Taking The Trip
Empire Australasia|September 2018

How director Cary Fukunaga brought the bonkers premise of new Netflix show Maniac back down to earth.

Ian Freer
Taking The Trip

THE ELEMENTS OF Netflix’s upcoming 10-parter Maniac are bizarre. TV’s hottest director Cary Fukunaga (True Detective, Beasts Of No Nation), two Oscar winners (Emma Stone, Sally Field) and Oscar nominee Jonah Hill have come together to remake a Norwegian sitcom about a character diving into neurosis. It’s a trippy premise, but Fukunaga wanted to make sure it felt grounded and specific, both narratively and thematically.

“It really comes down to: is there such a thing as normal? says Fukunaga. “And can you fix yourself ?”

This story is from the September 2018 edition of Empire Australasia.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the September 2018 edition of Empire Australasia.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM EMPIRE AUSTRALASIAView All
Empire Australasia

Out Of The Cage

From the ashes of Suicide Squad has risen something fresh, bold and exciting: birds of prey. Inside the first-ever female-ensemble superhero film

time-read
9 mins  |
January 2020
Empire Australasia

The Master Of Suspense

With a string of dazzling, high-concept thrillers, bong joon ho has drawn comparisons to hitchcock. But his films also have a strong social message, and his latest, parasite, is no exception

time-read
10 mins  |
January 2020
Empire Australasia

Wonder Woman Swings Into The '80s

Director Patty Jenkins on setting Diana Prince loose in the era of excess

time-read
3 mins  |
January 2020
Empire Australasia

The Many Parts Of Martin Lawrence

As the comedian makes a bigscreen comeback, he talks us through his greatest roles

time-read
4 mins  |
January 2020
Empire Australasia

HIS NUMBER'S UP

AFTER 14 YEARS, THE LONGEST TENURE OF ANY BOND, DANIEL CRAIG IS ABOUT TO HANG UP HIS MARTINI GLASS AND WALTHER PPK. EMPIRE TRACKS 007 ACROSS THE GLOBE, FROM LONDON TO JAMAICA AND NEW YORK, TO BRING YOU THE ULTIMATE INTEL ON NO TIME TO DIE. AND HIS EMOTIONAL FAREWELL...

time-read
10+ mins  |
January 2020
THE FALL GUYS
Empire Australasia

THE FALL GUYS

In 2011, Zack Stentz and Ashley Edward Miller were the hottest new screenwriting team in Hollywood. Then they disappeared. Eight years later, they tell EMPIRE their cautionary tale; revealing the tough reality of a writer's life Hollywood

time-read
10+ mins  |
January 2020
Empire Australasia

Buddy Hell

The last blockbuster to be released in the 1980s, Tango & Cash seemed like a no-brainer: a buddy-cop team-up for two of Hollywood’s biggest stars. But it didn’t take long for the wheels to spectacularly come off

time-read
10+ mins  |
January 2020
Empire Australasia

BLAZING a TRAIL

Queen & Slim IS A ROAD MOVIE, A TENDER ROMANCE AND AN UNFLINCHING LOOK AT WHAT IT MEANS TO BE BLACK IN 21ST CENTURY AMERICA. EMPIRE ASSEMBLES ITS WRITER, DIRECTOR AND TWO STARS FOR A FRANK, FREEWHEELING CONVERSATION ABOUT WHY IT NEEDED TO BE MADE

time-read
10+ mins  |
January 2020
Empire Australasia

BATTLE PLANS

HOW SAM MENDES AND TEAM TURNED WORLD WAR I DRAMA 1917INTO A REAL-TIME, ONE-TAKE WONDER

time-read
10+ mins  |
January 2020
Empire Australasia

An Oscar-winning director. The world's biggest pop star. A classic West End musical. Judi Dench with a tail. The biggest gamble of the year

Ever since the trailer dropped the world has been mesmerized by Cats. We journey deep inside the maddest, milkiest film of 2019

time-read
10 mins  |
January 2020