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Elmore loves Tennessee Williams, Richard Linklater,Easy Rider, the Rolling Stones, and punk.
I needed to prove I could get one of these through.
No more little writing gigs that my name doesnt show up on or anything like that.
I really loveJem and the Hologramsand glam rock and David Bowie.
So it was like, how do we doJem and the HologramsandThe Lost Boys?
Im not saying 13-year-old-girls dont like them, too!
Im a white straight dude.
But I wasnt put on a socioeconomic level that some others are.
I understand that level of unfair, but I never thought about the other thing.
And then, you know, you grow and change and you meet people and you listen.
I felt like I was stuck somewhere.
I just was so aware the world is weirder and cooler.
I just want to hear what the fuck anybody else has to say.
I used to be that same person.
But then as I got older, I realized we need look at where the anger is coming from.
Nothing ever gets solved until you throw the brick through the window first, right?
I dont think Duke says a single thing thats wrong in the entire movie.
Shes the best, and I felt like with her I could indict myself.
Its in the script, and it was a no-deal if it wasnt.
Thats pretty radical, by mainstream standards.Its sad that its radical.
Oh, its terrible.
To me its like, can the world just get with the fucking program?
Its boring the fuck out of me.
Theyre not gonna make Spider-Man trans, cause theyre chickenshit.
But your slasher filmcouldjust have a trans lead.
Your bank-heist filmcanhave a trans lead.
Its almost dumb how simple it is.
And I would not begrudge them that.
If theyre suspicious or angry or upset, Im not going to get mad.
Laurel is trans in the movie, but I also knew I shouldnt tell a trans story.
I cant do that.
However, I cannot chickenshit out and make her character completely neutral.
Its a texture to a character, like any other lead character in a movie.
And look, I did the work.
I dont want you to think that I just cynically did this.
The research took longer than the writing.
But Nicole is such a giant personality what is that line fromSunset Boulevard?
The screen was too small?
All the screens are too small for Nicole.
Shes just such a big personality.
A poignant moment happens inBit, but its so matter-of-fact you might easily miss it.
I know they are.
I can feel them going, Is this going to be about Laurels identity?
In that moment its like, No, guys.
I thought about that.
Laurel asks, What about me?
And Duke is almost confused by the question.Yeah.
Like, Youre just a chick.
Thats how simple it should be, which is the point.
and just totally fuck it all up.
Weve got two queer-identifying characters, and nobody talks about it.
Its not part of the text of that scene.
And I cant not talk enough about my director of photography, Cristina Dunlap.
Listen, Ive got the male gaze.
I wanted some buffers to help me, and she was probably the most important one.
Did you have to change course on anything based on her feedback?It was preemptive.
What are your ideas?
And there was a discussion between the actors and her, and I watched the discussion.
I like sexy movies, but in this very particular movie, Im not trying to makeBody Heat.
I want to do one of those, too!
You said the research took longer than the writing.
I went to the basics and was like, Well, heres the history of gender studies!
Id already readScum Manifestoand shit like that.
I was abreast of feminist writing and literature, cause Im just a fan of writing.
Actually,Becoming Nicolewas one of the books I read.
All I want to know is, does anything in here piss you off?
Am I wrong about anything in here?
I asked, Am I coding something in here that I dont see?
And unanimously it was like, No.
Not to toot my own horn, but some of the responses were like, This made me cry.
I was like, I made you fucking cry?
Its a vampire movie!
And they said, We dont get to be the lead.
And thats sort of the point.
Everybody should have their own sexy genre films.
