"Queen & Slim" Star Daniel Kaluuya and "A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood" Writers Noah Harpster and Micah Fitzerman-Blue, With Tom Junod

This week, two interviews we love: The first is with "Queen & Slim" star Daniel Kaluuya, and the second with "A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood" writers Noah Harpster and Micah Fitzerman-Blue, as well as Tom Junod, whose Esquire profile of Mister Rogers is a major influence on the film.In "Queen & Slim," which is in theaters Wednesday, Nov. 27, Kaluuya and Jodie Turner-Smith play a couple on a first date who are racially profiled on a traffic stop that quickly escalates into a national call for justice. He talks with us about how "Get Out" led him to "Queen & Slim," what made the role both relatable and unusual, how he's handling the Scorsese v. Marvel discussion, and why he's going from "Black Panther" to a film about real-life Black Panther activist Fred Hampton.In "A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood," which is in theaters Friday, Nov. 22, Tom Hanks plays "Mister Rogers Neighborhood" host Fred Hampton, who tries to heal a troubled journalist named Lloyd Vogel (Matthew Rhys). Harpster, Fitzerman-Blue and Junod talk about how much of Vogel's life is based on Junod's. They also talk about what Mister Rogers wanted, how boys and girls are taught to deal with emotions, and a certain urban myth about Mister Rogers being a sniper or Navy SEAL. (To be 100 percent clear: He wasn't.)Thanks to the SCAD Savannah Film Festival, where we conducted both interviews. If you like us, check out the latest issue of MovieMaker Magazine, which has "as told to" accounts from Harpster and Fitzerman-Blue, as well as "Queen & Slim" writer Lena Waithe and director Melina Matsoukas.Here are some highlights of the episode, with timestamps:1:15: Daniel Kaluuya interview begins. Audio is dodgy for a few seconds. It gets better at...2:14: Audio issue fixed. Enjoy Daniel Kaluuya's awesome British accent in all its glory.3:30: Why he knew he wanted to play Slim.4:54: Why "Queen & Slim" is more "Thelma & Louise" than "Bonnie & Clyde."10:01: He weighs in on the supposed fight between cinema and the Marvel Universe13:40: He discusses the upcoming film "Jesus Was My Homeboy," in which he'll play Black Panther activist Fred Hampton.16:05: Interview with "A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood" screenwriters Noah Harpster and Micah Fitzerman-Blue, and Tom Junod, whose Esquire article "Can You Say... Hero?" helped inspire the film.17:15: Let's talk about anger.21: How much is Mathew Rhys' "A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood" character, Esquire journalist Lloyd Vogel, based on Esquire journalist Tom Junod?26:20: Would Fred Rogers be disillusioned by the world today?26:40: About that Navy SEAL thing28:50: How Noah discovered Mister Rogers was "a warlock who speaks toddler."30: At one point Mister Rogers estate said there will "never ever be a Mister Rogers movie."34:10: Where the Mister Rogers sniper urban myth came from. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.