‘The Holdovers’ producer Mark Johnson: ‘Every day, I still feel like a young boy who can’t believe he’s allowed to do this’ [Exclusive Video Interview]

When you take a peek at Mark Johnson‘s resume, you’re immediately astounded. Consider this partial list of projects he’s been attached to as a producer or executive producer during a career that’s exceeded four decades: “Rain Man” (which won Johnson his lone Oscar), “Good Morning, Vietnam,” “Diner,” “Tin Men,” “The Natural,” “Bugsy,” “Galaxy Quest,” “The Notebook,” “Breaking Bad” and “Better Call Saul.” And now, add “The Holdovers” to the list, for which Johnson has landed his third Academy Award nomination (this one for Best Picture).

“Every day, I still feel like a young boy who can’t believe he’s allowed to do this,” Johnson admits. “Somebody asked me if the Oscar nomination was old hat to me, and I’m like, ‘Are you kidding? I’m thrilled.’ I’m very humbled by it. There are a number of movies I’ve made that I think are very good and haven’t been recognized, and it’s not that it’s fair or unfair. It’s just the way it is. But the fact ‘The Holdovers’ has been recognized in this way (with five total nominations) just confirms my very early suspicions about the project.” Watch our exclusive video interview with Johnson above.

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Mind you, as much as the film has been praised by critics and moviegoers alike – earning a 97% score on Rotten Tomatoes – Johnson emphasizes that it’s grown progressively tougher to get greenlit and distributed the kind of character-driven, human stories he specializes in producing. Even one directed by Alexander Payne and starring Paul Giamatti. “It is more difficult, and yet at the same time, we managed to do it,” he says. “People will often tell you that these sort of very small, character-driven stories are being done more on television. But there’s a number of smaller independent companies that really believe in these things. And every year, there is some smaller, unexpected movie that somehow breaks through and reconfirms everything.”

“The Holdovers” certainly qualifies as that movie this awards season. But the truth is that it wasn’t exactly a smooth journey to the screen. It started in September 2022 when Johnson and his team brought the movie to the Toronto International Film Festival to screen it privately for would-be distributors. Focus Features made a deal for it within 24 hours. “We were hoping they would release it three months later at Christmas, because I was so proud of it and wanted it out there,” Johnson says. But Focus opted instead to shelve it for a year. “They said, ‘No, we need time to mount the right kind of (awards) campaign and release it properly.’ Which of course they did.

SEEPaul Giamatti (‘The Holdovers’) on finally reuniting with Alexander Payne: ‘It wasn’t for lack of trying’

“It was very hard to sit on my hands for over a year to wait for it to come out, but it ended up making the most sense.”

Indeed, the wait has paid off. The movie has generated Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay (David Hemingson), Best Editing (Kevin Tent), Best Actor (Giamatti) and Best Supporting Actress (Da’Vine Joy Randolph). It’s the first time that Payne and Giamatti have worked together since “Sideways” some 20 years ago. No one was ever considered for the lead role of curmudgeonly professor Paul Hunham except Giamatti, Johnson confirms. “Alexander said from the very beginning that it was Paul and only Paul. People would be coming up with these other AAA big movie star names, and Alexander just kept saying, ‘Nope, nope, it’s Paul. Gotta be Paul.’ He says the best actor working in America today is Paul Giamatti.”

In terms of casting Randolph, Payne had loved her in “Dolemite is My Name,” and she turned out to be perfect for the role of cafeteria worker Mary Lamb. “There’s no single grandstanding scene that proclaims her as a great actress (in the film),” Johnson believes, “it’s just the accumulation. Overall, hers is a real character that gets you from the very beginning.”

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In terms of the casting of young Dominic Sessa, it was a huge gamble for everyone involved because he had literally never been on film before. Johnson observes that Sessa was nonetheless “self-assured but never cocky. And he was always there, always ready.” He adds that Payne took the actor under his wing and often invited him to his house at the end of the shooting day and they’d watch movies from the 1970s like “The Last Detail” and “Harold and Maude” together.

Was Johnson ever nervous that an unproven young guy straight out of a high school acting class could step into the big leagues and help carry a major film? “Sure,” he acknowledges. “Everybody said, ‘Oh, this kid’s perfect.’ But still, you wonder, is he going to be able to keep up a 45-day schedule? How’s he going to be when he’s got 75 people and a camera lens looking at him? But the truth of the matter is, Dominic confirmed everything we wanted from him.”

“The Holdovers” is playing in theaters and streaming over Peacock.

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