Interview: Filmmaker Ned Benson Discusses His Return to Directing with ‘The Greatest Hits’

When I realized that Ned Benson was behind The Greatest Hits, I was absolutely delighted. Years prior, I’d done a few theater Q&A’s with him for the Her and Him editions of The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby, his prior film. The movie is a special one, but since then, we’ve been waiting for him to step behind the camera. There were writing gigs, including on Black Widow, but directing had to wait until now. So, when I saw that The Greatest Hits was in the pipeline, setting this up was a priority. I spoke to the film’s star Lucy Boynton here, but today, it’s Benson’s turn.

Below, you can see my chat with Benson. We get into a lot, from stepping behind the camera again, all the way to casting the next Superman in his movie. He’s a lovely guy to talk to, which I obviously already knew going in, but hearing about the writing and directing process for this flick is fascinating. You can see The Greatest Hits on Hulu now, so if you missed it in theaters, stream it today and enjoy Benson’s creative vision…

In my review of The Greatest Hits (here), I spoke of his filmmaking like so:

Filmmaker Ned Benson writes and directs this with a definite sense of style. A decade after The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby (Her, Him, and Them), he finally returns behind the camera, directing this with a focus on the emotions. If his screenplay doesn’t get too wild with the time travel aspects or rules, he has a better handle on the emotional state of everything. His central question is poignant, he doesn’t forget to have some light humor, and he finds an ending that leaves you wanting to talk about it. I truly hope it’s not another decade before Benson directs again.

Here now is my interview with The Greatest Hits filmmaker Ned Benson. Enjoy:

The Greatest Hits is available to watch right now on Hulu!