- 4 hours ago
The three women discussed the Hulu series with THR.
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00:00:00Welcome, everyone.
00:00:25It is my, I'm Tatiana Siegel from The Hollywood Reporter.
00:00:29And it is my pleasure to introduce you to the actresses you've just seen on screen, Elizabeth
00:00:35Moss and Alexis Bledel, as well as the super talented director, executive producer of episodes
00:00:501 through 3, which we will see clips from tonight, Reed Moreno.
00:00:57So that was another intense episode.
00:01:06Okay, so this novel was written in 1985.
00:01:12Why did it take 32 years to give it its proper due?
00:01:16Anyone want to feel that?
00:01:18I mean, they've tried everything, an opera, ballet, a film.
00:01:24Maybe this just, they hadn't tried this one yet.
00:01:26Yeah, I don't know.
00:01:27It's not an easy story to tell, you know?
00:01:28I mean, there's a lot of, there's a lot of traps.
00:01:29It's complicated.
00:01:30It's a first person narrative, the book.
00:01:32You know, that was one of the things that when I got the material for the first time, I was
00:01:42like, how am I going to, how are they going to do this?
00:01:45Like, it seems like a terrible idea to adapt this book.
00:01:52But I think, I think they did it pretty well.
00:01:57I was just going to say, it could be also Margaret was ahead of her time.
00:02:05Yeah.
00:02:06And so.
00:02:07Very prescient.
00:02:08Yeah.
00:02:09Yeah.
00:02:10So maybe it just takes some more modern storytelling to do it the correct way.
00:02:17Right.
00:02:18But I also would argue like, there is this idea that we're living in the golden age of television
00:02:22and you really need like the sort of, the two hours is not enough to really tell the story
00:02:31of these characters properly.
00:02:33And so why not?
00:02:34Like, it makes sense that it would become a TV series in this golden age of television
00:02:41we're in.
00:02:42And that would be the way to properly get into the characters.
00:02:47Now, everyone's calling this series timely, which, you know, obviously we're going to get
00:02:58a lot of laughs from the audience, but is this, is this a timely story?
00:03:04Or is this story always timely?
00:03:06And it just happens to be somebody is like, people are right now saying like, you know,
00:03:10this is pretty timely.
00:03:11I think it's, I think it's, I think it's always been timely because Margaret had,
00:03:18when she wrote this, when she wrote this and she basically said in numerous different places,
00:03:22she also told us, I think over that cast dinner, but it's everything in the book is, has happened
00:03:29or is happening somewhere in the world right now.
00:03:33And that's how it was when she wrote it.
00:03:34And I think people are saying it's timely because, well, I think at the beginning when we got onto
00:03:41it, I, one of the things that I liked about doing the story was that I thought maybe it would sort
00:03:47sort of widen people's views of the world and, you know, more, we're, we tend to be a little bit sheltered,
00:03:55as it's totally a generalization, but in America, we tend to be a little bit sheltered because of the rights
00:04:01that we do have and what we've all been used to.
00:04:05And, uh, so initially for me, it was an interesting story to take on because I thought, well, maybe it'll make
00:04:12people really appreciate what they have.
00:04:16And I think now it, it seems more timely because, you know, there are things happening, uh, that are hitting
00:04:24a little bit more close to home on a daily basis.
00:04:28And the whole, you know, message that Margaret was sending with the book is that, um,
00:04:36big changes like this don't happen overnight.
00:04:39They happen very slowly over time, almost so that you don't know that they're happening until
00:04:44it's too late.
00:04:44Right. The frog in the pot of water that's slowly boiling.
00:04:49Um, now, and, and, and can you even have a conversation about The Handmaid's Tale without invoking
00:04:56our current president, Donald Trump?
00:05:01Oh, we got some claps. All right.
00:05:02He just won't let us, I think.
00:05:10He just keeps stepping right into it.
00:05:16And, and I, you know, it's something that I think that we aren't exactly happy about.
00:05:21You know, it's, it's an unfortunate thing that we, you know, have to kind of have that as a part of the conversation.
00:05:28Um, you know, we don't want this to be happening.
00:05:30We don't want it to be quite this relevant.
00:05:33Um, but it is.
00:05:34And I think that if we all can tell a story that sheds some light on something that needs
00:05:38to be talked about, then it, it makes your job all that more enjoyable, frankly.
00:05:43You know?
00:05:44Right. And I think certainly with, um, some of the moves that have been already proposed with
00:05:50regards to reproductive rights, um, definitely hearken, uh, along with this storyline, which,
00:05:57um, I think gives it that sort of, uh, more immediacy, if you will.
00:06:02So, uh, Alexis, you, uh, do you, do you have any thoughts on, um, uh, obviously you and Elizabeth
00:06:10had worked together briefly on Mad Men.
00:06:13Um, you know, what, what, another series that had, um, you know, very strong women portrayals
00:06:26of women, but also in a time of, um, obvious constraints, if you will.
00:06:31Um, what was, uh, what was working, um, on that series like and bringing it to,
00:06:38what did you bring with it to this series, if anything?
00:06:41Hmm. Um, um, yeah, we, we got to meet, um, on the set of Mad Men, though we didn't have any
00:06:49scenes together, so it was, um, exciting for me to get to work with Lizzie on this project.
00:06:54Um, but, um, yeah, playing a housewife on Mad Men, um, briefly in a few episodes, um,
00:07:06I, I don't know, I love the challenge of a period piece, because you have all these interesting
00:07:11layers to incorporate into your character.
00:07:14And, um, on this show, I, I get to play a character who has almost seemingly an infinite
00:07:23number of layers to, um, simultaneously, um, be playing around with.
00:07:30And, and, uh, I get to sort of draw different things out of her, uh, depending on what the
00:07:35scene requires. So, um, it was an incredible challenge and, um, one that I really relished.
00:07:42So, um, both, both were like dream jobs for me.
00:07:49Maybe, let's, uh, tell me all three of you, your sort of genesis story with this project.
00:07:54How did you first, you know, did an agent call you up and say, somebody's mulling, doing this,
00:07:59bringing this back to the screen. I'd love to hear all three of your stories, how you got involved
00:08:04with this project. Um, I was in Australia shooting and, uh, got sent the script, just the normal way,
00:08:11like through your agent. And, um, the first episode. And I read it and it was so good. And I was kind
00:08:20of like, ah, damn it. Um, because I didn't know if I wanted to go do another series, you know,
00:08:27quite so soon. I thought maybe eventually, but it was only been like a year and a half or so since
00:08:31Mad Men finished. So, um, I was like, damn. And then I, I was like, all right, let me read the second
00:08:36one. And, um, I got the second one and I thought it was even better than the first one. So I was like,
00:08:41fuck. And then quite literally what I say at the end of that episode, um, literally I read it and it
00:08:50was, it's like, fuck. And I was like, fuck, sorry. I'm probably not supposed to swear at all.
00:08:55Um, and then I, I talked to Bruce, uh, Miller, a show runner for about an hour, hour and a half,
00:09:00and, um, asked him all the questions, you know, that you ask. And he answered them all kind of
00:09:06amazingly. And, and I think one of the best things that he said was, I don't want to do anything that
00:09:10anyone else has done. Like we can try to refer to things and we want it to look like this or we want
00:09:14it to be like that, but really I want to do something that is new and that no one has ever seen. And I thought
00:09:19that was a really cool answer. Um, and then, yeah, it just went from, it went from there. I talked to
00:09:23Warren, I talked to Hulu and, um, eventually just got to a place where I felt that it would be
00:09:29something I would hugely regret if I said no. Um, and yes, that is true. I think I would have,
00:09:35I'm very, very glad that I said yes.
00:09:41That's my Genesis story.
00:09:43How did you become off Glenn?
00:09:47I, um, was offered the role in kind of the late summer and I got the first three scripts and,
00:09:54um, uh, that was really nice to get more than the pilot episode of a show, um, right off the bat. And,
00:10:01um, I love the scripts. I thought they were amazing. So I said, I accepted.
00:10:07And if I may, it was one of those things that like the, that role was so important because
00:10:14it had to be something that you was really mysterious at first. And then she had to have
00:10:19more depth and we wanted somebody that people maybe knew, but we didn't want somebody that
00:10:24would be distracting. And when, and when the name came up, I'm not sure who actually came up with the
00:10:30name first. Um, but when it came up, it was one of those like, oh my God. Yes. Yeah.
00:10:35That's such a great idea. She's perfect. And then thank God she said, yes.
00:10:39Wow. Thanks.
00:10:47It's true. Yeah. We were pumped.
00:10:51I was excited.
00:10:55Um, I, uh, read the script. I read the pilot like probably February of last year when I was
00:11:04just starting to do some TV work and, um, they just sent it to me like, okay,
00:11:11just want to show you what Hulu's up to. Um, but this is not like, you're not going to be able
00:11:16to pitch on this. It's out to like big directors and stuff. And I was like, okay.
00:11:20So were they, were they male directors too? Like, or?
00:11:24I won't say names, but it was a male director at the time who's very famous. Um,
00:11:28um, and I was like, oh, that's cool. Um,
00:11:34and then I was like, do I have to read it? Cause I know I'm going to like it. Cause I already,
00:11:37I'd read the book in college. So I was just like, all right, um, I'm going to read this
00:11:41and be super depressed now. So for multiple reasons. Yeah. Um, so I read it and I was really
00:11:49bummed because I was like, if there ever was a pilot, I feel like I could, I really get like,
00:11:56and I know what to do, like right off the bat. I was like, it's this one.
00:11:59So I immediately told everybody like, oh, I want to pitch on this. And they're like, okay,
00:12:03well, you know, you're meeting with Hulu and MGM, you know, in a few weeks. So just tell them when
00:12:09you meet with them. And I was like, okay. So then I kind of did that. I had like a meeting with, um,
00:12:15someone at Hulu who knows who he is. And we had a great conversation and he was like,
00:12:20so you want to direct episodes of this or episodes of this? And I was like, yeah, sure. But you know what I
00:12:25really love? I really love the handmaid's tale. And he's like, oh yeah, that's a good one.
00:12:30And I was like, you wanted me to tell you what I think about it. Like, and I just started anyway,
00:12:35that didn't really go anywhere, but I did. We had a lively conversation and like common shared a common
00:12:41ground creatively about like what we thought it should be. And, um, I was like, all right,
00:12:46it's a step in the right direction. And then, you know, over time, I kind of realized it was never
00:12:50going to probably happen. And, um, at some point soon after that, I found out that Lizzie got cast
00:12:57in the lead role. And I was like, what? Because I already knew her and I was, we had worked together
00:13:02on my movie, um, and she graciously came and did a cameo in. Um, and I, so I would like emailed her
00:13:11and she was on top of the lake too. And I was like, oh, like, she's not going to write back because
00:13:15this woman, when she's in it, she's in it. And I was like, but that's okay. I just let her know. And then,
00:13:20um, a week or so later, I got a call that they wanted me to pitch. And, uh, I was like, it's
00:13:26Lizzie maintains that she had nothing to do with that, but I, come on. And so, you know, um, uh,
00:13:35somebody has got to get me in the room. And then, you know, like I made like a very crazy extensive
00:13:40lookbook and I made it into a hardcover and gave it, sent it to Bruce, FedExed it like overnight to
00:13:46Bruce Miller. And then I had a phone call, uh, uh, like a conference call with Bruce and Warren
00:13:53in May and, um, pitched them everything. And, um, yeah. And then after that, they came back and
00:14:02they were like, oh, so we, they want you to do episodes two and three too. And I was like, what?
00:14:06What? She literally made a 70 page lookbook. Yeah. With, with a, with a playlist. The playlist.
00:14:21That you were instructed to listen to while, while reading the lookbook and demanded that
00:14:28you listen with headphones. I love it. A little bit of a micromanager. Yeah.
00:14:32But it was honestly, it was, we all got on the phone, me, Bruce, and Warren. And, you know,
00:14:39it was, she was obviously in the mix and I was sort of, you know, said what I could say,
00:14:44um, about my experience with her and what I thought she could do. But at the same time,
00:14:49you know, you want to, you want to make sure that you're not like, that she wins the job fair and
00:14:53square. Um, which, you know, she frankly just really did. We all got on the phone, me, Bruce,
00:14:59and Warren. And literally the conversation went and there were a lot of directors on that list for
00:15:04the first episode, first couple of episodes, a lot of directors and a lot of big people.
00:15:08And she beat them all out. I mean, there was just, there was, we got on the phone. Yeah.
00:15:16Thanks. We, we got on the phone and it was literally like silence. And we all were like,
00:15:20so, I think we have to go with Reed Moreno, right? I think that's the only person we can hire,
00:15:27right? And thank God we did. Thank God she, you know, worked so hard on, on, and was so passionate
00:15:34about it, you know? And, and Reed, you are really responsible for the look of the show with those
00:15:42three episodes. You really established it. Um, I would love to take a look at, can we go to clip
00:15:48number one and show the audience, um,
00:16:01My name is Offred. I had another name, but it's forbidden now.
00:16:10So many things are forbidden now.
00:16:12So here you are. You can sit.
00:16:15I don't make a practice of it, but just this one time.
00:16:23So, old Watts' name didn't work out?
00:16:30No, ma'am.
00:16:32Tough luck.
00:16:35This is your second posting then?
00:16:39Yes, ma'am.
00:16:40Good. My last one was brand new. It was like training a dog, only not a very smart one.
00:16:51I expect you know the rules.
00:16:54Yes, ma'am.
00:16:55Don't call me ma'am. You're not a Martha.
00:16:59Look what the cat dragged in.
00:17:10This is the new one.
00:17:13Hello.
00:17:16Blessed be the fruit.
00:17:19May the Lord open.
00:17:20I'm Commander Waterford.
00:17:25Praise to be to you. May God make me truly worthy.
00:17:31Right. Well, good.
00:17:40Nice to meet you.
00:17:40You too.
00:17:56Get up.
00:18:01I want to see as little of you as possible. Do you understand?
00:18:04Yes, ma'am. Yes.
00:18:06Mrs. Waterford.
00:18:09He is my husband until death do us part.
00:18:13Don't get any ideas.
00:18:15If I get trouble, believe me, I will give trouble back.
00:18:33Don't get any ideas.
00:18:52Now, for me as a viewer, some of the most powerful things in that scene are the tiny things.
00:18:59It's just like that little clenched fist, you know, like just.
00:19:05Tell me what you were kind of going for, what you were trying to accomplish with
00:19:11Elizabeth and her two co-stars who are fabulous also in that scene.
00:19:16Just this total and utter awkwardness.
00:19:20Yes.
00:19:21And uncomfortable, unsettling, sickening.
00:19:26Just, you know, all the nice things you want people to feel when they're watching the show.
00:19:35They're also all doing such interesting things.
00:19:38And that, for me, is the most fascinating part is just letting them do their thing and
00:19:44making sure we're in the right place to catch it, you know.
00:19:47I think in this scene, for example, everybody's a little bit uncomfortable because it's like,
00:19:54this is a new situation for all three of them.
00:19:57And so they're all, all three shot handheld in this scene.
00:20:01And a lot of sort of awkward pauses and glances and stuff between them.
00:20:08And, you know, even offered sort of answering in the tone almost that maybe she shouldn't at some
00:20:16point, but just having to come out of her was just amazing.
00:20:20And so, yeah, it's just like all those things that
00:20:25someone would maybe do in that situation for real, you know.
00:20:28And for you, Elizabeth, a lot of close-ups, a lot of, how is that, from an actress's perspective,
00:20:39you have, so much is sort of reliant upon your ability to convey something with minimal words
00:20:47and, you know, and to convey really powerful things with just that sort of simple,
00:20:54or even the quick, like, and you as well, or whatever you say to Josephine's character,
00:21:01like, you know, just like, but it was a, like, a defiance by saying that.
00:21:06Like, you went too far by saying that by the quick look from Yvonne.
00:21:10Sure.
00:21:11Very naughty.
00:21:14Like, you can be in trouble for that.
00:21:17You know, how do you do that as an actress, like, with so,
00:21:21you know, with, I imagine that read gives you a lot of direction, but, like.
00:21:27Ugh, so much.
00:21:31She's like, just go crazy.
00:21:32The challenge is coming up with things that Lizzie doesn't think of.
00:21:36That's the real, it's like a fun game.
00:21:39Yeah, you get a special prize if I haven't thought of it.
00:21:42Interesting.
00:21:45No, it's, you know, for me, speaking to the close-ups and the camera,
00:21:50it's so helpful.
00:21:51You know, when you get to have part of your story told visually, it only helps your performance.
00:21:58And, you know, with the, with those extreme close-ups, which were sometimes a lens,
00:22:03but often actual camera, just really close, it's wonderful.
00:22:08You have, you feel like it's just you and the audience, honestly.
00:22:14You can't see anything else sometimes because the map box, which is the frame around the camera,
00:22:19blocks everything else out.
00:22:20So you just feel like it's you and the audience.
00:22:23And it's a wonderful kind of feeling to block everything out.
00:22:26So I find it extremely helpful, you know.
00:22:29And for me, I love, as much as I've made a point to work with really good writers,
00:22:35I also, I love that kind of silent film acting.
00:22:39I think I would have killed in the silent film era.
00:22:43I missed my time.
00:22:46You know, I love just like expressing through the eyes and making everything as small as possible
00:22:53to me.
00:22:53That's really interesting.
00:22:56And I think my favorite thing to do is to show the audience things that the other actors in the
00:23:01scene don't see and to balance that. It's kind of my, it's very fun for me.
00:23:08So this kind of thing and the way that we shot this was a dream as far as I was concerned.
00:23:13With like the light just sort of streaming in a little bit from the window, so lovely
00:23:18and enhances like the awkwardness and the, yeah, that's like our DP Colin Watkinson is amazing.
00:23:26And when he came on board, we talked extensively about volumetric lighting, which is the light,
00:23:33you know, that you can see the beams of light and the naturalism of it, but it's a little bit
00:23:38heightened. And so trying to get this almost like heightened, a balance of heightened realism in a
00:23:44way. So mixing like my handheld Goody style with his like more polished kind of glossier thing and
00:23:53made a hybrid, this whole other hybrid that neither one of us could have done on our own,
00:23:58but made together.
00:23:59Interesting.
00:24:00Yeah.
00:24:00So the hyper realism and it's interesting because Hulu was very, I think that a lot of people,
00:24:07maybe even the audience will think this is the near future or it's like five years away kind of
00:24:12future. But it's, they were like, no, this is the, this is the modern present day in an alternate
00:24:18reality. Um, and I was like, okay. Um, but, um, um, you know, it's a, it's in, and with that,
00:24:27everything's still in the world is the same sort of, and so like curtains are going to still have
00:24:33the same sort of snaps or whatever. But, um, so it's, when I knew that I was looking at things in
00:24:40kind of a different, um, sort of, um, context, like, okay, this is not five years in the future.
00:24:45This is, this is now just like now if things kind of went a little bit crazier, but yeah,
00:24:52if three years ago, everything went south, that would be now. Right. So like three years from now,
00:24:58no, just kidding. Cautionary too. Be careful. Now, Alexis, for you as an actress, like, um,
00:25:11how do you like the, the super closeups and the, you know, having that, is it pressure is,
00:25:17or is it liberating? Like Elizabeth says, like to kind of, I feel like it's the best kind of pressure
00:25:23because you can't get away with anything false. You have to just be completely, um,
00:25:31in the moment and, uh, authentic in your character, I guess. Um, I really liked it. I mean, I was kind
00:25:38of up for anything, um, Reed wanted to do visually and was like, let's, let's do that. I, um,
00:25:47very pliable. Yes. Uh, yeah. So I don't know. I really, I thought it was great. Um, Reed,
00:25:57where were some of the places you drew inspiration from besides obviously the book? Um, any movies or
00:26:05music? Um, I mean, I think music was a big thing. Music's a big thing, especially like for Lizzie and
00:26:13I too, but I gave the playlist that I made to everybody. And, um, Lizzie makes her own playlists
00:26:22that she listens to. And then we started sharing and what's on your playlist, if you don't mind me
00:26:28interrupting. Oh, you don't have enough time. It's very long. Um, most of my stuff is in the same
00:26:34with Reed. It was one of the things that we connected about, I think, so deeply, um, really
00:26:40early on when we discovered like, oh my God, we listened to the same kind of thing. And, and it,
00:26:45it ranges. I mean, it's everything, but it's a lot of orchestral, a lot of composers, a lot of film
00:26:50composers, um, a lot of depressing, uh, emotional music, honestly, sometimes sweeping, sometimes
00:26:58smaller, but, um, you know, it's everything from Max Richter to Adam Taylor, our composer actually,
00:27:05um, was on my playlist. Uh, so yeah, it's, it's, it's just the same kind of thing. And sometimes it's
00:27:10a modern song, if that's what, you know, takes it in. Sometimes it's like hardcore hip hop.
00:27:14Exactly. And we gotta like rev everybody up. Sometimes it's Beyonce, you know. There's a
00:27:21scene later on in the season that I specifically listened to Beyonce for. So it can range. I'll tell
00:27:27you after it airs. Um, and I'm sorry, I interrupted as you were talking about your inspirations, but, um,
00:27:35um, uh, yeah, music, music is, you know, like while I made the, the lookbook, I was listening to
00:27:43a song over and over that was on the playlist that actually is in episode three. And it's in the scene,
00:27:50in the van with you and the Martha on the way to the, is everybody's in episode three? On the way to
00:27:57the thing that you go to, that thing you go to that's not fun. Yeah. Horrible thing. So that's,
00:28:04and actually we ended up using that song there. Um, and some other songs that, that we, um, got
00:28:09inspiration from made it into. Yeah. Like I just found the heart of glass on iTunes once because I
00:28:15love Philip Glass. It was like searching for Philip Glass music and that popped up and I was like,
00:28:19oh my God, Reed, you gotta listen to this song. It's usually how it goes. I text her like, oh my God,
00:28:22this song is the best thing ever. And, uh, and then she put it in the most perfect spot it could
00:28:27ever be in, in the show. Yeah. And then, um, trying to think other things that made it in,
00:28:33but anyway, I didn't, once we started shooting the show, I didn't think that that, that song was
00:28:37going to make it. And I knew we could probably get the, but, um, it's kind of cool when that happens.
00:28:41And then like movies, you know, I think for the look of this, uh, it was like going to be a mixture
00:28:48of inspirations. Like, you know, obviously we do some pretty symmetrical compositions that are
00:28:54almost sort of, um, oppressive in their symmetry and, um, that we were drawing a little inspiration
00:29:03from Kubrick for that. And then, uh, you know, we did a lot of, uh, to differentiate the present or to
00:29:11differentiate Gilead from the past instead of just doing the normal stuff to make, you know,
00:29:17like the normal cliche, um, contrived way of, uh, showing that we were doing a flashback.
00:29:25We were trying to do some things that were a little more, everything would be sort of emotionally
00:29:29driven, whatever we did, like how we shot the show. And, um, and so I felt like the flashbacks
00:29:36could be the way you remember things. So like a fleeting memory kind of. And so a lot of the flashbacks
00:29:42for that I did were more like more or less kind of, you know, not perfect coverage and verite kind of
00:29:49a romantic camera, a little bit impressionistic at times and, um, like a, like a fleeting memory.
00:29:57And how about, um, other films that have sort of tackled or projects, TV, I'm thinking of film,
00:30:03but like Children of Men, like another movie that sort of had, um, this idea of like fertility is,
00:30:10you know, there's no fertility left. And so, um, a dystopian future. Did you draw upon anything
00:30:16like that or? No, but I think that there probably are like, I didn't draw upon particular movies
00:30:24per se. Um, except for, uh, there's this wonderful movie called, uh, four months, three weeks and two
00:30:32days. Yes. And it's a wonderful movie. It's like comedy. Um, check it out. I think I won a can a few years
00:30:39ago, the, um, Palme d'Or. Yeah, it's, um, we, I did watch it with my DP, Colin, because of there's
00:30:46interesting, uh, it's really editorial choices, but it's kind of all over the place in how it
00:30:52shoots things. And it's always interesting choices and, and they have, uh, almost like an emotional
00:30:58effect on you, the way that they choose to do things. And so we actually watched that film,
00:31:03um, um, prior to shooting as a little bit of inspiration. I think Colin was like, why are
00:31:09we watching this? I was like, dude. Um, but it's really, it's an edit, it's about like making
00:31:14interesting choices where you're not, you don't have to see the other person in the scene all the
00:31:19time. And I think the point that I was trying to make is, uh, that, you know, you, it's a point of
00:31:26view show. And so who, who's ever point of view you're in, you want to make the audience really
00:31:34see through their eyes. So that doesn't mean do standard coverage. That means really think about
00:31:40what that person is seeing in that moment and how they're seeing it and what it's registering to
00:31:45them. And most of the time it's with Offred. And I think, you know, towards in, into episode three,
00:31:53there are a few scenes with Offred that are not, that are not in Offred's POB. And that was like
00:31:58the first time we ever departed a little bit, but it was always like, how is Offred seeing this?
00:32:05Hence why all of a sudden the slow-mo came into play. It was sort of like,
00:32:09I always knew I was going to do the salvaging slow-mo. And then, um, it was one of those things
00:32:15we're on set. Sometimes I'd be like, all right, I'm going to just shoot this stuff slow-mo.
00:32:18I remember when we shot Nick's bicep slow-mo. Yeah.
00:32:21When he was shoveling. I do. I don't know how that slipped out of the hut.
00:32:27It never made it into the show. I have video of it though.
00:32:32I shot that for you, boo. Just, you know, just in my phone.
00:32:37Never know.
00:32:38Now, have any of you been at all surprised by the enormous outpouring for this show so far? Like,
00:32:52you know, it's quite remarkable the type of response it's getting.
00:32:56Yeah, for sure. For sure. We were just talking about this. Um, you know, I think that you,
00:33:02you make something and you try to do your best with it and you try to make something that you're
00:33:06proud of. And that's how we felt. We were really proud of the show and we were proud of what we did,
00:33:10but you can never anticipate the way that, you know, an audience is going to react to it or the way that,
00:33:16um, a country's going to react to it. And I, and I think that that sort of extra level that it's gone,
00:33:22as far as becoming a part of the conversation is something that we couldn't have anticipated,
00:33:28you know, um, and probably best that we didn't, you know, and we just tried to make a really good
00:33:32piece of art that we were proud of. Um, so yeah, it's, it's been honestly incredibly gratifying and
00:33:39moving and we're, we worked really, really hard on it, um, you know, for a long time. So it's been
00:33:46been pretty wonderful that the audience has liked it in the way that they, that they have.
00:33:50And Alexis, have you been at all surprised or did you see this coming a mile away?
00:33:57No. Uh, no. Like I knew. I knew the whole time. Uh, no, I, I definitely had no idea that, um,
00:34:04people would embrace it the way they have. I knew it was a great story when I read the scripts and
00:34:09I was excited about it, but I had no way to know that, that so many people would, um, you know,
00:34:18see what I saw in it, you know, and, and be excited about it. And it's, it's exciting. It's the ideal
00:34:27response. Um, so it's, yeah, it's very, it's, it's incredible to be a part of a project that people
00:34:34embrace so fully. We knew people were going to freak out about her. Yeah. And we tried to tell
00:34:40her, but she just doesn't, which is great. She's like super humble and doesn't believe it, but, um,
00:34:45which is good. But we were, we would be like, you have, you don't understand, like people are going
00:34:48to, they're going to freak out. They're going to freak out about your performance. Well, I had some
00:34:51pretty awesome support as well, um, in both of you kind of, um, making sure that, uh, it turned out
00:34:59amazing. You did it. That was, that was pretty great. And were you at all surprised? Yeah. Well,
00:35:08I mean, I think like everybody, we, we work on projects because we believe that they could be
00:35:14really special and we try to always work on projects that we believe are going to be really
00:35:19special and do something amazing. And it's rare, you know, that doesn't happen all the time. And so
00:35:25I went into this just like every other project I've ever worked on with all the hopes in the world for
00:35:30it. But, you know, you sort of, you, you just still, I don't know, for me, I always have like this
00:35:37optimism, like it's going to be great, you know, and, but, um, this is a rarity that this happened.
00:35:44So yeah, I think, I guess I was surprised. I mean, I knew it would be received well by people,
00:35:52but I didn't know it would have this kind of an, like it would reach this many people and,
00:35:57you know, um, have a, this kind of universal appeal in a way, because it's very divisive,
00:36:04um, polarizing story, not only in the subject matter, but in the way that it's told
00:36:10as well, you know. There are definitely some late night texts between Reed and I that basically just
00:36:15consist of like, dude. So she was like, dude. What the fuck? What's going on? Yeah. So weird.
00:36:25I saw a funny tweet the other day that was like, I think Handmaid's Tale is winning the, um,
00:36:34think piece Olympics. I'm counting 460 think pieces on this, on this show so far. I mean,
00:36:40it was like funny, but it was, it's true. It's like, this is what the smart people are sort of,
00:36:45you know, like. All these people. The smart people are, you know, like pondering, if you will.
00:36:54Let's, um, can we go to, uh, clip number two and, um, and... They're all proud of themselves now.
00:37:02Show the smart people here all the... There's a great grocery store scene. Oh, it's a scene.
00:37:11Hey. Under his eye. Did you see they have oranges? Praise be. The fighting in Florida must be going
00:37:24well. Your mistress likes oranges. Make sure she knows you got them. Don't let them Martha take the credit.
00:37:30I don't, I don't have a token of oranges. Tell them you're Commander Waterford's. He's really high up.
00:37:35His name's in the news. I didn't read it, I promise you. We should get some oranges before they're all out.
00:37:48Praise be his bounty. Take some.
00:38:18I don't need oranges. I need to scream.
00:38:24I need to grab the nearest machine gun. Should we walk home by the river?
00:38:32That would be nice.
00:38:33I love that scene because it sort of, um, it, uh, takes this, um, motif of women in a grocery store that
00:38:52we've seen like a thousand times, but also sets up the idea that every totalitarian state needs,
00:38:58which is like a spy could be among us and you better watch Iraq. Um, tell me kind of what you were
00:39:06going for in that scene. Cause there's a lot going on. Um, yeah, I mean, it's a, well, it was important
00:39:13to us that it took place, uh, in loaves and fishes that the grocery store. And I remember when I first
00:39:21got to, to Toronto, they were showing me, um, farmers markets, a lot of farmers markets. And I was like,
00:39:28well, the handmaids look like they belong in a farmer's market. So that doesn't really do it for me.
00:39:34I think it needs to be like, I want to scare the shit out of people. So we need to put handmaids and
00:39:40Martha's and guardians with machine guns in the grocery store with fluorescent lighting and make it,
00:39:46and you know, there's no writing anywhere and, uh, no words, no letters. And you fought really hard for it.
00:39:53Yeah, that was a tough one to get, but we ended up getting it. And then, um,
00:39:57um, it's, I think makes it nice, just appropriately, uh, disturbing. And also because it's one of the
00:40:05places where the handmaids can have a little bit of conversation and it also reveals that they're not
00:40:14allowed to read and that there's, you know, just a lot of details for people who haven't read the
00:40:18book and don't know the world yet. And so that part was important. Um, and yeah, and also just,
00:40:25there's a lot going on off the, obviously in Offred's head, um, she's thinking about some other things
00:40:31and so's off Glenn, but she doesn't let you know that trying to cover it up by making everyone get
00:40:39oranges.
00:40:43So we've got, um, some questions from the audience here and, um, this is a great one. Um, uh, to what
00:40:51extent do you think the sex in the handmaid's tale is consensual? And what does the handmaid's tale
00:40:57say about sex and rape culture?
00:41:02Two-parter.
00:41:12It's a very provocative question because, you know.
00:41:15Well, I assume, I assume the question's more about the ceremony than the real consensual.
00:41:21Sex at the end of five there. Because that was super consensual.
00:41:31Um, the ceremony, right, I assume?
00:41:33I, I would assume so.
00:41:36I think, I mean, for me it's completely non-consensual. It's, it's an absolute
00:41:39thousand percent sexual assault. It is a rape. There's no way that she would be doing that.
00:41:45And, in that position, if she had a choice.
00:41:48Right.
00:41:48Um, so, yeah. And it was, you know, it was really important. I think
00:41:53Reed had the job of showing the ceremony for the first time in the show. And, um, she did such a
00:41:58beautiful job with it, with the framing, with the visuals, because it was, it had to be really
00:42:03clinical, it had to be really technical, and it was very important to us to make sure that it was not
00:42:09in any way at all sexual or sensual.
00:42:11Right. Like, and I think that's a great point. Like, there is, um, if you even have a, an, uh,
00:42:17sort of a whiff of like, oh, this is, you know, like, it's so damaging to whatever point this is making.
00:42:27Yeah.
00:42:27And it's like,
00:42:28They were very concerned. Like, I remember Joe kept saying,
00:42:31this isn't going to be sexy, right? I was like, trust me.
00:42:34Yeah.
00:42:34This is so not sexy.
00:42:36Yeah.
00:42:37I'm going to make it unsexier.
00:42:40Right.
00:42:40That's what I'm best at.
00:42:41Right.
00:42:42Right.
00:42:42Making things very awkward and non-sexual.
00:42:48But it's, you know, I think it's all about like concentrating on the reality of what,
00:42:57you know, what Offred's noticing in that moment too. And like, you know, that's, it's not,
00:43:03it, and also a thing that was important to me too, is that it's not just uncomfortable. It's just,
00:43:09first of all, Offred's being raped. So that's awful. But then also what's interesting is it's
00:43:15uncomfortable for everybody, at least with, in my ceremony scenes, maybe it evolves later. But,
00:43:21um, yeah, so it's, it's one of those things where it's kind of interesting just to observe
00:43:27all three of you in that moment and, and see kind of like, you know,
00:43:33Joe trying to dis, you know, commander trying to disengage and Yvonne trying to like keep her
00:43:41shit together. And Offred just going to another place oftentimes just has to leave her body in a
00:43:49way, I think. But you could speak to that better than I can.
00:43:52Yeah, for sure. I mean, it's definitely like, I, you know, the choice that, that I made and
00:43:56we talked about was just that she would have to not be there in order to be able to not scream.
00:44:04You know, you just have to, I think, not be present.
00:44:08It's humiliating. Yeah. Amongst many other things.
00:44:11Yeah. Yeah. Um, okay. And how about, um, here's a good question.
00:44:19How would you unwind after a shoot? And then this person wrote, help us recover.
00:44:25Well, Reid and I do enjoy a cocktail. So I'm not sure about you, Alexis.
00:44:33I believe so. Yes.
00:44:34Yeah. Uh, so, you know, if you can imbibe, we did. Um, uh, I mean, you know, I think at the end,
00:44:43it's when you're shooting, you know, with it, with this, especially you're doing 70, 80 hour weeks
00:44:47and, um, you're just, you go home and you get in the shower and you eat your dinner by yourself,
00:44:52if you're me and, and, and, uh, you know, have a glass of wine and go to bed because you have to get
00:44:59up and very early in the morning and do it all over again. So, um, it's, you know, I, it's not a,
00:45:06for me about having to, to do anything dramatic unwinding. It's, it's about getting to sleep and
00:45:12getting back up and getting as much sleep as I can, cause it's a lot of work, you know? Um, I think that's
00:45:17true for all of us. Me too. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it's just about getting as much sleep as possible.
00:45:23So as far as you guys, I don't know what to tell you. You're fucked.
00:45:33Talk it out. Yeah. Alexis and I are offering support groups. You can call. Yeah. We might start an
00:45:41outreach sort of talk it out, uh, forum after each episode. It really is heavy though. I, I didn't
00:45:50find it, um, you know, stressful to work on, um, at all. It was such a friendly, supportive set,
00:45:58but the, um, the watching the show is really stressful for me. I'm, I'm definitely left with
00:46:05a lot of thoughts and feelings that I have to process. It is a different winding down, uh, that,
00:46:11I don't, I don't know how to handle yet either. Let's figure it out.
00:46:18And did you have any unwind techniques or just made the Bloody Mary every night?
00:46:27Um, I'm curious and, and this is not, uh, from the audience. I'm curious how much of a role
00:46:33Margaret Atwood had. I mean, she's a consulting producer, correct? Um, and I think I see her very
00:46:39briefly in episode one slap you across the face. Okay. I was right. It's like, she's in total shadow.
00:46:45So I was like, but I just could tell from the silhouette. I was like, that looks like Margaret
00:46:48Atwood. Um, um, so how, like, and, and what did her involvement entail? And well, I mean,
00:46:57I know that, uh, Bruce was, he would send her scripts at a certain point just so she could like read them
00:47:04and you know, he could get her blessing, I think, so to speak. And I don't think she ever really like
00:47:11put the hammer down on anything. I think she sometimes had questions.
00:47:15Do you want to tell her what the one question was? She had one question about episode two.
00:47:20Yeah. And she asked, she asked, um, what's a carpet muncher? So she just wanted to know.
00:47:29So Bruce,
00:47:35he had her, he had one of his, I think, writer's assistants, um, had to call Margaret up and explain
00:47:42that to her. So I wish I could have heard that conversation. Um, but yeah, then she came to,
00:47:53you know, we got to speak to her. I had to speak to her briefly at the cast dinner and we were trying
00:47:59to like hear what she was saying and it was like really hard to hear and, um, also not feel like
00:48:05a stupid person next to her. We were both like this.
00:48:09She is like truly a genius. Like, I mean, like her books are like, you know, phenomenal. I've read
00:48:17maybe all but two of her books and I'm just like, this is, you know, the great, one of the greatest
00:48:22living writers right now. Yeah. She's a legend. And so that was like super amazing to be able to
00:48:30just even hear her talk about anything and everything. Yeah. And, um, you know, after that,
00:48:37then she came to when we were shooting episode one and she came in and I remember when Bruce told
00:48:44me that she was going to do a cameo and he was like, yeah, we're going to have her do a cameo
00:48:48probably in what that scene. And he's like, what do you want her to do? And she'll be like one of the
00:48:53ants and what do you want to do? I know I forget. I think you and I were both like, she should just,
00:48:58she should slap me. Yeah.
00:48:59It was already in the script, I think. Right. That was in the script. And then,
00:49:04yeah, but I think we talked about it before or there was somebody else was getting somebody else.
00:49:08Yeah. Oh yeah. That's what it was. Yeah. And I think you, I think you were like,
00:49:12yeah, first of all, I should just slap me. I should get slapped. Yeah. I should get the slap.
00:49:16Yeah. So we were, we were really excited when she came and I was so nervous because here I'm
00:49:22already trying to like visualize her book. And then she comes in and now I have to tell her,
00:49:29what to do. How to be an ant, like, yeah, it was the weirdest thing ever. I was like,
00:49:33this is super awkward, but here are your sides. Like she had fun though. Yeah. Yeah. She was great.
00:49:39And apparently she was nervous, which I, she did not show. She was like cool as a cucumber and
00:49:44appropriately terrifying and you know, she got into it. Yeah. At a point. Yeah. Yeah. After a few
00:49:50takes, she gave me a real wallop. Oh, didn't she deadpan that like, that'll forever be my legacy or
00:49:57something like that. That'll be my image now. I know. Well, perhaps we could, um, see clip three,
00:50:06which I believe is, it's not her slapping you, but it's that same, you're in the classroom with, um,
00:50:13Aunt Lydia. So, um, if we could roll clip three.
00:50:22Well, I'm sorry.
00:50:32Oh, my God.
00:50:38You're no longer.
00:50:42You're the only one that you see.
00:50:44Yeah.
00:50:45So, um,
00:50:48A priest, a doctor, a gay man.
00:51:08I think I heard that joke once.
00:51:12This wasn't the punchline.
00:51:14They made such a mess of everything.
00:51:22They filled the air with chemicals and radiation and poison.
00:51:31So God whipped up a special plague.
00:51:36The plague of infertility.
00:51:41Welcome.
00:51:42Welcome. Find a seat, please.
00:51:46As birth rates fell, they made things worse.
00:51:51Birth control pills.
00:51:53Morning after pills.
00:51:55Murdering babies.
00:51:58Just so they could have their orgies.
00:52:00Their Tinder.
00:52:02It's your turn.
00:52:06Nothing.
00:52:07What do you mean?
00:52:08Oh, I have to write that paper tonight.
00:52:12Oh, for Dietrich's class?
00:52:13Yeah.
00:52:14What's it about?
00:52:15Campus sexual assault.
00:52:17For or against?
00:52:20Come swimming.
00:52:21It's too cold.
00:52:22It's a lot.
00:52:23Stop.
00:52:26All right, I'll be right there.
00:52:27I'll be good for it.
00:52:27What did she say to you?
00:52:30She just said, let's go to church.
00:52:32Oh, did she?
00:52:33What's her name?
00:52:35You don't know her name, do you?
00:52:37Moira, come on.
00:52:38Write your paper.
00:52:47Stay here.
00:52:52Right there.
00:52:53They were dirty women.
00:53:03They were sluts.
00:53:06But you are special girls.
00:53:12Fertility is a gift directly from God.
00:53:15He left you intact for a biblical purpose.
00:53:19Like Bina served Rachel.
00:53:21You girls will serve the leaders of the faithful
00:53:27and their barren wives.
00:53:29You will bear children for them.
00:53:33Oh, you are so lucky.
00:53:36So privileged.
00:53:40Welcome to the friggin' loony bin, right?
00:53:43All right, girls.
00:53:44We will have silence.
00:53:46Like little mice.
00:53:48Okay.
00:53:48Okay.
00:53:51Welcome to the Rachel and Leah Center.
00:54:05Up.
00:54:07Fuck you.
00:54:11Blessed are the meek, dear.
00:54:12Blessed are the meek.
00:54:21They always left out the part about inheriting the earth.
00:54:24Fuck.
00:54:25The fuck?
00:54:26Fuck.
00:54:26Wait.
00:54:31Eyes front.
00:54:34Where do your hands belong?
00:54:35Girls.
00:54:46Hmm.
00:54:48I know this must feel very strange.
00:54:52But ordinary is just what you're used to.
00:54:57This may not seem ordinary to you right now.
00:55:00Well, but after a time it will.
00:55:06This will become ordinary.
00:55:08This will become ordinary.
00:55:08Very chilling words.
00:55:26This will become ordinary.
00:55:27There is a great deal of violence in the series, and some of it very disturbing, what happens
00:55:41to Janine with her eye.
00:55:43But also the scene where the rapist man gets beaten.
00:55:48That was the scene for me that was most difficult to watch.
00:55:53Thoughts on violence in the series, and sort of what its place is, and why it's important?
00:56:00Well, I mean, I think, you know, the point, I mean, for me, and I know also for Bruce and
00:56:12Lizzie and everybody involved in the show, like, was to make it feel, to not put up a
00:56:20wall between the audience and the story and make it feel as real as possible.
00:56:24And so we're not trying to glorify violence at all, but also make sure that when the moments
00:56:34are raw and we're trying to send a message, that people receive that message.
00:56:40So, you know, I think that people think when they're watching a show that's maybe predominantly
00:56:48about women, and, you know, that kind of thing is going to be sort of glossed over, or maybe
00:56:55the show's not going to have balls, but...
00:56:58Oh, it's got balls.
00:56:59Yeah.
00:57:00I just don't want people to mistake that, what the message is, and that it's really, it's
00:57:11really fucked up, and these things happen in other countries, and people should see that
00:57:19and not be protected from it.
00:57:21I mean, if they're making the choice to watch the show, and they don't want to see it, they
00:57:25don't have to watch.
00:57:25But it's, I think, a way to kind of, it creates a feeling in you, and it should not make you
00:57:35feel good, but that's the point.
00:57:38So, I'm sorry.
00:57:41I know, very effective.
00:57:45I think we probably have time for one or two more questions, and I'm curious what happens
00:57:53season two.
00:57:54Not curious, I know you can't, like, give spoiler, but it has been renewed.
00:58:06Like, what is the sort of intended arc?
00:58:09You know, a lot of times I'll ask, you know, somebody, like, are you seeing this as like
00:58:14a three-season, and obviously it'll change.
00:58:17Like, with Game of Thrones, there were five books, five seasons, but obviously now we're
00:58:20on season seven or whatever.
00:58:22But is this something like, this is a, intended as a three-season story arc, or?
00:58:28You know, I feel, Bruce and I talked about it at the very beginning, and, you know, it's,
00:58:33obviously it's up to how much people want to see of it at a certain point.
00:58:38It's not up to us.
00:58:39But there is kind of an intention to, we don't want to explore everything in one season, you
00:58:47know?
00:58:47Right.
00:58:48So, like, with season one, there's so much that was left out to give more time to fully
00:58:52explore a few things rather than, you know, cover all 50 of them.
00:58:57So, I, the writers are, you know, they're in the writer's room.
00:59:00So, Bruce and I have had some, like, first kind of initial conversations about, like,
00:59:05things that may happen, but it's all way too early.
00:59:07But I do know that the idea is definitely to, you know, continue to explore things deeply
00:59:14and, you know, to really give time.
00:59:17I mean, that's the great thing that you have in a series that you don't have in a film,
00:59:21and in a series that has multiple seasons that you can do, where you can really explore
00:59:26a theme for 10 episodes.
00:59:29Right.
00:59:29You know, I think, so I know that that's what was intended in season one, and I know
00:59:35that that's the intention for the next, as far as, like, how, I mean, who knows?
00:59:38Right.
00:59:39And also, I think what seems that you could, one could deviate from the book very easily
00:59:47because between the book and what you've set up visually, there's a world created here,
00:59:53and, you know, you don't need to be like, okay, well, this didn't happen on page 200
00:59:58and whatever, you know, like, there can be a whole sort of, like, you have this world
01:00:02now that can be explored.
01:00:04Yeah.
01:00:04Yeah, exactly.
01:00:05And like anybody who's read the book knows, you know, there's a huge gap between the epilogue
01:00:09and the end of the book where there's a lot of unanswered questions.
01:00:14I mean, literally, if someone hasn't read the book, I don't want to spoil the last line
01:00:18of the book, but it has to do with questions, and it's, you know, it's very true.
01:00:24There's so much that hasn't been said in that book, and I think that, you know,
01:00:29we're looking forward to kind of exploring that as well with Margaret, you know?
01:00:33Okay.
01:00:34All right, great.
01:00:34And so you guys all have, like, three-year contracts or something.
01:00:38No, I don't know.
01:00:40Multi-season.
01:00:40And I think I can take one more very quickly from the audience for Alexis.
01:00:49Alexis, this is such a different character than most of us are used to seeing you.
01:00:55What drew you to this character, and what motivates your performance?
01:01:01Well, Afglen is an incredible character on paper.
01:01:05I mean, she has her former life, pre-Gilead, which was fairly normal.
01:01:13She had a family, and she, you know, is going about her regular day-to-day.
01:01:21And then in Gilead, she has a cover that she sort of wears in order to survive,
01:01:29of the pious person who's following all the rules.
01:01:36And then she's also a member of May Day, so she's always kind of looking around
01:01:44and paying attention and trying to gather information
01:01:46or maybe recruit somebody to the resistance.
01:01:50So it's such an appealing character.
01:01:54You have so much to do there.
01:01:56And I always, I don't know, I always just try to look for characters
01:02:01that are very different from the last character I played.
01:02:05And I've done that for a long time in a lot of work that nobody really saw
01:02:09or a few people saw.
01:02:11And actually, because, you know, I started in work that a lot of people saw
01:02:17and then had to kind of learn how to act as I went along.
01:02:23I stretched in many different directions that were, like, way too far
01:02:28before I figured out what my wheelhouse actually is.
01:02:31So I've played characters who have, like, a rebellious streak before,
01:02:35and I really like that.
01:02:36That really appeals to me because they're independent thinkers,
01:02:39and they're really capable of anything.
01:02:41If they're willing to be apart from the group,
01:02:45you don't know which direction they're going to go in.
01:02:47So it's exciting for me when it comes to the storytelling,
01:02:49and especially on a TV show because you never know
01:02:51what is going to be written for you.
01:02:54It's like a surprise every episode.
01:02:57So it's even more surprising,
01:02:59and might as well just up the ante there
01:03:02and make it a complete surprise.
01:03:04But no, she just had so many appealing things for me,
01:03:09all things that I have done and can do but kind of wrapped into one.
01:03:13And so I was like, oh, this is amazing.
01:03:17All right.
01:03:18Well, thank you all for coming tonight.
01:03:33And thank you to our lovely panel.
01:03:36And I know there's plenty more in store in episodes 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10.
01:03:42So enjoy, everybody.
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