‘Cora Bora’ Star Is on the Rise

Step inside Meg Stalter’s Airbnb in Austin, Texas (where she’s staying at this year’s SXSW festival) and you’ll be shocked by the difference in accommodations. “I love the atmosphere here,” I told her, half forgetting that she didn’t design the space herself. I’m staying in her 20’s Art Deco-decorated home. Think velvet couches, black porcelain toilets, and lots of part her Baroni artwork.

“Wait, everything around it, and in it?” the starter asked me about this aesthetic, looking as puzzled as I did. embellished Like in the Roaring Twenties? We both laughed before she asked me what she thought was the theme of her tenancy. Look around at the updated fixtures, the mod lighting, the teal-blue couch we’re sitting on, then suggest “gentrification.” She nodded and gestured to the musical instrument that came with the house, propped up against one of the walls, as if it were the all-encompassing thesis of decoration: ‘the guitar’.

Starters — who are we advertising here collaborationWorld premiered at SXSW, is a far cry from the whimsical, whimsical characters you see in comedy sketches on Instagram, and is very welcoming. She also doesn’t have the vibe of HBO Max’s nosy Nepo Baby’s Office her assistant Kayla, played by Stalter and stealing the scene. hackInstead, it feels like we’re just sitting there to shoot shit. collaboration‘s director Hannah Pearl Utt and one of its producers, Mallory Schwartz, are on either side of her.

“When I read Hannah’s book [pitch] Letter, I knew she would be a friend for life,” Stalter says, looking back at her. I can’t.” She laughs as she says it, but you can tell she’s incredibly sincere. Stalter has her own kindness and her unique disarming. Her kindness makes her great performance as the honed Cora all the more impressive.

but collaboration is the starter’s first leading role, and if you’re unfamiliar with her other work, you wouldn’t know. As Cora, Stalter juggles both her comedic skills and dramatic chops with equal expertise. Cora is a depressed Los Angeles musician who does her best to rouse herself to her shitty gigs. Even though she desperately misses her ex-bandmate and girlfriend Justin (Jojo T. Gibbs), who still lives in Portland, she finds an emotional wall to keep her going. is good at making

When Cora moved to Los Angeles to try out a solo career, she and Justin formed a relationship. This allows her Cora, who is bisexual like Stalter, to spend time with others to avoid thinking about her own fluid state. However, when Cora senses that Justin has moved on, she begins a spiral and heads north to surprise Justin.

“This is the movie I’ve always wanted to do,” says Stalter, who is in his early 30s. “And this is what I want to do in the future.

“Sent message to manager within 5 minutes [of reading Hannah’s pitch deck], and… “Yes, I have to say that. I have to be on Zoom. I have to meet in person!” It’s a strange person, an unlikely person.I love [Cora] so much. People think she’s not possible at first but she’s actually she’s been through a lot of loss.I read a character that has a lot of heart and she’s funny and she’s gay So this was like her dream movie. ”

As she tells me, Starter fidgets the strings of his sweatshirt. I began to realize that it was not a physical manifestation of tension, but a way to keep her hands occupied while her mind navigated endless excitement.

“I’m really emotional right now. When I got to the premiere, I took a picture with Hannah and I started sobbing at that picture. So now there’s something like Getty Images where I’m crying. , Starter mentions how apprehensive she was about making the film, considering it required a different thematic tenor than her usual work. The people were… [would be] Like, “Oh, she should stick to comedy.”a lot of comedy [in the movie]but it’s also very serious.

Once we get to the heart of the film, Starter and I begin to put our thoughts together, operating from decidedly similar headspaces. We both talk about how wonderful it is to see characters who are not only bisexual, but also irresponsibly messy and unsympathetic, which is rare in queer cinema. I explained as follows. express child meet Portlandiapoured through a strange lens.

part of what you make collaboration What’s so refreshing is that she’s not afraid to make the odd lead uncomfortable for everyone in her orbit. Both men and women are happy to have sex and blow the one-night stand the next day.

“There are a lot of bisexual people in the world, and it’s insane that I haven’t seen many of them.” [onscreen]’ says Starter. “And that was really exciting for me. I can feel so deeply, just like her, and get very emotional about things, and that can get in the way at times.”

The breakup of Cora’s band is the driving force behind her moving to Los Angeles. And as the audience steps into Cora’s chaos, they’ll begin to understand what happened to cause Cora to escape.while watching collaborationI watched Coke and had the distinct (and uniquely uncomfortable) feeling of seeing a version of myself. However, it is rare to see them overcome the hardships of life.

Cora’s homecoming to Portland is vulgar and at times difficult to watch. Starters from the Midwest like myself know how hard it can be to get home.

“I feel like I worked really hard to build a life for myself. [my hometown in] I didn’t have the money to move to Los Angeles or New York, so I tried to do something other than acting,” she says. “When she lived in Ohio, she was thinking, ‘I’m going to be a nurse or a teacher,'” she said.

I ask if this is where she does some painting her character Given that she’s no stranger from pretend to be a medical professional.

“Yeah, I just grew up in the Midwest…but I think it makes new starts a little easier to handle when you fall in love with yourself. I think I did.”

When she says this, I mention my similar trajectory and got a little lost while trying to figure out my place as a queer in the world. The thing was a perfect storm of depression and defeat. Stalter, who has already mentioned how sensitive she is more than a few times, looks like she’s starting to tear up. “I’m so glad it changed for you,” she says with a hearty smile. Because I think I had a hard time when I couldn’t put it into action.”

HBO Max

Given that Stalter’s career has taken off since his days making videos from his bedroom in Chicago, it could easily be fooled. In just a few short years, Stalter has become living proof that not only your passion, but your unwavering commitment to yourself is your ticket to the moon. If you didn’t know who Meg her starter was before, you can’t get away from her in 2023. collaboration Released later this year, Stalter also appears in Sundance darling. sometimes i think about dyingfellow SXSW hits problem masterChelsea Peretti’s next directorial debut first female directorand the third season of hack.

A quick look at her upcoming release schedule feels like she’s trying to get her excited. Rarely is anyone asked how I feel about my life or career being on the verge of a major change.

“I think so for a long time [I started to] Comedy and acting… I had the best time. But this is like my dream really come true. I’ve fallen in love with every cast I’ve ever worked with, but this movie in particular made me fall in love with everyone, and it was a hard time when it ended. For a month, we met each other every day and became attached to each other.

“That’s what’s important to me,” she adds. “I never wanted to be famous, I just like working with my friends. [Laughs]I’m not saying morning famous. But the biggest dream of all that came true—hackand this movie, and everything is starting to work with my friends.

Despite some very successful moments in her relatively short career, the starter may be best known as the woman behind “Hi, Gay!”of video she posted In June 2021, Stalter ridiculed companies that faked giving in to queer people during Pride Month to get them to buy their products through fake promotions. In typical eccentric fashion, Starter played a woman who owns and operates “The Butter Shop”, which has been manufacturing butter since 1945 and accepting everyone “since the last four months.”

Since then, the video has been viewed 1.5 million times and will inevitably be played every summer for decades to come. “I love making videos online,” she told me early in our conversation. With that in mind, she wondered if she ever worried that as she distanced herself from her beloved internet her character, she would become trapped among people who only wanted one thing of her. , she asked Stalter.

“If someone remembers me, I think it would be a lot of fun. But I know what I want to do.” [act] eternally. I am not afraid to evolve. I never focused on fame or his one big thing on my own. I know I’ve been wanting to do this for a really long time. ”

“Also, if someone knew me in a gay video, it would make me happy,” she adds. “If there’s one thing I want to be viral, it’s that I don’t mind it being viral! [laughs]—but if someone knows me by “hello, gay”, that’s the nicest thing. ”

Let me tell you a little more about how collaboration Yut, still sitting in a wicker chair suspended in the corner of the room, looks up. say collaborationeveryone on set hoped the end result would make people think of Meg Stirter as a movie star.

Just like on the red carpet of the premiere a few days ago, Starter begins to weep.clear to make collaboration It was a special experience for her. That’s not only because it could very well be her star vehicle, but also because it’s welcomed so many new friends into her life.She wipes the tears from her eyes and sits down on the couch. I keep going back and forth between me and Utto. “Oh, I’ll be back,” she says with a laugh.