Jodie Foster goes behind the camera at a creepy Netflix show
NEW YORK: For an episode of the Netflix series “Black Mirror,” Jodie Foster had to dig deep into mother-daughter dynamics.
The Oscar-winning actress directed a story of a mom so anxious about her girl that she turns to a sophisticated surveillance tool.
Foster is a mother of two boys — and her debut as a director was “Little Man Tate” in 1991 — so she reached back to how she interacted with her own mom and the push and pull that involved.
The episode, titled “ArkAngel,” is among season four of writer Charlie Brooker’s anthology series that taps into our collective unease with the modern world. Foster’s episode stars Rosemarie DeWitt, whose credits include “La La Land” and “Mad Men.”
Brooker’s script intrigued both women with its ethical quandaries and rich characters. Foster likens the series to “The Twilight Zone,” serving up twists and messy human reactions to technology.
Foster, whose acting roles include “The Silence of the Lambs,” “Inside Man” and “The Accused,” said she was attracted to Netflix after finding Hollywood really only interested in big franchise films. “Real narrative is on streaming cable now,” she said.
The episode marks the first time friends Foster and DeWitt have worked together and Foster said her leading actress “just inhabits a character in a way that feels completely and totally real.”