On this week’s episode of The Filmography podcast, Bjorn and I dive into Paul Schrader’s 2002 Bob Crane biopic, “Auto Focus,” a dark and funny portrait of the destabilizing effects of Crane’s twin addictions to sex and videotape. Greg Kinnear gives a performance of great depth, one that was only suggested by his most popular roles, such as his Oscar-nominated turn in “As Good As It Gets.” In a brilliant supporting part, Willem Dafoe plays Crane’s friend, enabler, and (possibly) murderer, John “Carpy” Carpenter. Their strange co-dependent relationship, and the chemistry between Kinnear and Dafoe, make for a fascinating psychological portrait of the destructive forces of addiction. It’s a lot funnier than it’s subject matter would suggest, thanks in no smart part to the influence of co-producers Scott Alexander & Larry Karaszewski, who practically invented this particular brand of empathetic but irreverent biopic with their script for Tim Burton’s “Ed Wood,” and perfected it with their scripts for Milos Forman’s brilliant Andy Kauffman and Larry Flynt biopics (“Man On The Moon” and “The People vs. Larry Flynt,” respectively).
Listen to the podcast here:
Watch the trailer here:
Listen to the DVD audio commentary here:
Watch the trailer for “Ed Wood” here:
Watch the trailer for “The People vs. Larry Flynt” here:
Watch the trailer for “Man On The Moon” here: