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ComingSoon Senior Editor Spencer Legacy said: wildflower Director Matt Smackler talks about the drama movie. wildflower is now available digitally and video on demand.
The film’s synopsis reads, “A young girl with two nervous parents and a large family disagrees on how best to help.”
Spencer Legacy: For you, who directed the documentary Wildflowers and this drama, this is very unique. What made you want to keep pulling you back and spotlighting this true story in a different way?
Matt Smackler: Funny, I really didn’t want to go back to it. It was her six-year project and she didn’t want to repeat the same thing. I think it was this idea that ultimately felt like such a unique story. I thought if I could tell it in a slightly more accessible way through heartfelt comedy, maybe I could. Reach more people. That was how I finally decided. Yeah, I want to keep it going and give it another two years of my life. [Laugh].
How do you think making this documentary helped make this version better?
I don’t know if it was better. I think it’s very different. For me it was… really inspirational. The documentation is really inspirational and the story is completely unique. It’s not a retelling of the document. It’s a very unique family dynamic.then used that as a launch to write the story
I like movie narration. Can you talk into that framing device and let it act as a mystery that gets viewers invested in the first place?
It was like when the screenwriter Jana Savage and I discussed how to make this a story. It’s always been a part of it, it’s been on her mind. My niece was in a coma. She just took the creative license to imagine what it must have been like. We’ve done a lot of research with people who have gone into a coma and the phenomenon of actually being able to hear and not speak. And I can almost imagine what it must have been like to have this very dogmatic family surround you while you were in prison in a hospital bed.
Kiernan Shipka does a great job. What qualities made you think, “She’s perfect for this role”?
Keenan has always been my first choice since the beginning. I think it was from mad men — She had such composure and such wisdom and such confidence at such a young age. . So it was very important to me that the person we cast had that, when she met Keenan, she knew it was her within two seconds. She has such a deep intellect that I found to be perfect, and her strength. I think it shows your true strength.
It also allows you to tell a coming-of-age story and has many difficult themes, but sprinkled with a sense of humor. How was the balance of those elements?
That was one of the hardest parts for me. Personally, it’s this tone and what I’m afraid I didn’t get right. I felt it was very important to go back and forth between comedy and drama, but at the same time I wanted to make sure I wasn’t laughing at the wrong thing. I just wanted to lean into it and bring that aspect to life.
I think it was when I saw so much laughter and joy that the cameras stopped rolling in documentaries. But for those of you who aren’t used to having a camera on board, I think you could obviously see some of it with the camera off. .
Alexandra Daddario acts as compassionate as Joy. What did she stand out in working with her?
Alexandra and I had a very long conversation, talking about the characters. I think she saw the documentary. We just had a very long conversation and I thought she really had the empathy that Joy needed. I think there’s this guilt she had for being ‘normal’, or undisturbed – not neurodivergent.
I think there was this feeling that you think you’re struggling. Also, this idea of having a neurodivergent sibling is very protective. I think we talked about how to
What aspects were the most difficult to adapt in dramatizing this true story into a more traditional film structure?
Hmm…that’s an interesting question. Again, in this inspiration, I think we took some characters and put a lot of our own on them. I think they’re playing around with this idea of starting a movie with someone in a coma who’s the star of the movie.20 pages or something…I’m thinking of the original draft.She’s been in a coma for 30 years .
It was very rewarding. We all felt like we had to go to the older Kiernan… I thought Ryan Keira Armstrong who played the younger Bea was great, but at the end of the day, this is Kieran’s movie. , I think that’s what I had a hard time editing. Because I wanted to get Kieran out of that bed. That was the tricky part. It’s like… I knew I didn’t want to be stuck in a hospital room for too long.
The love seen between Bea’s parents is truly sweet. Can you tell the story well and show many sides of them?
Yeah, I just witnessed that in the documentary too. A very deep love that in many ways is a non-traditional love. So that, and just wanting to quote “normal,” was very important to capture the spirit of these two people who really wanted to live alone in their own homes, have families, and work. and feed yourself. I think that’s what I wanted to show in the most authentic way possible.
Your daughter wrote two songs for the movie. What was that collaboration like?
oh yeah. She saw the movie and it was… it was the product of a very limited budget. My daughter Penelope — I’m obviously biased, but I think she’s very talented. saw the film and wrote both songs based on rough cuts of the film. One of them was with her friend Laura Quinn, they were by Frances & Simone’s side, and Penelope wrote the song herself halfway through the movie. But hey, it was really great. She saw it and I said to her, ‘I have a rough cut. If that inspires you, you might be able to write something. I thought I did my job.
You have a great cast, with a big family and a big focus on what they think is best for Bea. How did you balance all these elements and characters while keeping Bea at the center?
It was tricky because I started falling in love with some of these other characters, like Brad Garrett was great. I said to Jana:I have to write another Brad and Jean scene [Smart], we did. We did two, one ended up being made into a movie and one ended up being cut. It’s a great scene, but it’s just… interesting that you say so.
We had it in the movie at one point, but in the end, we felt like this was really Bea’s story, so it should be left alone. It’s about finding her way physically… I could make a movie about each one of their extended family, and I think their reaction to this is actually going to be very interesting.
Speaking of Brad Garrett, what was the most memorable thing about working with him?
hey you He came in—I think it was just Brad…I’d say two days. I barely had him, but he came in and brought his A-game. I was obviously very familiar with him as a comedian and I thought his dramatic work was incredible.The scene where he and Gene are together is one of my favorite scenes in the movie. he is one I liked it It was one of those things I just had to move out of their way.
I also have a commercial background. How did it help you work on your feature?
We had thousands of hours on set, so I think it really helped. Technically, I think it’s just a knowledge of how to put this together. I had it behind me at least. It really helped that the actor and he worked together for over 15 years.
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