I think a lot of filmmakers of your ilk, like you or a Noah Baumbach, try it out as an experiment and see what the experience is like.
Sure, look, Netflix gave me complete freedom to cast who I wanted and to make the movie I wanted to make. They might not be as experienced in theatrical distribution and they do have an enormous amount of movies they have to put out to market, and that’s very different from say, Sony Classics or Fox Searchlight. But so far so good, I’m proud of my movie and that’s all one can ask for.
Do you think about theatrical vs. stream at home, optimal viewing experience debate that films nerds like ourselves debate?
Am I militant about it? No. My preference would always be to see the movie projected with great sound and picture, but honestly, I’ve seen my films projected so badly, so dark and sounding so, so terrible because you can’t control what a theater is going to do to your movie. Nevertheless, it’s definitely preferable and a more encompassing thing in theaters, and I would love to go to the movies, but honestly I watch most movies on my TV because of circumstance, but not really by choice. Yes, a director’s nightmare is someone picking up the phone up or playing on their phone or making dinner while they’re watching your movies. That’s a drag.
Viewing habits are changing, right? Maybe in a few years, no one cares or has this issue.
It’s so weird. Sitting at home and texting their friends and having no communication with humanity [laughs]. It’s scary. God, watching something with my kids. I mean they’ll agree to watch something with me if I agree not to bug them for being on their phones. I’m kidding… sort of. It’s like, “Ok, it’s your loss then.”
You kind of have two films at Toronto because there’s also, “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” which you wrote. Which randomly reminds me: you were going to make that with Julianne Moore at one point. What happened there?
Let’s just say creative differences and very last minute creative differences at that. And really literally that’s the truth. It’s never pleasant for anybody, but that’s the truth. And that was hard [pause], a really hard period. And I think [‘Forgive Me’ director] Marielle Heller did a good job. I’ve seen it. It’s good!
Not to sound too glib, but given you’ve been a female filmmaker for twenty years in this business…I wonder how you feel about #MeToo as it relates to moviemaking in the ’80s, ’90s, and aughts when the rules were “different.”
I have a couple stories. Not that many, but a couple. In film school, a couple making movies. Nothing traumatic in any way, so I’m lucky in that respect but sure. I think everyone has a story. I think especially in retrospect—It’s like “oh yeah, I guess I was being sexually harassed. I would pay a price for not accepting someone’s invitation for sure.
You mention film school. There, what I saw, which is its own kind of horribleness, is the undermining of someone’s authority and confidence because of their gender. There’s nothing worse than watching a female filmmaker being undermined on her own set.
Oh boy, I’ve been there. Right. Not often, but… It’s more in television when I was less experienced, and you know the old school grips and gaffers, they’re like, “Who’s this little girl and how can she tell us what to do and she doesn’t even know what she’s doing.” I don’t know, I think they might’ve given a young man a similarly hard time, but not as bad.
I can confirm as much [laughs]. Let’s not end on that note. You were also a TV pioneer in a way. All the indie filmmakers now dabble in TV in between films. You did that back starting in the late ’90s. It wasn’t the norm back then.
Yeah, after “Walking and Talking” (1996). I started doing television. One of my first major jobs first job was “Sex And The City.” Those guys liked my movie and gave me a chance. The market was less saturated with movie directors, directing TV. I don’t know why they gave me a chance, but I’m so grateful they did because from then on in I could get hired on TV and that’s been a wonderful experience financially and creatively.
It’s nice to say afloat.
Yeah [laughs]
This interview has been condensed and edited for length and clarity. “The Land of Steady Habits” is available on Netflix now.
