This time, she enters SXSW 2025 as a director, making her debut withSummer of 69.
PERRI NEMIROFF: I’m so psyched to talk aboutSummer of 69.
I’m so happy for you.
Image by Photagonist
JILLIAN BELL: That is so lovely for you to say.
I’m very, very excited.
I’m very proud of this cast.
Image by Photagonist
CHLOE FINEMAN: Jillian, as a director, is a gift to the world.
Get ready, guys.
SAM MORELOS: It’s shocking to think that it was her first one, too.
Image by Photagonist
Jillian, would you mind doing the honors and giving a brief synopsis?
Again, first feature.
I felt you had to do all the film school and know every single thing.
Image by Photagonist
Then, as an actor, I’ve been on over 40 sets.
I was terrified about that.Then a script came to me about 69ing, and Ihadto tell it.
[Laughs] No, I loved the message of the movie.
Image by Photagonist
I loved that it was about female friendship.
So, this became the one.
You’ve been on many sets as an actor.
But then I also want the opposite.
BELL: Oh my goodness.
One of my first films was22 Jump Street.
Phil Lord and Chris Miller directed that film, and I learned so much from them.
When you’re working with actors like this, it always does.
BELL: There were two takes.
Image via New Line Cinema
This is a real story.
FINEMAN: Two takes, and there was a hand countdown.
BELL: There were two takes of one scene, and it was a pretty crucial scene.
Image via SXSW
It’s when you’re asking for the club.
to going, You guysnailedit in two takes!
Then I went to the back room, andI punched the wall because I was so scared.Nobody witnessed it.
Image by Photagonist
MATT CORNETT: I thought you were gonna say cry, but punched feels more correct.
Chloe was perfect in it, and I was like, We don’t need it.
Chloe, Sam and Matt, does Jillian have a monitor dance?
BELL: It’s punching the wall.
[Laughs]
MORELOS: Its a lot of little giggles.
CORNETT: Just like the proudest little mum ever.
BELL: I was just a mama bear.
I was very proud of every take.
FINEMAN: I knew of Jillian from The Groundlings.
As an actor’s director, there was so much improv.
MORELOS: I don’twantother actors to work with Jillian, just me, just us.
We’re just gonna re-film it over and over again.
CORNETT: Were gonna do the same movie over and over again.
MORELOS: This is my very first feature.
I’ve never really been on a single cam-anything either.
Well, I did, because it’s my first feature.
I was like, I can’t mess up!
But that was my own personal pressure.
You never felt like you couldn’t go up to her.
It was also just fun.
It was just pure fun.
FINEMAN: We all sobbed when it was over.
MORELOS: It was genuinely the worst thing.
BELL: There’s such a good picture of them just sobbing on me.
MORELOS: Body-wracking sobs.
I think that that made things significantly easier for me, and much more comforting to me.
MORELOS: Also, since she is an actor, she has the vocabulary of an actor.
The fact thatshe’s able to marry the two is just a dream.
She just set a tone of love and safety, and I’ve never seen that before.
BELL: This is all making me sweat, and it’s so sweet.
I don’t know if you remember.
FINEMAN: Then I locked myself in my trailer and I demanded a little butler.
BELL: [Laughs] She wouldnotcome out.
FINEMAN: I would not come out unless my little butler was there.
Yeah, a Syracuse local.
BELL: Who had Pedialyte.
FINEMAN: I did actually have a Pedialyte butler!
[Laughs]
Pedialytes kind of important.
It can make you feel better.
BELL: Pedialyte saved Chloe Fineman’s life.
FINEMAN: I was so addicted to Pedialyte this summer, I think I got hypertension.
I mean,got in such serious shape, like fighting shape, and really jumped in.
FINEMAN: What happened was Cannes and Mikey Madison, who now has an Oscar.
Then, found the pole.
The athleticism that goes into that, my brain can’t compute it, truly.
BELL: It is unreal.
MORELOS: It’s impossible.
The upper body strength you need.
I cant do a pull-up.
MORELOS: I cant do a push-up!
But I ran a marathon because of you!
I ran a marathon because ofBrittany Runs a Marathon.
BELL: That is incredible.
FINEMAN: Are you serious?
I saw it at Sundance 2019, and then I ran the marathon later that year.
MORELOS: I got full-body chills from that.
BELL: You have done something I have not done, which is run a marathon.
I’m so excited for you.
I’m proud of you.
It’s one of my greatest accomplishments.
BELL: Have you done it multiple times?
[Laughs]
No!
CORNETT: It was a one-and-done kind of situation.
I ticked that box and I’m glad I did it, but never again.
Jillian Bell once again shows why shes a treasure in this delightful tale of self-improvement.
BELL: They’re unbelievable.
They bought a high school in Syracuse, and their production company is within that.
We shot in the high school.
They were there to help guide.
They were the bumpers on the bowling alley, if you’ve ever bowled.
They’re not weighing in so much that it becomes something different.
I have many follow-ups.
FINEMAN: Cher fromClueless.
I kept thinking ofEmpire Recordsin particular.
I was like, “I want to grow up and work for Joe.”
BELL: That’s a great movie!
My friends called my boyfriend and were like, you should probably go down on her.
I don’t even think they knew what that meant.
BELL: With such confidence.
FINEMAN: She was just so confident.
That was a great impression.
FINEMAN: [Laughs] “Head.
Can you top that?
[Laughs] Mine wasLemonade Mouth, if you knowLemonade Mouth.
It’s a Disney Channel original movie.
Hayley Kyoko inLemonade Mouth.
She was this super badass.
She made a band.
I was like, I wanna be in a band.
That was not my high school experience, but I enjoyed the idea of it.
It wasLemonade Mouthfor me.
CORNETT: No, no, listen.
Hear me out…
BELL:Lemonade Mouth,The NotebookandSex and the City.
CORNETT: I always wanted to have the rain kiss.
That’s like peak sexy cute moment.
BELL: Is that what you did with your tongue?
CORNETT: Uh huh.
FINEMAN: Can we play that back for the fans at home?
Its like the Spider-Man kiss, how everyone idolizes that, but itd probably be really awkward in reality.
CORNETT: In reality, does itreallymake sense?
FINEMAN: The Spider-Man kiss is a lot like 69, if you think about it.
CORNETT: Its the 69 of kissing.
BELL: Honestly, my favorite teen comedy wasValley Girl.
I just was obsessed with that.
Has anyone seen that?
Am I the only one?
That’s one of my favorites.
It needs to soar the way it does in the final film.
FINEMAN: As soon as Sam auditioned, you just knew.
We have such a soul connection.
Sam’s at Adler, I went to Adler, and you remind me of my sister.
Sam is the kindest, best, most wonderful person, knew everybody’s name immediately.
You’re so easy to love, so it was easy.
You’re like a little stoopy virgin, and I’m also immature.
I felt like it was a coming-of-age story for both of the characters.
Its Matt Cornett fromHigh School Musical: The Musical Series.
Actually, I felt like… What’s the phrase?
Big potatoes, small potatoes?
CORNETT: Baked potatoes, I believe.
MORELOS: Something about potatoes.
No, I think I’m saying that wrong.
BELL: The hottest potato.
You felt small potatoes?
FINEMAN: You felt baked potato.
CORNETT: She felt like fingerling potatoes.
BELL: [Laughs] Potatoes three ways.
MORELOS: This is wrong.
I think I meant fish.
FINEMAN: Fish out of water, which has nothing to do with potatoes!
But the fact was that everyone just wanted to see each other succeed, especially Chloe.
When we were doing those scenes, I felt like I was playing the straight man.
I wanted to also just see you shine and be like the funniest, funniest, funniest person ever.
MORELOS: It feels literally like that mentorship.
I’m like, “You are where I want to be.”
And I was mentoring behind the cam a little bit.
It’s a weird kismet thing, and it was very special.
You are an alum.
I’m all like, Mother is here.
In film and television, we give each other awards.
That’s super cool.
We should keep doing that.
But, nobody tellsthemselvesgood job as much as they should.
BELL: Oh my gosh.
You got this.”
FINEMAN: We literally were shooting in a sex shop with vibrators, and a tornado warning happened.
You wouldn’t know.
Jillian calmly led us to shelter.
We just played games until the storm was over.
You better RUN to see ‘Brittany Runs A Marathon’ in select theaters on August 23rd.
I feel like this is your next movie idea.
There’s some sort of meta-comedy concept in that.
FINEMAN: Having literally a tornado like we could see it, we could see the clouds coming together.
BELL: And there was just a loose pitbull running around, which was amazing.
FINEMAN: And that was a very calm day somehow, because of Jillian at the helm.
