John Carney (‘Flora and Son’ writer/director): ‘We should all come away from a truly great song, different from how we were before’ [Exclusive Video Interview]
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
“It’s probably the most vulnerable you’ll ever be with someone, if you dare to do it,” declares John Carney about how experiencing a song with someone can be intimate and meaningful, which he explores in his latest music-infused dramedy “Flora and Son.” For our recent webchat he adds, “Music works in a really unique way whether it’s singing to somebody, writing a lyric, whether it’s a guitar or a piano or however you do it,” Carney explains. “It’s very risky. You can be laughed off the stage or the couch. You can write a love song for somebody and they’ll look at you and just go, ‘I’m sorry, I just, uh, I didn’t feel it.’ Or you can be a songwriter that sings to 5,000 people on a stage and they all feel that it’s written for them — if it’s working.” Watch our exclusive video interview above.
SEE ‘Flora and Son’ reviews: Eve Hewson’s star-making performance ‘carries the movie with magnetic zeal’
More from GoldDerby
Oscars flashback: All 19 times stars have directed themselves to acting nominations [PHOTOS]
Marlee Matlin and Troy Kotsur to host 2023 Media Access Awards, a first for two Deaf performers
In the Apple Original Films musical comedy/drama, Eve Hewson (“Bad Sisters”) plays the titular Flora, a single mom who is at war with her rebellious teenage son, Max (Orén Kinlan). Trying to find a hobby for Max, she rescues a guitar from a dumpster and finds that one person’s trash can be a family’s salvation. The feel-good dramedy features an array of catchy tunes (including new original songs by Carney and collaborator Gary Clark), and also stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jack Reynor, Sophie Vavasseur and Kelly Thornton. After having its world premiere at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, the crowd-pleaser reportedly elicited a rapturous standing ovation, with audiences apparently enthusiastically clapping along to the film’s songs.
“Flora and Son” is Carney’s latest love letter to the profound effect that music has on us, how it brings people together and how a truly great song makes us feel. These themes feature throughout his filmmaking career from Oscar-winning “Once” (for Best Song “Falling Slowly,” written by Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová) to his Golden Globe-nominated “Sing Street,” and “Begin Again,” which scored a Best Song Oscar nomination for “Lost Stars” (written by Gregg Alexander and Danielle Brisebois). A great song is “an incredibly strange, elusive three minute structure where it’s almost like a boxing round or something,” Carney explains. “Three minutes of your entire body, psychology, everything is on the line. And a three minute song, just for some reason, I don’t know what it does, but, I wrote the line in the film that it, you know, it pauses time,” he says. “I believe that. Time should pause. We should all come away from a truly great song, different from how we were before.”
Make your predictions at Gold Derby now. Download our free and easy app for Apple/iPhone devices or Android (Google Play) to compete against legions of other fans plus our experts and editors for best prediction accuracy scores. See our latest prediction champs. Can you top our esteemed leaderboards next? Always remember to keep your predictions updated because they impact our latest racetrack odds, which terrify Hollywood chiefs and stars. Don’t miss the fun. Speak up and share your huffy opinions in our famous forums where 5,000 showbiz leaders lurk every day to track latest awards buzz. Everybody wants to know: What do you think? Who do you predict and why?
SIGN UP for Gold Derby’s free newsletter with latest predictions
Best of GoldDerby
Sign up for Gold Derby's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
