WEBVTT

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Welcome to the Deep Dive. Today we're really

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immersing ourselves in the career of American

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filmmaker David Lowery. And it's quite a career,

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isn't it? Almost. Contradictory. Oh, absolutely.

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You used the perfect word, contradictory. It's

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like he operates on these two totally different

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planes simultaneously. Yeah, like the title,

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we were kicking around the sheet ghost and the

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dragon. It sort of sums it up perfectly. One

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minute, it's this quiet, contemplative, almost

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silent figure. And the next, it's this massive,

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you know, CGI spectacle. Exactly. So he was born

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in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, December 26, 1980. But

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he's really built this fascinating duality in

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his work. He really has. It's rare, isn't it,

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to find someone. who can just slide so easily

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between, say, a super intimate micro -budget

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indie film. Where he's often editing it himself

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deep in the weeds. And then turn around and helm

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a huge nine -figure live -action blockbuster

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for a studio like Disney. It's quite the balancing

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act. It really is. So our mission today, our

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deep dive, is basically to unpack that. How does

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he do it? How does he maintain what feels like

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a very singular personal vision across projects

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that are just worlds apart in terms of scale,

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budget, audience, everything? Yeah. Tracing that

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path from being this like beloved Texas indie

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filmmaker. To becoming this trusted director

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for massive studio properties. It's a journey.

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It is. And we need to figure out, like you said,

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how the same filmmaker gives us something as

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profoundly quiet and strange as a ghost story

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in 2017. Right. Practically no dialogue, just

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pure mood and time. And then, you know, just

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the year before, in 2016, he delivered Pete's

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Dragon, which was this big, warm, critically

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acclaimed family film for Disney. And then pivots

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again to something like The Green Knight in 2021,

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which is this huge, visually stunning, but also

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really ambiguous medieval fantasy. That range

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is incredible. That's the puzzle, the aha moment

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we want to get into. Okay, so where do we start?

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To understand the guy directing the dragon, maybe

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we need to go back to the roots, the Indy Foundation.

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Exactly. Act one, the Indy Foundation and those

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formative years. Because the craftsman, the technical

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filmmaker, seems key here. So background first.

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He's the eldest of nine kids born to Madeline

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and Mark Lowry. Nine kids. I know, right? And

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when he was seven, the family moved to Irving,

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Texas. He went to Irving High School there. Being

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the oldest of nine. I mean, you have to imagine

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that teaches you something about managing chaos,

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maybe. Leading a group. That's a great point.

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Film sets are nothing if not managed chaos. And

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that hands -on thing, that commitment, it definitely

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started early. The sources say he wrote and directed

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his first short film, Lullaby, back in 2000.

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He was only 19. 19. And already diving in headfirst.

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And look at the roles he took on for Lullaby.

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It wasn't just writing and directing. No, he

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did pretty much everything. Producer, editor,

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and director of photography or camera operator.

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The whole technical shebang. And that's the blueprint,

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isn't it? That deep dive into the actual mechanics

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of filmmaking right from the start, being the

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editor, being the DP. It gives you a different

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understanding for sure. When you're directing

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later, even massive stars, you know what the

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camera needs, you know how the scene will cut

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together because you've done it. Precisely. That

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foundational hands -on experience is invaluable.

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It's not abstract for him. So that early work

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quickly led to his first feature, right? St.

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Nick. Came out in 2009. Yep, St. Nick. Following

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these two runaway kids who've been abandoned.

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And you can already see some themes emerging

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there, can't you? Young characters, kind of lost,

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searching for something. That sort of melancholy

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feel that runs through a lot of his indie work,

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often set against that specific... Texas landscape.

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Definitely. And St. Nick was crucial for getting

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him noticed, especially within that independent

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film world, cementing his Texas identity. It

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premiered at South by Southwest SXSW. Which is

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a huge launching pad, especially for Texas filmmakers.

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Absolutely. And it picked up some significant

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awards early on. The Texas Filmmaker Award at

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the AFI Dallas International Film Festival in

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2009 and a special jury award at Sidewalk Film

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Festival. So real recognition, not just participation

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trophies. The industry was noticing. Yeah, it

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signaled, you know, pay attention to this guy.

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A distinct voice was emerging. And he was smart

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about it, too, strategically. He set up his own

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production company, Sailor Bear, just a couple

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of years later in 2011. Right, which is a classic

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move for filmmakers who want to maintain control,

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right? Protect their vision, nurture specific

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kinds of stories, and keep that Texas connection

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strong. Okay, so St. Nick gets some notice. Sailor

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Bear gives him a base. But the real breakout.

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the one that put him on the international radar

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that has to be Ain't Them Body of Saints, right?

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Yeah, absolutely. Ain't Them Body of Saints.

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That's where the aesthetic, the Lowry feel, really

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clicks into place for a wider audience. And again,

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look at his involvement. Writer, director, and

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editor. Total control. And this is where he first

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teams up with Rooney Mara and Casey Affleck,

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who become really important collaborators for

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him later on. Key players, definitely. And the

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film just exploded onto the festival scene. Nominated

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for the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance in 2013.

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Which is massive for an indie film. Huge. And

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then it immediately went international, competing

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in the Critics Week section at the Cannes Film

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Festival that same year. That's a serious stamp

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of approval. People describe it as like a lyrical

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crime story. What does that really mean in terms

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of his style? Well, it's not your typical crime

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movie, right? He's less interested in the, you

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know, the plot mechanics of the crime itself.

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It's more about the fallout, the emotional residue,

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the longing, the isolation of the characters

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afterwards. It's kind of dreamlike. Melancholy.

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Exactly. The pacing is very deliberate, often

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slow. The camera lingers. The look is very specific

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to sort of muted, nostalgic colors. Let's dig

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into the influences he mentioned for that film,

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because they're quite revealing, I think. He

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talked about Claire Dennis's 35 shots of rum.

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Right. Very atmospheric, character focused. Robert

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Altman's McCabe and Mrs. Miller. The ultimate

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revisionist Western. moody complex. And then

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Paul Thomas Anderson and David Fincher. Yeah,

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that's the fascinating mix, isn't it? You've

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got the arthouse moodiness of Dennis and Altman.

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Focused on character and atmosphere over plot.

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And McCabe especially, using a genre of the Western

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to explore something deeper, almost poetic, about

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community and failure. Okay, but then you throw

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in PTA, who brings that artistry, but often on

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a bigger canvas, and especially Fincher. Fincher

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means precision, technical control. Razor -sharp

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execution. How does that fit into a quiet, atmospheric,

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indie -like, ain't -them -body Saints? That's

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the key, I think. The Fincher influence isn't

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about fast cuts or obvious technical flashiness

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here. It's about the control. The meticulous

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composition of the shots, even the quiet ones,

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the rigid framing sometimes, the carefully managed

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color palette, the desaturated, almost antique

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look. So he's using Fincher -level precision,

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but in service of mood and atmosphere, not necessarily

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action or plot propulsion. Exactly. It's technical

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rigor used to deepen the emotional impact, the

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sense of time and place. And that synthesis atmospheric

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storytelling combined with absolute technical

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command is precisely what allows him to eventually

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make that leap to something enormous. like Pete's

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dragon. He already had the control needed for

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complex visuals. That makes perfect sense. That

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deep technical skill, especially the editing,

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it leads us right into act two. Lowry as this

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multi -hyphenate craftsman, his editing work,

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often for other directors, is almost like a hidden

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superpower. It really is. And understand that

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parallel career as an editor is crucial, like

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you said, to grasp how he controls rhythm. We

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saw it on Lullaby, doing everything himself,

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but... Editing for others, that's maybe even

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more telling about his specific skill set. I

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think so. He edited Amy Simons' Sun Don't Shine

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in 2012. But the big one, the really defining

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one, is probably his work on Shane Carruth's

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Upstream Color in 2013. Oh, wow. Yeah, Upstream

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Color. That film is an editing challenge, doesn't

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even begin to cover it. It's incredibly nonlinear,

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fractured. Completely. It basically lives in

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the editing. The story, the feeling, the timeline,

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it's all constructed or maybe deconstructed in

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the edit. He wasn't just assembling. scenes he

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was building this intricate temporal mosaic handling

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that level of ambiguity the fractional time memory

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loops it's incredibly complex you're creating

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coherence out of near incoherence finding the

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emotional thread through it all and he nailed

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it Got nominations for best editing from the

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Chicago Critics, LA Critics, the Independent

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Spirit Awards. Major recognition for his editing

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chops. Absolutely. And then think about it becoming

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a critically acclaimed editor known for handling

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complex, dislocated timelines. That's the perfect

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training ground for tackling the profound time

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jumps and the long, static, unsettling takes

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in his own future film, A Ghost Story. He had

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already mastered manipulating time in the edit

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suite. That technical versatility showed up in

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his writing too, right? He wasn't just focused

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on his own directorial projects. He co -wrote

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Pit Stop in 2013 with Yentam. Yeah, another festival

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success. Won Best Screenplay at the Nashville

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Film Festival. It shows he could collaborate,

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serve another director's vision, not just his

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own. He wasn't precious about only directing

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his own scripts. Okay, let's look at a project

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that highlights the bumps in the road, the realities

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of Hollywood development, even for a rising talent.

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The Yellow Birds. Ah, yes. That's a really interesting

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case study. It was announced back at Cannes in

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2014, positioned as a pretty big deal for him.

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Lowry was set to write and direct the adaptation.

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And the source material was significant. Kevin

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Power's novel, a National Book Award finalist

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in 2012, a serious war story. Definitely signaled

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that the industry saw him as capable of handling

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heavier, dramatic material, potentially on a

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larger scale. That's not quite how it played

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out, was it? No. The film eventually got made,

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starring Jack Huston, Jennifer Aniston, but it

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was directed by Alexander Moores. Lowry still

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got the writing credit, but he didn't end up

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directing. So what does that tell us about the

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process? Well, it just underscores how complicated

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feature film development can be, especially when

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you move towards bigger budgets or higher profile

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source material. There are so many moving parts,

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producers, financiers, star attachments. Things

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shift. Even for a director with heat coming off

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Sundance and Cannes. Exactly. It shows Lowery

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was already navigating those tricky studio waters,

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learning the system, before he actually directed

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his first major studio film. That experience,

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even if maybe frustrating at the time, probably

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helped prepare him for the leap. Which brings

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us perfectly to Act 3, the studio leap, and then

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that immediate, almost whiplash -inducing return

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to his personal auteur roots. 2016 is the pivotal

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year here. He directs Pete's Dragon for Disney.

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And what a leap. Going from his usual indie budgets,

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which were often under a million dollars, to

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a reported $90 million for Pete's Dragon. That's

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a different universe. It was a live -action reimagining.

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Right. Loosely based on the 77 Disney musical,

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he directed and co -wrote it with Toby Halbrooks.

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Yeah. And you have to ask, why did Disney choose

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him? The guy known for Quiet. melancholic indie

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dramas well presumably they didn't just want

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a generic kids movie they wanted that heart that

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sense of wonder that emotional depth he'd shown

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in his other work but applied to their ip and

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by all accounts he delivered pete's dragon got

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really strong reviews critics praised its sincerity

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its visual warmth it wasn't cynical or overloaded

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with cgi Just for the sake of it. It even won

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that truly moving picture award from the Heartland

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Film Festival. So he proved he could handle the

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scale, manage the effects, deliver a big family

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film, and keep that emotional core intact. Mission

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accomplished, you'd think. So logically, the

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next step for most directors in that position

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would be? Line up the next big studio project,

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right? Capitalize on the success. Strike while

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the iron's hot. But that's not what Lowry did.

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At all. He did the absolute opposite. Almost

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like a palate cleanser was needed. This is the

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key anecdote, isn't it? The summer of 2016, Pete's

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Dragon is releasing, getting good reviews, and

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he's secretly shooting a ghost story. Secretly.

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The contrast is just mind -boggling. Imagine

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the mental shift. Going from a massive set, hundreds

00:12:11.889 --> 00:12:14.690
of crew, managing complex visual effects for

00:12:14.690 --> 00:12:16.750
a flying dragon. To basically sneaking off to

00:12:16.750 --> 00:12:18.750
shoot in a single house, skeleton crew, tiny

00:12:18.750 --> 00:12:21.370
budget, with Casey Affleck under a literal white

00:12:21.370 --> 00:12:23.570
sheet for most of it. It's almost defiant, isn't

00:12:23.570 --> 00:12:25.909
it? A ghost story feels like a deeply personal

00:12:25.909 --> 00:12:29.159
statement. Laurie took on directing. writing

00:12:29.159 --> 00:12:32.059
and editing again. Total control. And that editing

00:12:32.059 --> 00:12:34.360
skill we talked about, honed on things like upstream

00:12:34.360 --> 00:12:37.120
color, really came to the forefront again. He

00:12:37.120 --> 00:12:39.179
won the Boston Society of Film Critics Award

00:12:39.179 --> 00:12:41.940
for Best Editing for A Ghost Story. Because the

00:12:41.940 --> 00:12:44.460
editing is the film in many ways. It's all about

00:12:44.460 --> 00:12:48.279
time, loss, memory. How do you convey eternity?

00:12:48.940 --> 00:12:51.480
or the slow crawl of grief. Through those incredibly

00:12:51.480 --> 00:12:54.580
long static takes, right? Where nothing much

00:12:54.580 --> 00:12:56.960
happens, but you feel the time passing. Exactly.

00:12:57.120 --> 00:13:00.799
He forces you, the viewer, to sit in that stillness,

00:13:00.820 --> 00:13:03.519
to feel the ghost waiting, and then bam, a sudden

00:13:03.519 --> 00:13:06.419
cut, and you jump decades, centuries even. That

00:13:06.419 --> 00:13:08.860
control over duration and temporal shifts is

00:13:08.860 --> 00:13:11.309
masterful. He makes the ghost experience feel

00:13:11.309 --> 00:13:13.929
both incredibly vast and intensely present. And

00:13:13.929 --> 00:13:15.830
he was so invested, he even apparently has a

00:13:15.830 --> 00:13:18.690
tiny cameo himself, uncredited, as another ghost

00:13:18.690 --> 00:13:21.929
in the background. Huh. Really. Just fully immersed.

00:13:22.210 --> 00:13:24.210
It's like he needed to prove, maybe to himself

00:13:24.210 --> 00:13:26.509
as much as anyone, yes, I could do the big Disney

00:13:26.509 --> 00:13:29.549
movie, but this is also me. This quiet, strange,

00:13:29.629 --> 00:13:33.009
personal stuff is still my core. So after that

00:13:33.009 --> 00:13:35.190
extreme swing back to micro -budget, where did

00:13:35.190 --> 00:13:37.929
he go next? He didn't just stay in the tiny indie

00:13:37.929 --> 00:13:40.809
world. No, he found a sort of middle ground,

00:13:40.970 --> 00:13:43.389
perhaps. Still personal, still character -driven,

00:13:43.549 --> 00:13:45.850
but with a bit more structure and star power.

00:13:46.309 --> 00:13:48.509
He directed The Old Man and the Gun in 2018.

00:13:48.850 --> 00:13:50.970
Right, with Robert Redford. Playing the real

00:13:50.970 --> 00:13:53.649
-life gentleman bank robber Forrest Tucker. Casey

00:13:53.649 --> 00:13:55.730
Affleck was in that one, too. Lowery wrote the

00:13:55.730 --> 00:13:58.389
screenplay and directed. And it felt gentle,

00:13:58.669 --> 00:14:01.409
almost elegiac. Like a tribute not just to this

00:14:01.409 --> 00:14:03.090
charming criminal, but maybe to Redford himself

00:14:03.090 --> 00:14:06.620
and that era of filmmaking he represented. Lowry

00:14:06.620 --> 00:14:08.879
applied his signature lyrical reflective style

00:14:08.879 --> 00:14:11.360
to a true story, a biopic framework. And it worked

00:14:11.360 --> 00:14:13.500
critically too, right? Oh yeah. Got a Best Film

00:14:13.500 --> 00:14:15.480
nomination at the London Film Festival, Best

00:14:15.480 --> 00:14:17.700
Adapted Screenplay Nom from the San Diego Critics.

00:14:17.820 --> 00:14:19.980
It showed he could bring his distinct sensibility

00:14:19.980 --> 00:14:22.940
to genre material, to biographical stories, without

00:14:22.940 --> 00:14:26.320
losing his voice. So the pattern emerges. use

00:14:26.320 --> 00:14:28.919
the clout from the big project to get the personal

00:14:28.919 --> 00:14:31.580
one made, and use the artistry of the personal

00:14:31.580 --> 00:14:33.919
one to keep the studios interested in your unique

00:14:33.919 --> 00:14:36.320
vision for their bigger project. Exactly. It's

00:14:36.320 --> 00:14:38.639
a symbiotic relationship he seems to have mastered.

00:14:38.840 --> 00:14:41.740
Okay, act four. This feels like where he really

00:14:41.740 --> 00:14:44.159
starts synthesizing those two sides, the epic

00:14:44.159 --> 00:14:47.879
scale and the introspective mood, with The Green

00:14:47.879 --> 00:14:51.139
Knight in 2021. Yeah, The Green Knight, a full

00:14:51.139 --> 00:14:53.700
-blown medieval fantasy epic. That's a big swing.

00:14:54.310 --> 00:14:57.169
adapting a really famous but also quite strange

00:14:57.169 --> 00:15:00.350
and difficult Arthurian poem, Sir Gawain and

00:15:00.350 --> 00:15:02.970
the Green Knight. Massive undertaking. And look

00:15:02.970 --> 00:15:06.029
who's starring. Dev Patel, Alicia Vikander, Joel

00:15:06.029 --> 00:15:09.450
Edgerton, big names, and Lowry. He's back in

00:15:09.450 --> 00:15:11.730
full multi -hyphenate mode. Director, writer,

00:15:11.909 --> 00:15:14.659
editor, and producer. Applying that indie filmmaker,

00:15:14.940 --> 00:15:17.659
old control approach to this huge mythological

00:15:17.659 --> 00:15:20.320
canvas. And what's fascinating is how he approaches

00:15:20.320 --> 00:15:22.480
it. It's not a typical fantasy action movie.

00:15:22.639 --> 00:15:25.340
He takes this epic quest narrative and infuses

00:15:25.340 --> 00:15:27.440
it with that same deliberate dreamlike pacing,

00:15:27.519 --> 00:15:29.879
that same thematic ambiguity we saw in a code

00:15:29.879 --> 00:15:31.879
story. Right. It's less about the sword fights,

00:15:31.940 --> 00:15:34.299
more about the psychology. Honor, temptation,

00:15:34.779 --> 00:15:38.000
facing mortality, the meaning of chivalry. He

00:15:38.000 --> 00:15:41.059
makes the epic feel internal, introspective.

00:15:41.200 --> 00:15:43.820
Turning the cosmic into something intimate. The

00:15:43.820 --> 00:15:46.000
film's release itself got complicated, though.

00:15:46.200 --> 00:15:49.299
Ah, right. COVID. It was meant to premiere at

00:15:49.299 --> 00:15:53.039
SXSW in March 2020. Which got canceled. So it

00:15:53.039 --> 00:15:56.460
didn't actually come out until July 2021. But

00:15:56.460 --> 00:15:59.190
the reaction when it landed. was pretty fantastic.

00:15:59.649 --> 00:16:02.070
Especially praise for the visuals, the unique

00:16:02.070 --> 00:16:04.809
style. Racked up nominations, Best Director,

00:16:04.990 --> 00:16:06.970
Best Adapted Screenplay from Chicago Critics,

00:16:06.990 --> 00:16:09.330
nods at the Critics' Choice Super Awards for

00:16:09.330 --> 00:16:11.169
Fantasy. And around the same time, he was still

00:16:11.169 --> 00:16:13.009
doing smaller things, too. There was an anthology

00:16:13.009 --> 00:16:14.809
film. Yeah, The Year of the Everlasting Storm,

00:16:15.009 --> 00:16:17.629
also in 2021. It premiered at Cannes. A collection

00:16:17.629 --> 00:16:20.230
of shorts made during the pandemic. Lowry contributed

00:16:20.230 --> 00:16:22.970
a segment called Dig Up My Darling. These pandemic

00:16:22.970 --> 00:16:25.649
projects often feel very raw, very essential.

00:16:25.889 --> 00:16:27.929
Stripped down filmmaking. And meanwhile, the

00:16:27.929 --> 00:16:30.250
Disney relationship was still active. Oh, yeah.

00:16:30.700 --> 00:16:32.980
After Pete's Dragon proved he could deliver for

00:16:32.980 --> 00:16:35.259
them, they tapped him again for another major

00:16:35.259 --> 00:16:38.500
IP. He actually signed on back in 2016 to direct

00:16:38.500 --> 00:16:40.919
a live action take on Peter Pan. Which eventually

00:16:40.919 --> 00:16:43.580
became Peter Pan and Wendy, released on Disney

00:16:43.580 --> 00:16:46.799
Plus in 2023. Right. He directed and co -wrote

00:16:46.799 --> 00:16:48.740
that one, too. Right. With Alexander Maloney

00:16:48.740 --> 00:16:52.039
as Peter, Jude Law as Captain Hook, Ever Anderson

00:16:52.039 --> 00:16:56.879
as Wendy. So. Doing a second huge Disney film

00:16:56.879 --> 00:16:59.899
really cements that trust doesn't it. They clearly

00:16:59.899 --> 00:17:01.679
believe he can handle their biggest properties

00:17:01.679 --> 00:17:04.440
deliver the spectacle but also bring that emotional

00:17:04.440 --> 00:17:07.220
depth that unique perspective. Absolutely. He

00:17:07.220 --> 00:17:09.400
proved he could thread that needle. And his versatility

00:17:09.400 --> 00:17:11.980
extends beyond just film features. He's directed

00:17:11.980 --> 00:17:14.000
television, too. Right. He did an episode of

00:17:14.000 --> 00:17:16.640
Rectify back in 2014, which was a very atmospheric,

00:17:16.779 --> 00:17:19.980
character -driven show, fit his style well. And

00:17:19.980 --> 00:17:22.099
a couple of episodes of Strange Angel in 2018,

00:17:22.279 --> 00:17:23.920
where he's also an executive producer on those,

00:17:24.019 --> 00:17:26.000
plus something quite different. The National

00:17:26.000 --> 00:17:29.099
Geographic thing. Yeah, a 2017 episode of the

00:17:29.099 --> 00:17:31.720
series Breakthrough. His was called Addiction.

00:17:32.140 --> 00:17:35.299
a psychedelic cure so delving into documentary

00:17:35.299 --> 00:17:38.579
science social issues showed a real breadth of

00:17:38.579 --> 00:17:41.099
interest beyond fiction and the most recent biggest

00:17:41.099 --> 00:17:45.480
mainstream tv gig star wars right directing two

00:17:45.480 --> 00:17:47.839
episodes of the upcoming star wars skeleton crew

00:17:47.839 --> 00:17:51.000
series set for 2024 that's Well, that's about

00:17:51.000 --> 00:17:53.660
as big as IP gets. Definitely. The episode titles

00:17:53.660 --> 00:17:56.259
mentioned are way, way out past the barrier and

00:17:56.259 --> 00:17:58.720
very interesting as an astrogation problem. Which

00:17:58.720 --> 00:18:00.759
sounds kind of perfect for him, actually. One

00:18:00.759 --> 00:18:04.480
suggests vast cosmic exploration. The other implies

00:18:04.480 --> 00:18:07.579
intricate technical problem solving. That duality

00:18:07.579 --> 00:18:10.220
again. Wonder and rigor. It's the ultimate validation,

00:18:10.500 --> 00:18:12.319
isn't it, being trusted with Star Wars? Pretty

00:18:12.319 --> 00:18:14.539
much. Okay, so that brings us towards the end,

00:18:14.599 --> 00:18:16.599
Act V. Let's touch on the personal context that

00:18:16.599 --> 00:18:18.440
might inform all this and look ahead. Right.

00:18:18.619 --> 00:18:20.880
Personal Life Details married fellow filmmaker

00:18:20.880 --> 00:18:24.160
Augustin Frizzell in 2010, and importantly, they

00:18:24.160 --> 00:18:26.180
live in Dallas. He's maintained that connection

00:18:26.180 --> 00:18:29.099
to Texas, to that indie film scene there. That

00:18:29.099 --> 00:18:31.400
grounding seems really important to his identity.

00:18:32.200 --> 00:18:34.059
And then there are the details about his core

00:18:34.059 --> 00:18:37.819
beliefs. He identifies as an atheist. And he's

00:18:37.819 --> 00:18:41.440
been a vegan since around 1996, so for decades.

00:18:41.819 --> 00:18:44.299
Yeah, these aren't casual choices. Being an atheist,

00:18:44.400 --> 00:18:47.720
being a committed vegan for that long, it suggests

00:18:47.720 --> 00:18:50.859
a very considered, very disciplined personal

00:18:50.859 --> 00:18:53.779
philosophy. A consistency in his own life. And

00:18:53.779 --> 00:18:56.700
maybe that consistency, that discipline fuels

00:18:56.700 --> 00:18:58.819
his commitment to supporting other independent

00:18:58.819 --> 00:19:01.059
filmmakers. He does a lot of executive producing.

00:19:01.339 --> 00:19:03.400
He really does. It's like he's actively using

00:19:03.400 --> 00:19:05.579
the platform and maybe the resources he gets

00:19:05.579 --> 00:19:08.000
from the bigger studio gigs to lift up the next

00:19:08.000 --> 00:19:12.160
wave of indie voices, paying it forward. Ensuring

00:19:12.160 --> 00:19:14.079
that the kind of filmmaking that launched him

00:19:14.079 --> 00:19:16.970
continues to thrive. We see his EP credits on

00:19:16.970 --> 00:19:19.289
films like Never Going Back. That's Juneteenth.

00:19:19.470 --> 00:19:21.849
We're all going to the World's Fair. Really interesting,

00:19:21.910 --> 00:19:24.130
diverse projects. That kind of mentorship, that

00:19:24.130 --> 00:19:26.710
support for the ecosystem is huge. He's not just

00:19:26.710 --> 00:19:28.509
taking, he's giving back to that indie world.

00:19:28.730 --> 00:19:32.049
So looking ahead, what's next on his slate? The

00:19:32.049 --> 00:19:35.130
big one seems to be Mother Mary. Ah yes, Mother

00:19:35.130 --> 00:19:38.630
Mary. For A24, which, you know, A24 is pretty

00:19:38.630 --> 00:19:41.910
much synonymous with director -driven, artistically

00:19:41.910 --> 00:19:44.130
ambitious films. Feels like a perfect home for

00:19:44.130 --> 00:19:46.569
him. And this project sounds, well, it sounds

00:19:46.569 --> 00:19:48.849
like it could bring everything together. It's

00:19:48.849 --> 00:19:51.789
described as a music drama. Starring Anne Hathaway

00:19:51.789 --> 00:19:53.869
and Michaela Cole. I mean, that's serious star

00:19:53.869 --> 00:19:56.670
power. And Lowry is set to write, direct, and

00:19:56.670 --> 00:19:59.430
produce back in that full -control, multi -hyphenate

00:19:59.430 --> 00:20:01.609
role. But the really intriguing part, for me

00:20:01.609 --> 00:20:04.430
at least, is the music collaboration. Jack Antonoff

00:20:04.430 --> 00:20:06.549
and Charlie XCX are writing original songs for

00:20:06.549 --> 00:20:09.150
it. Okay, that's a combination. Lowry's quiet

00:20:09.150 --> 00:20:12.130
visual poetry and emotional depth, mixed with

00:20:12.130 --> 00:20:15.470
Antonoff's often maximalist pop production and

00:20:15.470 --> 00:20:19.150
Charlie XCX's edgy, futuristic pop sound. Right.

00:20:19.230 --> 00:20:21.470
It suggests something really ambitious, maybe

00:20:21.470 --> 00:20:24.750
trying to bridge that gap between high art aesthetics

00:20:24.750 --> 00:20:28.269
and mainstream pop culture, which perfectly mirrors

00:20:28.269 --> 00:20:30.890
Lowry's whole career duality. High art meets

00:20:30.890 --> 00:20:33.829
high pop. It sounds potentially amazing, a complex

00:20:33.829 --> 00:20:36.630
drama about celebrity, music, maybe faith or

00:20:36.630 --> 00:20:39.170
fandom, given the title, but with A -list talent

00:20:39.170 --> 00:20:41.490
and cutting -edge music. It feels like it could

00:20:41.490 --> 00:20:43.690
be a combination, pulling together everything

00:20:43.690 --> 00:20:46.289
he's learned, moving between the micro -budget

00:20:46.289 --> 00:20:49.309
personal films and the massive studio spectacles.

00:20:49.769 --> 00:20:52.589
Visually stunning, emotionally complex, maybe

00:20:52.589 --> 00:20:54.990
culturally resonant, too. Definitely one to watch.

00:20:55.630 --> 00:20:59.259
So, wrapping this up. We've explored this really

00:20:59.259 --> 00:21:01.839
remarkable career trajectory, this constant,

00:21:01.980 --> 00:21:04.480
seemingly deliberate dance between extremes.

00:21:04.640 --> 00:21:07.559
Yeah, the filmmaker who can be editing a quiet,

00:21:07.680 --> 00:21:10.799
intense indie film about grief and time one year.

00:21:11.000 --> 00:21:13.700
Earning critical editing nominations for it.

00:21:13.779 --> 00:21:16.299
And simultaneously be prepping or directing a

00:21:16.299 --> 00:21:18.220
massive Disney movie like Peter Pan and Wendy.

00:21:18.589 --> 00:21:21.170
it really demonstrates this rare mastery of both

00:21:21.170 --> 00:21:23.829
intimacy and scale he can handle the intricate

00:21:23.829 --> 00:21:26.130
editing of something like upstream color and

00:21:26.130 --> 00:21:28.549
the mythological weight and vfx demands of the

00:21:28.549 --> 00:21:31.400
green knight and somehow through it all Maintain

00:21:31.400 --> 00:21:33.980
that signature style, that slow, contemplative,

00:21:34.019 --> 00:21:36.759
visually precise, emotionally resonant feel,

00:21:36.880 --> 00:21:39.119
that adaptability, that versatility feels very

00:21:39.119 --> 00:21:41.519
modern. Maybe it's the blueprint for how an auteur

00:21:41.519 --> 00:21:43.759
survives and thrives today. You have to be able

00:21:43.759 --> 00:21:45.660
to navigate all these different levels. And for

00:21:45.660 --> 00:21:47.640
you, the listener, the takeaway seems clear.

00:21:47.940 --> 00:21:50.599
That grounding in fundamental craft, especially

00:21:50.599 --> 00:21:52.940
something like editing, combined with a really

00:21:52.940 --> 00:21:56.460
strong, personal, consistent vision, that's what

00:21:56.460 --> 00:21:58.960
builds the trust needed to command projects at

00:21:58.960 --> 00:22:01.970
every scale. Absolutely. That blend of quiet

00:22:01.970 --> 00:22:04.710
contemplation and big ambition is so unique.

00:22:05.069 --> 00:22:07.250
But let's leave you with one final thought to

00:22:07.250 --> 00:22:09.450
chew on, connecting his personal context back

00:22:09.450 --> 00:22:12.369
to the work itself. Okay. So we noted he identifies

00:22:12.369 --> 00:22:15.390
as an atheist, has these long -held, disciplined

00:22:15.390 --> 00:22:18.809
personal beliefs like veganism, a secular worldview,

00:22:19.029 --> 00:22:21.490
essentially. Right. So how does that specific,

00:22:21.589 --> 00:22:25.170
grounded, secular perspective fuel his film's

00:22:25.170 --> 00:22:28.099
relentless obsession with, well, with... The

00:22:28.099 --> 00:22:30.480
big eternal, almost spiritual questions. That's

00:22:30.480 --> 00:22:32.460
a great question. Because his most personal films,

00:22:32.519 --> 00:22:34.539
like A Ghost Story or ambitious ones like The

00:22:34.539 --> 00:22:36.220
Green Knight, they dive headfirst into themes

00:22:36.220 --> 00:22:38.839
of time, mortality, legacy, the search for meaning.

00:22:39.099 --> 00:22:41.839
What endures after death? How does memory function

00:22:41.839 --> 00:22:43.640
across centuries? How do you live a meaningful

00:22:43.640 --> 00:22:46.180
life in the face of oblivion? These are huge,

00:22:46.200 --> 00:22:48.940
cosmic, almost religious questions. But explores

00:22:48.940 --> 00:22:51.240
through a lens that, based on his own stated

00:22:51.240 --> 00:22:53.680
beliefs, doesn't rely on traditional religious

00:22:53.680 --> 00:22:56.200
answers or supernatural frameworks. Exactly.

00:22:56.259 --> 00:22:58.960
It suggests... His exploration is profoundly

00:22:58.960 --> 00:23:01.920
humanistic, maybe existential. It's grounded

00:23:01.920 --> 00:23:04.940
in observation in the human condition, maybe

00:23:04.940 --> 00:23:08.380
in a kind of disciplined, objective look at existence

00:23:08.380 --> 00:23:12.099
rather than faith. So the ghost in a ghost story

00:23:12.099 --> 00:23:14.460
isn't waiting for heaven or hell. He's just waiting.

00:23:15.069 --> 00:23:17.910
anchored to a place, watching time erase things.

00:23:18.490 --> 00:23:20.529
Gawain in The Green Knight isn't necessarily

00:23:20.529 --> 00:23:23.230
guided by God. He's wrestling with human codes

00:23:23.230 --> 00:23:26.390
of honor, fear, desire. That tension, exploring

00:23:26.390 --> 00:23:29.269
these vast, timeless, spiritual -seeming questions

00:23:29.269 --> 00:23:32.190
from a grounded, disciplined, perhaps secular

00:23:32.190 --> 00:23:34.650
perspective, that might be what gives his work

00:23:34.650 --> 00:23:37.309
its unique power, its gravity. A secular spirituality,

00:23:37.650 --> 00:23:39.849
maybe? Finding the profound and the tangible

00:23:39.849 --> 00:23:41.930
in the passage of time itself and human connection

00:23:41.930 --> 00:23:44.230
and memory, rather than looking outwards or upwards.

00:23:44.460 --> 00:23:46.599
perhaps it's definitely something to think about

00:23:46.599 --> 00:23:49.200
as you watch his films that consistent personal

00:23:49.200 --> 00:23:51.400
philosophy wrestling with these epic eternal

00:23:51.400 --> 00:23:54.259
themes from the quiet vigil of a sheet ghost

00:23:54.259 --> 00:23:56.880
to the soaring flight of a dragon a fascinating

00:23:56.880 --> 00:23:59.579
contradiction to ponder and that's our deep dive

00:23:59.579 --> 00:24:02.000
for today on david lowry thanks for joining us