On the left, with the kind permission of Netflix, directly via Everett Collection
Even if he was not led by the much sought after Cary Fukunaga, Netflix Maniacal would be an attractive prospect for any performer. The chance to play not one but several characters that bounce from genre to genre, under the guise of a thoughtful and nuanced exploration of the alienating and depressive way we live today? This premise was a lure bright enough to hang on Jonah Hill and Emma Stone as Annie and Owen lead … and Linda and Bruce … and Arlie and Ollie … and Annia and Snorri … well, you see the picture.
Stone's sister and co-star on screen Julia Garner Also joins the podcast to discuss the challenges of playing both Ellie – a very real American girl – and Ellia, an accented elf, with a fluid platinum wig and pointed ears. (Did Garner take a pair of those ears for herself?
Maniacal Go completely gonzo for the first time at the end of episode 3, while at the bottom of their dreams, Owen and Annie, two strangers, find themselves as two close halves of a married couple to the pursuit of a lemur. Yes, a lemur. Fukunaga says that the first coen bros. movie Raising Arizona, Featured Nicolas Cage and Holly Hunter as hapless husband and wife H.I. and Ed, served as an inspiration here: "We just wanted something that brought them together in this kind of non-traditional domestic situation. [They are] so lonely people, to bring them together as a kind of dysfunctional married couple, seemed like the right solution. "
Other inspirations are a little more obvious. It's impossible to watch Stone and Garner in their braided Legolas wig in episode 7, for example, without thinking about the Lord of the Rings.
But as much as Fukunaga is happy to talk about cinematic influences on ManiacalHe is not inclined to describe the repeated motives of the season as "Easter eggs". He talks about the recent proliferation of Easter egg culture as "something to get people to look at something". "Think of how well-built layers are, that there is nothing – even if something seems random or tangential, everything is connected to something. Chance is not satisfactory in terms of the final project. "
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