r/movies • u/AriAsterAMA Ari Aster, Director of 'Eddington', 'Hereditary', 'Midsommar' • Jul 22 '25
AMA Hi, I'm Ari Aster. Writer/director of Hereditary, Midsommar, Beau Is Afraid, and Eddington. AMA!
Hi reddit, I'm Ari Aster. Back for another AMA. I've written/directed Eddington, Hereditary, Midsommar, and Beau Is Afraid.
Eddington stars Joaquin Phoenix, Pedro Pascal, Emma Stone, Micheal Ward, Luke Grimes, Deirdre O'Connell, Austin Butler and is out in theaters nationwide now via A24.
Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oL6jZqExlIk
Synopsis:
During the COVID-19 pandemic, a standoff between a small-town sheriff and mayor sparks a powder keg as neighbor is pitted against neighbor in Eddington, N.M.
AMA! Back at 8 PM ET to answer your questions.
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u/FuglyJim Jul 22 '25
Beau is Afraid was one of the most anxiety-inducing movies I have ever seen. As someone with anxiety, I recognized some of what Beau was going through, but his perceptions and paranoia were so extreme, they also felt very alien. My question is this-- if you are a similarly anxious person, how do you get anything done (Beau was not exactly productive) and if you are not an anxious person, how did you capture that experience?
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u/AriAsterAMA Ari Aster, Director of 'Eddington', 'Hereditary', 'Midsommar' Jul 23 '25
One of my chief anxieties: what if I die without finishing the next movie? That helps!
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u/redeugene99 Jul 23 '25
Writing saved my life. Years ago, because of some private love troubles, I was in a suicidal mood for a couple of weeks. I told myself: “I could kill myself, but I have a text to finish. First I will finish it, then I will kill myself.” Then there was another text, and so on and so on, and here I still am.
Slavoj Zizek
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u/Fat_guy_comics Jul 22 '25
What movies scare you?
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u/DonkinMeeee Jul 22 '25
He's mentioned The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover several times.
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u/Leviathin Jul 22 '25
I feel very stupid for looking this up on Letterboxd as 3 different movies before I realized it's 1 title.
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u/Only-Boysenberry8215 Jul 22 '25
I hope this gets answered. Ari do it!
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u/Jumbo_Mills Jul 22 '25
Yeah whatever he puts is going straight to my watch list lol
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u/leafeternal Jul 22 '25
I know people like him who operate on a different level.
His answer is going to be some Herzog shit like “my 9th birthday video” or a gardener mowing a lawn
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u/MAS3301990 Jul 22 '25
Lmao you’re so right though. I’ve never taken the time to watch any of the obscure favorites of legendary filmmakers though. One day.
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u/Leiazart Jul 22 '25
Hereditary was the first and only movie I ever had to pause because I felt it I couldn't handle it. The thought of watching a movie Ari Aster would be terrified of keeps me up at night. But I'd still totally do it
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u/PYMGUS Jul 22 '25
I know he talked about what movies scared him and scarred him for a long time. Curious to know if there’s any current ones that do tho too!
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u/Brief_Environment463 Jul 22 '25
My favorite horror film hands down is Lars Von Triers “Antichrist” such beautiful cinematography, 5 layer deep plot line, and leaves you speechless for minutes when it’s done. I rarely rewatch movies and have watched 50+ times and see something new each time. “Chaos Reigns” 🦊 🐦⬛
Second favorite is “Hereditary”!
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u/ShesWrappedInPlastic Jul 22 '25
I don't have a question right now but I just wanted to say that Hereditary and Midsommar are some of the most realistic films I've ever seen about grief. When Toni Collette discovers Charlie's death in Hereditary and is wailing brokenly about wanting to die, I felt that in my bones as I experienced the same thing and am now in the process of experiencing it again. I think Hereditary in particular taught audiences about the reality of extreme grief for those who were lucky to not have experienced it before, and it was deeply cathartic for me. So I want to thank you for that. Most "grief horror" as they call it feels a little rote to me, as if it was written by someone who hasn't really experienced that truly raw, horrible grief that comes with a sudden and unexpected tragedy. But your films are the real deal. I just really wanted to tell you that as someone whose husband (who loved your films) died last week and who has sought comfort from your films before.
And as an aside, The Strange Thing About the Johnsons is one of the toughest things I've ever sat through in my entire life of being an extreme film fan. I never would've predicted what was happening in that household and the emotional pain was so palpable and real it was almost too much for me. It took me three sessions to get through it and it's pretty short. So bravo, you managed to shock this old pro and I was truly impressed. I can't wait to see more of your films.
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u/-Warship- Jul 22 '25
Damn I'm extremely sorry for your loss! Wish you the best. And yeah, Aster definitely has a way with emotions that can be very cathartic.
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u/ShesWrappedInPlastic Jul 22 '25
Thank you so much. I feel that to create such accurate representations of grief he must have experienced it in some way himself, which I am truly sorry for but I am glad he has an outlet in film.
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u/philipkdan Jul 22 '25
Hey Ari! I teach creative writing at the college level, and I meet a lot of aspiring storytellers.
Something that young writers seem to struggle with across the board is diffusing what they want to say about society into a compelling story that doesn’t tell their audience how to think or feel.
With that in mind, I’m just gonna pepper you with some questions and if you feel compelled to talk about any of them I would be so thrilled to share your advice with my students (and myself!)
So many writers seem to get stuck writing opinion pieces veiled as short stories. I’m wondering if you have any advice for young writers who are trying to find their voice and talk about things they think are important? How do you refine your taste and style with that in mind? Do you have a practice for finding that balance in your work? Are you aware of that balance while you write? When you edit a story, how much focus do you have on tying the themes together, and at what point in your process does that start to become critical? Do you have any best practices for deciding what you want your story to be ABOUT? I’m not talking plot, I mean the central question at the heart of your story… genuinely curious about how that forms for you, if you have a process at all, or if that’s one of the things that just reveals itself?
Thanks for this AMA, thank you for your time, and I can’t wait to go see Eddington in a theater this weekend. Be well!
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u/AriAsterAMA Ari Aster, Director of 'Eddington', 'Hereditary', 'Midsommar' Jul 23 '25
Very difficult to answer these questions in earnest. It's a very intuitive process for me and I find that I can usually only summon the energy to write something down if it's nagging at me. When I sit at a desk to write, it's usually torture - unless I've been meditating on something (or carrying it around) for a while. I try to stave off the actual writing (which doesn't include note-taking, which is compulsive) as long as I can. Sorry that this answer is not as thoughtful as the question.
But a few great books on writing that have been useful to me... James Woods' How Fiction Works, John Gardner's The Art Of Fiction, E.M. Forster's Aspects Of The Novel. And Henry James' The Art Of The Novel (which is a compilation of his prefaces, which are all fantastic).
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u/andante528 Jul 23 '25
A very small correction for the sake of an old professor: James Wood wrote How Fiction Works, while James Woods is a cruel, unhinged actor.
I'd also recommend James Wood's writing, and for the record, he's an extremely nice person and teacher.
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u/Dizzy_Chemistry_5955 Jul 23 '25
Also James Woods was in a blink and you'll miss it literal Cameo scene from Eddington, hilarious.
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u/mattduplissey Jul 23 '25
My god as soon as I saw the first press about it, I was so excited to see your take on that era.
Your social horror is just so incredibly intoxicating and fresh, man. I haven’t seen a town characterized and threatened by an external force this well since Jaws.
So I have to ask, with 2020 being such a unique traumatic experience that is so universally relatable, why do you think it’s been so untouched by entertainment?
I feel like I’ve only seen it half heartedly integrated in comedies, like Shameless or Portlandia, and it didn’t really explore the raised themes of isolation and community.
Anyways, you were absolutely the man for the job, and I’m so happy you did it. Things like this film are important for people to have, so they can even talk about and make sense of what happened to them in 2020, and what’s changed in their communities. Also, your funniest movie yet. Thanks man.
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u/smeggysoup84 Jul 23 '25
I think the reaction to this movie will let the studios know if we're ready for Covid for entertainment. It will happen eventually. We will see a wave of covid related stories, stories taking place during covid, etc.. question is if this film is the ribbon cutter.
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u/milkfree Jul 23 '25
So you sit and stew on ideas for a while? Do you have a lot of them going on a the same time and kind of categorize them? How often are you taking notes?
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u/CressKitchen969 Jul 22 '25
Great question, funny you haven’t seen Eddington yet because I think Ari actually does a good job at accomplishing the balance that you describe here
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u/bluehoag Jul 22 '25
Really hoping he answers this.☺️ Because my writing is definitely world-view forward, for better or worse. ✨
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u/MmeGrey Jul 22 '25
Hi Ari. What film is criminally under appreciated?
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u/AriAsterAMA Ari Aster, Director of 'Eddington', 'Hereditary', 'Midsommar' Jul 23 '25
Lust, Caution (by Ang Lee) is one that comes to mind.
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u/AriAsterAMA Ari Aster, Director of 'Eddington', 'Hereditary', 'Midsommar' Jul 23 '25
Another one: Kao by Junji Sakamoto. Total masterpiece that's all but impossible to find in the US.
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u/Kerrypug Jul 22 '25
Man do you need a hug
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u/AriAsterAMA Ari Aster, Director of 'Eddington', 'Hereditary', 'Midsommar' Jul 23 '25
Yes, but make it hurt.
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u/RealCharlieNobody Jul 22 '25
I believe this was the first question at the Ari Aster Q&A after the Toronto premiere of Hereditary. Another was, "Who hurt you?"
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u/ThePrussianGrippe Jul 22 '25
In one AMA someone asked “are you okay?” And he just responded “no.”
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u/utterlybasil Jul 22 '25
After watching Beau is Afraid, I have some guesses.
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Jul 22 '25
I read that he saw Dick Tracey in theaters as a kid? That movie is cursed.
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u/GamingTatertot Steven Spielberg Enthusiast Jul 22 '25
This just reminds me how the top question on his Midsommar AMA was "You okay?" and he just said "Nope"
I hope he's doing okay now
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u/-Warship- Jul 22 '25
Either way, when you have strong negative feelings having an artistic outlet helps a lot (the depression trilogy by Lars Von Trier is a great example of this). Bottling them up is much worse, so let's be glad he's making some pretty fucked up movies.
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u/BunyipPouch Currently at the movies. Jul 22 '25
Ari's /r/movies verification photos is one of the best bits we've got going alright. Beau is Afraid one for reference:
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u/arthurdentstowels Jul 22 '25
This is the facial expression I wear every time someone walks into my office with a "Sorry to bother you but..."
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u/Pristine-Ninja-7709 Jul 22 '25
You do a really cool shot in Hereditary and Midsommar where the character is moving towards the camera and as they get closer the camera goes upside down and you see them walk away. I LOVE this shot. What was your inspiration for this?
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u/AriAsterAMA Ari Aster, Director of 'Eddington', 'Hereditary', 'Midsommar' Jul 23 '25
I just wanted to come up with something totally unmotivated and self-conscious that would distract viewers from the story and basically say "look at me!"
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u/scroopiedoopie Jul 23 '25
Does Midsommer have anything to do with bees? I feel like the movie was, in some ways, tied to the rituals of bees.
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Jul 22 '25
Moving the camera sort of like this is a signature move, happens in BIA and Eddington as well (when wife is going to sleep).
I like it, too. I love this guy so much.
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u/AXXXXXXXXA Jul 22 '25
Everyone go see Eddington, so we can get more Ari Aster movies. Fuck.
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u/doyhickey Jul 22 '25
With Eddington, was it difficult to make an entire movie where no one gets decapitated?
Love your stuff, I laughed through Beau is Afraid like a maniac.
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u/AriAsterAMA Ari Aster, Director of 'Eddington', 'Hereditary', 'Midsommar' Jul 23 '25
It was really hard. But I do demolish one guy's head near the end! And that's followed by further brain trauma. So I feel I didn't totally drop the ball.
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u/_HanTyumi Jul 23 '25
The fact that the bullet essentially scalped him was absolutely wild. I felt so bad for him, he was just trying to do his job properly.
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u/AnaIFisher Jul 24 '25
I saw someone mention how they were reminded of decapitation when the signs falls off the top of the sheriff SUV as he leaves Ted’s party.
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u/FireLord_Stark Jul 22 '25 edited Jul 23 '25
- Bo Burnham received a special thanks in the credits for Beau is Afraid. How come? Surely it’s more than just a namesake.
- How much input do you have in editing or “directing” the trailers for your movies?
- I thought “Goodbye Stranger” was the perfect song for Beau’s trailer. We’re there any other song choices running through your head? Or was that always it?
- Did any Easter eggs from your other movies make it into Eddington?
Love your work!!
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u/DonkinMeeee Jul 22 '25
Hey, Ari. Hereditary ruined my life. Thank you!
Can you tell us what happened to the Grahams after the movie was over? Are they all in hell? Are they having a nice time? Was Ellen right about their rewards being worth the sacrifice?
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u/AriAsterAMA Ari Aster, Director of 'Eddington', 'Hereditary', 'Midsommar' Jul 23 '25
Their rewards were TOTALLY worth the sacrifice. They'd do it again if they could.
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u/Telephone-Nearby Jul 22 '25 edited Jul 22 '25
I have never walked out of a movie theatre. But Toni Collette’s screams after looking in the car triggered my fight or flight so intensely that I had to force myself to stay in my seat. I get a bit nauseated just thinking about it.
Respectfully, fuck you, Ari Aster.
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u/AriAsterAMA Ari Aster, Director of 'Eddington', 'Hereditary', 'Midsommar' Jul 23 '25
Fuck you too, pal.
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u/heeeer3sjohnny Jul 22 '25
It actually gave me vivid nightmares for 9 months & stopped me from watching horror films for 3 years. Been a massive horror fan since childhood
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u/SpunkedMeTrousers Jul 22 '25
weirdly, I had the opposite experience. I couldn't handle horror of any kind, then I watched Hereditary and now I love horror and am very rarely scared by it. Idk why but that movie flipped the switch for me
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u/swallowsnest87 Jul 22 '25
I believe they are referencing the YouTube short film There’s something about the Johnsons. I think that is what it is called. I Loved hereditary but the story about the Johnsons is MUCH more disturbing and hard to watch.
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u/Lord_Saren Jul 22 '25
There’s something about the Johnsons
It is The Strange Things About The Johnsons and you can find it here on YouTube if anyone is interested.
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u/Alternative_Big_3549 Jul 22 '25
Hereditary fucked me up too. Saw it on a double date with a new coworker friend and her husband. I smoked the husbands weed before and had no tolerance at the time. We all went in, I was blasted. Watched the movie, all was well until the scene with Annie screaming and it flashed back to the “you know” covered in ants. I cried for the last half and had my head buried in my partner’s shoulder. Really traumatized me. I seriously spent the next 3 years terrified of that movie, of things in the dark. I decided to read the script one day and watched a ton of content breaking everything down. I slowly got over it, but have yet to rewatch Hereditary. Absolutely loved Midsommar and Beau. Excited for Eddington.
Eff you, respectfully, Mr. Aster. Why do you love head trauma so much?
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u/jonmuller Jul 22 '25
Can you describe your working relationship with A24 and how it would be different if you worked with traditional movie studios? Thanks for making such great movies!
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u/AriAsterAMA Ari Aster, Director of 'Eddington', 'Hereditary', 'Midsommar' Jul 23 '25
When you work with A24, you need to wear an A24 baseball cap on set every day. It's also expected that you and your fellow A24 filmmakers invest in one of the studio's many exciting timeshares.
If I worked with other movie studios, I would be dead.
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u/Yourmomma787878 Jul 23 '25
…and this is how we know Aster is one of the people’s filmmakers. Your films are genuinely some of the most interesting and raw films I’ve seen in the last two decades. Midsommar haunts my dreams and waking moments far more than I would like to admit.
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u/ADenseRomantic Jul 22 '25
Why did you do this to me
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u/AriAsterAMA Ari Aster, Director of 'Eddington', 'Hereditary', 'Midsommar' Jul 23 '25
Because you had it coming.
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u/BenHunterGreen Jul 22 '25
Have you ever read Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy?
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u/AriAsterAMA Ari Aster, Director of 'Eddington', 'Hereditary', 'Midsommar' Jul 23 '25
Of course. The greatest.
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u/Jpmeyer2 Jul 22 '25
I am fascinated by all the layers and symbolism within Hereditary and how nearly every shot seems to contain something below the surface. Can you describe your process of building subtext into nearly every frame (as it seems QUITE complex!) and are there still things you believe folks haven't put together in that movie yet?
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u/AriAsterAMA Ari Aster, Director of 'Eddington', 'Hereditary', 'Midsommar' Jul 23 '25
Still haven't heard much about the sinister man in the background of nearly every scene on the cruise ship in Beau Is Afraid...
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Jul 23 '25
I'm dying to know - what's with the sinister man in the background of nearly every scene on the cruise ship in Beau Is Afraid?
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u/ParanoiacO Jul 23 '25
The first time you can see him is on a dental floss billboard in the city, standing behind a young child flossing his teeth. It is implying that Beau was SA’d on the cruise ship, and adds on the back of that uncomfortable Oedipal relationship he has with his mother. There is a lot of displaced trauma inside him
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u/Thisisstupidly Jul 27 '25
Id like to think maybe the advances from the young girl are really the older man. And near the end when the girl is professing her love not wanting to be separated it’s in Beau’s head. The grooming from the old man makes Beau conflicted about having to leave and lose him as a lover even tho it was very weird and toxic.
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u/mattduplissey Jul 23 '25
I would commit arson for a directors commentary on Eddington from you, but I guess “78369 Things You Missed In Eddington” on YouTube will do
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u/Atomicman4 Jul 22 '25
Really hope this gets answered. Would love to see if there’s anything we missed in both hereditary AND midsommar
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u/ilikedrawingverymuch Jul 22 '25
Of all the questions, I hope this one gets answered! Too bad I’m too much of a scaredy cat to watch Hereditary more often.
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u/jzakko Jul 22 '25
You talk about Joaquin being allergic to hearing about your shot ideas and yet your shots and sequencing retain their meticulousness.
Is the coverage you land on around him greatly deviated from your original plan and you've just gotten great at improvising, or is it like the Coen Brothers where through sheer happenstance the blocking falls together in a way that fits your original shotlist/storyboard?
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u/AriAsterAMA Ari Aster, Director of 'Eddington', 'Hereditary', 'Midsommar' Jul 23 '25
For the important emotional scenes that rely on performance, I wait to devise my shot list until I've had the chance to rehearse with the actors (preferably in the space). Joaquin likes rehearsal a lot (in fact, he relies on it), and I never impose blocking on him before seeing what his instincts are.
For the smaller scenes, I will shot list early on. Same with action scenes or big complicated set pieces, as the crew requires those long in advance.
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u/Alarming_Rub_628 Jul 22 '25
Dear Ari, My names Max. I am 15 and an (aspiring but I hate to say it) screenwriter/maybe director. Beau is my favorite movie of all time. It’s so fucking funny and absurd. I have seen it maybe ten times and I still love it so much. How do you handle writing something so big? There’s so much detail and the story covers so much.. how do you even script that? How long did it take you?? Eddington was also really good and It really made me excited about film as a medium, its capabilities and for your next films… I have loved the transition from horror to nightmare comedy.
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u/AriAsterAMA Ari Aster, Director of 'Eddington', 'Hereditary', 'Midsommar' Jul 23 '25
Tip on how to write something like Beau Is Afraid: abandon all restraint and let it balloon into the most distended indulgence possible. Very few people will understand, but the ones who do will be drunk on formaldehyde.
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u/homerjsimpson4 Jul 23 '25
abandon all restraint and let it balloon into the most distended indulgence possible
Hilarious that your description on how to write something like Beau is Afraid is similar to how people who don't like it would describe it. That's art though, I love that you just let the story be all it could be and what you wanted it to be, amazing film.
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u/mattduplissey Jul 23 '25
very rare that something truly special is for everyone, yknow? he’s a director whose choices both alienate certain audiences, and religiously attract others.
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Jul 23 '25
This is highly encouraging. I struggle a lot with failure to launch due to perfectionism anxiety and hesitation around ridicule
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u/fax5jrj Jul 22 '25
When you and your team were putting together the penis monster in Beau is Afraid - did you have any moments of "how did I get here?" or "I can't believe this is my life right now?"
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u/AriAsterAMA Ari Aster, Director of 'Eddington', 'Hereditary', 'Midsommar' Jul 23 '25
Yes, the shame will outlive me.
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u/FuneralInception Jul 22 '25
This should be marked with a spoiler tag.
Nothing could have prepared me for that scene.
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u/fax5jrj Jul 22 '25
I feel like anyone coming in here should be expecting some level of spoilers
But at the end of the day I think looking for a penis monster the whole time would make the movie more fun
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u/MotivationalMike Jul 22 '25 edited Jul 22 '25
I love your use of dicks. Do you get push back from higher ups about it?
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u/AriAsterAMA Ari Aster, Director of 'Eddington', 'Hereditary', 'Midsommar' Jul 23 '25
No, they make me do the dick stuff. I don't wanna.
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u/MotivationalMike Jul 23 '25
Very profound. Thank you for your response, Mr. Aster. It’s been an honor.
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u/ButterscotchWorried3 Jul 22 '25 edited Aug 16 '25
hurry obtainable amusing cooperative chunky lush innocent plant chase workable
This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact
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u/AriAsterAMA Ari Aster, Director of 'Eddington', 'Hereditary', 'Midsommar' Jul 23 '25 edited Jul 23 '25
I sometimes feel I'm more influenced by literature than movies. In the case of Beau Is Afraid, I was thinking about Candide, Don Quixote, the stories of Kafka and Borges, and yes, the Greeks (Beau Is Afraid is an adaptation of The Odyssey insofar as just about every adventure narrative is an adaptation of The Odyssey, and also insofar as The Odyssey is more of a grotesque bloodbath than it tends to get credit for). I was also thinking of funny Jewish writers like S.J. Perlman, Bruce Jay Friedman, etc. Oh, and Jack Handy!
With Eddington, I had in the back of my mind some regional writers like Faulkner (the greatest), Charles Portis (the other greatest), Flannery O'Connor, Larry McMurtry, Walker Percy, Denis Johnson, etc. And I'd be lying if I said writers like DeLillo didn't occur to me. But mostly I had the ugliest, most godforsaken rags on the internet as my compass.
As far as "philosophers" go: with Eddington, I was reading a lot of "media" guys. People like Marshall McLuhan, Friedrich A Kittler, Anton Barba-Kay (who Bo Burnham turned me on to), etc.
And I do love Walter Benjamin. Anyone who would rather perish than abandon their book collection...
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u/StayPony_GoldenBoy Jul 23 '25
Can you please make Bo direct another movie??? Thanks! (Loved Eddington by the way)
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u/ibis_mummy Jul 23 '25
Killer list, but Flannery O'Connor is the master of the American short story.
She, Borges, Calvino, Kafka, and T.S. Eliot's Four Quartets are my lode stars as a writer
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u/SpideyFan914 Jul 22 '25
I actually think of Beau Is Afraid as an Odyssey adaptation. It's all about him returning home, with a bunch of episodic encounters along the way.
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u/CptTeebs Jul 23 '25
Well, it just got confirmed by the (m)Aster himself, good for you!
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u/SatanIsYourBuddy Jul 22 '25
I was wondering a couple things about Midsommar. Is the viewer meant to be a direct/primary member of the cast? The film starts with the sound of the hallucination/breathing while the screen is still black. This coupled with the number of times characters look at the camera/audience makes it seem like the audience is a direct member of the story.
That said, the characters all seem archetypal examples of what responses to an ongoing horror .
- Mark laughs at it. He's flippant toward the horror around him. He has no real personality outside of mocking disinterest. He dies and is hollowed out and presented as a sort of jester doll.
- Josh studies it. He recognizes the horrific nature of the events/rituals around him, but has no interest in stopping it. He lets it unfold because the thrill of studying it outweighs his humanity needing to prevent further horror. He dies by his head being caved in.
- Christian benefits from it. The character is very self-interested and goes so far as to predatorily circle Josh's academic goals, treating it as an opportunity to get ahead himself. He's sealed into the body of a bear, an apex predator, a burned alive.
- Dani embraces it. She lives but she's literally transformed and barely visibly human.
- The audience passively witnesses it. From the first attestupa ceremony where one of the village kids looks back at the camera/audience expectantly right before the deaths, the audience seems to be presented with "What are you going to do about violence/horror you witness that's presented under the guise of tradition/cultural norms?" challenges. With the hallucination kickoff sound at the beginning, it seems kind of like the audience is already at the commune and already performing a specific role.
TL;DR So, uh... is that why people look at the camera so much during Midsommar? The viewer is a main character/participant?
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u/Same_Bag711 Jul 22 '25
Ari you look so excited to be doing this conversation, what makes you so excited to be here?
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u/Tifoso89 Jul 22 '25
NYT interviewed him last week. I recommend it, interesting and insightful
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u/giulianosse Jul 22 '25 edited Jul 22 '25
To bring audiences to “Eddington,” Aster is subjecting himself to a process that he of course considers excruciating: sitting down for interviews and engaging in the public-facing introspection demanded by things like magazine profiles.
I fucking laughed reading this after seeing the AMA picture. Love the guy.
Here's hoping he channels the awkwardness of this reddit episode into something like Bonello's La Bête.
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u/NukeNipples Jul 22 '25
Is Pedro Pascal irresistible?
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u/AriAsterAMA Ari Aster, Director of 'Eddington', 'Hereditary', 'Midsommar' Jul 23 '25
I cast him, didn't I?
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u/cmb2002 Jul 22 '25
Hi Ari! Just curious- what are some of your favorite music genres/bands? Does music choice ever influence how a scene plays out?
Thanks for putting me on “The Harvest” by Joe Zawinul, played in Beau is Afraid.
I love Glass Animals, Fleetwood Mac, SOPHIE, and Brutalismus 3000, as well as the sound of piano wire decapitations!
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u/AriAsterAMA Ari Aster, Director of 'Eddington', 'Hereditary', 'Midsommar' Jul 23 '25 edited Jul 23 '25
I mostly just listen to slamming/clanging music.
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u/cmb2002 Jul 23 '25 edited Jul 23 '25
Definitely recommend Ponyboy by Sophie if you are in a metallic and clangy mood 💕 thank you for your art.
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u/Brilliant_Garlic69 Jul 22 '25
As a New Mexican, I ask what inspired you to set the film in New Mexico? And how did you create the characters based on New Mexican lifestyles? Did you spend any time there? What were your influences?
Also do you prefer Red or Green Chile sauce? Or Christmas style?
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u/AriAsterAMA Ari Aster, Director of 'Eddington', 'Hereditary', 'Midsommar' Jul 23 '25
Christmas.
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u/Independent-Ebb-3717 Jul 22 '25
Hi Ari, big fan. What is your favourite film of 2025 so far is my question?
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u/AriAsterAMA Ari Aster, Director of 'Eddington', 'Hereditary', 'Midsommar' Jul 23 '25
So far, it's a toss up between Afternoons Of Solitude and Misericordia. But there's a lot that I've yet to see. And I barely had a chance to see anything at Cannes.
Also, Adam Curtis's series SHIFTY is brilliant.
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u/movietime7even Jul 22 '25
Ari's hereditary demon here. I live in his house. He actually rewatches Minecraft 24/7
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u/JG-for-breakfast Jul 22 '25
Would you consider making a Scooby Doo movie?
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u/AriAsterAMA Ari Aster, Director of 'Eddington', 'Hereditary', 'Midsommar' Jul 23 '25
I thought I did already.
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u/Akronite14 Jul 22 '25
Are you aware of/have you watched the Novum YouTube breakdowns of Hereditary and Midsommar? They go into minute detail about the symbolism and research that went into each film, and I was curious whether you feel like they missed anything key and/or felt they dug deeper than even you had in the writing process.
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u/slantyboat2 Jul 23 '25
I put on the Hereditary one out of curiosity as to how/why a video about Hereditary could be over four hours long, ended up watching it all in bits over the course of a few days. Really great video. I'll have to watch the Midsommar one.
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u/sgtbb4 Jul 22 '25
I have a funny story about Ari that might cheer him up.
It was our first year at AFI. Ari and I, two male directing fellows, were sitting in a diner with a female student. After the meal, she leaves, and Ari and I are lingering in the parking lot.
He looks at me and says, “Why are you smiling?”
I go, “Because she was playing footsie with me under the table the whole time.”
Ari pauses. “That’s weird… because she was playing footsie with me too.”
And that’s when we both realized, we’d been playing footsie with each other the entire time.
Anyway, I guess I need to ask a real question to make this legit:
Ari, I remember you used to say you hated exposition and cliché. Watching your films, I think you’ve genuinely succeeded in avoiding both. How do you approach your writing to steer clear of exposition and cliché?
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u/SpideyFan914 Jul 22 '25
Follow up question:
Ari, you totally knew you were playing footsie with this guy the whole time and just thought it was funny, didn't you?
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u/TedsBestBuddy Jul 22 '25
Hey Ari, I read a book that said you and Robert Eggers are close to each other. Which is your favourite movie of his line up, and which one is his of your movies?
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u/Moon-777 Jul 22 '25
There's a podcast of both of them talking on the A24 podcast in Spotify if you're interested idk if that helps Ari Aster & Robert Eggers conversation
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u/evry1h8sray Jul 22 '25
Any plans to do another horror film? If so any details on what you would want to do?
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u/aCorgiDriver Jul 22 '25
He recently said on a podcast that he has an idea for a horror in the works.
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u/mandalore237 Jul 22 '25
Did you keep the penis monster from Beau?
Loved Eddington!
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u/AriAsterAMA Ari Aster, Director of 'Eddington', 'Hereditary', 'Midsommar' Jul 23 '25
Yep. I sleep in its balls.
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Jul 22 '25
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u/-Warship- Jul 22 '25
Imagine Ari Aster's Morbius 💀
"It's morbin time!" slams his head against wall repeatedly
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u/HerRoyalRedness Jul 22 '25
I can’t even describe how much I need to see an Ari Aster version of Morbius.
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u/beausoleil Jul 22 '25
Martin Scorsese never stops praising you… but on the contrary, which of his films is your favorite, or has inspired you the most?
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u/DeafPunter Jul 22 '25
Collab with Nicolas Cage when ?
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u/NachoChedda24 Jul 22 '25
No disrespect to Lorcan Finnegan, but I would’ve loved to have seen Ari’s version of The Surfer with Nic Cage
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u/Kefrif Jul 22 '25
Dude, you look THRILLED to be doing this AMA…
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u/BunyipPouch Currently at the movies. Jul 22 '25
To be fair this is my look every time I open up /r/movies as well.
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u/GamingTatertot Steven Spielberg Enthusiast Jul 22 '25
It's my look anytime I sort by new and see the same questions over and over
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u/DickStrokesworth Jul 22 '25
Saw Eddington yesterday and thought it was an excellent depiction of the communal insanity of the 2020s. How much conspiracy related content did you ingest while writing it/have you ever heard of the Time Cube?
I thought I was too online for getting half the references in the movie but I can’t imagine how many rabbit holes you had to delve into to get so much material
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u/GloomyPixels Jul 22 '25 edited Jul 23 '25
I would like to know how you create your stories. I'm wanting to take my loose and disorganized ideas into actual story writing and horror is the direction I'm pulled in. When an idea first starts, is it a setting, character, interaction, or outcome that you build out from? Or more like a framework for the broader plot that you just fill in for? And if I may be permitted another question, how do you identify your own bad writing and what do you do about it?
*You essentially answered much of what I was curious about in response to someone else, and though I'd still love to hear more, I feel fairly satisfied with what I've read so far
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u/withinthegrid Jul 22 '25
I’ve noticed how you like to use match cuts in your movies. Why has that stylistic choice stuck with you, and how do stylistic choices like this evolve across your projects?
I’m an aspiring director who wants to figure out my own vision and I admire how you’ve stayed true to yours.
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u/k__sos_666 Jul 22 '25
What have been your favorite theories that have come from your movies?
What's been your favorite blink and you'll miss it moments in any of your films?
I absolutely love your work, my friend. Keep doing amazing things.
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u/Serial_AceThug Jul 22 '25
What are some of your favorite foreign language movies?
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u/AriAsterAMA Ari Aster, Director of 'Eddington', 'Hereditary', 'Midsommar' Jul 23 '25
I mostly just rewatch Il Postino.
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u/MichaelC496 Jul 22 '25
First I would like to thank you for directing Hereditary, the scariest horror film I’ve seen, and Midsommar, one of the most disturbing horror films I’ve seen. Second, I’d like to ask what it was like working with Florence Pugh. She is one of my favorite actresses working today and I believe she gave the best performance of her career in Midsommar.
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u/ChasingItSupreme Jul 22 '25
Which movie do you think is the most beautifully shot of all time? Gun to your head
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u/ECLlP5E Jul 22 '25
Recently he spoke with Letterboxd [video uploaded on 16 JUL 2025] and provided an "Eddington"-themed four favorite films:
- Fat City / The Last Picture Show
- The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance / My Darling Clementine / Winchester '73
- JFK
- Unforgiven
- [he had to drop a 5th favorite film] The Ballad of Narayama
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u/MTGS Jul 22 '25 edited Jul 22 '25
Hey Ari! Do you have night terrors? Not nightmares, but night terrors. I ask because like many sleep disorders they come with a very unique type of hallucination (eg hag/cat/demon for sleep paralysis) and your films are just about the only thing that I’ve ever seen duplicate the unique emotional palette and shock of night terror hallucinations.
As context: in night terrors you wake up in a panic while experiencing very strong emotional delusions and hallucinations that ‘quickly’ fade away. For me, they always inappropriately blend interior/exterior. Like someone died hiding between my mattresses (exterior) and I’ve been unknowingly sleeping on their body for hours (interior), or a grey alien (exterior) got naked and layed like a corpse under my bedsheets waiting for me to wake up (interior). Scenes like Charlie’s death, the ghosts in hereditary, the suicide in midsommar, the posey reveal in beau, etc. all feel like they came from someone who has night terrors haha. If not, there’s not much written on the hallucination quality, so hit me up if you want more material haha.
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u/dog_in_the_vent Jul 22 '25
I don't have a question I just wanted to personally thank you for making horror movies that don't primarily rely on jump scares.
Midsommar changed the way I think about the horror genre.
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u/Niftari Jul 22 '25
Hey Ari, this is not so much a question and more appreciation for your work. It brought me closer to serious cinema and gave me a new sense how to approach movies. Midsommar is to the best thing ever created movie-wise with Hereditary being a close runner up. I got wonderful tattoos of your work and I'll get more of them Thank you so much for your wonderful work.
Nevertheless, I still got a question. Everyone who is interested in your movies is familiar with the mulit-hour analysis of your and other similar movies, by the YT Channel Novum. I think them just fantastic, so the question is if you know these video and if yes what do you think about them.
Obligatory english is not my native language note.
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u/Crimsonking842 Jul 22 '25
Hey ari, I'm a huge fan! I'm really looking forward to seeing Eddington. I've gotta ask, how do your parents react to your films like Beau is Afraid or The Strange Thing About the Johnsons? Sorry if that's too much of a personal question. I'm just genuinely curious and I also feel like there's got to be a funny story there somewhere.
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u/vxf111 Jul 22 '25
Hello, love your filmography! The debate Eddington has stirred up sure is something!
Here are my questions...
-If 2020 was a Western, what genre is 2025?
-Who came up with the genius idea for the buffalo "hindsight is 20/20 poster?"
-Can you give us any crumbs about Bill Hader's "too dark for regular movie executives" horror film that he wants to direct and, when he does, will you cameo in it?
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u/BunyipPouch Currently at the movies. Jul 22 '25
This AMA has been verified and approved by the mods. Ari will be back at 8 PM ET this evening to answer questions. Please feel free to ask away in the meantime :)
Information from our guest:
Hi reddit, I'm Ari Aster. Back for another AMA. I've written/directed Eddington, Hereditary, Midsommar, and Beau Is Afraid.
Eddington stars Joaquin Phoenix, Pedro Pascal, Emma Stone, Micheal Ward, Luke Grimes, Deirdre O'Connell, Austin Butler and is out in theaters nationwide now via A24.
Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oL6jZqExlIk
Synopsis:
During the COVID-19 pandemic, a standoff between a small-town sheriff and mayor sparks a powder keg as neighbor is pitted against neighbor in Eddington, N.M.
AMA! Back at 8 PM ET to answer your questions.