Sean Baker, Dree Hemingway and Besedka Johnson: Starlet
Photo Courtesy of Music Box Films
In this exclusive conversational interview, Independent Film Quarterly’s Nicole Holland sat down with Starlet director Sean Baker and the film’s leading stars Dree Hemingway and Besedka Johnson in Los Angeles, CA.
IFQ: What’s the backstory that led to the making of Starlet? Who or what inspired the story?
Sean Baker: There was a true event that happened to my father’s friend. He found $20,000 in a hot water bottle at a yard sale (when I was younger). My father is a lawyer, and he approached my father and said, “What are the legal ramifications of keeping this money?” My father basically said, “Well, it’s yours now. It’s really up to you whether you want to keep it or not.” I don’t know if it became a moral dilemma for him. It stuck with me as a great way and a nice catalyst for bringing two characters together. I wrote this script called Brick-a-Brac, which was about that leading to an unlikely friendship between two women, a 20 year-old and an 85 year-old. It sort of sat on the back burner for a long time.
Then Chris (Bergoch) and I co-wrote Starlet. We were working on an MTV comedy show and the demographics were 16 to 24 year-old guys. We were stunt casting. We had a lot of adult film performers, basically one a week, doing a cameo per episode. We got to meet and hang out with a lot of them. I was fascinated by their personal lives. I wanted to explore that and how they dealt with working in this industry, and what their everyday lives were like. I thought maybe we would make a very small film that would follow one of these young women doing laundry, shopping, and only hint that she works in the industry. Chris was the one who suggested combining the two ideas and giving it more of a narrative, plot-driven concept. I loved that idea because it was again taking the emphasis away from the industry and instead giving a personal story that everybody not in that world could also identify, connect and put themselves in. It was really the combination of both of those ideas. During the winter of 2010-2011, I was in New York and we wrote via Google documents and Skyping. Basically, we co-wrote it over the phone. Then, I came out here to produce it.
IFQ: Starlet is the feature film debut of both Dree Hemingway and Besedka Johnson. How did they come onboard and when did you realize they would be the leads?
Sean Baker: Well, a little late in the game. It took us awhile to find somebody for Jane. At the same time, we were courting some starlets of yesteryear for the role of Sadie. We thought we’re going to do our own little bit of stunt casting by finding an older actor who was once a name and this would be her return. That did not happen. Somebody who we had attached to the project fell through. Suddenly, we had both roles that we were in desperate need of finding somebody for, and we were only less than a month and a half out from shooting. Two things happened at once. We put out a casting call for the role of Sadie. Allan Mindel, Dree’s manager, saw that and called us and asked if we had cast for the other role yet. Allan said, “You have to consider Dree. Dree would be perfect for this role.” At the same time, our executive producer went to the YMCA and saw Besedka working out, took a photo and sent it to me. Basically, I auditioned Besedka at the same time while having a Skype call with Dree. We’re very lucky that it all worked out that way because I just love this cast so much.
IFQ: In addition, the supporting cast is well-fleshed out with James Ransone (Sinister) and Stella Maeve (The Runaways, Transamerica).
Sean Baker: James is wonderful. I know him from The Wire and he was in a Larry Clark film. It was Boonie (Sean’s chihuahua) who found him. [Laughs.] He had an eye infection in the middle of the night. At 3am, I wind up in a 24 hour vet. He’s there because his dog has an issue as well. After talking about each other’s dogs, I finally tell him, “By the way, I know who you are, I’m a fan and I want you to be in my movie.” Then, Stella came to us through our great casting director Julia Kim. It was a very nice, well-rounded cast.
IFQ: Dree and Besedka, why were you drawn to your characters of Jane and Sadie, and what are your personal thoughts?
Dree Hemingway: For me, I just really liked how there are building blocks of Jane as she goes on. I love the relationship that she makes with this 85 year-old woman, who—
Besedka Johnson: Who is a bitch. [Laughs.]
Dree Hemingway: I fell in love with the script, and I could see myself playing Jane. For some reason, I just thought that I can give this character something. I really like the aspect that a lot of it was improvisational and [that] excited me a bit. It’s such a force to actually be real.
Besedka Johnson: I kind of feel the same way. He brings it out of you. I think it was just magic because this basically is not my personality. It all changed with the way we played it out on the screen. I get this girl who wants to pick me up from the market, and I’m not used to having this kind of attention and caring. Little by little, I’m getting it and I’m at a place where it kind of makes me feel warm and happy. 85 years of gloom and doom and all of a sudden, there is a little bright spark.
Sean Baker: The film does have influences based on the movie Harold and Maude. Although Sadie is the opposite of Maude, Besedka is like Maude. [Laughs.] Besedka had to go to 180 degrees away from her real personality to get into that abrasive Sadie mode.
IFQ: Besedka, you won the SXSW Special Jury Recognition for your outstanding acting as Sadie. At what point in your life did you decide that you want to be an actress?
Besedka Johnson: I didn’t. I studied it but mostly because I was doing it from another angle. I was into astrology and psychology. Acting is another form of finding more about your inner self. It was not for a profession. That was never my thing. When I was interviewed by Shih-Ching (Tsou), I thought it was a joke. My inner voice was going, this has got to be a joke. Then, she took the picture and said, “They want your phone number. “ All the while, I’m still thinking this is a joke. [Laughs.] When we had the interview and Sean was walking around taking pictures, then it became more real. At 85 years old I’m walking into a whole thing I’ve never done in my life. [Laughs.] What is this? It was like, wow! What a change at this stage of my life.
IFQ: Dree, when did you make the decision?
Dree Hemingway: I grew up watching my mom acting and stuff like that. I used to be a ballet dancer. I’ve always wanted to perform for some reason. It’s just in my blood, maybe. I knew that I wasn’t ready to act when I was younger. I actually went through that whole audition process when I was 16. For some reason, I felt like I didn’t have enough life experience come to start. I remember my manager Allan Mindel, who I met though Bruce Weber, ended up contacting me and said, “Are you ready to act?” That was probably 3 years ago. I said yes. Oddly now, yes. I remember telling him that I don’t want to do cheesy [roles]; I don’t want to try to fill up my resume. I always kept getting you’re so green; you might be too green for this. I remember telling Allan that there’s going to be one director who believes in me, who puts me in a movie, and that was Sean.
Sean Baker: That’s so strange that I’m the first one because you were a natural right off the bat.
Dree Hemingway: He took a chance on me. It’s scary. People can go either way, and take a chance on someone who has never really [acted]. To lead a film is a huge deal.
Sean Baker: At least you didn’t show that you were in any way intimidated or nervous.
Dree Hemingway: I wasn’t. I think when somebody has such faith in you, you can do it. I’ve been in situations with jobs before where somebody has told them to hire you for something. There’s that err you’re not sure that you’re there for the right reason. I never felt intimidated like I couldn’t ask Sean something. There wasn’t a sense of hierarchy. Everybody was really equal on the set. Even with James, who has worked tons, and Stella, who has done everything, there was never an intimidating point where I was like, ‘I have to prove myself because these are working actors.’
Music Box Films will release “Starlet” in New York and Los Angeles on November 9th followed by a national roll-out. “Starlet” is opening at the Sundance Cinema Sunset 5 in West Hollywood, Laemmle’s Playhouse 7 in Pasadena, Laemmle’s Town Center 5 in Encino, and the Regal University Town Center in Irvine.