Zach Braff Instagram – Loss, grief, disappointment, confusion. The list of difficult emotions we all experience is long. The means by which we confront and heal from such experiences is equally diverse.
One way is to channel them into art. Transform them into something beautiful—because shared pain serves as a communal salve. It makes us feel more connected. Less alone. It gives us permission to shine a light on the broken parts we’d prefer to keep hidden. And together, we all become a bit better for it.
This is the thread pulled in my conversation with the talented writer-director-actor @zachbraff—an artist you may know from the hit TV show ‘Scrubs,’ or his seminal directorial debut ‘Garden State’—a much-celebrated independent film he wrote, directed, and starred in alongside Natalie Portman.
Today, we dive into the creative process behind Zach’s newest directorial effort ‘A Good Person’, a story about grief, addiction, forgiveness, trust, friendship—and the messy path to sobriety and becoming whole—all themes close to my heart that Zach renders with nuance and an impressive degree of accuracy rarely portrayed in cinema.
In addition, we cover Zach’s career, what happens when you create with authenticity, find presence in pain, and make your own meaning. We also discuss Zach’s own personal journey in bringing this story to life and the impact he hopes it will have on audiences.
To listen or watch click link in bio—streaming on YouTube and your favorite podcast player.
**Note:** If you care about independent cinema, if you enjoy mature fare, great writing, and great acting, make a point of going to the theatre this weekend and checking it out. @agoodpersonmov opens nationwide this Friday, March 24th. Let’s help him make this one a hit.
I loved getting to know Zach—I think you will too.
Enjoy!
✌🏽🌱🎬 -Rich
📷 @davygreenberg | Posted on 23/Mar/2023 23:13:56
![Zach Braff Instagram – “This is the first thing I’ve made where I chose to be very restrained with the camera and let the incredible actors and their fascinating faces just be. Of course there are some moves, but I left many of them on the cutting room floor. I liked the stillness.”
Writer-director Zach Braff (@zachbraff ) takes us behind the scenes of the new feature A Good Person, featuring the cinematography of Mauro Fiore ASC.
“Mauro and I talked about the loneliness in many of Edward Hopper’s paintings, and we shared all types of images back and forth. But, for me, the most helpful thing was working with concept artist Joanna Bush. She captured the tone of what I wanted so perfectly with a handful of keyframes. It was very helpful in conveying that tone to all the members of the creative team and to the folks at MGM.
We had one day of test shooting, so Mauro auditioned a few types of setups with Florence [Pugh]. I don’t like lenses that are too ‘perfect,’ without some character — I love flares and all the imperfections. Mauro agreed, and we shot large format with Panaspeed lenses. On set, we never really disagreed — although he makes this little, low growling noise when you start framing something he doesn’t like. Ha!
I’ve directed things that I’m not also acting in before — like Ted Lasso and Shrinking and Solos and Going in Style — but this is the first personal project that I’ve written where I wasn’t also acting. I really enjoyed it. It allowed me to solely focus on the tasks of being the writer-director, which is plenty to have on your plate.”](https://www.gethucinema.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/ZachBraff-131-150x150.jpg)
