COLLIDER: I love this festival.
I’m super happy to be here and be able to talk about cool movies.
ALEX BURUNOVA:Satisfactionis a psychological drama about two British composers who can’t seem to address something.
Image via SXSW
That’s very good at not giving away everything.
It’s almost like you’ve done that before.
[Emma], I’m sure you’ve read a lot of scripts.
Image by Photagonist
What was it about this one that said, Yes, I’m doing this?
EMMA LAIRD: It was more a feeling than it was a plot.
I read it, and I was like, Okay, this is cool.
Image by Photagonist
That’s usually how I take projects.
It’s this feeling that I get whether I want to do it or not.
I usually know in the first, like, 20 pages.
Image by Photagonist
So, yeah, it was just kind of a feeling as opposed to anything else, really.
One of the things about this film is that it weaves two different storylines.
You’re two years in the past, and then you’re in the present.
Image by Photagonist
Talk a little bit about why you wanted to do that.
It could have been more time or less time.
How did you discover for two years and the way you wanted to tell the story?
Image via Apple TV+
Which scenes tell the story and the emotional journey of the character the best?
And that’s how it came together.
It’s two completely different headspaces for you.
Image via Sony Pictures
How much did you film all of the stuff from the two years in the past together?
How much were you trying to do that for the emotional stability of your cast?
BURUNOVA: We shot two timelines separately.
At first, we shot the present.
We tried to go as chronological as we could, schedule and budget permitting.
Then we shot all of the past scenes together.
LAIRD: It definitely helps us as an actor, too.
It’s the same as when you’re kind of in and out of a job.
It’s hard to click back in.
I was very fortunate that we got to do that.
It’s almost two different people.
We made all these memories.
I lived with Fionn [Whitehead] and we had a rapport that made it feel very real.
Throughout the entire production, we were like, Until we’ve shot that scene…
It was like the thing that we kind of dreaded.
So, that was the only thing that we kind of had to get through.
But other than that, it was easy.
It was easy going into the past self because it was actually quite fun after all the heavy stuff.
BURUNOVA: She makes it look easy.
Well, I mean, good actors.
LAIRD: Thank you.
This is not the norm.
LAIRD: You really do have to give over to this process and to your director and trust them.
It was definitely a new experience for me.
In retrospect,I’m really grateful for all of this stuff that Alex suggested we do in prep.
I’m really grateful for that because I think it made for a very special outcome.
Why was it important that you wanted them to spend time in the Airbnb?
BURUNOVA: I come from theater, and I’m a big fan of immersive prep and intensive prep.
But I wanted them to have that shared history together because we would be able to feel it.
There’s no way you’re not going to feel it.
What do you want to say about the way you wanted to shoot that sequence?
And it’s just a shot of Lola’s face.
What was it like for you knowing this was a really important moment?
It was all really about this thing and how it affects her afterward.
But, I mean, there are always nerves going into something like that.
So, I felt very, very comfortable on that set.
But I’m proud, and I agree with you.
That was in the script, and I love that there are no frills.
The camera is still.
I like talking to directors about editing because it’s where it all comes together.
BURUNOVA: No, I was so fortunate.
When I saw the first assembly cut, I was like, It’s going to work.
It needs a lot of work, but it’s working.
The back and forth is working, and it’s doing what it needs to be doing.
So, the rest was much easier.
BURUNOVA: You’re asking such good questions.
At some point, you see what happened.
The note was, We want to see it sooner because we want to be with her.
I did some research prepping for this and read you had 110 drafts over eight years.
That’s a lot.
BURUNOVA: It changed drastically.
I also read you workshopped it as a play, and you spent five years painting storyboards and keyframes.
LAIRD: Wow, youve really done your research.
I just found that out earlier, and I’m like, I want a painting!
BURUNOVA: I will give you a painting.
I don’t usually talk about that, but yeah, I come from a painting background.
So, that’s the painting.
I knew it was complicated.
I knew it had to be nuanced, and I really wanted to dial it in.
The Cats in ‘Satisfaction’ Were Unscripted, Unpaid Extras
“Keep the cats.”
So, I wrote down cats because I love cats, and Perri does too.
Let’s talk about cats and their impact or part in this movie.
BURUNOVA: I’d like to talk about cats.
I’m here for this.
They lived around that house, and they would show up on set.
LAIRD: It’s so Greek.
There are cats everywhere in Greece.
BURUNOVA: They’re everywhere.
So Id be like, Keep the cats!
There was no cat continuity whatsoever.
LAIRD: I made, like, a whole fake movie poster with a donkey.
Shes like, Thats out movie poster.
LAIRD: Ive still got it somewhere on the chat.
BURUNOVA: You have the donkey exclusive.
A lot of directors wouldn’t do that.
What was your motivation?
Then I took on the watercolors, which they flow the way they flow.
We worked on childhood memories.
Emma is an incredibly prepared actress.
Her script was this thick with notes and annotations.
Their scripts were insane.
LAIRD: It’s liberating.
you better do that prep.
But it was scary for me.
I just worked with the director, and I was like, I don’t like improv.
It’s not my thing.
Part of my prep is, the lines are the last thing of importance for me.
I will say I preferred improvising in rehearsal instead of just being like, Okay, roll.
Because I talk for days, and that’s what I’m scared.
If you roll the cameras, it’s just gonna be nonsensical.
BURUNOVA: Yeah, the scenes stayed the same, but the words changed.
I totally get it.
Youre still capturing what youre looking for in the moment.
For example, Danny Boyle and shooting a movie on an iPhone.
LAIRD: I dont know if I should say this, but they had lenses on those phones.
Oh, 100%.
Ralph Fiennes told me about it.
LAIRD: There was a whole tent.
Theyre like, Were shooting this on iPhone.
Im like, What?
No, were not!
No spoilers, but what can you say about your character?
Are you involved in more than one of them?
Youre introduced to me.
What I will say is Im not a likable character, and its absolute insanity.
Nias film is gonna be quite insane.
I dont even know how to describe it.
Both are wonderfully unique and both very different.
I really cant wait.
I dont want to get you in trouble, so Ill stop there.
Also, Im a big fan of Apple TV, and I read that youre doingNeuromancer.
LAIRD: I am.
I just wrapped on Friday.
Well, wrapped for a while.
I maybe have to go in for a couple more days.
But yes, I am.
Thats something thats been trying to get off the ground for years and years and years.
LAIRD: Have you read the book?
I havent read the book, but I know the material.
What is it about those scripts that excited you?
What can you tell people?
Its something a lot of people love.
[Dillard], the director, and the character.
I didnt get the scripts until we shot in Tokyo in January.
I landed in Tokyo, and I was like, Guys, I only have Episode 1.
Can you help me out?
The costume is insane.
The hair and makeup is crazy.
It was real character [acting], as was Danny Boyles film.
What did that city bring to production?
LAIRD: Just on the crew side, people were so welcoming and wonderful there.
We had a whole ceremony to commence the shoot.
That is a huge theme and a huge part ofNeuromancerin the books, as well.
So, yeah, its a very important part of it.
Im really excited forBlood on Snow.
Youve clearly won the actors lottery.
These are really, really big deal projects, so congratulations.
I really mean that sincerely.Blood on Snowis another huge one.
For people who dont realize, whos involved with this project?
LAIRD: Cary Fukunaga, who didTrue Detectiveand did the last Bond film.
Its his next thing.
Its a Jo Nesb adaptation of the book, same title.
Aaron Taylor-Johnson, myself, Eva Green, and Ben Mendelsohn.
Hes shooting it on film, and its set in the 70s.
I dont know what I can say.
I can say, as well, Aaron Taylor-Johnson is maybe one of my favorite actors Iveeverworked with.
The way he shows up on set is so enthusiastic andsotalented.
I feel like he is, in some way, still so underrated.
I have high hopes for it.
But yeah, all very exciting.
I feel really grateful.
Thank you for saying that.
Your Rating
Your comment has not been saved
