The journey of Sam Mendes is an awkward one. A talented stage director, his first film came to win best picture, and fueled a (not undeserved) backlash against him. His second film was coolly received, while his next two pictured showed a lessening presence. Revolutionary Road was delayed for a year and was not the academy bait that was hoped for. For the summer of 2009 his most personal, and most satisfying film was released, Away We Go, and it shows a mellowed director dealing with personal issue is a way more satisfying way. My review after the jump.

Let me start by saying I’m sorry.

Director Sam Mendes “Away We Go” has been playing in limited release for a few weeks now and this interview should’ve gone online a lot sooner. But the last two weeks have seen me back and forth across the United States doing interviews and set visits and I only now had the time to edit and render the interview. I’m sorry for my tardiness.

Saying that, what you’re about to watch is one the most comprehensive interviews I’ve ever done with any director in Hollywood. That’s because I got almost 30 minutes with Mr. Mendes and we talked about everything.

If you’re a fan of his previous works like “Road to Perdition” or “Jarhead”, we talked about possible future director’s cuts on DVD. If you’re curious about his latest film “Away We Go”, we talked about how the project came together and the collaboration between the way he works, his writers and the actors. If you’re an actor looking for help when going in on an audition, Sam talks about what director’s look for. And of course we talked about his possibly next project, “Preacher”.

But the best part of the interview is how loose the exchange is between Sam and I. Since we had plenty of time to talk, there was no rushing between each question and his answers were long and informative. Trust me; it’s a great interview with a director I truly admire. So if you want to take a look, it’s all after the break including bullet points of what we talked about above each part:

Currently playing in limited release is director Sam Mendes “Away We Go”. The movie stars John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph and it’s unlike anything Sam Mendes has ever done as the film is part road trip/part trying to figure out who you are.

In the film, John and Maya play a couple that discovers they’re going to have a baby. After deciding to live in an area close to John’s parents so they can help take care of the child, they’re all of a sudden told his parents are moving away and their only reason for staying is gone. After processing the news, they decide to go on an ambitious trip to visit friends and family to try and decide where they want to raise their child. Along the way, they meet some very eccentric characters who each have their own ideas about where they should live and how they should raise a family.

While I wasn’t sure what to expect going in, “Away We Go” has everything going for it - including a great and original script by novelists Dave Eggers & Vendela Vida.

So to help promote the film, I was able to talk with the two writers and our conversation is after the jump. They talked about where they got their inspiration, how much were the characters based on real people, their writing process and a lot more. If you’re a fan of these writers, you will love the interview.

Finally, here’s some movie clips from “Away We Go” and here’s Matt’s review.

Director Sam Mendes is only as good as his script.  He’s got a good eye for compelling visuals and works well with actors, but overall his skill is in knowing how to fully inhabit a genre.  However, he never manages to leave his own mark on that genre and his work feels, as a result, generic.  It’s a major drawback when he’s working with a script like “Revolutionary Road” and produces a film that feels like fifth-rate Douglas Sirk melodrama, but with Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida’s warm, outrageous, and gentle script for “Away We Go”, Mendes takes his biggest weakness and uses it to keep the film steady when the script begins throwing the audience for some emotional loops.

Opening this Friday, in limited release, is director Sam Mendes new movie “Away We Go”. The movie stars John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph and it’s unlike anything Sam Mendes has done as the film is part road trip/part trying to figure out who you are.

In the film, John and Maya play a couple that discovers they’re going to have a baby. After deciding to live in an area close to John’s parents so they can help take care of the child, they’re all of a sudden told his parents are moving away and their only reason for staying is now gone. After processing the news, they decide to go on an ambitious trip and visit friends and family with the ultimate goal of deciding where they want to raise their child. Along the way, they meet some very eccentric characters who each have their own ideas about where they should live and how they should raise a child.

While I wasn’t sure what to expect going in, “Away We Go” has everything going for it - from a great script by novelists Dave Eggers & Vendela Vida, to beautiful cinematography by Ellen Kuras, and a great set of songs by singer/songwriter Alexi Murdoch. I loved Sam Mendes latest and absolutely recommend checking it out when it gets released in your area.

And if you’ve ever thought about all the places you could live and wondered which one would make you the happiest, this film will really get to you.

Anyway, I recently got to speak with John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph and the videos are after the jump - along with a full synopsis. Take a look:

Opening this Friday, in limited release, is director Sam Mendes new movie “Away We Go”. The movie stars John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph and it’s unlike anything Sam Mendes has ever done as the film is part road trip/part trying to figure out who you are.

In the film, John and Maya play a couple that discovers they’re going to have a baby. After deciding to live in an area close to John’s parents so they can help take care of the child, they’re all of a sudden told his parents are moving away and their only reason for staying is now gone. After processing the news, they decide to go on an ambitious trip to visit friends and family to try and decide where they want to raise their child. Along the way, they meet some very eccentric characters who each have their own ideas about where they should live and how they should raise a family.

While I wasn’t sure what to expect going in, “Away We Go” has everything going for it - from a great script by novelists Dave Eggers & Vendela Vida, to beautiful cinematography by Ellen Kuras, and a great set of songs by singer/songwriter Alexi Murdoch. I was absolutely pulled in by Sam Mendes latest and recommend checking it out.

And if you’ve ever thought about all the places you could live and wondered which one would make you the happiest, this film will really get to you.

Anyway, I recently got to speak with Sam and the video interview is after the jump. And if you’d like to watch some movie clips from “Away We Go”, click here.

Yesterday was the Los Angeles press day for director Sam Mendes new movie “Away We Go”. As I said when I posted the movie clips earlier today, I loved the movie. The film has a brilliant script, beautiful cinematography, great acting, and Sam Mendes directed this thing to perfection.

Anyway, to help promote the film, I sat down with Sam for almost thirty minutes for one of the best video interviews I’ve ever done on Collider. We covered everything you’d want to know about, and if you’re a fan of Sam’s work, you’ll going to love the interview.

But with the movie still almost a month away from coming out, I’m going to save the interview for the week of release.

However, with news for Sam’s next project “Preacher” hard to come by, I figured you’d like to hear what he said about the status right now.

For fans of Garth Ennis’ comic book, Sam says John August is still writing the script. He also said he’s directing two plays and the earliest he’s making his next movie is in 2010. That means “Preacher” is still on the horizon, and not happening anytime soon.

The other bit of news he told me was he’s not involved in any “Road to Perdition” sequel.

Finally, while I could have cut this interview to be much shorter, I let it go a little longer as he talked about his interest in graphic novels and how involved he is in the writing process. Also, it’ll give you a taste of the full interview. Take a look:

Sam Mendes

• Road to Perdition sequel/prequel? Says he is not involved
• Preacher talk - says John August is currently writing the script
• Is Preacher going to be his next project - says he is working on two plays in Brooklyn and then they’ll go around the world with them
• Says he will not do a movie till next year
• Sam talks about meeting Garth Ennis
• Talks about reading graphic novels
• How involved is he with the writing process

Opening on June 5^th is director Sam Mendes new movie “Away We Go”. Since all reviews are under embargo for a few more weeks, I need to be careful what I say.

However, I don’t think anyone at Focus Features will mind me saying that I loved the movie. Loved. “Away We Go” has a brilliant script, beautiful cinematography, great acting, and Sam Mendes directed this thing to perfection. While the film isn’t some big budget summer extravaganza, it’s a film absolutely worth checking out when it gets released. Especially if you’re in your twenties or thirties and still trying to figure life out.

Anyway, to help promote the film, we’ve been given 5 clips from the movie and the trailer, so check them out after the jump.