Behind The Lens

This week on BEHIND THE LENS, I've got an interesting and fun interview for you as I talk with director KEVIN MACDONALD about his new film, the psychological thriller THE RUNNER. Plus, it will tease you a bit before THE RUNNER releases on September 2nd on Prime Video! But before I get started, how many of you hit the theatre this weekend to see BUDDY? If you haven’t, run, don’t walk to the nearest theatre for this sick, twisted, hilariously funny, unexpectedly thoughtful, and gleefully drenched in blood film. BUDDY is one of those increasingly rare genre concoctions that feels genuinely fresh and I think the majority of you will have a lot of fun with it. Now, as for today. THE RUNNER and director KEVIN MACDONALD. Directed by Kevin Macdonald, who you probably best know for The Last King of Scotland or How I Live Now (I also love his work with The Mauritanian and Black Sea), and written by Mark Gibson who has previously brought us the oh-so-fun Snow Dogs and the animated film The Wild, together they bring us THE RUNNER. THE RUNNER stars Gal Gadot as Maia Marten, a sharp, resourceful high-powered lawyer at the pinnacle of London’s legal world. She is also a single mother. During her routine morning run, a single phone call shatters her world: her son has been taken. The instructions to get him back are simple and merciless — keep moving, follow every command, and tell no one. Stop, and he dies. Forced to sprint through the city and obey a series of sinister commands, Maia must confront an impossible question: how far will she go to bring her son home? A pulse-pounding psychological thriller set against the backdrop of London’s hyper-connected streets, THE RUNNER is a visceral, high-stakes race where every second counts, every choice carries a price, and a mother's unstoppable love becomes the most dangerous weapon of all. My review on THE RUNNER is embargoed until 9pm PT tomorrow, September 1st, so I have to be a bit cagey in talking about this film. But, just so you know, the review is already finished and is on the website scheduled to go live at 9pm PT on Tuesday night. So, make sure to hop on behindthelensonline.net Tuesday night or anytime after that for my actual full review of THE RUNNER. The first word that came to my mind watching THE RUNNER is gripping. Followed by a perfect marriage of sight and sound, and that’s exactly the focus of my interview with KEVIN MACDONALD - Anthony Dod Mantle’s incredible cinematography, an impeccably mixed and layered soundscape courtesy of Glenn Freemantle and his amazing team, Sam Rice-Edwards’ editing (and it’s hard to believe this is his first feature narrative film edit although he has edited documentaries with Kevin before), and Tom Hodge’s score married with some very telling needledrops. As you’ll hear in this interview, we dig into Anthony Dod Mantle’s lensing and his some amazing camera work. You already know of his talents thanks to films like “The Last King of Scotland” which he did with Kevin, “Slumdog Millionaire” and “127 Hours” with Danny Boyle, and most recently, the utterly charming “My Penguin Friend”, so what you see unfold on screen with THE RUNNER should not come as a surprise. Anthony has a very keen eye and will pick up on the smallest details and slide them into frame. What really amazed me about this shoot, however, is that much of it was shot on the streets of London. They couldn’t close streets or sidewalks in many areas so they ended shooting among regular crowds and traffic with Gal Gadot running...and an ambitious roller skating camera operator named Myron in the middle of it all capturing the kinetic energy. And although Anthony likes to operate the camera himself, for those scenes he let Myron skate and shoot while he shot with a long lens camera. And then there’s Sam Rice-Edwards editing which can only described as whipsmart and rapier, paced and modulated with Maia’s running pace so we feel like we’re running in her shoes

I’m very excited to bring you this week’s BEHIND THE LENS Radio Show and my exclusive conversation with director BEN GREGOR talking about THE MAGIC FARAWAY TREE, a film, like the book on which it’s based, that keeps the child inside of us alive with fun and fantasy and good storytelling that speaks to family, imagination, and risk and is a shared language to us all. I’ve been under embargo on this one until today, and I’m so happy I can bring you this fun and interesting interview. Adapted from Enid Blyton’s beloved classic novel THE MAGIC FARAWAY TREE, the film centers on Polly, Tim, and their three children - Fran, Beth, and Joe - a modern family forced to relocate to the remote and rustic English countryside due to financial difficulties. As they adapt to their new lives with no electricity and no wifi and none of the modern conveniences they were used to, the children discover a magical tree and its extraordinary and eccentric residents, including treasured characters Moonface, Silky, Dame Washalot, Saucepan Man, Mr. Watzisname and Oom Boom Boom. At the top of the tree, they are transported to spectacular, fantastical lands like the Land of Goodies, the Land of Birthdays, the Land of Back to Front, the Land of Knowalls, and through the joys and challenges of their adventures, the family learns to reconnect and value each other for the first time in years. Directed by Ben Gregor and written by Simon Farnaby based on Enid Blyton’s beloved novel of the same name, THE MAGIC FARAWAY TREE stars Andrew Garfield, Claire Foy, Nonso Anozie, Nicola Coughlan, Jessica Gunning, Jennifer Saunders, Rebecca Ferguson, Dustin Demri-Burns, Oliver Chris, Mark Heap, and more. The real magic and wonder and fun of THE MAGIC FARAWAY TREE comes courtesy of the incredible crafts artisans who bring the worlds of THE MAGIC FARAWAY TREE to life - cinematographer Zac Nicholson, editor Gary Dollner, production designer Alexandra Walker, art directors Janet Harwood, Hannah Moseley and Jo Riddell, composer Isabella Summers, and costume designer Ann Maskrey whose work here is truly award-worthy. It was a joy to speak with director BEN GREGOR about THE MAGIC FARAWAY TREE, as we examined the adaptation of such a beloved book that is both freeing and freewheeling, and how to steep the movie world in Blytopia. A frothy, light, pure delight with serious crafts, Ben highlights the film’s fanciful and imaginative elements, particularly the importance of staying true to Enid Blyton's source material while adding creative touches as he described the meticulous set design, not the least of which includes the edible sets and the absence of plastic in "Blytopia”. As we keep climbing up THE MAGIC FARAWAY TREE and all of its utterly enchanting, fanciful, kooky fun, we take a look at elements of scale, the use and design of practical effects, Zac Nicholson’s gorgeous cinematography and the use of color and contrast between the faraway worlds and the real world. When it comes to Gary Dollner’s editing, it is beautiful and seamless on every level, delivering some exquisite montage sequences. And the work of Zac and Gary beautifully showcases the creativity and magic that comes from Alexandra Walker’s production design, the art direction, Ann Maskrey’s costuming, and the fanciful hair and make-up. As Ben explains, an interesting aspect of this production is that it required they invent new techniques to achieve Ben’s desired result. Everything had to be found, salvaged, made or created in-house with a “Swiss Family Robinson” ingenuity. Real world machinery (like a big drilling screw) echoed fantasy inventions. On every level, the fantasy world is mirrored in the real world, underlining the power of inspiration and imagination. Striving for authentic wonder and adventure so that reactions, particularly of the kids, would be genuinely gobsmacked, everything was grounded in a world you could touch and taste. They even created their own visual

It’s finally here! It’s SHARK WEEK 2026! And who doesn’t love SHARK WEEK? I know I do! To celebrate this time-honored tradition, this week we're talking sharks and shark movies with director JESSE V. JOHNSON and his new film ABOVE & BELOW. But first, a little background for you on Shark Week! Starting as a programming experiment on July 17, 1988 on the Discovery Channel, Shark Week has blossomed into one of the most anticipated viewing celebrations of the year. This year’s Shark Week delivers 20 jaw-dropping, blockbuster premieres across every night, packed with pulse-pounding action, epic breaches, and high-stakes encounters. Featuring pioneering technology, groundbreaking investigations, and unbelievable stunts, each special dives into the mysterious worlds of these apex predators, bringing audiences closer to their raw power and untamed nature like never before. Thanks to the popularity of Shark Week, National Geographic hopped into the viewing shark cage with their own celebration, Shark Fest, which is now in its 14th year with documentary programming on the National Geographic channel as well as on Disney+ and Hulu, running all during the month of July. Ever since Peter Benchley’s 1974 best selling novel and Steven Spielberg’s subsequent release of the movie “Jaws” in 1975, the fascination with and celebration of sharks has taken the world by storm. And while Shark Week and Shark Fest honor the scientific and informative aspects of sharks on the small screen every July, did you know that there have been over 400 shark-themed movies produced worldwide since cinema began, be it for theatre or home video/streaming release? Personally, I think that number is a bit low. Let’s face it. People love sharks. In honor of this special time of year, and although there are several new shark-themed films currently out and/or releasing this week, today we’re talking about one sharktastic movie - ABOVE & BELOW - with director JESSE V. JOHNSON. You already know Jesse’s work thanks to films like Chief of Station, Thieves Highway, The Debt Collector films, and Hell Hath No Fury, but now, with ABOVE & BELOW, the former stuntman-turned-director who has never been afraid to push bodies, cameras, stunt teams, and himself to their limits, dives into new territory as thanks to Anthony Giordano's screenplay for ABOVE & BELOW, Johnson was presented with something altogether different. Water. Lots and lots of water. And sharks. More significantly, it gave him a group of young protagonists far removed from the weathered, world-weary characters with whom Jesse generally gravitates. And dare I say up front that ABOVE & BELOW is simply SHARKTASTIC! A basic premise, but one that has tension reigning supreme above the water and danger lurking below, in ABOVE & BELOW, during a Mexican shark dive, five friends are ambushed after discovering cartel cocaine. Trapped in a shark cage, Tatiana and Kaley are forced by the cartel to retrieve a bag of drugs on the seafloor. Battling legendary Great White sharks, dwindling air, and armed killers, the survivors mount a brutal fight to outsmart their captors and escape. Directed by Jesse Johnson with script by Anthony Giordano, ABOVE & BELOW stars Antonio Banderas, Laura Marano, Louis Mandylor, Jess Liaudin, Timothy V. Murphy, Christina Ochoa, Donncha Tynan, Ryan Bertroche, and Diego Llinas, while the team behind the lens includes one of my fave cinematographers Maxime Alexandre, editor Matthew Lorentz, and composer Maria Vertiz. In this interview, Jesse and I get in the shark cage and cover all things ABOVE & BELOW from Maxime’s beautiful lensing to Matthew’s rapier editing that sadly sacrificed some sharks and left them on the cutting room floor to Maria’s score and the musical challenges you face so as not to fall prey and imitate John Williams’ unforgettable Jaws composition. And then there’s the casting with some real surprises co