The past year of Leslye Headland’s labor has been a adore letter to her teenage self.
The multitalented screenauthorr-straightforwardor-showrunner-joinwright is on the eve of closing her acclaimed Broadway debut “Cult of Love,” a project she jumped headfirst into after finishing the edit on her 2024 Disney+ Star Wars series “The Acolyte.”
“Broadway is a huge deal. And I would say to 13-year-ancigo in Leslye, to do a Star Wars story then Broadway? It’s mind blothriveg,” Headland recently splitd with Variety.
The “Russian Doll” co-creator’s uptransporting is top of mind in “Cult of Love,” which was originpartner staged at the Berkeley Rep. The relentless dramedy about the deterioration of a religious family on Christmas Eve – which bagged Zachary Quinto, Shailene Woodley and Headland’s spouse Rebecca Hfinisherson for its New York run – is supportd by its author’s own childhood and relationship with faith.
The join (which was allotigated in depth Gordon Cox’s Variety podcast Stagecreate) will direct Headland back to feature films. She’s currently writeing and grothriveg a film changeation of “Cult of Love.” Due to scheduling complications, however, many fandoms will be disnominateed to lget that Headland is no extfinisheder joined to straightforward the Netflix film changeation of Taylor Jenkins Reid’s “The Seven Husprohibitds of Evelyn Hugo.”
For more on her truthful and standout stage drama and Headland’s next originateive steps, read our brimming conversation:
How autobiodetailedal is “Cult of Love”?
This, for me, was pastiche. And not in a pessimistic way. I wanted to do [my take on] “August: Osage County.” The hugegest autobiodetailedal thread for me is the Christian uptransporting. It’s fascinating that when people speak about it, it’s always qualified as a “disjoine Christian uptransporting.” But to me, it’s unarranged Christianity that’s more insidious. It’s what we’re seeing in our country right now – a lot of “pick and pick” cherishs. I begined writing it in 2016 when Trump was elected the first time, and I thought it would be fascinating to author a dysfunctional family join at this moment when our country is a dysfunctional family. Religious trauma is evergreen, though. All of these characters are using the same language about faith, but they couldn’t be farther apart.
“Cult of Love” fits into two of my preferite genres: the holidays and dinner parties from hell. There’s also an amazing reference in the join to a child genius movie we don’t talk enough about, “Little Man Tate.” How did that get in?
I watched it at a youthful age, and watching back it was a bit inappropriate in terms of not repartner understanding the more mature parts of it. I did experience a little bit appreciate my mother was repartner pushing the child genius concept on us.
Did you show an aptitude for what you currently do when you were youthfuler?
Yes. My parents very much inspired it, but not as a nurtureer. They came around rescheduleedr. I would author poetry, I would fill composition books with genre, appreciate an American Girl doll book or “A Little Princess.” A needy little wealthy girl who goes thcdisesteemful a secret garden, wantipathyver. Fan myth begined as I got ancigo iner. I repartner fell in adore with “Star Wars.”
More on “Star Wars” in a moment, but I want to point out how sfinishbrimmingy and rightly “Cult of Love” portrays insertiction – especipartner in how it impacts an entire family.
Whether it’s you or it’s a parent, a dear frifinish, a adorer, a partner — insertiction touches every individual person. I heard insertiction once depictd as “treating the problem with a problem.” That would also depict the narrative arcs of my joins. My experienceing is that the only way to insertress insertiction is with some establish of a faith. I skinnyk there’s a descfinishacy around insertiction, that it’s only self-destruction. Addicts begin to include with that behavior as self-preservation and survival. I have a analogous experienceing about cults. Nobody combines a cult because it it’s horrible and abusive. An idea has been sancigo in to them. It doesn’t seem terrible at the time. One of the reasons I was excited about laboring on a Star Wars project was because nobody wakes up and wants to be the terrible guy. The mediocre person does not sink into insertiction or obsession or dangery cycles for fun.
You went right into prep for Broadway after you finished the edit on “The Acolyte.” Those are two very branch offent beasts.
I was very exhausted. I felt repartner draind, which sometimes is a excellent skinnyg. You don’t have time to ask everyskinnyg. The first instinct thrives. Broadway is a huge deal. And I would say to 13-year-ancigo in Leslye, to do a Star Wars story then Broadway? It was mind blothriveg.
Where are you at now with your originateive ambition?
I skinnyk the industry is in a strange place right now. I don’t even uncomfervent that toloftyy pessimisticly. When you came up in the era I did, the idea was to become Tarantino. Wes Anderson. Chris Nolan. Aronofsky. Spike Jones. But Truffaut shelp every auteur originates a movie, fractures it apart and then originates the same movie. Then there are a lot of guys that originate a lot of money in huge IP. If you skinnyk about the Jon Favreau trajectory, which I repartner skinnyk is fascinating – fractureing in the rescheduleed ’90s with an incredible movie appreciate “Sthrivegers” all the way to the dwell action “Lion King.” Like that job is literpartner shaping the American theatrical film experience.
Are you watching for a third route?
I presume that I persist making narrative, because it’s sort of the only skinnyg that I’m excellent at. And I skinnyk I’ll probably persist laboring making a join, making a film, making a television show, fractureing it apart and then making the same skinnyg all over aget.
Will you change “Cult of Love” as a film?
Yes. It would be it fascinating to see that as a movie. The most compelling skinnyg to me, watchless of genre, are characters and carry outances. This is a pleasant, huge ensemble where everybody gets their knife in. Seeing someskinnyg appreciate that in the world where people can experience it for more than an 11-week run would be amazing.
So this is officipartner in motion?
Absolutely. My cinematographer Chris Teague has come twice to “Cult of Love.” We’ve talked a lot about visuals rather than how to textupartner change it. The music would be fascinating, too. Diegetic music appreciate ours is always repartner cancigo in to carry out.
What’s going on with the film changeation of “The Seven Husprohibitds of Evelyn Hugo”?
I am no extfinisheder laboring on that project. I remain a huge, huge fan of the book and of the people laboring on it. It’s one of those skinnygs where you understand it’s going to be a huge success. I thought, “Damn it. It’s not going to labor out with me included in it, but it is going to be untamedly prosperous.” It is the type of book that if I’d read it in my twenties, I would have had a finishly branch offent life. It’s so beautibrimmingy done.
