A film critic turned filmmaker, Rod Lurie took a very unique path in getting behind the camera. Over the course of his career, Lurie has helmed movies that often have a political edge to them, including The Contender, Deterrence, and Nothing but The Truth, to name a few. These are three of the more underrated films of the past 25 years, with it being a damn shame that the Academy has not gravitated more towards his work. The Contender received two Oscar nominations, but the man himself is still without an Academy Award citation (his snub in Best Original Screenplay there is still a real head-scratcher). Still, he’s a voting member, one who likes to debate the award hopefuls on social media, to boot. All of this makes him a wonderfully interesting guy, so when the opportunity to talk with him came about for his latest flick, The Outpost, it was a no-brainer. Below you’ll find my conversation with Lurie. He was gracious with his time, full of interesting tidbits, and generally warm to chat with. His new movie is wonderfully well done, as you saw yesterday in my rave review (found here). It’s a film that threads a very tough needle, and in the interview, you’ll hear a bit about how he did it. I could have talked to Lurie all day, but even this relatively contained back and forth was still terrific. Give it a listen… Here is my interview with Rod Lurie. Enjoy: Be sure to check out The Outpost on Friday!