James Ponsoldt Makes Movies For Adults, But His Kids' Movie Still Asks The Tough Questions

James Ponsoldt is waiting for this question. Why did the guy who made movies like 'Smashed', 'The Spectacular Now' and 'The End of the Tour' — dark, connoisseur dramas about deranged adults, usually with substance abuse issues and a host of neuroses — turned his attention to "Summering," a film about four tween girls in the final days of their favorite season?

He has the answer in hand: he is a parent of three children, his wife Megan works in the public school system, and that is what he wants to share with his family.

But the real answer? It's still a James Ponsoldt film. It's not as dark as its predecessors, but the filmmaker still uses his art to ask some very deep questions. "Summering" is, after all, about a group of girls (Lia Barnett, Sanai Victoria, Madalen Mills and Eden Grace Redfield) who discover a very dead body and have to wonder what to do next. (Unsurprisingly, the film drew many comparisons to "Stand by Me" when it premiered at Sundance last January.)

“These conversations between parents and children trying to understand each other, sometimes with more or less success, is something that has always interested me deeply,” he told IndieWire during a recent interview. "A lot of the conversations I have now try to explain what seems totally upside down in the world to kids, and realize I don't have the right answers for the most part. In some cases, they have a perspective much more relevant, less jaded and more real than me."

Ponsoldt added that a friend recently reminded him that his Columbia University thesis film, "Junebug and Hurricane" was - oh, yeah! —also about a single mother and her daughter (Janeane Garofalo played the mother). So while the penchant for young protagonists and their preoccupations may seem new to him, it is not. Nor is the drama inherent in the stories he tells.

"Summer"

Rue Bleecker

Ponsoldt said he had a culturally rich childhood: his grandfather, William Teason, painted book covers (like those Agatha Christie reprints from the 60s and 70s) and the occasional poster of films, while his older sister introduced him to horror films. like "Evil Dead II" and "A Nightmare on Elm Street". "I subscribed to Fangoria magazine as a child and constantly begged my parents to let me...