Mike Figgis

Mike Figgis joins Seth to retell the process of making the gritty and dark 16mm film that gave Nicolas Cage his Oscar, 'Leaving Las Vegas.'Theme music composed by: Paul Masvidal and Sean Malone Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Amanda Blue is a BAFTA-nominated director with over 18 years’ experience in documentary, comedy and commercials. She began her career in drama, working with BAFTA and Oscar-nominated director Mike Figgis, and later produced his documentary arts films, before directing her own work. Early in her documentary career, Blue directed the award-winning series Young Black Farmers (2006). In 2008, she received a BAFTA nomination in the Director – Factual category at the British Academy Television Craft Awards for Prescott: The Class System and Me. Her other documentary directing credits include Twincredibles, which examined growing up mixed-race in Britain, The Town That Caught Tourette’s, The Big School Lottery, comedy-documentary series, The Greatest Shows on Earth, and multi-award winning feature length drama documentary After The Wave, to name just a few. She has also been awarded numerous awards for her commercials work including a Bronze Lion at Cannes. In 2016, Blue wrote and directed the feature length drama documentary Deep Water for Screen Australia and SBS, which has been nominated for 14 awards to date including 4 AACTA’s (Australia’s Bata’s), a NSW Premier Literary Award and an Australian Directors Guild award for Best Director. Amanda Blue is currently developing several TV drama projects and a feature film.

Episode 2: Mike Figgis  I am joined by the incredible academy award nominated director Mike Figgis who is best known for feature film’ Leaving Las Vegas’ for which Nicolas Cage won the Oscar for best actor while Mike was nominated for both best director and adapted screenplay. He has directed a host of other films and TV shows including an episode of The Sopranos.  Outside of film he is a passionate music lover with a deep affection for Jazz and has written much of the music for his own films. His selection is broad and exciting take in specific recordings of Billie Holiday and Louis Armstrong as well as a classic album by Joni Mitchell.  Check out the Spotify playlist for his selection here  https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5XufW3srQmu9UUYTNVeYRY?si=ILevUpjNRTKDVv7lAfWgrw YouTube links for selections not on Spotify are… Bridge Over The Congo - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H795dyG1JbQ Billie Holiday ‘Fine & Mellow’ The Sound of Jazz on CBS - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJQiqTZfakQ Louis Armstrong “Back O’Town Blues’ - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OP9T_76URhk Discogs Links To Purchase these Songs / Albums: Bridge Over The Congo - https://www.discogs.com/Various-Bridge-Over-The-Congo/master/1028313 Miles Davis ‘Someday My Prince Will Come’ - https://www.discogs.com/Miles-Davis-Sextet-Someday-My-Prince-Will-Come/master/122262 The Sound of Jazz - https://www.discogs.com/Various-The-Sound-Of-Jazz/release/10054191 Joni Mitchell ‘Blue’ - https://www.discogs.com/Joni-Mitchell-Blue/master/47744 Please like and subscribe to the podcast and follow us on all socials @TheTop5RecordsPodcast 

Mike Figgis is an iconic film director, screenwriter, and composer. Figgis began his career as a musician. Growing up he was exposed to music early as his father was a jazz musician. In the late 60’s he started out playing trumpet and guitar in the People Band and is audible in their first record (produced by Charlie Watts) in 1968. He played keyboard with Bryan Ferry in an R & B band, Gas Board and then moved to London to study music and became involved in the fringe theatre group, before forming his own company, The Mike Figgis Group, in 1980.After over 20 years as a musician, he got involved in theater including experimental theater and performance art using film rear projection in his presentations. He bought a 16mm film camera and started shooting film and began cultivating his path to become a filmmaker. Figgis made his feature film debut with the low budget Stormy Monday in 1988. The film earned him attention as a director who could get interesting performances from established Hollywood actors. His first American film was Internal Affairs, which helped to revive the career of Richard Gere. This was followed by his next Hollywood feature, Mr. Jones, was misunderstood by the studio, who attempted to market the downbeat story as a feelgood film, resulting in a box office flop. Figgis poured his disenchantment with the film industry into Leaving Las Vegas, which starred Nicholas Cage and Elisabeth Shue, which earned Figgis Academy Award nominations for Best Directing and Best Screenplay. He followed this up with the romantic drama One Night Stand and The Loss of Sexual Innocence. ALL ACCESS + CLIPS + FULL EPISODES + SUBSCRIPTIONhttps://linktr.ee/thepodmatrixFOLLOW us on SOCIAL MEDIAInstagram: @thepodmatrixnyc https://www.instagram.com/thepodmatrixnyc/Linkedin: THEPODMATRIX https://www.linkedin.com/company/thepodmatrix/Facebook: @thepodmatrixABOUT THE PODCAST“Conversations with Charlie” is a podcast about the people that make up the film, broadcast and entertainment industry. Actors, directors, cinematographers, producers and other fascinating characters that inhabit this world.Hosted by CHARLIE HERZFELD a veteran of the film and broadcast industry who has worked on over 100 feature film and broadcast projects with the likes of Martin Scorsese, Darren Aronofsky, Spike Lee, John Turturro and many more.

Writer/Director/Composer/Photographer and experimental filmmaker Mike Figgis has never restricted his art to just one medium. In our interview, he discusses his love of filmmaking and his transition to digital after Leaving Las Vegas with the film Timecode.

An extensive discussion about art and culture with director Mike Figgis moderated by director, writer Alphan Eşeli.

Rob's guest this week is the film director, writer, photographer and composer Mike Figgis

Mike Figgis on his time in an experimental theatre troupe.Mike Figgis is an English film director, screenwriter, and composer.5x15 brings together five outstanding individuals to tell of their lives, passions and inspirations. There are only two rules - no scripts and only 15 minutes each.Learn more about 5x15 events: 5x15stories.comTwitter: www.twitter.com/5x15storiesFacebook: www.facebook.com/5x15storiesInstagram: www.instagram.com/5x15stories

With John Wilson.Mary, Queen of Scots: betrayed Catholic martyr or murdering adulteress? A new exhibition at the National Museums of Scotland in Edinburgh re-examines Mary Stewart through portraits, documents, jewellery and furniture. Poet and dramatist Liz Lochhead - whose play, Mary Queen Of Scots Got Her Head Chopped Off, looked at the relationship between Mary and Elizabeth I - reviews the exhibition.Film director Mike Figgis is best-known for Timecode and Leaving Las Vegas, for which he was nominated for an Oscar. His latest project is Suspension Of Disbelief, a noir thriller which focuses on the art of film-making and narrative. He discusses storytelling in cinema, the current state of the UK film industry and his experiences directing James Gandolfini on the set of The Sopranos.Front Row pays tribute to stage designer Mark Fisher, who completely transformed the way that rock shows took place, and designed for The Rolling Stones, U2, Peter Gabriel and Pink Floyd, as well as for the Beijing and London Olympics, and the Queen's Diamond Jubilee concert.Oscar-nominated actress Marianne Jean-Baptiste, currently starring in The Amen Corner at the National Theatre, reveals her choice for Cultural Exchange: jazz trumpeter Miles Davis's influential album, Kind Of Blue.Producer Rebecca Nicholson.