The Wall 2017
The new one: a static, near-three-hander war film Willmore calls an inverted 'Bourne Identity,' built on downtime and the tension of deciding when to act.
The Big Picture · Discussion · Interview
Doug Liman on 'The Wall' and Making Movies His Way | The Big Picture (Ep. 13)
May 15, 2017/ 41 min/ Sean Fennessey · Alison Willmore
Sean Fennessey talks to director Doug Liman about 'The Wall,' his habit of reshooting endings, and stealing shots on 'The Bourne Identity.' BuzzFeed critic Alison Willmore sets up his filmography first.
14 films across 2 segments.
AI-generated This episode was transcribed and analyzed with AI models. The matches aren't perfect — expect the occasional misheard title or a link to the wrong film.
Placing Doug Limanwith Alison Willmore
Swingers 1996
The L.A. movie that put Jon Favreau in motion.
Go 1999
Liman's rave picture.
Mr. & Mrs. Smith 2005
A marriage read into what's on screen; the pair note its newfound resonance.
Edge of Tomorrow 2014
The Tom Cruise sci-fi film critics loved more than audiences turned out for.
Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk 2016
Cited as another sideways entrance into a present-day war movie.
American Sniper 2014
Held up as the more black-and-white take, though it still shows war chipping away at a soldier.
The Bourne Identity 2002
The reference point for how Liman puts you in the car with the character.
American Made 2017
The next Liman/Cruise film, then months out; a drug-war story with Caleb Landry Jones.
In conversation
Doug Liman on
The Wall 2017
A blacklist script by contest-winner Dwayne, with a villain drawn from the lore of Iraqi sniper Juba. Liman reshot the ending six months later after a friend's screening note, and paid Amazon for the change himself.
Doug Liman on
Mr. & Mrs. Smith 2005
A reaction to 'Bourne': maybe it's easy to be an action hero and harder to keep a marriage, so we're celebrating the wrong guy.
Doug Liman on
Edge of Tomorrow 2014
Its ending was manufactured in the edit: Cruise laughing at Liman off-camera. They reshot it properly with Emily Blunt but kept the original take.
Doug Liman on
The Bourne Identity 2002
The shaky handheld look came from Liman and Matt Damon stealing shots on weekends to dodge a studio telling them what they couldn't do.
Doug Liman on
Swingers 1996
Sneaking cameras onto a golf course in mountaineering packs; the ending was fixed with Favreau two weeks before shooting.
Not films filtered out: TV, games, ads
TV The Jetsons
Books The Gargoyle Hunters