Steven Soderbergh‘s latest film, “Let them All Talk,” will premiere this December on HBO Max, and it seems the filmmaker who already made two films on iPhones has a new trick — shooting an entirely improvised film in two weeks.
In a recent Playlist interview with Soderbergh to discuss “Wireless,” a new innovative mobile-phone thriller on Quibi he executive–produced, the prodigious filmmaker teased the release of “Let Them All Talk,” for this December. “I think it will be out before the end of the year. That’s the discussions I’ve had,” Soderbergh told us. Now, Entertainment Weekly has confirmed the December release month in their most recent first look.
The first look had the cast revealing details for the upcoming HBO Max film, which deals with longtime friends who reconvene on a cruise where banter and regret become the first order of business.
Meryl Streep said the film was made for very cheap, and very fast. “I told [Soderbergh] he was gonna ruin everything for every director, and every production designer, and everything else, because he made the movie for 25 cents — I know that’s what I was paid,” Streep joked. “Then it was made in two weeks, and it was a free ride on the boat.”
Not only was the film made for cheap, but Dianne Wiest also says Soderbergh didn’t use much traditional film equipment. “The only equipment was sound equipment,” Wiest said. “Steven held the camera in a wheelchair and just rolled along. None of the lights, and the trucks, all that stuff that goes into making movies, there’s none of it. There were Steven and this new camera” [Editor’s note, a new RED CAMERA, that was then just a prototype].
This style of almost guerilla filmmaking was complimented by Soderbergh not using a proper script, choosing instead to hand out basic outlines for scenarios, and letting the actors improvise all dialogue. When asked about the improvised feel for the film’s dialogue, Streep was quick to confirm. “Improvised feel? Well, yeah, it does, because it is,” Streep said. “I mean, they would give us the outlines of a situation, and then we knew where we had to end up. But they didn’t tell us how to get there.”
“Let Them All Talk” is set to premiere on HBO Max this December. Check out first look photos from EW below.
