Benny Safdie

Episode notes

(Photo: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images)

You might have seen Benny Safdie in movies like Oppenheimer and Licorice Pizza. You might have also seen the movies he’s made. He and his brother co-wrote and directed Uncut Gems and Good Time, among others.

Safdie is full of a sort of irrepressible energy. But not always happy light-up-the-room energy. Sometimes a kind of antsy, uncomfortable energy. Or a quiet intensity that can seem almost threatening.

His show The Curse radiates vibes from the weirder, edgier end of that spectrum. Safdie created it with another master of the disquieting, Nathan Fielder. The emotional palette of The Curse runs from stomach-flipping cringe to stomach flipping actual genuine terror.

It’s about a couple who do house-flipping. It’s supposed to be eco-friendly, almost altruistic. And they’re trying to get a TV show off the ground about their work. The show stars both Safdie and Fielder, as well as Emma Stone.

Benny Safdie joins us to talk about The Curse and how the show came together. Plus, he shares his thoughts on reality television and why he finds it so interesting.

In this episode...

Jesse Thorn

Host

Kevin Ferguson

Senior Producer

Jesus Ambrosio

Producer

Richard Robey

Maximum Fun Producer

Daniel Huecias

Maximum Fun Production Fellow

Daniel Arón Speer

Video Editor

Guests

Benny Safdie

About the show

Bullseye is a celebration of the best of arts and culture in public radio form. Host Jesse Thorn sifts the wheat from the chaff to bring you in-depth interviews with the most revered and revolutionary minds in our culture.

Bullseye has been featured in Time, The New York Times, GQ and McSweeney’s, which called it “the kind of show people listen to in a more perfect world.” Since April 2013, the show has been distributed by NPR.

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