Mitchells vs.The Machines: Phil Lord On How Being a Mitchell Is Like Being A Clippers Fan

Oscar nomination morning was heavenly for the creative team behind Netflix and Sony Pictures Animation’s “The Mitchells vs The Machines.” The celebrated tale of an everyday family taking on a legion of sentient robots earned an Animated Feature nomination. It was director and co-writer Mike Rianda‘s first Academy Award nomination while producers Chris Miller and Phil Lord won their Oscars in 2019 for “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.”

READ MORE: ‘The Mitchells Vs. The Machines’: Robots and family collide in this fun animated escape [Review]

If you follow Lord on social media, you’ll also know that is a hardcore Los Angeles Clippers fan. The Clippers reached the Western Conference Finals last June and, as a fellow Clipper supporter, I had to ask him which meant more to him over the past year: this Oscar nomination or the Clippers game 6 comeback vs. the Utah Jazz to make the WCF. Needless to say, I may have stumped him with the question.

“Ooh, that’s very close. Well, listen,” Lord says, pausing for a moment. “I’ll say this: nothing beats… Boy! You’re really putting [me in a tough position]. [Laughs.] Listen, nothing beats thinking about how happy our crew are, 100%, but watching that game, with my dad was pretty great! One of the things that was really fun about that game was being a Clippers fan is a lot like being a Mitchell. Right?”

Lord continues, “There’s something about that team, the thing with this year too, and it’s something about the Mitchells that, like at halftime, I don’t remember exactly, but we were down like 20 points or something. I remember dad was there and a bunch of like fellow Clipper fans were there. And Chris, I think you were there. We just looked at each other.”

Miller confirms, “Yep.”

“And we were like, ‘I feel good. I think this we’ve got this,'” Lord says with a laugh. “And that’s how the Mitchells are when they’re like, ‘Hold up!’ And they have to like save the entire universe. And that’s the kind of people that we made this movie for. Maybe this isn’t like… It isn’t for the Laker fans. This movie is for Clipper fans.”

Miller quickly interjects, “This movie is for everybody! Including Laker fans!”

Lord concedes, “Including Laker fans.”

Considering a majority of Academy members live in Los Angeles, that was what we call an excellent save by Miller. Of course, the big story was “Mitchells vs. The Machines” landing that Oscar nomination. And Miller admitted they were “over the moon” on the accomplishment.

“You know this movie was made, with 100’s and 100’s of artists and filmmakers, that put so much passion and so many crazy ideas into this movie,” Miller says. “It was a sort of, a band of misfits, making a film with a ton of love. To see it get this kind of recognition, is just overwhelming and exciting! We feel kind of like, a bunch of Katie Mitchells, the main character of the movie, who made her own weird films. Now we get to celebrate. It’s so fun!”

Lord was also especially gratified for their crew.

“I was really thrilled for Katie Mitchell, thinking about how she would feel in this moment; and just knowing that like, somebody loved every frame of this movie,” Lord says. “Hundreds of artisans, and artists and filmmakers who worked their tails off. They did it because they wanted to make somebody’s favorite movie, and it showed. It was made with a lot of sincerity and a lot of commitment to making something new, that doesn’t feel formulaic, that hopefully pushes the boundaries of what animation can do; A movie that we really couldn’t have made in any other studio; one that feels strangely relevant, for the time period, since it came out while we were all, home with our family. Experiencing both the pleasures and the frustrations of technology.”

Like Miles Morales in “Spider-Verse,” the nomination was also meaningful as so many viewers have seen themselves in the film’s main character, Katie Mitchell.

“Whether they’re first time film students or have problems with a dad, or LGBTQ youth plus, or just sort of have a lot of creative energy and don’t know what to do with it,” Miller says. “So, we are so happy anyway, and this is like, I don’t know what we’ve done to deserve this, I’m really happy about it.”

Originally intended as a Sony PIctures theatrical release, Netflix acquired the film as the delta variant was ravaging the globe in January of 2021. Unlike many COVID era buys, Miller reveals the streamer reached out to Sony first.

Miller notes, “To make an incoming call and say, ‘Listen, we love this movie so much, we would like you to consider releasing it on the platform.’ We knew that that came with a big commitment to help it find an audience. And that really never wavered. From the minute we all started working together, it was really clear that this was a big priority for them, and that they knew, as we came to find out, that this was going to connect really deeply with audiences. It wound up being, if I’m not wrong, one of the top 10 streaming movies of the year. Probably, a lot of people saw this movie. When my sister and her friends are talking about it, that are not in our business, then you know, oh, we broke through to something.”

Rianda, who was on a rough connection during the interview, added, “I knew it was sort of like connecting [when] people who are like calling their parents, that haven’t talked to them in a long time. And one guy got a tattoo of the moose, and his dad and him reconnected. That stuff, really knocked me out, just because it seemed like it hit really deep with some people. That’s sort of what we were going for. I thought I couldn’t be happier. Until this!”

There has not been an official announcement regarding an sequel for the film, but considering the Oscar nomination is set one has to wonder if a confirmation is imminent.

“Some things we’ve talked about, and are talking about, and there’s a lot of really good ideas out there,” Lord says. “We’re circling some really good ones, not the least of which were provided by Katie Mitchell, herself. I have to say.”

Rianda adds, “A bunch of sequel ideas.”

“The Mitchells vs. The Machines” is available on Netflix worldwide.