The people you speak with are so engaging, and so sincere. How well did you know them before you started shooting?
Clive Oppenheimer: I only knew Simon Schaffer, who is a historian of science in Cambridge.


The people you speak with are so engaging, and so sincere. How well did you know them before you started shooting?
Clive Oppenheimer: I only knew Simon Schaffer, who is a historian of science in Cambridge.

How did you find the book this film is based on, and what attracted you to adapting it?
Thomas Bezucha: The novel “Let Him Go” was written by Larry Watson, who I’ve been a fan of for well over twenty years.

Can you describe your approach to adapting the novel, and to making the story so cinematic?
Sarah Polley: I think I always thought of the story as somewhat of an epic.

What inspired you with this film and why did you set it in the world of 1950’s London fashion?
Paul Thomas Anderson: I had a thin story for a romance about a man, woman, and maybe third party.

What was your experience working with the author of the memoir on which the film is based?
Oliver Hermanus: The first thing I did, when I was certain I would tackle it, was I met with [author Andre Carl van der Merwe] a few times.

The film is visually stunning. Can you talk about your approach, and how you worked with your collaborators?
Nicole Riegel: I knew the color palette I wanted to use before I began collaborating with my production designer and cinematographer.

This film is very inclusive and focused on women. Were you aiming to make a film about female empowerment? What was your concept about the story, initially?
I like the idea of making something that people can take away from it whatever they want.

Would you have made the film any other way, looking back?
Having been in this industry for a long time, trying to get movies made is very challenging under any circumstances.

How did the idea for script originate?
Emerald Fennell: I had a few friends over for dinner and something uncomfortable had happened to one of the girls at the table on the tube on her way over.

What was your approach to developing the look of the film?
Dominic Cook: The early ’60’s — especially in the UK — you might as well have been in the Edwardian era.

What was the process of making this film?
Meryl Streep: It came together very quickly because Steven Spielberg was making another film with everything ready to go in Italy, except the lead wasn’t cast yet.

Sophie, let’s start with the genesis: how did this project begin?
Sophie Brooks: It really does feel like a miracle when an indie gets made. We almost made this movie in 2020 and thought, “this is easy,” but it ended up taking another four and a half years.

Anora is such an intense and ferocious character, but there’s an understated vulnerability. How did you weave that into the performance?
Mikey Madison: I always saw her as someone who was deeply vulnerable on the inside but is constantly protecting herself by covering it up with anger and spunk.

What made Michael the perfect director for this film?
I’ve been a longtime fan of Michael’s, and as a matter of fact, early on in the process I reached out to him in hopes that he might be able to get involved from the very beginning.

What draws you back to these Western stories? What is it like when you develop a project over the course of many years, as you’ve done here?
Kevin Costner: I think it’s the idea that it’s not a part of Disneyland: it was part of our history.