The Hollywood Reporter – 28.02.2018

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THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER 196 FEBRUARY 28, 2018

KROLL: KEVORK DJANSEZIAN/GETTY IMAGES FOR FILM INDEPENDENT.

MUDBOUND

: STEVE DIETL/NETFLIX.

Awards

Watch

A Sprint From the Olympics to the

Spirit Awards Nick Kroll returns for

round two with John Mulaney By Michael O’Connell

O

scars emcee Jimmy

Kimmel isn’t the only

one repeating his

2017 duties; Nick Kroll and John

Mulaney also will reprise their

two-hander hosting gig at the

Spirit Awards on March 3, when

the duo takes the stage for the

second year in a row (the show

airs live on IFC at 2 p.m. PT). Their

material, by the way, is

still TBD: Mulaney’s been

tied up with a seven-night

sold-out stint at Radio

City Music Hall and Kroll,

who spoke with THR

about the repeat gig, was at the

Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang,

filming — well, he’s not exactly

sure yet what he was filming.

What were you doing in

Pyeongchang?

I was filming with Alexi Pappas

and Jeremy Teicher. They got

a grant as artists in residence

from the International Olympic

Committee to make a feature

inside the Olympics.

What kind of feature?

That, at this point, is not

entirely clear. It was funded by

the IOC, so I think that’s still

in process. The idea was, basi-

cally, “Let’s make a fictional

story about what it’s like to be an

athlete at the Olympics

— but actually do it

inside the Olympics.” I

play a volunteer dentist.

So is it a mockumentary?

No, it’s an insight into a world

people don’t really understand

beyond the NBC package stuff.

Normally coverage is about

Olympic gold or some grand dis-

appointment, but 90 to 95 percent

of the athletes leave without a

medal or a tremendous failure.

This tells that story.

Was it your first Olympics?

Yes. I failed to qualify for women’s

figure skating a number of times.

What did you find that didn’t make

it to TV?

That it was a freezing cold unlike

anything I’ve ever experienced.

Even the Olympians, people who

spend their entire lives in the cold,

were like, “This is cold.”

This is your second time teaming

up with John to host the Spirit

Awards. How do you describe your

comedic partnership?

I would say it’s a hate-hate rela-

tionship. No, it’s the best. John

is so deeply funny and smart.

Even though he’s a stand-up, he’s

incredibly collaborative. People

don’t realize how collaborative

the comedy world is. We just hear

the same laughs. We know what

works and what doesn’t. Hosting

these kinds of shows is a weird job,

especially when you do it alone. It’s

just more fun being onstage with

someone. And, for me at least, it’s a

lot less scary.

Does the relatively small TV

audience lower the pressure a bit?

It’s during the day in a tent

in Santa Monica. The pressure is

immediately lower. And it’s all

people in and around independent

film, so you kind of have a better

idea of your audience.

Do you watch all of the nominated

films?

The batch of movies this year is

quite a bit different than in 2017.

Those were all great films,

but they were also real bummers.

There’s more variety this year.

And if you look at most of the

best picture nominees — Get Out,

Lady Bird, Call Me by Your Name

— they’re movies that have reso-

nated on a larger stage and are

well-represented at the Oscars. I

try to watch as many as possible.

Knowing that the fallout from

Harvey Weinstein is still the

dominant subject in Hollywood,

are you excited or intimidated

by having to address the topic?

We’re navigating what is funny

to us. It’s such an important

part of the last year, in filmmak-

ing, the entertainment industry

and the larger culture, I think

we’re just trying to figure it out.

Hopefully we’ll do something

that is funny and acknowledges

everything that’s happening.

MUDBOUND LANDS

TEAM AWARD

The Robert Altman Award will

highlight the ensemble in

Dee Rees’ Mississippi drama

D

ee Rees’ post-WWII Southern

drama Mudbound will be honored

with the Robert Altman Award, which

was created in 2008 and is named after

the iconic director-producer, known

for his memorable ensemble casts.

Rees’ film stars Garrett Hedlund,

Jason Mitchell, Carey Mulligan and

the Oscar-nominated Mary J. Blige

as members of two families living on

a Mississippi farm where racial ten-

sions flare. The honor has previously

recognized Oscar best picture win-

ners Moonlight (2016) and Spotlight

(2015), along with Paul Thomas

Anderson’s Inherent Vice (2014) and

Jeff Nichols’ Mud (2013). In its first

year, it was given to Charlie Kaufman’s

Synecdoche, New York.

Film

Independent

Spirit Awards

March 3

Santa Monica

Mudbound lands the honor, in its 10th year.

↑ Mulaney (left) and Kroll’s 2017 Spirit

Awards monologue racked up nearly 1 million

views on YouTube.