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The stars of 'Marjorie Prime' stopped by THR offices for a candid conversation about the sci-fi movie.
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00:00Hi, this is Mariah Gullow from The Hollywood Reporter and I'm in studio with Gina Davis
00:04and Lois Smith.
00:05Thank you so much for being here.
00:08A pleasure.
00:09Let's talk about your new movie, Marjorie Prime.
00:11So Lois, you've spent some time with this film as well as the play before.
00:17I did the play, some time went by, I did the film, and then the next morning I went into
00:23rehearsal for the play again.
00:24Amazing.
00:25Yes.
00:26Literally.
00:27Yeah.
00:28So can you tell us a little bit about this movie and your experience with it?
00:35Maybe a little bit about your character, Marjorie?
00:39Marjorie has some problems remembering and isn't terribly well, has a long in years.
00:51She has a companion who is an AI, basically a hologram.
00:59It takes a little bit, places a little bit in the future, not so far in the future.
01:04And that's how, that's how the story begins.
01:11It's a, a, the piece is deeply about memory.
01:15And while there is a sci-fi element because these, these AI companions are not yet on the market
01:24or in existence.
01:26They are not so far away as what we hear.
01:29But it's, it's the human beings who are the center of the piece and what, as human beings, who we are,
01:37what we want to be, what we remember and don't, and what we say to each other and don't.
01:43And that's, the prime listens very well, is programmed to be sympathetic and empathic.
01:56And it's also, since it knows only what it's been told, it learns as it learns more because people tell it things.
02:06So, and your, the prime who is your husband, who has passed away.
02:13Yes, my deceased husband, who is at, at, in his forties, instead of, he was much older when he passed away.
02:21Right.
02:22But that's the, that's the prime I choose.
02:24And it's played by John Hamm.
02:26By John Hamm.
02:27Oh.
02:28Good reason for choosing such a.
02:29Yes.
02:30Very good reason.
02:31Yes.
02:32Yes.
02:33Yes, John is known as just a, a beloved actor in the entertainment world.
02:38Indeed, yes.
02:39For good reason.
02:40Yeah.
02:41Yes.
02:42What was it like working, working with him?
02:43Well, hence, also, I get to have John Hamm as my dad.
02:48Yeah.
02:49Yes.
02:50Very.
02:51John Hamm and I are Gina's parents.
02:53Yes.
02:54That's right.
02:56But it all makes sense in the movie.
02:58Yeah.
02:59And this movie at its core is about generations of women in the same family.
03:04What was it like having that mother-daughter relationship?
03:07It's quite an interesting mother-daughter relationship.
03:10Not peaceful.
03:11No.
03:12Not, not resolved.
03:15Not resolved.
03:16Not resolved.
03:17And, you know, to, to be 60 and still have passionate interest in, in having a connection,
03:26you know, finding a connection you feel like you lost or were robbed of with your mother
03:33is, you know, it's very, it's very interesting and very fraught relationship.
03:38One of the scenes I really like, Gina, is when you are with your husband, Tim Robbins, and
03:45you're talking about memory, how memories fade away in your life.
03:52Right.
03:53What would, what was that scene like for you to film?
03:55Well, that one, Lois knows, that one has really stuck with me because my character talks
04:04about this, this theory that memory is, uh, uh, like that, that each time you remember
04:13something you're remembering the last time you remembered it rather than the actual event
04:17so that it fades like a Xerox of a Xerox.
04:20And, uh, uh, I'd never heard that before and I don't like that idea.
04:25I don't know.
04:26Is that a real, is this a real scientific theory or was it?
04:28Oh no.
04:29Yeah.
04:30It is a real, I'm not, I don't know, you know, I haven't really researched it.
04:33That's the only one, but I choose to think that there's a different theory.
04:37I just, it really stuck with me now.
04:40Yeah.
04:41Um.
04:42The things they make an actor say.
04:43I know.
04:45If only I hadn't had to think about that, it would have been better.
04:49Yeah.
04:50Yeah.
04:51But it, it, it's an interesting idea.
04:52Yeah.
04:53Yeah.
04:54Um, what was it like filming in the location?
04:56Cause it's kind of, I mean, the, the location is so kind of beautifully bleak and isolated.
05:02And timeless.
05:03Um, and the ocean has a lot to do with it.
05:08Um, the, the Buddhist belief that the mind is an ocean and the thoughts are like waves.
05:13Um, so what was it, what was that like kind of filming in that environment?
05:18Yeah.
05:19This is the view of, I think, Michael Almereta who adapted and directed this film.
05:25Uh, the water is important to him.
05:27The choice of the ocean as, as the, uh, he wouldn't speak of it in symbols, but, but as,
05:34as what?
05:35Givens as, as, uh, yeah.
05:37Yeah.
05:38Yeah.
05:39Right.
05:40Yeah.
05:41That was his, he chose to set it by the ocean.
05:43It wasn't necessarily intended that way in the play, but, uh, uh, and I think, I think
05:50it is meant to give a feeling of timelessness and, and there's a lot of weather in the movie
05:56as well, there's lots of wind and waves and, uh, rain and then ultimately snow and, uh,
06:04and I think that's meant to give a sort of timeless feel as well.
06:09The passage of time.
06:10Yes.
06:11Yeah.
06:12Yeah.
06:13When you had to, uh, dig into your characters, um, and I was talking to you about this earlier,
06:19Lois, do you find it helpful to have like a very involved backstory or are you finding
06:25yourself kind of playing in the moment off the, the other person?
06:29Um, does it feel right to kind of dig into the memories of this other, this character or
06:36does it feel more right to like really be present with your, with your scene partner?
06:40It's not one or the other.
06:42No.
06:43Is it?
06:44It can't be.
06:45First of all, as I think I said to you, the writing in this, in this piece is strong
06:49and is giving you, me, the, us and the audience a lot of, of, um, emotional location.
06:58Uh-huh.
06:59So, um, we already know a lot about what we know and don't know.
07:08Uh-huh.
07:09Um, and it's, it is an interesting question because what, what's left out of the story?
07:17Each character knows and believes or passes on or it is the substance of it.
07:24It's, that's a lot of what the piece is about.
07:27Uh-huh.
07:28Really.
07:29Yeah.
07:30Um, this movie plays around with the idea of memory suppression.
07:35That, you know, if you were speaking to, uh, a hologram, uh, a prime and you're downloading,
07:43you're downloading your information to them, maybe you might leave off some things.
07:48Some memories that you would rather.
07:49Or polish it things up or something.
07:51Yeah.
07:52Yeah.
07:53Right.
07:54Change movie every once in a while.
07:55Um, is there anything, not to dig too personally into your own lives, but is there anything that
08:00you would leave out of your life if you were talking to a prime?
08:04Hmm.
08:05Ooh.
08:06Something you'd like to just.
08:08Never thought about that.
08:09I know.
08:10I don't mean to be too heavy with it.
08:13That's a really personal question.
08:16I know.
08:17I'm sorry.
08:18It's a really personal question.
08:19Uh, how about a memory you'd like to, you would like to experience?
08:23Something that you would like, uh, you know, perhaps you wake up in the morning and
08:27Jon Hamm is sitting there on your couch and, and he's.
08:30On the couch.
08:31I find you have a great memory of your life.
08:33Like, what would you choose?
08:34Oh, that is so interesting.
08:38Yeah.
08:39Because part of what happens in this, in this early scene is very much that.
08:46There are, uh, he is prompting Marjorie about memories that she doesn't have.
08:53Mm-hmm.
08:54And yet, she likes to play with the, uh, the facts and the memories.
09:01Right, right.
09:02Yeah.
09:03So.
09:04And then, you know, you're, you're kind of happy to have things massaged around a little
09:09bit.
09:10Yeah.
09:11And make it a better story.
09:12I probably want him to talk about my pets.
09:14Oh.
09:15Just have somebody to say, you know, wasn't Puffy great?
09:19You remember Puffy was so wonderful?
09:21And, you know.
09:22Actually, we do that in this, in this piece.
09:24Yes.
09:25Yeah.
09:26We do.
09:27We do.
09:28Um, for this, uh, this is such a character driven piece, um, do you ever, uh, kind of
09:34pull from inspiration from other actors of the past?
09:37How do you mean?
09:39That, uh.
09:40Like, do any actors from the past kind of inspire you to craft the character, the specific characters
09:46in Marjorie Prime?
09:48No.
09:49No.
09:50No.
09:51No.
09:52I don't think so.
09:53Maybe there are goodness influences that are just there.
09:57I mean, certainly admire.
09:59Right.
10:00Right.
10:01Exactly.
10:02No, but I can't, you can't say, oh, she'd have done it this way.
10:05No.
10:06Right.
10:07Yeah.
10:08Um, well, I have a line of questions called first, best, last, worst that I would like to
10:13have you answer.
10:14And.
10:15Okay.
10:16Yeah, they're, they're pretty simple.
10:17You'll see.
10:18Um, the first job that made you think I've made it.
10:22Even if you hadn't at the time.
10:24Uh, uh, well, uh, when I was 60, it wasn't my, it wasn't my first job.
10:30Uh, but, uh, when I was 16, I got hired in a department store to be in the credit department.
10:36Uh, deciding whether people could buy a refrigerator on credit, you know, or whatever, because I was very
10:43good at math.
10:44And I thought, well, I am really, I am a grown up now.
10:48Very, very responsible person.
10:49So, that's probably mine.
10:50That's great.
10:51Oh, love it.
10:52It's my turn.
10:53Yeah.
10:54I can go on.
10:55Go ahead, go on.
10:56Um.
10:57I didn't choose something from this business.
10:59No.
11:00Oh, I like it though.
11:01No, I like that you, uh, you found something that just, you know, you, you knew you had become
11:09an adult when you were able to approve lines of credit.
11:13Right.
11:14That's really great.
11:15Yeah.
11:16Lois, do you have a job from the past that, uh.
11:20My first job was a play on Broadway, which, um, ran all season.
11:27And Melvin Douglas was my father.
11:29I was a teenage.
11:30Your first job was a play on Broadway?
11:31Yep.
11:32And it was three teenage girls and Mel, Melvin Douglas was our father.
11:36Wow.
11:37Um, that was pretty terrific.
11:39But, this is what I wanted to tell you.
11:41The very last performance, my character is dressed up to go and do the school play,
11:49playing Queen Victoria.
11:50And in the third act, her last entrance, her last exit, she's telling her parents who
11:55are going to come to this high school to watch the play.
11:58And, you know, she's giving them instructions and she, and then I make an exit.
12:03And the last night of the performance in Broadway, after I exited, Melvin Douglas said,
12:10she's going to be a great actress, that kid.
12:14That was his ad lib.
12:16No!
12:17Oh, wow!
12:18Isn't that a lovely story?
12:20Yeah.
12:21And did you just go, oh!
12:22You know, I've been going, the rest of my life, I don't know what I did at the moment.
12:26I had just walked off stage, you know.
12:28Right, right, right.
12:29That's fabulous.
12:30Yeah, that was pretty great.
12:31Wow.
12:32Very good.
12:33The best story from the set of Marjorie Prime or on stage?
12:38Any good stories from one of the nights performing?
12:41Ah.
12:42Ah.
12:43Oh.
12:44Oh.
12:45Um.
12:46Oh, my God.
12:48I just thought of one.
12:50What?
12:51What?
12:52One night at the Taper, when it was the first place we performed it, um, it was the first
13:00scene of the play between Marjorie and Walter Prime.
13:04And, um, I think I know, I think I figured out what had happened.
13:11Uh, he says something, and I hesitated in my answer, and he went on.
13:17That is, he missed, I think, maybe thought I didn't know it, and maybe I didn't for a
13:22moment.
13:23Oh.
13:24But, he came back with a line.
13:29Happens that line was a great deal farther on in the scene.
13:32Oh, no.
13:33Oh, yeah.
13:34And I picked it up, and we continued to play the scene, and all the time it was going on,
13:39the wheels, I was continuing to say the lines that were next.
13:43Yeah.
13:44But the wheels were going around, because a lot of what was left out was essential.
13:49The end of the play would not have made any sense.
13:51No.
13:52And I finally realized what to do, and I leaped to back, something that took us back.
13:59Yes.
14:00And we played the part that had been left out, and then we ended the scene.
14:03And when we got off stage, I mean, it was, it was, it was amazing, but it was, it was,
14:09it's also sort of, it might, maybe it's like, right, I'm not adventurous about things like
14:13riding a motorcycle or do, I think it was kind of like that.
14:17Boy, you were really.
14:18And our fellows, Tess and John, who were standing off stage, were paralyzed with fear about what was happening.
14:29Yes.
14:30Oh, I can imagine.
14:31It was extremely exciting and very scary.
14:34Wow.
14:35And that happened once.
14:36And you pulled it off.
14:38We did, we pulled it off.
14:39Oh, boy.
14:40To go back and then skip the part you'd already done.
14:42Oh, God.
14:43And put all the information in.
14:44We did it.
14:45We did it.
14:46And would he, when you took it back, could you read on his face?
14:50Oh, yes.
14:51He had the same look on his face I did.
14:53Oh, he probably went, oh, no.
14:55And when I did this, I think he knew, okay.
14:58Okay.
14:59Yeah.
15:00It was like butter.
15:01But it was sour.
15:02Yeah.
15:03That's a great sour.
15:04I have no comfortable story.
15:07So let's go on to the next one.
15:09Let's move on.
15:10Last time a fan interaction made you laugh.
15:19Have you been getting any good feedback from the public about?
15:25We have been getting a lot of feedback, but it hasn't been too risable.
15:32Well, there was one period where I had people saying, it was when Julia Roberts was very
15:45in the public eye and I had people say, oh, you're Julia Roberts.
15:49I think we both had big smiles or something.
15:52And I happened to be at an airport magazine shop and she was on the cover of like Vogue
15:59or something.
16:00And the clerk said, oh, you're Julia Roberts.
16:03And I picked it up and held it up and said, yeah.
16:08That's nice.
16:09Yeah.
16:10I'm Julia Roberts.
16:11Like to prove, of course, I'm not.
16:13And then she said, oh, Julia Roberts, will you sign it for me?
16:17Oh.
16:18Okay.
16:19That would put a smile on my face.
16:28Okay.
16:29Here's the last one.
16:30Worst audition story.
16:31I got cast in everything I auditioned for.
16:35I'm kidding.
16:36You don't have any.
16:37I'm kidding.
16:38I'm kidding.
16:39I'm kidding.
16:40Worst audition story.
16:42I'm sure there's been great ones.
16:43I just can't remember them.
16:44Yeah.
16:45Worst audition story.
16:46I mean, your audition for Tootsie must have been a triumph.
16:50Oh.
16:51I guess.
16:52Well, there was.
16:53Well, all right.
16:54I'll bide some time for you by telling a modeling audition story.
17:11Because I was trying to be a model early on.
17:14And I went to this go see where they said, you know, I always went full makeup, full everything.
17:23And they said, this is going to be for a commercial where they're going to splash you with water.
17:29Oh, no.
17:30And because you're having so much fun, it's all great.
17:33So they had a bucket of water.
17:35And they said, as part of the audition, we're going to splash you with this water.
17:42And you're going to smile so happy.
17:45Yay.
17:46The fun waves.
17:47And we'll take a photo.
17:48So I'm standing there on the spot ready.
17:51And they throw this cold, dense bucket of water on my head.
17:56And I went.
17:58And they took the picture and they just said, you weren't smiling.
18:03Oh, wow.
18:05Next.
18:06Out of the sidewalk again.
18:08Like, what am I supposed to do?
18:11There was a lot of stuff like that.
18:14Yeah.
18:15Lewis.
18:16No, I haven't.
18:17No.
18:18I was listening.
18:19I was listening.
18:20How could I think of that?
18:21How could you?
18:22Well, ladies, thank you so much for being here.
18:25The movie's Marjorie Prime.
18:26It's out on limited release and we'll get a wider release later.
18:29But go see it.
18:30Yes, it's been extended in New York, in Los Angeles.
18:33Yes.
18:34It's playing at the big screen.
18:35It's the hot ticket.
18:36See it on the big screen.
18:37See it on the big screen.
18:38Yes.
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