German filmmaker Edward Berger once again finds himself in the Oscar conversation for his pulpy papal thriller Conclave — starring Ralph Fiennes. Two years ago, his Netflix film All Quiet on the Western Front picked up seven BAFTAs and four Academy Awards — including Best International feature film. That’s a pretty good outcome for an NYU film school grad who got his start by approaching a production company that had made a lot of movies he liked:
“I opened the phone book, and I looked, 26th street, Chelsea. Great, I'm gonna rollerblade over there.” Berger says. “I knocked on the door, and this guy called Anthony Bregman, who I'm making a movie with now (25 years later) opened the door and said, ‘Who are you?’ I said, ‘I am Eddie, and I was wondering if you have a job?’ And he said, ‘Oh yeah, come on in.’”
Berger tells us how studying filmmaking at NYU in the 90s led him to his internship at the indie production company Good Machine. He also sings the praises of Netflix, which he reveals was the only financier that would pay for his grim German-language war film All Quiet on the Western Front.