Bentley directed the Netflix film and co-wrote it with Fort Worth native Greg Kwedar<\/a>, based on Denis Johnson\u2019s novella of the same name. The film is up for four trophies<\/a> at the 98th Academy Awards on March 15, including Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay.<\/p>\n Dallas\u2019 Texas Theatre<\/a> hosted two screenings of the film at 5 p.m. and 7:45 p.m. on Sunday, March 1.<\/p>\n Bentley spoke at a Q&A after the sold-out 5 p.m. screening and stuck around to introduce the film before the 7:45 p.m. screening.<\/p>\n Bentley talks working with Kwedar on \u2018Train Dreams\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cTrain Dreams\u201d is the fourth film Bentley and Kwedar have worked on together.<\/p>\n The duo have been creative partners for around 15 years and co-write all their films. Kwedar directed their first film \u201cTranspecos\u201d in 2016, followed by Bentley helming \u201cJockey\u201d in 2021. Kwedar was back behind the camera for 2024\u2019s \u201cSing Sing.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n There\u2019s no exact contract for who gets to direct what, Bentley said. Typically, one of them will get excited about something and the other will join in.<\/p>\n \u201cWe just keep helping each other out,\u201d Bentley said.<\/p>\n \ud83d\udd25 In case you missed it… <\/p>\n It may seem like there\u2019s a deal of who gets to direct the next film, but Bentley acknowledged that it naturally comes that way.<\/p>\n When Kwedar was wrapping up and promoting \u201cSing Sing,\u201d Bentley was working on \u201cTrain Dreams.\u201d As Bentley was finishing and promoting \u201cTrain Dreams,\u201d Kwedar was shooting his next film \u201cSaturn Return,\u201d which comes from Netflix and will premiere later this year.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re just trying to keep it going, so when you make a bad one, you can just skip over it,\u201d Bentley joked.<\/p>\n Bentley and Kwedar landed Best Adapted Screenplay nominations for \u201cTrain Dreams.\u201d The film is also nominated for Best Picture, Best Cinematography and Best Original Song.<\/p>\n Denis Johnson originally published his novella \u201cTrain Dreams\u201d in 2011.<\/p>\n Having been a fan of Johnson and the book for some time, Bentley said a lot of things about the source text lit a fire under him to adapt the story for the big screen.<\/p>\n The book and film follow Robert Grainier, a logger and railroad worker in the rapidly-changing America of the early 20th century. Bentley was fascinated by telling a story of someone that history would ultimately forget, but lived a long and deep life.<\/p>\n \u201cThe book, and what I hope to do with the film … shows the beauty and the depth of that person\u2019s life,\u201d Bentley said.<\/p>\n The film will hopefully elicit something in folks where they will go about their day thinking about everybody else around them. The family in the corner of a restaurant. The person walking on the sidewalk. Anyone they come across.<\/p>\n \u201cThat was the thing that I really got excited about, taken from the book to the screen,\u201d Bentley said.<\/p>\n While he was born and raised in Florida, Bentley has called Texas home for at least a decade.<\/p>\n Since he and Kwedar both have connections to the Lone Star state, one of the audience members asked if Bentley had plans to shoot a movie here. The duo\u2019s \u201cTranspecos\u201d is set in Texas, but filmed in New Mexico because of the state\u2019s better film incentives.<\/p>\n Texas\u2019 incentive program was not great back when they made that movie, but Bentley mentioned how things have changed in the state since. Just last year, the Texas lawmakers passed a bill<\/a> that injects $1.5 billion into the state\u2019s film incentive program over the next decade.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s really nice now,\u201d Bentley said.<\/p>\n As for if he plans to make a movie in Texas, Bentley said his wife keeps asking him the same thing.<\/p>\n \u201cI would love to do something [in Texas], but I don\u2019t decide where the stories are set,\u201d Bentley said.<\/p>\n \u201cTrain Dreams\u201d is streaming on Netflix.<\/p>\n Related Stories from Fort Worth Star-Telegram<\/p>\n (L-R): \u201cTrain Dreams\u201d stunt coordinator Alex Terzieff , director Clint Bentley and Aviation Cinemas CEO Barak Epstein after a screening of the film at the Texas Theatre on Sunday, March 1, 2026. Brayden Garcia bgarcia@star-telegram.com Bentley on adapting \u2018Train Dreams\u2019<\/p>\n
Joel Edgerton in \u201cTrain Dreams.\u201d Netflix Bentley on making a movie in Texas<\/p>\n
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