jstn:
Robot and Frank is the feature film debut of Jake Schreier, my friend and longtime Francis and the Lights co-conspirator (you may know him as the director of the incredible video for The Top). It stars Frank Langella as an old man with a slipping memory whose kids (James Marsden and Liv Tyler) give him a caretaker robot that he initially loathes but gradually forms an uneasy alliance with. It just premiered at Sundance this week (see some clips here) and will likely be coming soon to a theater near you.
It also features a number of near-future devices with fictional user interfaces imagined and designed by myself, which was one of the funnest projects I’ve ever worked on. I have a new appreciation for the needs of a real, functioning interface versus the kind you see in the movies. I don’t want to spoil anything, but if you wind up seeing it keep an eye on Frank’s TV and everyone’s cell phones and tablets.
So, clearly I’m biased, but I saw a rough cut of the movie a couple months back and truly loved it. I couldn’t be more proud of Jake, who’s been working slavishly on this for a long time (he talks about the genesis of the project in this interview) as well as Francis, who wrote the film’s beautiful score.
If I never get to work on something cooler I’ll die happy.
