This year’s Fantastic Fest opened and closed with two very impressive movies. The film festival always delivers impressive and memorable productions, and 2019 didn’t disappoint. Opening night gave us Taika Waititi’s JOJO RABBIT, which is easily one of my favorite films of the year. Closing night gave us Rian Johnson’s KNIVES OUT, an Agatha Christie-esque murder mystery featuring an all-star cast. I was lucky enough to chat with Rian Johnson and actor Noah Segan, the latter of which has been in all of Johnson’s films. The film is definitely a winner, very fun and satisfying and should easily be an audience favorite. Johnson has given us some intense and critically-praised movies before, like BRICK, THE BROTHERS BLOOM and LOOPER. His last film project was STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI, which has sadly become a very divisive entry among fans (I personally enjoyed it), even creating a hateful faction of bitter fandom that won’t be content until everyone dislikes that film as much as they do… seriously, there are entire YouTube channels monetizing their hatred and making seemingly endless videos proclaiming how unhappy they were with Rian’s vision. Is it silly? You better believe it. But KNIVES OUT should be a hard movie to hate, especially if our audience’s reaction is any indicator. Johnson has crafted an entertaining and clever thriller that really keeps you guessing, and actually goes in some surprising directions early in the screenplay. I had a chance to talk to both Rian and his buddy Noah during their time at Fantastic Fest, and you can see that rather fun red carpet interview below – big thanks to Grady May for editing this. Check out KNIVES OUT this Thanksgiving weekend, and let us know what you think.
Born and raised in Dallas, Mark has been a movie critic since 1994, with reviews featured in print, radio and National TV. In 2001 he started the Entertainment section of the Herorealm website, where he contributed film reviews and celebrity interviews until 2004. After three years of service there, he started Bigfanboy.com, which has become one of the Dallas film community's leading information websites. Bigfanboy hosts several movie screenings in the Texas area, and works closely with film and TV studios and promotional partners to host exciting events and contests. The site also features a variety of rare celebrity and filmmaker interviews, and Bigfanboy.com regularly covers the film festival circuit as well. In addition to Hollywood reporting, Mark has worked for many years as an advertising and sci-fi/comic book artist. Clients have included Lucasfilm Ltd., Topps Trading Cards, The Dallas Mavericks and The Dallas Stars. From 2002 until 2015 he managed the Dallas Comic Con, Sci-Fi Expo and Fan Days events in the DFW area. He currently catalogs rare comic books and movie memorabilia for Heritage Auctions, and runs the Dallas Comic Show conventions, but remains an avid moviegoer and cinema buff. 
