The A24 Podcast Great American Dream Show with Josh Safdie & Sean Baker
20 snips
Jan 13, 2026 
Josh Safdie, a filmmaker celebrated for his kinetic storytelling and co-founder of the Safdie Brothers, joins Sean Baker, known for his unique narrative style, to delve into their film, Marty Supreme. They explore the tension between minimalism and maximalism in filmmaking while sharing quirky anecdotes, like Baker's edible timing at the Oscars. Safdie reveals creative techniques that blur the line between documentary and fiction, and they discuss fascinating topics like casting methods, the allure of period authenticity, and the wild alternate ending featuring a vampiric twist.
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Maximalism As Documentarian Time Travel
- Josh Safdie intentionally expanded from small, documentary-like methods into a maximalist, time-traveling period scope.
- He used dense production design and extras to 'steal life' and make the world feel lived-in and immediate.
Excavating Real Locations Then Rebuilding Them
- Josh excavated a real Orchard Street shop and recreated a tenement basement on stage when logistics demanded it.
- He preserved tangible textures (even a decomposed rat skeleton) to sell authenticity on screen.
Cast Like A Documentarian
- Use deep, interview-style casting sessions to discover truth in nontraditional actors.
- Then run scenario improvisations and introduce dialogue only after they've found agency in character.
