Olivia Wilde directed Booksmart, which I finally saw over the holidays. I was actually very “in my feelings” about it. Overall, it was an okay movie and I’m proud of Olivia for bossing it up, putting it together, directing it and working with so many women on such a female-specific story. I also felt exposed about how accurate some of those depictions were. That being said, I was disappointed by the fact the film was SO white and I really did feel like Olivia could have done a better job there. Then again, why should Olivia be held to a different standard than most (male) directors? I don’t know. As I said, that movie had me in my feelings.
Anyway, Olivia Wilde covers the latest issue of InStyle. The photoshoot is good and so is the interview, which was conducted by Booksmart star Beanie Feldstein. You can read the full piece here. Some highlights:
The Daisy Chain of lifting up other women: “The Daisy Chain is about wanting to lift each other up. I celebrate it because for a long time women have been told that in order to succeed, we have to push people out of the way. [Producer] Jessica Elbaum was someone who dared me to take myself seriously. There were so many people who said, “Oh, you should direct.” But there aren’t many who will actually help you when you’ve never done it before. Jessica had the confidence in me to put her own reputation on the line by recommending that [production company] Annapurna hear my pitch for Booksmart. And that’s real generosity.
The best career advice she’s received: “Make the things that only you can make. Once it’s in your hands, it will be different from everyone else’s work. Fellini wasn’t protective of his scripts. He’d say, “I’ll send it to you, but you won’t make my movie.” I love that concept because it leads you to a place of creating something original.
The decision to not go to college: “A lot of people say, “I’m the first person in my family to go to college,” and I always joke that I’m the first person in my family not to go. I was eager for life experience. And there was such pressure to start young as an actress… I remember meeting Scarlett Johansson at a party when we were 16. She was already making movies, and I was like, “Ugh, I’m so behind.” So, I leapt into work. By the way, Jason [Sudeikis, Wilde’s partner] didn’t go to college either, so we’re already prepared for our kids to say they don’t want to go. I’ll carry my own baggage into that conversation when I encourage them to go.
How much she sleeps: “About five hours. It’s forever a process of trying to find the balance. For me as a mom, time becomes essential, because there’s so little of it when you are focused on keeping people alive. Then the time that’s left for you becomes very potent, and you can achieve great things with it. I do like the idea of relaxing, but my best ideas don’t come from those moments of rest. I get those when I’m jumping on the subway and racing to a meeting.What she wants to teach her kids, Daisy & Otis: “With Daisy, I have witnessed how women are born with an incredible amount of strength and that society quickly pushes them to assume the more feminine role. I mean, I love that Elsa is looking pissed off on the Frozen 2 poster, but there’s still an awful lot out there that’s encouraging young women to make themselves the weaker sex. My role is to be a safe zone of support that’ll hopefully counteract what society will inevitably do to them. When Daisy hits a place where she questions her worth, I want to be the one to remind her of the strength she innately has. But it’s interesting because having a boy and a girl, you really notice gender politics within your own home. She’ll clean up his plate for him after dinner, and I’m like, “Put that back!”
She loves a low-rise jean: “I’m still pretending to be a teenager from the early aughts. My most comfortable state is when I’m wearing low-rise jeans, sneakers, and a sweatshirt. In that, I am unstoppable. And if I’m in a high-waist jean, I can’t let my gut expand. When I see pictures of people like Paul Feig directing in full-on outfits, I’m like, “How?”
I too love a low-rise jean and it’s totally because of the ‘90s and early ‘00s, The Low-Rise Era. It makes me feel better knowing that Olivia is a fan of that style too. As for only sleeping five hours… my sleep patterns are always messed up in the winter months, I think I understand that now. I can get by on 5 or 6 hours of sleep at night, but I’m better at EVERYTHING when I get 7 or 8 hours. The rest of it… it’s fine. I can’t believe her daughter is already “caretaker” vibing on Otis.
Covers courtesy of InStyle.
Seems a little rich after the Kathy Scruggs role fiasco. (I know she very well could have not known how Scruggs was being portrayed when she signed on, but she certainly didn’t do a great job in explaining it.)
I loved Booksmart and felt like it was such a true depiction of high schoolers from this generation (there was a scene where they were discussing what Hogwarts house they belonged to and I felt very seen, lol.)
I’m torn because I’m some instances, I think it’s okay to just be telling a story about two white teenage girls. Perhaps Olivia didn’t feel she could speak to the experience of anyone else but what she knew and grew up as, and I think that’s absolutely fine. Much of the supporting cast were people of color, if I remember correctly.
The issue for me is more on an institutional level – black writers and directors should be given more space and recognition in telling their stories themselves.
Oh, and also, my winter sleeping patterns are the worst. I can’t wake up properly in darkness. In spring/summer I suddenly become a morning person again.
I think that’s a good assessment of it.
Looking at the cast, I think they could have been a little more diverse, but compared to the high school era movies when I was younger…talk about white!
I liked the movie too, and have liked both lead actresses for a while now. My high school best friend and I had a blow up fight right around graduation too, but too much time passed before we ever talked again to get back that close friendship.
That’s a horrible cover. She’s a gorgeous woman, and that cover looks terrible with her neck strained and the hair…
I’m a little conflicted. The other day there was a post about a woman who wrote a book that Oprah took on as a book club read. The fictional story was about a Mexican woman crossing the border. And the author was vilified because she wasn’t Mexican. We cant have it both ways with Olivia producing a movie that only depicts white women and then ask why there weren’t other demographics used…..
The author was vilified because it was a terrible book. Full of cringey stuff. It’s not really a direct comparison.
The author was vilified because she portrayed Mexicans as stereotypes and got so many things wrong, from the language, slang, events, to just common sense, and then moaned about how she’s not brown enough to tell this story, but who else will.
It it does bring up a good topic: white women using their roles to bring in others and ask them, what do you think? How should this be done? If Olivia is talking about women sharing their steps to bring up others, it’s a good jumping off point.
The author wasn’t vilified for not being Mexican! Where did you get that nonsense from?
Lifting up other women unless it’s Kathy Scruggs in which case she’ll go out of her way to defame a dead woman and then bust her ass trying to defend that denigration in the press even as Ms Scrugg’s former colleagues are pleading for her to stop and explaining to her why her portrayal was offensive.
It’s the Kathy Exception rule. All women but Kathy. No Kathies need apply.
Olivia will have to do a lot more of this PR spin to live that blunder down… she’s counting on short memory spans.
“The best career advice she’s received: “Make the things that only you can make. Once it’s in your hands, it will be different from everyone else’s work. Fellini wasn’t protective of his scripts. He’d say, “I’ll send it to you, but you won’t make my movie.” I love that concept because it leads you to a place of creating something original.” – this is now thr best advice I have kind of received in a while.
And it goes well with my philosophy.
I hate the editorial and that hair. I haven’t watched Booksmart yet but I’m intrigued. I do believe White people can still make white stories and POC shouldn’t be forced down their throats if the story doesn’t fit. In this case I would think most importantly to have women writers, staff and minorities hired etc. I wouldn’t want anymore white people stereotipically describing my black experience and existence like the american pie movies era did so poorly.
Dont know if that was clear enough but those are my thoughts on this issue.
Lol I love high waisted for the opposite reason.. instant gut suck! Each to their own though 🙂
Honestly you have to have a flat ass for low rise.Also she looks so much like Gene Tierney on this shoot,