Check the Gate Archives

Check the Gate is a recurring column in which Brad Gullickson goes one-on-one with directors in an effort to uncover the reasoning behind their creative decisions. Why that subject? Why that shot?

Navot Papushado Gunpowder Milkshake Interview

Navot Papushado on the 99 Movies Stuffed Inside ‘Gunpowder Milkshake’

By Brad Gullickson

We chat with the director about why all contract killer movies begin with an eye towards Hitchcock, Kurosawa, and Leone.

Neill Marshall Explains How ‘Hellboy’ Heartache Birthed ‘The Reckoning’

By Brad Gullickson

We chat with director Neil Marshall about ‘The Reckoning’ and how it rekindled his love for making movies.

Adam Wingard on Shooting ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’ as an Immersive 800 MPH Brawl

By Brad Gullickson

We chat with the director about attaching cameras to fins and fists and why these two titans reign over all others.

Anthony Russo Explains How Six Tones are Better than One in ‘Cherry’

By Brad Gullickson

We chat with the director about his new film and how he and his brother jumbled genres to capture life in chaos.

Jay Baruchel Makes His Camera a Ghost for ‘Random Acts of Violence’

By Brad Gullickson

We chat with the director about finally making the horror film that lingered in his head for over a decade.

Danny Trejo Documentary ‘Inmate #1’ Reveals a Life Caught in a Rewrite

By Brad Gullickson

We chat with director Brett Harvey about how he shaped Trejo’s larger-than-life persona into a message of hope.

Director Gavin Rothery Chases Small Sci-Fi in ‘Archive’

By Brad Gullickson

We chat with first-time director Gavin Rothery about transitioning from a conceptual artist on ‘Moon’ to behind the camera on the similarily themed ‘Archive.’