Fantasy Life - Flicks 2026

What are the intrusive thoughts? I think I suffer from internalized anti-semitism. Wonderful. Go on. Do you think it could be like intergenerational trauma or? Yeah, sure. Now let's talk meds. Fantasy life could be called a dramedy, that is to say a combination of comedy and drama. It stars Amanda Peet and writer, director, and co-star Matthew Shear. It's about a man who has some mental problems and then becomes a babysitter for a very unusual woman. That's Amanda Peet. To get the tone just right, what did this director tell you to lead you in the right direction? The exact kind of like New York-y Jewish humor that I love, which is to say very smart with a little bit of screwball for good measure. Very quick? Yeah, very quick. Involving a little sadness maybe underneath, always with just a little, you know? I just really immediately, you know, when I read the psychiatrist scene in which Matthew's character is having intrusive thoughts, I thought that scene was so brilliant and brave and weird. And I laughed out loud. So I knew I was going to be in the right hands. Did you, at any point along the way, did you feel like Amanda was working towards getting what you were going for? Give me some kind of feel for what the working relationship was like. We collaborated a bit on the script before we even got started. And it was just so, such a fun, easy back and forth. That was like, for me, the beginning of the collaboration. And then it just kind of stayed in that zone. Charles Lawton said there comes a time when he's making a film where either it goes click, I've got this, or it doesn't go click. Can you identify with that, Amanda? Not really, because I always think there's hope. I wasn't expecting that answer. Yeah, I mean, I don't ever stop hoping or stop trying. I just, it's just not my style. And I, especially in my old age, I feel excited to try a scene again and do a new version of it and try to get what they want and make it better. And I'm not tired yet. I mean, I'm very tired, but not when I'm working. Well, I'd like to thank both of you. It was great to go down that path. Thank you. Flicks with Patrick Stoner explores the craft and culture of filmmaking that enhance our communities for television stations and websites around the country.