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Vulture: I went on one there once.Moore:Was it cheesy?
That was the best part.Moore:Me too!
I love a ghost.
What are you doing in Savannah?Moore:The Gloria Steinem movie,A Life on the Road.
Were filming there for money we couldnt afford New York, but also, the weather is amazing.
Williams:Im a napper.
Can you just sleep anywhere?Williams:I can!
Do you want me to do it for you?
I can fall asleep in 60 seconds.
Moore:Im so jealous.
Julianne and Bart, the last time you two were at Sundance together was 22 years ago.
Freundlich:I think I was feeding you a slice of pizza.
Moore:But you could walk everywhere!
Freundlich:Which was good, because you never wanted to be there.
Were you married yet?Moore:No, we had actually just started seeing each other.
We hadnt even been together a year, right?
All four, in chorus:Awwwwwwww.
Williams:Thats what theyre gonna say about me and you, Abby, in 22 years.
Not even a year yet.
Our children were there last night.
Michelle and Abby, when were you last here?Quinn:ForLandline!
It was much snowier here.
Williams:ForBlue Valentine, nine years ago.
I was just reminded of that.
A lot has changed for you since then, too.Williams:A few things!
Just a few[laughs].
Freundlich:They sent it to me, and then I said, Take a look at this.
Moore:He was just going to adapt it, there was nothing about a gender change.
I was just very attracted to that characters story.
So the gender swap was great news for me!
Did you swap the genders of the leads specifically for her?Freundlich:Absolutely.
It didnt feel like it had life to it.
Susannes movie has so much life to it.
Moore:I was crying, yeah.
All four, in chorus:Awwww.
What specifically made you cry?Freundlich:The prose.
Moore:[laughs]The prose, yeah.
In this version, there are many more considered decisions, deliberate actions.
Nobodys a villain, and nobodys a hero.
She very deliberately had more children.
She built this big company.
you could feel the size of her life and her engagement in it.
And for move forward, she needs to engage this other woman in a very difficult way.
You never see that.
But two fully formed protagonists in a power struggle is so rare.
Yes, I wrote it down!
Can you talk a little bit about it?Williams:Id love to talk about it!
Im glad you liked that line.
Freundlich: Michelle came up with it.
Williams:Im gonna look so dirty.
My one contribution to the movie.
I wrote the line about licking the asshole.
Where did that come from?Freundlich:The line was originally just kiss your ass.
It was a little bit scary, and I think everyone was scared, especially the producers.
Why the word ass changes so radically when you add the word hole to it, I dont know.
Williams:And lick.
Freundlich:But you see what Isabel is capable of when she gets cornered.
It wakes me up.
Some people havent been crazy about it, because its hard to hear, but thats why.
Williams:Did you go with lick your asshole, or lick your fucking asshole?
Freundlich:Lick your asshole, because fucking you cant have in too many times.
You two [Julianne and Abby] have to two fuckings in the movie.
So we just had the lick your asshole.
I think you have the title of your article.
I want to talk about the relationships that develop on screen between all three of you.
For a lack of a better term, theres a lot of… eye-acting?
that goes on in this movie.
A lot of depth hidden beneath the surface.
How did you develop that depth?
Thats the problem when youre working on this budget level.
We felt really strongly.
Freundlich:Its a melodrama, and the language and events can verge on over-the-top, or feel expositional.
So you need people who can build it on a silent, deep level.
Thats the eye-acting, I think.
Julianne and Bart, the two of you have worked together four times now.
Do you have a shorthand on set?
Do you sort of each know what the other wants and needs?Moore:Yes.
[sarcastically, mimicking herself on-set]I cant believe you said that!
You know I hate that!
Freundlich:All the stuff thats really good[laughs].
I think Julie and I had the advantage of talking about all of this for a long time.
Wait, its your question.
Moore:First of all, I can never remember anything.
Im like, What?
The funny thing is what you do remember.
Wed drive to work at different times because hes the director and had to be there earlier.
A true family affair.
Michelle, I have to ask you aboutFosse/Verdon,because were so excited about it at Vulture.
We dont see the outside world.
We havent even finished four episodes yet.
Were still figuring things out and have so much work to do.
This is why youre napping.Williams:It might be why Im napping.
Moore:Were all huffing and puffing.
This is a movie about secrets, and people who are hiding things from each other.
Moore: Ill tell you what people wouldnt know.
They wouldnt know Abby has a spectacular singing voice.
Thats her song at the end of the film, and she wrote it.
Williams:Ive never heard anything like it.
Freundlich:They wouldnt know about me that I just started baking sourdough bread.
I have a 50-year-old sourdough starter.
Williams:I didnt know that about you!
Freundlich:It was a friend of ours.
Ill tell you later.
Sourdough starter is having a moment.Moore:It is having a moment!
Williams:I dont know what it looks like to look at me!
Can you tell that Im very messy?
Can you tell I have a messy car?
Moore:Can you tell that I get carsick when people drive too fast?
Williams and Quinn:No!
Freundlich:Well, I know that about you.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
