Boiling Point

01/31/22 • 58 min

Actress and Producer Hester Ruoff has been working in the entertainment business for over a decade. You might know her as Debbie the paramedic in the long-running British soap opera Eastenders before her producing career kicked off with short films in 2018. It was around the time she starred in gritty crime thriller Villain, the directorial debut of Philip Barantini which cemented their working relationship. Barantini was in the market for producing partners to turn his acclaimed short film Boiling Point into a feature and Hester knew she needed to be involved. Starring Stephen Graham as a head chef wrangling his team in the kitchen, behind the bar and on the floor on their busiest night of the year, the technical feat and performances of this single-take endeavour has been lauded by critics, at the British Independent Film Awards and by the restaurant industry for its honest portrayal of their profession.

Here Hanna Flint talks to Hester about transitioning to producing and what it took to get her first feature Boiling Point off the ground.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Here Hanna Flint talks to Hester about transitioning to producing and what it took to get her first feature Boiling Point off the ground.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Previous Episode

Mass

Fran Kranz has spent the last 20 years working as an actor across film, TV and stage. You might remember him from his role as Topher Brink in sci-fi series Dollhouse or as the final guy Marty in 2011 horror-comedy The Cabin in the Woods. Now the American actor has decided to get behind the camera to write, produce and direct his very first feature film.

Mass is a poignant drama about a pair of grieving parents who sit down to discuss the mass shooting they lost both their sons to. With the bulk of the film taking place in one room, there’s a theatre-like feel to the performances so it’s no wonder he cast some of the best stage actors around. Reed Birney and Ann Dowd play one couple while Jason Isaacs and Martha Plimpton play the other in this tense examination of grief, pain, anger associated with one of the most horrific subjects that continues to cast a shadow over American society.

Here critic and host Hanna Flint talks to Fran Kranz about making this his directorial debut.

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Next Episode

Heathers

Michael Lehmann is one of the most in-demand and prolific television directors in the US. He’s worked on such critically acclaimed series as Dexter, Californication, True Blood and American Horror Story, and has a new series starring Kristen Bell, The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window, on Netflix right now. Some of his earlier film credits, including Airheads and Hudson Hawk, have earned welcome critical reappraisals in recent years but the greatness of his directorial debut Heathers is indisputable. Starring Winona Ryder and Christian Slater, the 1989 film is a biting high school satire that shocked adults more than it did teenagers for its nonchalance portrayal of teen suicide, bulimia and gun violence. Heathers has become a cult classic, finding its way to the stage with a musical adaptation and a TV adaptation. Michael Lehmann takes Hanna Flint on a journey back to its creation...

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