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Austin Stark’s directorial debut The Runner stars Nicolas Cage as a Louisiana Congressman dealing with disgrace after a sex scandal in the wake of the 2010 BP oil spill. Stark is excited for the production, which is the culmination of his writing/directorial efforts, and to highlight an impactful event in recent history.
“One of the reasons I think The Runner is important is because it’s the first narrative feature about the BP Oil Spill. So, I’m really excited about that, but I also feel a great deal of responsibility. I’ve tried to portray the issues as accurately as I could.”
A graduate of Georgetown University, Stark is a proponent of politically-driven films and hoped to make a drama in the vein of some of his favorites, like All the President’s Men and The Candidate. He recently produced the film Infinitely Polar Bear, which was extremely successful at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival and is currently out in theaters nationwide.
He notes that writing and directing allows him more creative control than producing.
“Producing, I always say, is 50% business and 50% creative. Being a writer/director is 100% creative,” explains Stark. “And so you’re basically, as a writer/director, responsible for the entire film. It’s on your shoulders, you have it in your power to make a good movie or a bad movie.”
- Photo: Courtesy of Liana Sonenclar
The Runner was produced by Stark’s company Paper Street Films, which he manages with Benji Kohn, Bingo Gubelmann and Chris Papavasiliou. After working with the late Academy Award-winning producer Martin Richards, Stark was compelled to launch the company with his two childhood friends so that he could spearhead his own moviemaking. In addition to Infinitely Polar Bear, the Paper Street’s other credits include Detachment with Adrian Brody and Happythankyoumoreplease with Josh Radnor, among others.
“We always have to think about how many people are going to eventually see the films we make, but we always try to work on projects that we feel are meaningful artistically as well,” says Stark.
The Runner is scheduled to be released on August 7.
-by Johanna Silver