Fine Line Features | The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love

Transcript of Conference with Writer/Director Maria Maggenti

(You may skip the introduction and go right to the questions and answers.)

OnlineHost: This evening, Hollywood Online is pleased to welcome writer/director Maria Maggenti. She was born in Washington, D.C. When she was 11-years- old, she moved with her single mother and younger sister to Lagos, Nigeria, where her mother served as an agricultural economist on assignment with the World Bank.

OnlineHost: Maggenti returned to Washington to finish high school and, when she was 18, she moved to Italy. After a couple of years of continental life, she settled down at Smith College, where she studied philosophy and the classics.

OnlineHost: After college, Maggenti moved to New York and began working in television commercials. Convinced that she was contributing to the decline of Western civilization, she quickly moved on to documentary filmmaking. Her credits include Associate Producer of Phil Zwickler's award- winning documentary "Rights and Reactions" and the Testing the Limits film, "Voices from the Front," which earned the Best Documentary Award at the 1992 Berlin Film Festival.

OnlineHost: Her documentary, "Doctors, Liars, and Women: AIDS Activists Say No To Cosmo" has won many awards.

OnlineHost: Maggenti was accepted into the NYU Graduate Film Program and was awarded a teaching fellowship after her first year. Her short films have been screened internationally at festivals and her 1993 film, "Name Day," received the Warner Brothers Production Award and the Grand Prize at the 1993 Hamptons International Film Festival.

OnlineHost: Welcome Ms. Maggenti!

MARIA MAGGENTI: Hi. Can I just say that I'm thrilled to be here.

QUESTION: What are your perspective on the issues dealt with in your film?

MARIA MAGGENTI: The issues dealt with in my film include interracial relationships, teen sexuality, alternative families and first love. I deal with all of this through comedy.

QUESTION: If you get this, where is your film playing?

MARIA MAGGENTI: The film will open in LA & NY on June 16th. On June 30th it will go to ten more cities across the country hopefully in a town near you. Where are you? [Note: you can see the current theater playlist here on the Two Girls Web Site.]

QUESTION: Where did you get the idea for "The Incredibly True ..."?

MARIA MAGGENTI: It's based on my experience falling in love for the first time. What a comedy that was!

QUESTION: I'm concerned about distribution. Do you know when and if your movie will make it to Tucson, AZ?

MARIA MAGGENTI: Yes, I believe that the film will make it to Tucson. This is an issue that you should bring up with my distributor, Fine Line Features which you can reach on the Web.

QUESTION: Did the film, "El Norte" influence your politics and work?

MARIA MAGGENTI: I've never seen El Norte. My influences include Billy Wilder, Preston Sturges, Gregory Lacava, Jacques Tati and Woody Allen.

QUESTION: Playboy will have an article in an upcoming issue on Lesbian Chic. The whole 'how it's cool to be a lesbian now' thing. Any comments?

MARIA MAGGENTI: Yes indeed!!!! LESBIAN life is not a niche market nor can it be codified by capitalist culture it is an authentic human experience which means that it is contradictory, eccentric and idiosyncratic. So the straight world gives us a nod. Big deal. We exist all the time no matter who notices really.

QUESTION: Where did you find your lead actresses, Nicole Parker and Laurel Holloman?

MARIA MAGGENTI: They found me actually -- Laurel answered an ad that I had in Backstage, the NY trade paper and Nicole I found through my casting director.

QUESTION: Is it hard work being a director?

MARIA MAGGENTI: YES YES YES One million times yes. Especially when you are an independent who wants to stay independent!

QUESTION: Will it be shown in Denver?

MARIA MAGGENTI: Yes it will starting on June 30th. [Note: Denver will actually open on July 7th.]

QUESTION: Do you still feel commercials are destroying our Western civilization?

MARIA MAGGENTI: Unfortunately yes -- however, capitalism doesn't seem to be going anywhere so maybe we need to seize the terms that exist .

QUESTION: Are you excited? If there's one group of people who would gain most from your film-who that be?

MARIA MAGGENTI: I am thrilled to be in this situation with my first feature film. Totally and utterly thrilled I think that the people who will most benefit from the film are of course young gay men and lesbians however, all young people and all people who have been in love will find this film deeply resonant.

QUESTION: Were you ever pressured to change anything in the film in order to 'mainstream' it?

MARIA MAGGENTI: No. I did this film totally outside of any mainstream system. This is a low-budget New York independent movie which means that I was in total control of all creative and business decisions and my producer was behind me all the way as an indie filmmaker. This is the only way to do it as far as I'm concerned.

QUESTION: Will "Adventures" be screened at mainstream theaters & if so, has the content caused problems?

MARIA MAGGENTI: So far this film has been screened at both mainstream and gay and lesbian film festivals it premiered in January at Sundance which is a film-literate audience but definitely a majority straight audience and they loved it. Of course there will be people who are upset, offended, etc. but to be honest I'm not too worried about them. This is a portrait of contemporary American life even if some people out there don't wish to admit it. Bob Dole, are you listening?

QUESTION: You go MM! To get serious what do you think of films like Bar Girls and Go Fish?

MARIA MAGGENTI: Every filmmaker has to be free to develop her own voice, that includes Rose and Marita. All of us have decided to use this medium in a different way. I think that if we do well at the box office it will pave the way for more and more indie voices from the gay, lesbian whatever you are world we live in .

QUESTION: Do you have anything lined up? Any future projects you have in mind?

MARIA MAGGENTI: Yes. As soon as I can get off the road (I've been to ten cities in 3 weeks) I plan to sleep and then to write the next the story which is an urban sex comedy in which everyone is over 30 (thank god) and it takes place in Manhattan. I want to try and deal with the question: what does it mean to be a grown-up when you're living an unconventional life. Also it has all this stuff about dykes, straight people, men, families. It's funny.

QUESTION: If no one has already asked, What is one of your favorite films?

MARIA MAGGENTI: I love this little film from 1979 called TIMES SQUARE which is a weird excellent funky movie about two girls who run away together and live on the piers in Manhattan. All the other films I love are old movies from the 1930s and 40s.

QUESTION: I need to know . . . are you Henry Maggenti's daughter?

MARIA MAGGENTI: YES INDEED!!!!

QUESTION: How did you get funding for the film?

MARIA MAGGENTI: I borrowed $35,000 from a guy who had seen my short films at a festival and made the mistake of saying if you ever need anything give me a call. I did. It was a 2 year no interest personal loan. And I was a real fool to do it because I am in tons of student loan debt but it's what got us started.

QUESTION: I know time is of the essence, but I'm really hoping that you could, at least, let Maria know that a fellow philosophy department, college classmate is here again, that's me. I'd also like to know if her experience at Smith helped or hindered her?

MARIA MAGGENTI: HEY!!! HI Smith alumna! I think that Smith was the most invaluable experience of my young life.

QUESTION: You Have to stay independent! Did you go to any festivals with this movie?

MARIA MAGGENTI: Yes. We premiered at Sundance in January of 1995. Then we attended the following: Rotterdam, SXSW in A in Austin TEXAS, Boston, Hartford, Dallas, DC, Philly, SF Gay and Lesbian Film Fest (opening night the other night to a roaring crowd), Seattle film fest and now LA and next week Atlanta film fest, then Chicago, then Portland then I collapse.

QUESTION: Why do you think the mainstream film market is more accepting of Lesbian character based films as opposed to those focusing on gay male relationships?

MARIA MAGGENTI: I'm not sure really. I'm also not yet convinced that the world is totally accepting of lesbian stories -- the marketplace will tell the real answer unfortunately.

QUESTION: Did you film it on 35mm?

MARIA MAGGENTI: No. We shot on 16mm and did a blow-up. Because we were prepared from the beginning, the blow-up looks extraordinary. You would never know it was 16. It's in color also.

QUESTION: Could you have made this film ten years ago? Twenty?

MARIA MAGGENTI: No. I didn't exist ten years ago -- what I mean by that is, my consciousness as an out lesbian, as a self confident lesbian, as a woman, is a consciousness of this historical moment and all the work of our foremothers and forefathers.

QUESTION: Are there many explicit scenes in the film

MARIA MAGGENTI: There is one very lovely hot sex scene.

QUESTION: What other movies have you directed?

MARIA MAGGENTI: This is my first feature film.

QUESTION: Have you or are you going to Cannes w/ this movie?

MARIA MAGGENTI: The film went to Cannes and was in the marketplace. My foreign sales agent is Miramax.

QUESTION: Which city has received the film the best, and which the worst?

MARIA MAGGENTI: Every city has been overwhelmingly positive and we got standing ovations in three cities: Boston Hartford and San Francisco. There has not been a "bad" screening although for me as a New York based filmmaker and known person, the New York screening on June 4th was a toughie!

QUESTION: The movie's ads seem to be pushing the alternative image thing, do you think your movie has something for people in the mainstream? Are you worried that the eroticism will attract people rather than the awareness?

MARIA MAGGENTI: You have to remember that this is an independent film. It isn't a studio picture nor does it represent a corporate idea of first love. Therefore in some respects, as a movie, it is alternative. In terms of content, let me tell you that this film is hilarious and moving and tender and funny and everyone can relate to that I think.

QUESTION: Are you going to roll your film at the Gay/Lesbian film fest next month?

MARIA MAGGENTI: No. We have a benefit screening tomorrow night at the DGA at 7:30pm which is our premiere. The film will then be in the theaters starting Friday in LA.

QUESTION: Some people say "Bar Girls" made it to the big screen strictly because it was a "Lesbian" film and "Lesbian" seems to be the "in" thing right now. What do you have to say about people who may say that about your film?

MARIA MAGGENTI: My film is based on my experience falling in love for the first time. I cannot be more emphatic when I say that this has nothing to do with the commodification of lesbian experience nor the so-called current interest in our lives. I am interested in truth as a filmmaker not markets.

QUESTION: Do you address safer sex?

MARIA MAGGENTI: No

QUESTION: W hy are the production values of most gay & lesbian films so low? I just want to see these films done on a professional level so they can be taken more seriously.

MARIA MAGGENTI: It's a tough biz. We held our project to extraordinarily high standards so that it really looks like a "real movie" and is visually pleasing. Mastering this medium takes a lifetime although I truly believe in respect for the craft. By the way, you should know that there are other non-gay filmmakers who make bad movies too.

QUESTION: Back to funding: what did you do w/ your first 35k to raise add'l money?

MARIA MAGGENTI: We spent it. My producer put $25K of her own money into the project through credit cards. But remember this was a total labor of love. No one was paid and no one will ever be paid -- it was a leap of faith and an opportunity for people to get a feature film credit that they might not get otherwise.

QUESTION: What other lesbian films have you seen?

MARIA MAGGENTI: None.

QUESTION: Did you have a lesbian mentor you looked up?

MARIA MAGGENTI: No.

QUESTION: Have you received any HATE-MAIL from any homophobic activist groups regarding the movie?

MARIA MAGGENTI: No but the film is not yet in the theaters. My attitude is come on assholes -- just try me!

QUESTION: Does it bother you that your film is labeled as a "Lesbian" movie, instead of a love story?

MARIA MAGGENTI: Yes, it does in a way. It has a tendency to marginalize me and my work. However I am proud that this is a film made by dykes, about dykes and that it is a great funny film that people like.

QUESTION: Will the film make it out (no pun intended) on video?

MARIA MAGGENTI: Yes. It will be on video let us hope by Christmas. YOU NEED TO SUPPORT US at the BOX OFFICE FIRST!!

QUESTION: It seems quite trendy these days for hip straight actors to play lesbian/gay roles. Benefit? Twice as much sex appeal. (Gays/lesbians have been playing straight roles for years sometimes in the closet, sometimes not. Still sexy.) Any comments/words of wisdom/predictions?

MARIA MAGGENTI: I don't think it's so hip or trendy. If it were then lesbian/gay actors would be out of the closet and they mostly are not. However, I believe that actors go for a good part and if that part is gay then so be it. We should have all kinds of people playing all kinds of people.

QUESTION: What would you consider a "Bad Movie"?

MARIA MAGGENTI: Poorly made; cliche; predictable; bad lighting; bad acting; mean spirited; dumb and insulting. That just about sums it up for "bad movie."

QUESTION: Sorry I'm late why did you make this movie? Sounds like a personal bio?

MARIA MAGGENTI: I made this movie because I have never gotten over what it felt like to say I love you for the first time and believe it was the last time I would ever say it. I thought I had met my soulmate for life. We all think that when we first fall in love. I needed to kind of work that out -- through comedy.

QUESTION: Would you please elaborate on the marginalization you've experienced. Do you address this in the movie?

MARIA MAGGENTI: No I do not address it in the movie. I tried to subvert some of the filmic stereotypes we have about contemporary American culture -- for instance, even the African American girl comes from an upper middle class family and the white girl randy is from a working class lesbian family. I don't at all really deal with marginalization because I wanted to be more subtle. Randy does get harassed as an out gay girl in her school but she's well adjusted and thinks other people have the problem not her.

QUESTION: Is the film you set out to make the one you ended up with?

MARIA MAGGENTI: Considering what it takes to make an independent low budget labor of love movie, yes.

QUESTION: Your open with your lesbianism but how do you feel about those in the industry who aren't out; what about "outing" by various groups?

MARIA MAGGENTI: Outing is over as a subject as far as I am concerned.

QUESTION: So, how many soulmates have you found? Funny how the first seems like "it" until the "divorce."

MARIA MAGGENTI: I have found only a few since my first love. And you're right it does seem like "it" until you sometimes smarten up. But being open to love is the best thing anyway (and I'm over 30!)

QUESTION: Do you consider yourself a romantic?

MARIA MAGGENTI: Yes. I fear that my propensity for the sentimental, the beautiful, the tender may affect my filmmaking .

QUESTION: Are there any particular actresses or actors you want to work with?

MARIA MAGGENTI: There is a New York based actress named Cherry Jones who is currently on Broadway that I would love to work with. I also like a guy named Jim Lyons, again from New York who is in Todd Haynes films.

QUESTION: Do you see yourself as a role model for young lesbians, or lesbians in general, for that matter?

MARIA MAGGENTI: Yes and no. Personally I don't wish to be too much of a role model because I am an individual with flaws and contradictions, idiosyncrasies and a terrible temper at times but politically and artistically yes, I hope that young dykes out there and young women learn to grab a hold of life and not sit back waiting for things to happen.

QUESTION: Are you with anyone now? oh, and thanks for making this movie! it really means a lot to girls in sort of the same positions as randy and evie!

MARIA MAGGENTI: I am with one person who I love deeply and I also like another person who I like a lot. Tell your friends about this little picture and we can make it a phenomenon!

QUESTION: Are you actually in the movie, or did you just direct it??

MARIA MAGGENTI: I am not in the movie -- I wrote it and directed it.

ONLINE HOST: Thank you so much for being here this evening, Ms. Maggenti. Thank you for joining us audience!

MARIA MAGGENTI: Thank you and I really hope that there are hundreds of people on-line after the film opens and we can talk about it. Thanks again. By the way, our Web internet is: <http://www2.interpath.net/fineline/twogirls.htm> Please stay in touch and let me know what you think of the film when you see it. Best regards.

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