The best directors she worked with as an actor, who were often also the most successful, understood the value of tapping into the minds of the people around them, Maggie Gyllenhaal said at a press conference at the Busan International Film Festival on Wednesday.
“Those who tried to drown out other people’s voices were people who were too scared or not very smart,” Gyllenhaal said.
Gyllenhaal is in Busan with his short film “Flesh Impact”, which he wrote and directed, starring Ellen Burstyn as 100-year-old Marilyn Monroe and Dakota Johnson as the star in her youth. When he shot his first feature film, “The Lost Daughter,” his main concern was that everyone on the set, from the actors to the director of photography to the production designer to the master, would feel free to contribute.
“The truth is… this is ultimately up to me as the director. I have the power, so there’s no reason to silence anyone else’s voice,” he said. “I mean, it’s clear that the movie I make that includes the thoughts of all the people on my team, at least things I can infer, is going to be exponentially better than the movie I could make alone in my room trying to recreate something I imagined.”
“Flesh Impact” began as a commission from luxury car brand and longtime Busan sponsor Genesis to celebrate Monroe’s 100th birthday in June. Gyllenhaal said he knew the star mostly from her on-screen icon image and that it took him a week to decide whether he had anything to say about her. He spent his time reading about Monroe and watching her films.
“When Genesis came to me and asked for a movie about Marilyn Monroe to celebrate her 100th birthday, I don’t think they imagined that she would actually be 100 years old in the movie,” Gyllenhaal said. “I thought, ‘Okay, I have this idea. They’ll never accept it.'”
Genesis approved the offer and Gyllenhaal finished the script within a weekend. The film, which also stars Peter Sarsgaard and Sepideh Moafi, had its world premiere out of competition at the Venice Film Festival. Gyllenhaal said that as much as the film celebrates Monroe, “it’s also 100% a celebration and honor for Ellen Burstyn and her incredible career and Dakota Johnson and her incredible career.”
Gyllenhaal said the transition from acting to producing to writing and directing was natural. In her youth, so few women were directing that acting seemed like an obvious outlet for a woman who loved movies and wanted to tell stories.
“It felt satisfying and exciting for a long time, then I think I reached the limit of what I could do as an actor,” he said.
Her transition into writing and directing began eight years ago with “Gone Girl,” and she said she has felt more comfortable and inspired behind the camera since then.
The movie takes place in the family. Gyllenhaal’s father, Stephen Gyllenhaal, is a director and his mother, Naomi Foner, is a screenwriter. Growing up, Gyllenhaal said, the family went to the movies almost every Friday night.
Gyllenhaal called his mother “probably the best grader I’ve ever had” and said, “My mom directed her first movie as a grandmother. I think she might be the only person who directed her first movie as a grandmother.” His brother, Jake Gyllenhaal, who starred in the TV series “Bride”, is his close friend, whom he describes as a gift for his different tastes.
Gyllenhaal said he started writing two “burgeoning ideas” and was “at a very exciting point where he said, ‘You know what this is ultimately going to be about?’ “He said he was at a point where I thought ‘ Diversity In June, Warner Bros. He announced that he would direct and produce an adaptation of Rachel Kushner’s novel “Creation Lake” for the company, which also supported “The Bride”.
Regarding female filmmakers, Gyllenhaal touched on the statements he made in Venice, where he was the jury president and only one woman’s film entered the competition.