Jonathan Sim
The energy at the Cipriani 42nd Street was electric for the 2026 National Board of Review (NBR) Awards. On the red carpet, the camera flashes were constant as the year’s most celebrated creators and stars made their way into the gala, from Leonardo DiCaprio to Michael B. Jordan to Rose Byrne.
Among the crowd were the visionary minds behind the year’s most moving animation and the high-octane stunt teams that continue to redefine action cinema. It was a night of reflection and celebration, and several of the night’s honorees spoke about the personal journeys behind their acclaimed projects.
Early in the evening, the creative duo behind the animated hit Arco, director and writer Uno Bienvenu and producer Sophie Mas, spoke about making the film. Bienvenu spoke of a deep-seated necessity when it comes to animation, noting that for him, “drawing is like breathing” and he simply “can’t do anything else”. Mas added that the process is fueled by a “love for storytelling and the love of cinema,” describing the act of creating emotions as “something almost addictive”.
For Bienvenu, the true reward of the film’s success has been the shared human experience, specifically recalling a moment where he saw “a grandmother crying at the same time with her grandson”. He noted that this image will stay with him for life, as he believes cinema is ultimately “about asking questions and for people to just then think about it”.
As the night continued, the team from Train Dreams shared their insights into the independent film’s remarkable journey. Director and writer Clint Bentley (previously interviewed here by Joey) reflected on the film’s evolution, particularly the ending, which he said “means a lot” to him because it wasn’t originally scripted that way.
“It felt to be what the film wanted,” Bentley explained, expressing pride in how the character eventually takes hold of his life.
Despite the accolades of the awards season, Bentley seemed most moved by the global reach of the story, mentioning how “regular random people have reached out” from as far away as Turkey and India to share what the film meant to them. Looking ahead, he joked about completing a “transportation” trilogy, stating, “I’ve done horses, and I’ve done trains. So, I want to make a airplane movie”.
Joel Edgerton, who stars in Train Dreams, also stopped to discuss the personal weight of his performance (he previously spoke to Joey here). He admitted that he found this particular movie “very personal,” explaining that while he usually spends time trying to “wear masks and strive to be people that I’m not,” this role allowed him to “personalize a performance and bring a lot of yourself to it”.
When asked which of his many roles fans bring up most often, Edgerton noted that in America, “I can almost guarantee it’s because they’ve seen Warrior,” or occasionally Star Wars. However, he expressed a deep desire for audiences to seek out his Australian work, such as The Stranger and The Square, which he says “don’t often get as big a wide release” in the States.
Finally, the conversation shifted to the scale of Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning with stunt coordinator Wade Eastwood. Addressing the inherent dangers of the franchise, Eastwood clarified that while he never feared Tom Cruise might die, he acknowledged that “anything can happen” on a movie of such scale.
He attributed the safety of the production to Cruise’s own dedication, stating that “Tom trained to the point of being so competent that there was no one else that could have done the stunt as safely and as well as him”. Eastwood described a “fearless conviction” in Cruise that inspires the entire team to push beyond their physical limits.
When asked about his personal highlight from the series, Eastwood pointed to a biplane sequence shot in his home country of South Africa for the franchise’s latest film. “Just to be in my hometown doing action on that level,” he said, resulted in “cinematic vistas that were just incredible,” making it his favorite experience to date.
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