Filmmaker Oscar Boyson Talks About Our Hero, Balthazar

I sit down with writer, director, and producer Oscar Boyson (best known for his work alongside Noah Baumbach and Josh & Bennie Safdie as a producer) about his controversial dark comedy Our Hero, Balthazar, starring Jaeden Martell and Asa Butterfield. We talk about not punching down when making a dark comedy, differences between big city and small town attitudes, classic and modern depictions of toxic masculinity, writing about online insincerity at a time when emotional and empathetic burnout are running rampant, and using the film's teen women as necessary voices of reason and truth. 0:58 - On ensuring that the script isn't punching down while making a film with such dark subject matter 3:37 - The differences in big city and small town attitudes as seen through these characters and their worlds 9:31 - Asa Butterfield's character as more traditional view of toxic masculinity versus Jaeden Martell's more contemporary take on the subject 12:19 - Creating a film about online insincerity at a time when emotional and empathetic burnout are on the rise 15:27 - Using the film's female characters to act as necessary voices of truth and reason