Lenny Abrahamson

Brie Larson.

Brie Larson and Lenny Abramson movie.

Not The Room.

I would love to read your review of Room.

I'm not sure why.

And then a film called Little Stranger with Lenny Abrahamson that I'm very proud of.

But he was a very repressed guy and struggling with a lot.

He didn't he couldn't emote.

And then I think I just absorbed how all these big sets work, where they go wrong, where they go right, where they like, you know, and I really took some key lessons from all of those things that then impacted my directing and you know this is the biggest film I've directed you know Black Dog my debut film was a small low budget British indie about two boys from London to Scotland and it got a lot of love at Cannes and got a lot of love at London and I'm very proud of it but it was really small whereas this felt like a huge step up and I think it was things I learned on like The Serpent Queen was like Justin the writer of that show he used to text us every night after we finished filming being like well done you smashed it so then I took that energy into this and I wrote little notes to the cast every night or on A Town Called Malice the show I did with Sky they wrote us handwritten letters to say like welcome to the production so everyone regardless of who you were where you were the lead role the smallest role they all got letters from me on their first day and I think what what that sort of taught me was this sense of community.

And there's a director called Lenny Abrahamson who did the film Room with Brie Larson years ago.

He's a bit of a mentor of mine and he always describes it as our job as directors is painting, is basically a painting, right? And some days, you know, Bella Rams is right at the front of that painting, but you might focus on someone at the back and that's all it is.

And I think I really love making a level playing field on my sets.

For over two decades, Mark O'Halloran's screenwriting has delivered some of Ireland's most celebrated modern classics of cinema and television.

From his collaborations with Lenny Abrahamson on Adam and Paul and Garage to the critically acclaimed feature Rialto, and his brilliant work on the TV series Prosperity and Conversations with Friends.

Now he's turned his attention to the jazz world with a script for the acclaimed new film Everybody Digs Bill Evans, which opens in cinemas this weekend.

The story is adapted from Owen Martell's novel Intermission and brings us into the world of the legendary American jazz pianist at a moment of enormous grief in his life, just as he is on the cusp of releasing the record that would cement his reputation as a genius.

Mm-hmm.

And then Lenny, our director, Lenny Abrahamson, is like a very, very special human being who was so perfect for Sally's world.

And he, he created an energy on set that was so joyful.

Mm.