‘Oh, Hi!’
Sophie, would you mind giving a brief synopsis?
SOPHIE BROOKS:Oh, Hi!is about a new couple.
Image by Photagonist
Molly and Logan play Isaac and Iris, and they take their first romantic trip away together.
You think everything is going swimmingly.
By the end of the first night, you realize they’re not on the same page.
Image by Photagonist
Molly and I were in a pod at the time, spending a lot of time together.
We’ve been friends for 10 years now, six then.
Having her as my partner in this was so incredible.
Image via Sundance Institute
It was my first experience ever developing anything with someone else.
Usually, I’m alone in a room pulling my hair out.
How about from your perspective, Molly?
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My childhood home burned in the fire, and we developed it at my childhood home.
We would improvise and Sophie would be writing things down.
My parents would be like, “What’s going on in the other room?
GORDON: Yes, I agree.
We should follow that.”
And it’s like, No, you shouldn’t.
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What is it about how Amanda operates that you think tees you up for success with your work?
I have other people on my team, but she was really the first person who believed in me.
I don’t think everybody has that.
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I have amazing managers and amazing agents.
‘Oh, Hi!’
BROOKS: That’s a great question.
The first one, for sure, is just that women are crazy.
I think the dating culture is so tricky at the moment and interesting.
He just has certain limitations.
He says himself he is more of an Iris.
I’ll throw it to the whole group now.
LOGAN LERMAN: I didn’t really have anything that broad in mind.
I just really loved the script and the conflict of these scenes.
That was really exciting to me.
GERALDINE VISWANATHAN:I was excited to unpack the fuckboy and the soft boy,as well.
I think it’s an epidemic, and it needs to be talked about.
I was really happy to put that on screen.
He’s a serious actor!"
It really helped us get financing.
That was such an electrifying moment, but that wasn’t about Logan as an actor yet.
It felt like a play, and it felt so comfortable.
He is so curious and open.
He’s a serious actor!I was like, “I am in really safe hands.”
I feel like we met in the middle in a cool way.
LERMAN: I never got to do that before and have the freedom to improvise in a silly way.
I felt comfortable with you right away.
It was all around good from the get-go.
From our first meeting, I think we felt pretty in line with the movie and the characters.
LERMAN: It wasn’t even that.
We love to rehearse and talk and run through it.
That was really fun for me.
GORDON: We had some really juicy scene work where we had two cameras going.
It was a ride.
That was really fun to do with Logan.
REYNOLDS: We come in about halfway through the movie.
Were the inverse of their two characters, and we are actually in a really solid place.
Like I said, my character was in love with Geraldine’s character.
VISWANATHAN: That’s right.
We just leaned into that kind of devotion.
Sophie, I have two follow-ups.
Molly, you mentioned that it took a while to make this happen.
I always love emphasizing how challenging it can be to get asecondfeature off the ground.
BROOKS: I made my first feature over nine years ago now.
I’m 35 now.
I was 26 when I made it, which is very young to make your first feature.
And it came together very seamlessly.
I’m a very optimistic person.
I just thought, “That’s how it goes.
I remember there was that thing.
Sophie Brooks' smartly wrought debut is far better than its logline would have you think.
Is there a point in the movie when your visual language changes to lean into what they were describing?
BROOKS: My DP [Conor Murphy] and I talked a lot about the visual language.
I thinkwe were balancing how to keep things fresh when we were in that room for so long.
We spent more time outside, and we thought a lot about warm light.
The Cast of ‘Oh, Hi!”
Share Their Favorite On-Set Moments
“We are so lucky to do this.”
I’m going to open up this question to the whole group.
It’s become one of my favorite questions to ask because I love movies and I love moviemaking.
GORDON: You always have the best questions.
I gotta do your work justice!
LERMAN: Honestly, every moment of making a film is a joy.
GORDON: [Laughs] He takes it very seriously.
That’s always the mentality for me.
It was like, “Wow, we are so lucky to do this.”
It was such a great experience.
I allowed myself to really feel all that.
It was just a great production all around.
I love that you had that moment.
In between takes, I really dont stop talking and joking.
That can be nauseating for people, I’m sure.
In those moments, you sort of disassociate because you’re having so much fun.
That was memorable for me.
And there was a coffee truck one day that was just so awesome.
You could get anything-lattes!
VISWANATHAN: That scene stands out for me, as well.
That was just a moment where I was like, “I can’t believe this is my job.
We’re just making each other laugh.”
I think there’s a scene where Molly and I have a real heart-to-heart.
That just felt so genuine.
It felt so authentic to our dynamic and relationship in real life.
That whole sequence, all the witchy stuff, really makes me very happy.
This whole experience was so charmed, no pun intended!
GORDON: Oh, god, so many moments.
This was such a hard movie to get made.
We only finished filming at the end of September.
We only finished the movie 13 days ago, so it’s just been a mad dash.
That was very moving to me.
I love the three of them so much.
I hope that we get to make more things together.
I’m just excited to keep making things and keep making things at this level.
No one’s getting paid, and it’s really hard.
BROOKS: Legally, we did pay people, just to be clear.
[Laughs]
GORDON: Oh, we did.
Well, we didn’t pay John… You see it in a movie theater, and no one knows what it was actually like.
They’re like, Oh, this is just a great movie.
I don’t know, it’s just amazing.
I hope to continue to make movies like this, even if they’re hard.
Keep making movies behind the scenes where you’re lifting other people up, too!
GORDON: Thank you.
Sophie, do you want to take us home on this one?
BROOKS: I feel like there are genuinely so many moments that I could call to.
The one I’m going to say is not one from the shoot or prep or post.
It really was yesterday.
Molly’s mom has been a mentor to me.
It was a really special, joyful moment.
That one you co-directed, but this one, you are the sole director.
What did you learn about your skill set in your craft as a director by spearheading a film solo?
GORDON: Well, I haven’t made it yet.
Hurry up and make it!
GORDON: I’m really excited to direct this year.
It’s batshit, and we’re excited to make something even more batshit.
I’ll pivot a bit with this!
GORDON: It’s Soph’s whole essence.
When something is really stressful, she’s just still the most kind and supportive person.
I think not letting the heat get to you and just leading with love.
Top-tier quality to have.
BROOKS: Molly will be a remarkable director.
She’s directed before, and shes incredible, so she doesn’t need advice from me.
Maybe advice from someone who’s 40 years older than me, we’ll both take.
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