'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.
Category
✨
PeopleTranscript
00:00I loved it because I could really see, as we went on, becoming more confident in your
00:05personality.
00:06That's like so embarrassing and cute.
00:07No, no, no, it was.
00:08No, you 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
00:13it was like, you would look at the monitor and you'd be like, uh, I don't know, how do
00:17you feel, uh, uh.
00:18By the end, you were like, no, I want this hair, I want that hair.
00:20Oh my god, that's cool.
00:21I kind of wrote it in like this feverish, like, in therapy, how they're like, write
00:29a 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 where my producers and it honestly
00:40was like a bit of a conversation with Barry where he was like the comedy videos that you're
00:44making online, which is what I was doing first.
00:46You'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, like, yeah, okay.
00:54And basically, um, I went and thought about it and made all these like look books and
00:59I 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
01:07that they can help me build it and hot and super hot and just to clarify for people watching
01:14the video.
01:15You mean Barry Jenkins?
01:16Yes.
01:17He had followed me on Instagram at a time.
01:18I don't remember.
01:19And I saw that he followed me and I was like, well, let's just follow back because that's
01:22who that guy that I love.
01:25And then he DM'ed me and was like, if you ever have anything longer form that you want
01:29to 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 tri-sempte?
01:37Oh, them?
01:38Well, let me get into it.
01:39Literally.
01:40So 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 and she just had this
01:49like completely warm energy.
01:53There's like one line in the film that I remember after we read together, the producers
01:57and I were like, this is, we heard this line for the first time and it felt so real and
02:04like true.
02:05Like it just, it kind of like made the movie make more sense once we, like she just like
02:09was the missing piece.
02:11And once we found her, we were like, okay, we have a film and like this will function.
02:15And then Lucas was like this amazing guy that I knew of, of course, due to the amazing lore
02:21of you.
02:23And I wrote him a letter and he literally, I think, read it.
02:28I read the letter.
02:29Or maybe the script.
02:30Yes, I did.
02:31And then...
02:32I didn't read the script.
02:33No.
02:34He still doesn't know what's going on.
02:35No.
02:36And 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 and were like
02:44videoing me receiving the text and I was like, oh, this is like, I'm telling like the secrets.
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.
03:01So I 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.
03:13Yeah, because you're super smart.
03:14You're so smart.
03:15You're so smart.
03:16But I'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 month.
03:19It's true.
03:20Yeah.
03:21You guys are already reading?
03:22I just finished.
03:23I was just saying to Lucas, I've just finished, um, Harry Potter 4.
03:26Once again.
03:27Wait, you and Harry Potter.
03:28That's forever.
03:29She should have been in it.
03:30No, the whole thing is that she auditioned.
03:31Yeah, I auditioned for Levin de Brown and I didn't get in.
03:32That's like the worst thing in the world.
03:33No, it's literally a nightmare.
03:34Oh my God.
03:35Oh my God.
03:36You actually would have completely destroyed that role.
03:37No shade.
03:38When we read together on that, with my shitty wifi, it was like, I felt the same thing.
03:54I was like, wow, that just felt like a conversation, right?
03:56Like the, it's so like natural and it felt so natural between us that I was like, yeah,
04:04this feels like, yeah, alive with something.
04:08And like with things like that, it's just like, you never should deny those, those things
04:12because it helps to inform later on, I think what you do, like, I learned so much from
04:18this job.
04:19Really?
04:20Yeah.
04:21Are you kidding me?
04:22Are you kidding me?
04:23Really?
04:24Yeah.
04:25Okay.
04:26The thing with Naomi is that like, she'd been on these like crazy sets with these like
04:29super directors and like by, I don't think you understand who you are.
04:34No, but listen to me.
04:35I never directed anything.
04:37And like, she had so much like generosity and grace and patience and you were so supportive
04:43of me.
04:44Like that first day I remember being like, you're so nice.
04:45With the train going underneath it.
04:46I know.
04:47And I was like, we have to wait for the train and everyone's like, you will not be waiting
04:49for the train.
04:50We don't want the train to go by.
04:51And everyone's like, this is like not good.
04:53But it looks good without the train, by the way.
04:57But I just, you were so nice to me.
04:58And then by the end, I was like, Oh my God, like, I've like understood this job more by
05:03the end.
05:04And you were there the whole time.
05:06I loved it.
05:07Because I could really see as we went on becoming more confident in your work.
05:12That's like so, that's like so embarrassing and cute.
05:14No, no, no.
05:15You don't even mean like it's so vulnerable.
05:16I was watching you sometimes and you were like, suddenly, like from the beginning where
05:19it was like, you would look at the monitor and you'd be like, I don't know, how do you
05:24feel?
05:25By the end, you were like, no, I want this hair.
05:26I want that hair.
05:27It's fucking cool.
05:28That's about like actually learning.
05:29Yeah.
05:30And activating the learning.
05:31You have to learn.
05:32It was just brilliant.
05:33But you have to feel safe to learn.
05:34100%.
05:35And that's what that was you.
05:36100%.