Interview: Joe Swanberg Talks Personal Filmmaking, Paul Mazursky, And The Inspiration Of 'Friday Night Lights'

Joe Swanberg’s work has been consistently marked by an unflinchingly honest treatment of all things intimate: love, relationships, marriage, aging. Instead of glossing over rough spots, Swanberg dives into those moments and explores all of the emotions that create them, whether it's hurt, anger, insecurity, lust, or jealousy. It’s unsurprising then, that the man himself is incredibly open and honest in conversation about his work. With his new film “Digging For Fire,” hitting theaters (read our review here), we had the opportunity to chat about a wide range of subjects, from his filmmaking inspirations to the thematic underpinnings of this newest work. As a personal filmmaker married to a personal filmmaker, Swanberg is clearly used to examining the difficulties of interpersonal relationships, and he demonstrates immense willingness to lay bare his thought process.

What was the process of co-writing the film with Jake [Johnson]?
We had worked together on “Drinking Buddies,” and Jake...