'Sorry, Baby' director Eva Victor dishes on creating the cast for this film and calls Naomi Ackie "the missing piece" while also sharing her excitement about Lucas Hedges saying yes to the project. Plus, while stopping by THR's studio at Park City, Ackie explains how she learned so much from this job.
00:00I loved it because I could really see, as we went on, becoming more confident in your personality.
00:05That's like so embarrassing and cute.
00:07No, no, no, it was.
00:08You don't even mean, like, it's so vulnerable.
00:09I was watching you sometimes and you were, like, suddenly, like, from the beginning where it was, like, you would look at the monitor and you'd be like, uh, I don't know, how do you feel, uh, uh.
00:18By the end, you were like, no, I want this here.
00:19Oh, my God, that's cool.
00:20I want that there.
00:20I kind of wrote it in, like, this feverish, like, um, in therapy, how they're, like, write a letter to yourself or to someone and don't send it.
00:31It was kind of that vibe.
00:32And then I was like, let's send it after that, um, to Pastel, who are my producers.
00:39And it honestly was, like, a bit of a conversation with Barry where he was like, the comedy videos that you're making online, which is what I was doing first, you're directing those, you know, even if you don't know it.
00:48So go think about whether you want to direct it or not.
00:50You guys, like, don't know, like, any of, like, my tea.
00:52Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:53Okay.
00:54And basically, um, I went and thought about it and made all these, like, look books and was like, oh, I do know the look and the feel of this.
01:01I just need to surround myself with people who are technically, um, savvy and smart so that they can help me build it.
01:09And hot.
01:10And super hot.
01:10And super.
01:11And, um, just to clarify for people watching the video, you mean Barry Jenkins?
01:16Yes.
01:16He had followed me on Instagram at a time I don't remember and I saw that he followed me and I was like, well, let's just follow back because that's who, that guy that I love.
01:24And then he DM'd me and was like, if you ever have anything longer form that you want to send, Pastel would love to read it, which is his production company.
01:32And then they sent them this and things are amazing now.
01:35How did you fill out your Trifempte?
01:37Oh, them?
01:39Well, let me get into it, literally.
01:41So I did a call with her and we read and it was like such a dream.
01:45She was, she made me feel like I was saying words that made sense.
01:49And she just had this like completely warm energy.
01:52There's like one line in the film that I remember after we read together, the producers and I were like, this is, we heard this line for the first time and it felt so real and like true.
02:05Like it just, it kind of like made the movie make more sense once we, like, and she just like was the missing piece.
02:10Um, and once we found her, we were like, okay, we have a film and like this will function.
02:14Um, and then Lucas was like this amazing guy that I knew of, of course, due to the amazing lore of your, and I wrote him a letter and he literally, I think, read it.
02:27I read the letter.
02:29And maybe the script.
02:29Yes, I did.
02:30And then, um.
02:32I didn't read the script.
02:33No, he still doesn't know what's going on.
02:35No, and then like I, uh, he said yes.
02:38And I remember the day he said yes and everyone had texted me that he said yes.
02:43And we're like videoing me receiving the text and I was like, oh, I was so happy.
02:48This is like, I'm telling like the secrets.
02:50This is so sweet.
02:51And then we did a call and you were so, um, you were so like meticulous.
02:54I was at my parents' place and I was surrounded by like a thousand books.
02:58Yeah, it was so cool.
02:59And you were like, wow, a lot of books.
03:00I was like, none of these are my books.
03:02I was like, I'm like 27 years old with like, like a full wall of like a hundred books.
03:07It was so cool.
03:08It was like, and you were like, I would have believed if those were your books.
03:11I said that?
03:12I still believe that.
03:12Because you're super smart.
03:13You're such a smart guy.
03:14I've read like half of a book this year.
03:17You're like, that's about enough.
03:18We're only in like the first one.
03:19It's true.
03:20We're just getting started.
03:20Yeah.
03:21You guys are already reading?
03:22I just finished, I was just saying to Lucas, I've just finished, um, Harry Potter 4.
03:27Once again, um, wait, you and Harry Potter, like that's forever.
03:32She should have been in it.
03:33No, literally, the whole thing is that she auditioned.
03:36Yeah, I auditioned for Levin de Brown and I didn't get it.
03:38No.
03:38That's like the skin of the world.
03:40No, it's literally- Oh my God.
03:42I was fucking livid.
03:44You actually would have completely destroyed that role.
03:47No shade.
03:48When we read together on that, with my shitty Wi-Fi, it was like, I felt the same thing.
03:54I was like, wow, that just felt like a conversation.
03:56You're right, like the, it's so like, natural and it felt so natural between us that I was
04:03like, yeah, this feels like, yeah, alive with something and like, with things like that,
04:09it's just like, you never should deny those, those things because it helps to inform later
04:15on, I think what you do, like, I learned so much from this job.
04:19Really?
04:19Yeah.
04:20She's done well.
04:20I learned it for you.
04:21Are you kidding me about saying it?
04:23Really?
04:23Yeah.
04:24Okay, the thing about Naomi is that like, she'd been on these like, crazy sets with these like,
04:29super directors and like, by-
04:32I don't think you understand who you are.
04:34No, listen to me, I never directed anything and like, she had so much like, generosity
04:40and grace and patience and you were so supportive of me, like that first day, I remember being
04:44like, you were so nice to me.
04:46I know and I was like, we have to wait for the train and everyone's like, you will not
04:49be waiting for the train, we want the train to go by and everyone's like, this is like
04:51not good, but it looks good without the train, by the way, but I just, you were so nice
04:58to me and then by the end, I was like, oh my God, like, I've like, understood this
05:02job more by the end and you were there the whole time.
05:06I loved it because I could really see as we went on becoming more confident in your
05:11world.
05:12It's like, so, that's like so embarrassing and cute.
05:14No, no, no, it was.
05:15You don't even mean like, it's so vulnerable.
05:16I was watching sometimes and you were like, suddenly like from beginning where it was
05:19like, you would look at the monitor and you'd be like, oh, I don't know, how do you feel?
05:24By the end, you were like, no, I want this here.
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