This is a movie that shows real love for the Bay Area. Where did the story come from?
Ryan Fleck: Well, it starts with that Too $hort song, this really nasty song called Freaky Tales that I heard way too young, maybe nine or ten. I grew up with hippie parents. We had Beatles records and Janis Joplin and then my friends played me Freaky Tales and I was like, What is going on?!
When you were first pitched this story, what really clicked for you? Was there a moment or scene that really convinced you that you wanted to make this?
Peter Cattaneo: Well, it’s based on a memoir, and I think what felt really exciting was that you would never dream up this set of facts.
What is it like finally bringing a film into the world after you’ve been working on it for close to five years?
Gints Zilbalodis: It’s been very intense, and very strange, sitting in a room by yourself for such a long time and then going to twenty or thirty places and meeting crowds of people.
This is a wonderfully imaginative film that has so much to say. Can you talk about your adaptation process?
Bong Joon Ho: So I first read a ten page treatment of the novel, and I was just immediately fascinated by the concept of human printing.
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.