Pursuing the Money Shot: 'Nightcrawler' (2014) and 'Civil War' (2024) with Michael Cramer

Julian, Madeline, and Emilio continue their episode cycle on Audience Interrogation with a "Two-Shot" on Dan Gilroy's "Nightcrawler" (2014) and Alex Garland's "Civil War" (2024), and are joined for the conversation by Michael Cramer, professor of Film History at Julian's alma mater, Sarah Lawrence College. Looking at this surprisingly fitting pair of movies, the group begin by zooming in on "Nightcrawler" and discussing how Jake Gyllenhaal's unforgettable portrayal of a wide-eyed sociopath cements the film's parable about the ethics of procuring and propagating "newsworthy" footage. Then, jumping forward a decade, the group consider the similar questions posed by "Civil War" in its depiction of war photographers navigating the ruins of the United States in a fictional future conflict, along with the polarized reception of its narrative ambiguities. 

Michael Cramer is on the Film History faculty at Sarah Lawrence College and is the author of "Utopian Television: Roberto Rossellini, Peter Watkins, and Jean-Luc Godard Beyond Cinema," along with numerous scholarly articles on European Cinema and television. 

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