Jaime Ray Newman stars in MK Ultra, a psychological thriller that is based on the infamous CIA drug experiments from the early 1960s. Anson Mount is a well intentioned psychiatrist who spearheads an arm of this illegal program and Newman plays his wife Rose. Newman talked to Deepest Dream about working with Mount, why MK Ultra’s story resonates in modern times, and being honored with an Oscar for Skin (best Documentary Short).
Skin started off as a short and evolved into a critically well received feature of the same name. They were directed by Jaime Ray Newman’s husband Guy Nattiv and she also produced both projects. The pair collaborated once again on Life Unexpected, a personal documentary on parenthood that I am eager to check out.
As for MK Ultra, Joseph Sorrentino penned and directed this somber feature that echoes the paranoid, documentary style narratives from the 1970s. In my book, that’s a pretty great thing, and if you appreciated the works of Anson Mount, Jason Patric (he plays an exacting CIA agent), and Newman (she also has a pretty unforgettable sequence in the flick), then MK Ultra should be up your ally.
MK Ultra, Skin, Life Unexpected, Jaime Ray Newman’s thoughts on being a parent and her reaction to Netflix’s Blonde are all covered in the interview. Timecode and video is below!
0:00 – Intro
0:22 – “Any story that power illuminunates how people of power abuse that power in the name of human progress I think is a good story to tell,” said Jaime Ray Newman on MK Ultra
1:41 – On working with Jason Patric and Anson Mount (she worked with Anson on the TV series Red Widow)
2:54 – Jaime on the abundance of content on streaming services
4:22 – Newman reflects on producing Skin (the short and feature) and winning the Oscar with her husband (and director) Guy Nattiv
7:00 – On the short documentary Life, Unexpected which she worked on with Nattiv
10:46 – How having a family has shaped Newman’s approach to her career
11:42 – Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore is one of Newman’s favorite features; she also praises the Netflix movie Blonde
14:38 – Will Jaime Ray Newman direct a movie down the road?
16:03 – Newman recommends people watch Hulu’s acclaimed miniseries Dopesick
