Culkin said in a recent interview at SCAD Savannah Film Festival that he had no interest in directing, but if he were, he'd want to emulate Eisenberg's style.

"A Real Pain" joins "Conclave" and "Anora" as a strong debut. We also have estimates for non-reporting "Juror #2," "Blitz," and "Emilia Pérez."

Eisenberg and Culkin dive deep with IndieWire on their Oscar contender, living and filming on location in Poland, and how they eschewed traditional Holocaust narratives in Hollywood.

Culkin, who will star as broken Chicago realtor Richard Roma, is also not studying Al Pacino's performance in the movie of David Mamet's Pulitzer Prize-winning play, either.

Unless you count Culkin's small role as cousin Fuller McCallister in "Home Alone." And Eisenberg tells IndieWire that while he still hasn't watched "Succession," he plans to "if I get some kind of flu where I am sick in bed."

Emma Stone produces writer/director Eisenberg's sophomore feature.

"We scrapped a lot and followed Kieran" during "A Real Pain" production, said filmmaker Eisenberg.

Eisenberg writes and directs the feature which debuted at Sundance 2024.

"A Real Pain" dominated most of the categories, and commandingly. But there was also love for "Daughters," "I Saw the TV Glow," and "Good One," among other faves.

The first weekend of the festival came with performances from actors like Kieran Culkin, André Holland, and Saoirse Ronan that already seem primed for awards consideration.

Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin star as mismatched Jewish cousins visiting their grandmother’s home in Poland.

Culkin and Eisenberg stopped by the IndieWire Studio at Sundance, presented by Dropbox, to discuss their new Poland-set movie.