Director Watch Podcast Ep. 154 – ‘Insomnia’ (Christopher Nolan, 2002) with Special Guest Christina Jeurling Birro
On episode 154 of the Director Watch Podcast, co-hosts Ryan McQuade and Jay Ledbetter are joined by Pop Culture Confidential host Christina Jeurling Birro discuss the next film in their Christopher Nolan series, Insomnia (2002).
Welcome back to Director Watch! On this AwardsWatch podcast, the boys attempt to breakdown, analyze, and ultimately, get inside the mind of some of cinema’s greatest auteurs. In doing so, they will look at their filmographies, explore what drives them artistically and what makes their decision making process so fascinating. Add in a few silly tangents and a fun game at the end of the episode and you’ve got yourself a podcast we truly hope you love.
What does one do after making their big breakthrough? For Christopher Nolan, it was his chance to step up another level and work on a American remake of the 1997 Norwegian film of the same name, Insomnia, which follows a washed up cop investigating a murder case in a small town, stuck in a web of lies connected to his past mistakes and getting tangled in a cat and mouse game with a smart criminal who wants to get away with the crime they’ve committed. Obsessed with the original when he was making Following, the young director set out to make his version of the modern cautionary crime tale, which for the guys and Christina seems like a misstep for him following his monumental statement of Memento. Ryan, Jay, and Christina break down their thoughts on the film, their connection with the original, the sleepiness of Al Pacino (with an impression by Ryan once or twice on the show), the dramatic work of Robin Williams, the appeal of Hilary Swank, not being able to sleep with the lights on, and how this is the least “Nolan” movie of his filmography, both in good ways and mostly bad ways.
You can listen to the Director Watch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more. You can also listen on the AW YouTube page.
This podcast runs 1h041m. The guys will be back next week to continue their series on the films of Christopher Nolan with a review of his next film, Batman Begins. You can rent it via iTunes and Amazon Prime rental in preparation for the next episode of Director Watch. Till then, let’s get into it.
Music: MUSICALIFE, from Pond5 (intro) and “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro).
He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Critics Choice Association (CCA), San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle (SFBAFCC) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.
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Director Watch Podcast Ep. 154 – ‘Insomnia’ (Christopher Nolan, 2002) with Special Guest Christina Jeurling Birro 
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