The idea of Zoom performances and movies and television shows is something that many don’t want to return to. Because for a while, that’s all we really had. Theatre became a Zoom experience, movies were being halted, and we even had Saturday Night Live at Home. Point is, Zoom became the norm, and going back to that right now feels a bit strange, and yet the new movie There There really uses Zoom to its advantage.
Made as a series of short stories between the characters, each actor seems to get two scenes and really uses the creativity of the pandemic to let their skills as a performer work for them. It stars powerhouses like Lili Taylor, Lennie James, Jason Swartzman, and more, and in the lead up to its digital release, I got to speak to Lili Taylor about her role in the film!
One of the more interesting aspects of the film is that it was produced deep in the pandemic and would, in that sense, be a creative outlet for those involved that they might not have had otherwise, so I asked Taylor about that.
“Well, I think it’s a great question because I think it speaks to just that creative force and I felt like a race horse,” Taylor said. “That couldn’t get outta the gate when the pandemic hit. I had, like everybody, we all had plans, you know, we all had things we were looking forward to. Look, that’s human nature and I do too. And I felt like a race horse who had all this energy, was meant to race and couldn’t. So what do you do? But that’s kind of like what it’s like anyway with any kind of creative thing.”
The movie itself is fascinating because as I learned in our interview, it was filmed without each actor’s scene partner being there to work off of, so it was still a very solitary experience but one that seems to be ultimately rewarding for Taylor, and it’s a wonderfully fascinating film to watch!
You can see our full interview here:
There There is available on digital now.
(image: Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images for Amazon Studios)
