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Dont go intoThe Great, Hulus retelling of Catherine the Greats rise to power, for total historical accuracy.
Its not a history lesson; its a show.
The first 40 minutes of the play is the first two seasons, essentially, McNamara said.
The fun stuff was stuff from the era, like, how did a pregnancy go?
And it was that you pissed on wheat and hoped that it bloomed or whatever, McNamara said.
Then they have to ask themselves the question:Do I want to change it?
For Catherine, I always thought she was a delusional optimist.
Her default position was a kind of arrogance that [she] can change the world, McNamara said.
Like the character, she was so extraordinary as a young person.
She was 20 when I met her, he said.
We really get on together.
Trust the tone
Director Yorgos Lanthimos hired McNamara to work onThe Favouriteafter reading his script forThe Great.
But it was the success ofThe Favouritethat also gave McNamara confidence thatThe Greatcould actually work as envisioned it.
I knew this style worked onscreen, he said.
But it turns out they did like it.
The joke is that throughout the show shes going, Nobodys going to remember that.
