tech
Breakfast with Gosling, grilled by Spielberg, burned by Star Wars: Lord and Miller are cinema’s hottest duo
From directing The Lego Movie to becoming a single entity, Phil Lord and Chris Miller have had quite the ascent. Now, sending one of the globe’s best actors to his cosmic doom in Project Hail Mary, they’re aiming for the stars
TL;DR
- Phil Lord and Chris Miller faced scrutiny from the Directors Guild of America (DGA) regarding their co-directing status, with prominent figures like Steven Spielberg and Jon Favreau involved in the decision.
- The directing duo operates with a highly synchronized, almost telepathic, partnership, forged since their undergraduate days at Dartmouth College.
- Their distinctive filmmaking style, marked by surreal humor, tonal shifts, and visual inventiveness, is recognizable across their projects, whether directing or producing through Lord Miller Productions.
- Their latest film, "Project Hail Mary," is a deep-space adventure adapted from Andy Weir's novel, starring Ryan Gosling as a scientist on a mission to save Earth from a parasitic microbe.
- The film explores themes of communication and empathy, with the central relationship between Ryan Gosling's character and an alien named Rocky, emphasizing collaboration to solve seemingly impossible problems.
- Lord and Miller have experienced significant career setbacks, including being fired from the "Solo" Star Wars film, but view these as learning opportunities, embodying a "winning and learning" philosophy.
- They believe their collaborative spirit and the "happy accidents" on set, such as spontaneous singing or costume choices, are unique to human creativity and cannot be replicated by AI.