Ep553 - Niclas Larsson, Writer-Director Ewan McGregor Film ‘Mother Couch’

Creative Principles

Niclas Larsson was a child actor who got interested in directing short films around age twelve. “I watched cheap American movies from the 90s,” says the Swedish writer-director, “And I loved them. I didn’t get into serious cinema until maybe 15-16, but I didn’t like them until I was probably 20.” Comedies like Freaky Friday and 13 Going on 30 shaped his thinking on cinema. “I deal with magical realism and surrealism and heightened reality.” In some ways, Larsson hopes to model Quentin Tarantino, who also appreciates “cheap movies” and turns them into more complex narratives. In his latest film, Mother Couch, three adult children (Ewan McGregor, Rhys Ifans, and Lara Flynn Boyle) are brought together when their mother (Ellen Burstyn) refuses to move from a couch in a nearly abandoned furniture store. “I spent a lot of time with my grandparents. They didn’t care about [R-ratings] and loved horror, so I remember watching The Shining around age 10 and realizing it was something else. I felt immersed in an experience of cinema. It wasn’t feel-good. I felt worse, but I was immersed in it.” Films like Requiem for a Dream, There Will Be Blood, The Dark Knight, and No Country for Old Men made him think, “How can I do that? How can I do what we call cinema?” “I’ve been going around with Mother Couch for about a year. I have a lot of walk-outs. It’s a provocative movie and it’s not for everybody. I didn’t intend for it to be for everybody, but with each screening, a bunch of kids stayed and it did something for them.” Mother, Couch will be available for streaming on September 13th. As a special note, this was part of our new LIVE interview series in partnership with Buzztown, a community for serious screenwriters, where students also participated in this interview. You can learn more or join the waitlist here: forms.gle/RNaoVrdU9afWpykWA If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts? It only takes about 60-seconds and it really helps convince some of the hard-to-get guests to sit down and have a chat (simply scroll to the bottom on your iTunes Podcast app and click “Write Review"). Enjoy the show!