comedic role allowed the two to get to a particularly vulnerable place. They attempted to tap into a zeitgeist of loneliness, a vibe that’s only reinforced by the script’s reflection of vanity and narcissism. It’s a bold swing, and Renck knows it. He admits that, by design, Spacemen won’t be for everyone, as the director has little interest in overly appealing to the mainstream.
Before Spaceman, Renck had worked with another artist who wasn’t beholden to mainstream audiences: David Bowie. Directing several of his final music videos, Bowie’s influence routinely came up while working with Sandler on Spaceman. “Adam would say, ‘Man, don’t you think Bowie would have dug this movie?’ And I would say, ‘You know what? I actually think he would,’” he recalls. “There’s something about it that I think he would respond to.”
Listen to Johan Renck talk about Spaceman and directing David Bowie above or watch the interview below. To keep up to date with all the latest from Kyle Meredith With… follow on your favorite podcast platform; keep up to date with all our series by following the Consequence Podcast Network.