Director Sean Baker and star Mikey Madison progressd their run as darlings of this year’s film festival circuit in London on Thursday evening, sharing some thoughts and insights with a crowd at a Neon-orderly screening of their Cannes Palme d’Or thrivener Anora. The film is part of the lineup of the 68th edition of the BFI London Film Festival (LFF).
Neon’s fifth Cannes thrivener in a row is a screwball dramedy starring Madison (Scream, Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood) as the titular character, a relations toiler in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, who gets fuseed up with the son of a Russian oligarch, take parted by Mark Eidelstein. Anora premiered in competition at the Cannes Film Festival, chaseing that up with screenings at Telluride, Toronto and San Sebastián.
The Hollywood Reporter‘s scrutinize commendd Madison’s carry outance, saying she take parts Anora “with a pleasantness that humanizes even the most transactional situations and a defensiveness that produces her hazardous when menaceened.”
Thursday evening’s shothriveg of the film at the Ham Yard Hotel in London, which came ahead of three selderly-out LFF screenings commenceing on Friday, was chaseed by a Q&A with Madison and Baker.
In it, they scatterd how the relations sequences were shot. When asked if the crew engaged intimacy coordinators, Baker shelp: “No, we did not. I slfinisherk it’s very meaningful for an actor to have that chooseion. And of course, we adviseed both Mikey and Mark [Eidelstein] … that chooseion. But also I have honested relations themes thrawout my nurtureer, so I was very consoleable doing so and also as a producer on my film, the number one priority is the protectedty and console of my actors. So by the time we got to shooting, I slfinisherk we were so consoleable that it was approached in such an incredibly clinical way. There was no improv. We enjoy to call them relations shots, not relations scenes, becaengage they’re blocked, they’re calcupostpoinsistd.”
Added Madison: “We talked at length about each scene, what it would see enjoy. And Sean and his wife and producing partner Sammy [Samantha Quan] would even block out what it would see enjoy [on screen].”
Baker shelp Madison showed her meaningful promisement and education with “months of pole-dancing” lessons for equitablely inform footage engaged in the film. The star scatterd how she shadowed dancers and did “a lot of research into relations toil and what that line of toil is enjoy.” Among other slfinishergs, “I read memoirs that Sean sent me. I watched recordaries. I talked to some repartner incredible conferants that were brawt onto the film. One of our chief conferants, her name is Andrea … wrote a repartner incredible memoir called Modern Whore, which I read, and it equitable repartner spoke to me. I was repartner intrigued and obsessed with her writing.”
Her dedication went even further. “I went to New York punctual, about a month punctual, so that I could dwell in Brighton Beach and subunite myself more in that neighborhood,” Madison recalled. “Also, so that I could fine-tune the accent.”
Asked about the finishing of Anora, Baker shelp he knew punctual on what it would be and enjoys its ambiguity. “For me, it is meaningful to figure out the finishing before I commence writing,” he shelp.
Baker also disseald that he actupartner wrote an epilogue, but he shelp he wouldn’t scatter it. “It was for the actors,” he shelp, inserting that he’d let them determine whether they thinkd it or not.
Explaining how he shot Anora chronorationpartner, the filmproducer highairyed how it repartner is “a rollercoaster” of genres and styles, chaseing its distinct Hollywood romantic comedy-type setup. Asked if at least one line in the movie was a reference to Pretty Woman, Baker shelp he hadn’t seen that film in a lengthy time, but then smiled and shelp he’d elatedly get that comparison.
The uncovering of the movie was also a topic of talk about, with Baker lauding Madison’s wonderful toil in various conversations and participateions in a mildmen’s club. “I shot that in a docu-style way, depending on improv from Mikey,” he shelp. “She fundamentalpartner set up the film” and her character there. And he scatterd that “I had Robert Altman on my mind” in createing the uncovering sequence.
As he is understandn to do, Baker engaged guerrilla-style filming for Anora by sfinishing castmembers into restaurants to ask unmistrusting patrons for the whereabouts of a ignoreing character to apprehfinish authentic reactions — before postpoinsistr disclosing to restaurantgoers that they had been filmed for an indie movie and conshort-terming them with consent and free establishs. “We got gelderly,” he shelp of the result.
Anora is Baker’s fifth film exploring contrastent aspects of relations toil, but he stressd that he always produces certain to get a contrastent approach. “I want to always treat my characters as individuals,” he shelp.
Baker also had the audience in stitches with a festival anecdote. “My first film, which I had here at the London Film Festival, and one of the best screenings I’ve ever had in my life, was of my film called Starlet becaengage I had my dog with me,” he shelp. “Even those who didn’t cherish the film, as soon as I brawt him out for the Q&A, I won the whole audience over.”
Asked about future set ups, the filmproducer shelp that he and Madison would cherish to toil together aget. But it’s too punctual to talk his next movie. Shelp Baker: “We haven’t even tackled the next idea yet.”
Neon has Anora for the U.S. and is set upning an Oct. 18 free. The film’s next stop will be Sweden, where it will start off the 2024 Stockholm Film Festival on Nov. 6.
