Interview: Ross McElwee On 'Remake'

We talk to the first-person filmmaker about his latest feature, which due to its premise, also gets us talking about some of his older documentaries, including Sherman's March.

When I interviewed Ross McElwee in 2012, in support of Photographic Memory, he said his next signature first-person-style documentary was to be about the production of a Hollywood remake of Sherman’s March, his breakthrough feature from 1985. Fourteen years later, he is finally releasing that next documentary, but it’s much different from what was anticipated. First of all, Sherman’s March was never remade. Second of all, McElwee’s son, Adrian, died of an accidental drug overdose in 2016, and that tragedy became the foundation for the film, nevertheless titled Remake.

While I acknowledged in my 2012 interview that I was extremely nervous to talk to McElwee, one of my favorite directors and a total stranger at the time, I have to say I was even more anxious to talk to him again in 2026. Never mind that I’d become more acquainted with him in recent years as I helped arrange for his lifetime achievement honor at the Critics Choice Documentary Awards in 2023. This time, the content of his latest work would be more difficult to discuss, and focusing the conversation only on the making of the film would still involve talking about Adrian.

Fortunately, I maintained my tact. I also seem to have partly remade my 2012 interview, which is fitting since Remake not only concerns the unmade fictional adaptation of Sherman’s March but also repeats ideas and footage from other McElwee films and sometimes even comes across as an attempt or wish for a redo of Photographic Memory. It was clearly a tough documentary to make, and I’m sure it’s been the toughest one for him to keep talking about, too. I start by casually telling him, but I truly am grateful he made the time to share the following words with us all.