American Star (2024) with Gonzalo López-Gallego & José David Montero

Hello! Welcome to another edition of the exclusive audio commentary podcast hosted by me, ⁠⁠David Hughes.⁠⁠ For this episode, I’m delighted to welcome Gonzalo López-Gallego and José David Montero, director and cinematographer respectively of the terrific neo-noir American Star, in which Ian McShane plays an ex-soldier-turned-hitman who travels to Fuertaventura, one of the Canary Islands, to do a job, and finds himself on a journey into his soul. It’s an elegiac, ruminative and surprisingly affecting film, with a captivating performance by McShane. He’s so good, in fact, so mesmerizing, that you almost miss the incredible work Nora Arnezeder is doing. For me, this was the film many critics thought they were watching when they raved about David Fincher’s The Killer, another film that deals a hitman’s ennui. Can you imagine how diminished American Star would be if it was slathered in voiceover, or if Ian McShane’s character played The Smiths on an endless loop? I really appreciate Gonzalo and José-David coming on to talk about one of my favourite films of the year so far, but I also have to thank screenwriter Nacho Faerna, who put us in touch. He wasn’t able to make the recording, but don’t worry – we’re going to record a separate Rogue Commentary with Nacho that will uncover all the screenwriting secrets of the film’s development, including how it was inspired by a conversation much like the one Wilson has with Max in American Star. Keep an eye out for that episode, which will be dropping soon. Comments? Feedback? Suggestions? Email David *at * Rogue-Commentary *dot* com or send us a ⁠⁠tweet⁠⁠. We have lots of exciting episodes in the works, so if you like what you hear – or just the idea – please subscribe, and remember to rate us wherever you hear this podcast – it'll really help us to keep going. Oh, and follow us on ⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠ and/or ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ to stay up-to-date on our forthcoming releases. Thanks for listening! A ⁠⁠Synchronicity⁠⁠ production. Conceived, written and presented by ⁠⁠David Hughes⁠⁠. Produced by Sam Ibrahim. Music by Olli Oja. All content © 2024 Synchronicity II Ltd. All rights reserved.