Julia Stiles is a woman whose efforts to stay sober prove troublesome among her dysfunctional family in chosen family. The Golden Globe and Emmy nominee first found success with her turns in multiple modernizations of William Shakespeare, including the Heath Ledger co-star 10 things I hate about youEthan Hawke's Hamlet and Tim Blake Nelson O. Her star power has only grown since, including starring in the original Bourne Trilogy with Matt Damon and in Dexter Season 5 as Lumen.
Stiles stars in chosen family Like Clio, sister of the film's protagonist Ann, just released from her latest stint in rehab after years of struggling with various addictions. As Cleo returns to their hyper-religious father and eccentric mother, she becomes increasingly frustrated with her sister's overbearing behavior of making sure she doesn't return to rehab, while their parents continue to support her with her various business ideas that she wants to form, including forming a fighting yoga class, much to Anne's chagrin.
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Along with Styles, the ensemble chosen family The cast includes Heather Graham, who also wrote and directed the film, as Ann, RENO 911!Thomas Lennon, Oscar winner Odes Rey, tremors Veterinarian Michael Gross, Tulsa Kings Andrea Savage and Ella Grace Helton. With some surprising dramatic shifts between its breezy comedy trappings, the movie proves to be a heartwarming and well-acted return to the director's chair for Graham.
In anticipation of the movie's release, Screen Rant Interviewed Julia Stiles to discuss chosen familyHow she fell in love with both Graham's script and the character she sought to play, the traits she associated with her no-nonsense character, how she tapped into the emotion of the more Dramatic elements of the story and its ideas a potential return to the Bourne Franchise.
Stiles was "Really excited“To work with Graham as a director
"It was very funny, and made me laugh out loud."
Screen Rant: I think so chosen family It's such a cozy little rom-com. What about it really piqued your interest to want to be a part of it? Did Heather come to talk to you? Was it your character?
Julia Stiles: It was everything, it was all of the above. I was really excited that Heather was directing it, and I wanted to be a part of that. Her script was really, really good. It was very funny, and made me laugh out loud. And I also found the character, Clio—I think I've started to gravitate more and more to roles where you get to play things on screen that you can't really do in real life. So, as irreverent and - I don't want to say bratty - unapologetically demanding attention and acting as Cleo is, it was like, "Cool, I want to do this. I'm not allowed to do this in real life." [Chuckles]
It's interesting how film can really be a kind of release for some people. Since you mentioned not doing some things in real life for Clio, how did you find her related to you?
Julia Stiles: There were things that I don't relate to, but I think what I leant into and what Heather let me lean into is that Clio says all the things that people might think we're not allowed to say. She sometimes cuts through the bills - h. What I like about her, and in many ways she's kind of irredeemable or insufferable, is that she calls out the rest of the family on their kind of passive-aggressive politeness. She tells the truth, and she breaks it down like it is. It's not in the nicest way or the most delicious way, but that's what makes it funny.
Graham made it"Really easy“For Stiles to find her sisterly report
"She has a clear vision, but she makes it feel very collaborative…"
So what was it like developing that kind of sisterly rapport with Heather, because so much of your story in the film is directly tied to you more than your characters' parents?
Julia Stiles: It was easy, Heather made it really easy. She made work really fun every day. She puts everyone at ease, she was very open about how much it was inspired by her own life or her own family, and I think because we had similar experiences of just being actresses in this industry for a while, it was very easy To feel welcome on your set. She is also a very nice director. She has a clear vision, but she makes it feel very collaborative, so naturally, that works well with me. It puts me at ease, so it was kind of effortless.
I love that. Did you get to improvise a lot during your scenes with her? Because when I talked to Thomas the other day, he mentioned how he got to improvise a little bit here and there.
Julia Stiles: Well, Thomas Lennon is the improv king, so of course he gets to improvise. It's like, "What other gem is he going to throw out?" You would be foolish not to let him do his thing. [Chuckles] But I improvised a little bit, and Heather - despite the fact that she wrote the script, and she wrote a really good script, I felt like I just had to serve this - let me have it.
And there were a couple of lines, I would just say stuff, and I didn't think in any way it would end up in the final cut. There were some lines that I think she saved, like in the alley when she catches me trying to buy drugs. I think I said something like, "That was my patron, dumba--," or something like that. It was a Julia Stiles original, but the rest was hers. She wrote a really good script.
Stiles didn't realize the gravity of the movie's dramatic turn until filming it
"Heather was also very emotional in the scene…"
So speaking of her script, I don't want to give spoilers, but there is quite a flip to the dramatic side near the latter half of the film when we learn more about their past. What's it like doing the flip after, as we said before, it's been a breezy comedy up to this point?
Julia Stiles: I didn't even realize until we were actually filming the scene how much of a turn the scene was, where Heather's character is trying to take Cleo back to rehab, and I'm reluctant to go, and she kind of Darts off the car and starts running off into a playground. Which is a really interesting setting too, because then stuff about their past and their childhood comes up. But I was so focused on the fun comedic moments that I think when we got to that scene, I was like, “Oh, wait a minute, when I think about what I'm saying, this is beautiful. [heavy]"And Heather was very emotional in that scene too, so it really made me focus differently, I think.
Do you find that when you have a really difficult scene like that, it's easier for you to tap into the emotion of the other actor in that scene? Or do you find your own emotion for your character beforehand?
Julia Stiles: It's hard, I think, because I'd like to say it's usually interacting with the other actor and your scene partner or whatever, but it's really hard because in film, everything is so chopped up and you're doing one sided of coverage, and then you turn the camera around. There is a lot of waiting in between. But I would say, in that situation, what I saw in Heather kind of grounded me and made me focus on, "Oh, that's the tone she's trying to set in this scene." I think I was also looking, in that particular scene, it occurred to me, "Oh, that explains so much about the character that it's important to make a moment of it."
Clio's look has several practical reasons behind it
"It was a very low-budget production, so yes, we were supposed to bring some of our own clothes."
I also wanted to talk about Clio's look, because I love how she still has that kind of 90s grunge look to her. In talking with Thomas, he mentioned how sometimes, the costumes were just everyone's own wardrobe brought to the set, because it was a smaller production. What can you tell me about the combination of Clio's look for the movie?
Julia Stiles: A couple of things. It was a very low-budget production, so yes, we were supposed to bring some of our own clothes. I don't dress like Cleo, so I didn't have anything to offer. [Laughs] But yeah, I think the idea with her costume was that she's still stuck in the past. And then the other thing was that I was, I think, three months pregnant.
I was very early pregnant, because at the time I had signed on the movie years before, with independent films, it takes a while to get everything financed, and get everyone's schedules in order. Surprise, I found out that I was pregnant, and we had to hide it. So, there are bags and fanny packs that I kind of put over my stomach to keep that a secret. I love tights under shorts, I have to say. I think this is probably my favorite warning.
So what's one thing you're really looking forward to people getting to take away from the film when it comes out?
Julia Stiles: I think it's just a really easy movie to watch. There are really silly moments that I think we just need now. We just need the release of, "I can laugh and not worry about what's going on in real life." Again, it's also very relatable. I think that even if you come from a very functional family, there are bits of the heightened characters that you might find familiar.
styles won't"Hold my breath“For her potential Bourne Return
"... I'm so glad to have been a part of the franchise, and it's been the span of most of my adult life."
Before I let you go, I also wanted to ask a real quick question, apart from this film, I'm a big fan of the Bourne Franchise. I'm still devastated that Nikki followed Jason BourneEspecially now that Matt's in talks for another one. If they somehow magically found a way to bring Nikki back, would you be open to coming back to the franchise?
Julia Stiles: I just had déjà vu, because I feel like I've had this conversation for the last 20 years, and it was the conversation that preceded every previous version. I'm like, "What?" It would have to be some sort of prequel thing. I don't know. I won't hold my breath, but I mean, I'm so glad to have been a part of the franchise, and it's been the span of most of my adult life. So, I was very lucky to get to travel the world and be a part of a cool action movie, very grateful.
About chosen family
Ann (Heather Graham) is a yoga teacher struggling to achieve inner peace despite the fact that her family is driving her crazy and her dating life is miserable. She doesn't know how to say no and wants to fix everyone's problems. In the meantime, Anne struggles to save her sister Cleo (Julia Stiles) from addiction, with disastrous results. With so many expectations on her, Anne leans on her good friends Max, Frances, Roz and Ella for support. They in turn set her up with a cute divorced dad, Steve, who has an adorable 7-year-old daughter. When Anne meets Steve's daughter Lily, she is immediately smitten. But Lily doesn't feel the same way, and as Steve and Ann get closer, Lily grows increasingly jealous and competitive. When Lily begins to misbehave, Ann sees that Lily can do no wrong in Steve's eyes - she is in the battle of her life with a 7-year-old.
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Source: Screen Rant Plus