5 Takeaways From a Sundance Collab Conversation With Alexander Payne, Director of The Holdovers

By Stephanie Ornelas

Alexander Payne has deep roots with Sundance Institute, having been a lab fellow, creative advisor, and a Festival juror over the last two decades. When he joined Sundance Collab for an Advisor Studio in November to talk about his hilarious and heartwarming Oscar-nominated film The Holdovers, the group was eager to hear about his process and filmmaking experience.

In the film, Paul Giamatti plays a grouchy New England prep school teacher who must remain on campus during Christmas break to look after a small group of students with nowhere to go. He soon forms an unexpected bond with a promising but troubled student (Dominic Sessa) and the school cook (Da'Vine Joy Randolph).

Payne knew he wanted to make a movie about boarding school students stuck with a reviled teacher over a holiday break when he first saw the 1935 film Merlusse. I saw that French film about 12 years ago, and I thought the setup could make the premise for another movie, one that I'd be interested in making and seeing, Payne says.

At the end of the virtual discussion, listeners had questions about everything from special effects to what surprised Payne most during production and whether he felt film school was beneficial to his career. Discover some of our favorite quotes from the Advisor Studio below, including Payne's approach to releasing creative control and working with Giamatti once again - nearly 20 years after they teamed up for Sideways.

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