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GRETCHEN MOL, ELIZABETH REASER, and JUSTIN KIRK on 'PUCCINI FOR BEGINNERS'
Contributed by Michael J. Lee, Executive Editor
for Radio Free Entertainment
February 2, 2007
In the relationship comedy Puccini for Beginners, a woman (Elizabeth Reaser) finds herself in the middle of a tangled love triangle when she falls for both a man (Justin Kirk) and his ex-girlfriend (Gretchen Mol). This small, independent film was shot in less than three weeks on location in New York, and features a charming chemistry amongst its cast.
In this interview, Elizabeth, Gretchen, and Justin all get together to talk about working on the movie.
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The Interview
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MEDIA: Is this story based on writer/director Maria Maggenti's life? And Elizabeth, are you playing Maria?
ELIZABETH: I think I'm playing a version of Maria. Obviously it's not her, but it is. I mean, definitely, I think she would describe herself as a "hasbien." I think she said this is the press notes, so I feel comfortable repeating it.
JUSTIN: I can't believe you're doing it.
ELIZABETH: Justin, you know how paranoid I am. She's a hasbien, so I guess that means she "was a lesbian." Now she's with men, or one man, or I don't know. I don't know what she's doing.
JUSTIN: She's with a very nice man named Mark.
ELIZABETH: Yeah, very sweet.
Elizabeth, you got the part right before you started filming. Was it hard jumping into such a complicated role so quickly?
ELIZABETH: I tend to get roles at the last minute because someone will fall out and I get a call or something. It's an independent film, too, so I think everything kind of happens at the last second. [to Justin and Gretchen] Although you guys were already cast, so maybe not. I think hanging out with Maria helped a lot because she's so energized and effervescent and all that. I mean, I would, of course, liked to have had more time. And she had me watch...What was that great movie that we watched?
JUSTIN: My Man Godfrey.
ELIZABETH: My Man Godfrey...Which she's so inspired by, and all those screwball comedies. I think a lot of it was just very specific writing, and she has this style. Obviously I would have liked to have had more time.
Have you ever know someone to be in this kind of love triangle before?
GRETCHEN: With the boy and the girl? I've never witnessed that.
JUSTIN: You wouldn't actually let it come out at a party where you all see each other.
ELIZABETH: I haven't. At least not where there were two exes involved. Triangles, I think, are fairly common.
GRETCHEN: Same sex...
ELIZABETH: But yeah, same sex with two people who are exes, not so much.
JUSTIN: Probably, it happens.
ELIZABETH: Oh, I'm sure it happens all over the place. I just have no life.
What was your reaction when you first read the script?
GRETCHEN: I was just sort of looking for something fun to do. It was the middle of the summer and I just thought it would be a ball. Then I met Maria and she's so full of life, excited, and it just sort of rubs off on you. I think the dialogue was really punchy and it just seemed like the thing kind of carried itself. You just sort of show up and do it. I thought it would be a fun job, not one of those "pulling yourself apart all over the place."
JUSTIN: And also, when you read it with the knowledge of tone underneath it and what she wanted us to think about in terms of like watching those movies and stuff, put a certain spin on it and gave us something to do.
So you weren't freaked out that you would have to play a lesbian?
ELIZABETH: No, not at all.
GRETCHEN: No.
ELIZABETH: I was excited.
GRETCHEN: I thought it would be fun for a change. I mean, usually there is a kiss in a movie.
Was it difficult doing the love scenes between the two of you?
GRETCHEN: The whole thing with us...There was always a comedy element to it in every scene like that. I felt the pressure of getting that moment or making it that sort of quality.
ELIZABETH: I was more uncomfortable doing my scene with Justin than with Gretchen and Julianne [Nicholson].
JUSTIN: [jokes] And for good reason.
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Did this movie live up to your expectations of being fun and light, or did it become more emotionally challenging once you actually started filming?
GRETCHEN: There are moments in the script where I think it's there, the emotion and everything. Because it was this independent movie and we shot it in 18 days in all of these fantastic locations in the West Village and all these kind of iconic locations. It was like, "Ready, set, go." You're just on this ride and I think that was what great for me about it. There wasn't time to stop and think about the panic that you get when you have a little time in your trailer. It had a summer camp aspect to it, for me, anyway. You had a lot more stuff to do, too.
JUSTIN: Maria has escaped out of the country during this time, but if she were here, you would see her persona sets the tone for a really good time at work. Particularly something like this that has a lightheartedness to it. A lot of times, especially in a movie like this where it's an independent film and you try to raise money and it's been your baby for many years. As soon as we were on to work, it was just joy everyday.
GRETCHEN: Just positive reinforcement, which is so fun. At the end you're kind of like, "Really?" But she did. She did that so well.
JUSTIN: [to Gretchen] You mean like her telling you you did a good job?
GRETCHEN: Yeah.
JUSTIN: [jokes] I never heard that.
Justin, you did Angles in America, which was an all male cast with a male director...
JUSTIN: I was so freaked out by doing that movie, so that was a pain in my ass. It took a year and a lot of torture. After that I decided not to ever have a bad time at work ever again. I don't mean to say that I'm not glad I did that job. I am, but I wouldn't say it was fun to go to work like this was.
...so what was it like getting sort of the reverse in Puccini for Beginners and working with all women?
JUSTIN: [jokes] Well, I need a lot of attention, so I much prefer it. It takes me a couple of days to nullify [the men's] presence on set. So this time, I didn't have to worry about it. I could have everyone fight over me.
Do you think a man could have directed this film?
GRETCHEN: If he wrote it.
ELIZABETH: I don't think any other man or any woman, other than Maria Maggenti. In a way, I think she thinks Allegra (and I would agree with this) is the man part, and she kind of is, which is something I really loved about it. But I don't know. What do you think, Gretchen?
GRETCHEN: It's such a personal story, it's hard to imagine a man could direct his personal story of his own. It's just a hard question.
JUSTIN: [jokes] I don't think women should direct.
ELIZABETH: There aren't [many women directors].
Is this the first time you've been directed by a woman?
ELIZABETH: [to Gretchen] Well, you worked with Mary Harron on [The Notorious Bettie Page], and I guess that's it.
GRETCHEN: No, I've worked with a lot of women directors in television.
ELIZABETH: But there's not a lot of women directors in television either. Maybe there are, but I don't feel like they work all the time. And definitely for film, I remember I auditioned for Mary Harron one time, and I remember it was the first time I had a film audition for a woman. And I don't think in my life I've had that many film auditions with women...Not to mention working with women.
GRETCHEN: It's great, I love working with women.
JUSTIN: Me too, honestly.
Justin, you did another movie with Julianne Nicholson, Flannel Pajamas. What was it like working with her again?
JUSTIN: Well, Julianne and I didn't get to work much on [Puccini for Beginners]. But as is the case with movies of this size, you're often hanging out together. And it was fun. It was me and the five girls. We were just hanging out. And I'm quite fond of that.
Julianne worked on a previous project with Maria Maggenti. Are you guys like this sort of inter-connected network of talent now?
JUSTIN: Wouldn't that be nice to think we're this small little thing that people would keep hiring us?
GRETCHEN: I do feel because it was in New York, shot in New York...I don't know, it seemed like a lot of people were local.
ELIZABETH: Yeah, like [co-stars] Tina Benko and Jenny Dundas.
GRETCHEN: And so people cross paths. But it does feel like a small world.
Is it helpful to do a movie with limited time and resources?
JUSTIN: We had one rehearsal at Maria's apartment.
GRETCHEN: [to Justin] You and I had a little rehearsal. And we talked to her a lot. She wanted to talk to all of us before. She gave us material and films to watch, so there was a little prep time for it. But there's a freedom. You don't want it all the time, but it depends on the role. But I think there is a freedom to know there's only going to be "this amount of time" and you're just going to do it. And it kind of takes a little bit of the heat off. And I don't know why. Ultimately, it's still a movie that comes out and people are going to see, but it's easier somehow.
JUSTIN: The other thing with [production company] Indigent, which alas no longer exists, is that they shot their movies always with two cameras. So you would get to do your coverage at the same time, which is a real treat because you can act and do good instead of thinking, "Oh, f*ck, I'm doing all my best acting on [someone else's] close-up!"
Elizabeth, was it challenging for you to be in almost every scene?
ELIZABETH: Yeah, I would have liked to have had more [preparation] time, but I agree with Gretchen. I've done a couple independent films where it's sort of athletic in that way. Especially, I've done two lead parts in independent films and you never sit, you never go back to your trailer, you're just on. And I remember I had to keep eating because it took so much. You have to keep it in your head.
GRETCHEN: You stay in it more. When you're waiting around a lot, you have to monitor your energy. With this, you're there, you're on. You know when it's going to end.
ELIZABETH: Yeah, and I like that about it. When you work with someone like Maria, it is her baby. It's been seven years coming for her, and that makes someone specially passionate, and it's exciting.
So are any of you opera fans?
GRETCHEN: I like opera.
JUSTIN: I don't really know much about it. I've been a couple times and it's a lot of fun.
ELIZABETH: I don't know anything about it.
JUSTIN: [jokes, to Elizabeth] I would have thought that would have been your first thing in terms of research, but if that's how you work, that's cool.
ELIZABETH: It was. I listened to it, but I wouldn't say I'm a big fan of it, or I listen to it.
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