Spotlight Events feature conversations with high-profile film and television industry professionals who share helpful advice and insights on their career experiences and creative processes. Check out some of our inspiring chats with Patty Jenkins, Ava DuVernay, Gina Prince-Bythewood, Brit Marling, Jason Blum and more. 

Acclaimed Director Alexander Payne reunites with Paul Giamatti in his first period piece, THE HOLDOVERS. Written by David Hemingson, the film follows a curmudgeonly instructor (Paul Giamatti) at a New England prep school who is forced to remain on campus during the holiday break to babysit the handful of students with nowhere to go. Eventually, he forms an unlikely bond with one of them — a damaged, brainy troublemaker (newcomer Dominic Sessa) — and with the school’s head cook, who has just lost a son in Vietnam (Da’Vine Joy Randolph). The film premiered to rave reviews at the Telluride Film Festival.

Payne’s eight feature films include ELECTION, SIDEWAYS, THE DESCENDANTS, ABOUT SCHMIDT and NEBRASKA. His movies have been nominated for a total of nineteen Oscars, including three times each for Best Picture and Best Director. He has won two Oscars for Best Adapted Screenplay, and two of his films have won the Golden Globe for Best Picture. His first feature, CITIZEN RUTH, premiered at Sundance in 1996. 

For this Spotlight Event, Alexander will discuss making THE HOLDOVERS and his success in maintaining a unique voice working across different genres.