Thelma Director Josh Margolin pointed 95-year-old leading lady June Squibb to the same source of inspiration that fueled the movie itself: His grandmother, who shares the main character’s name.
“Josh gave me some little movies he made, like Thelma going to the store or Thelma celebrating her birthday, just to get an idea of who she was and what she was like,” Squibb explained during a panel discussion with Margolin at Saturday’s Deadline Film Contenders event.
Margolin said of the down-to-earth Thelma Post: “She was always just a huge figure in my life and kind of an inspiration to me and someone I always looked up to.” Margolin recalls: “I was making these little documentaries about my grandmother when she was living on her own in her 90s for the first time ever.” “It was an interesting time because two things were happening: She was grieving the loss of her husband and kind of entering this new chapter of aging, but she was also kind of enjoying having that space and that time in a way that she never had before.”
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Margolin told his grandmother’s story through the lens of a scam targeting the elderly that Thelma actually witnessed. “In the aftermath of the real-life scam that inspired the film, I realized that I had been thinking about her all my life, but especially in the last few years in a new way,” he said. “The film became a way of celebrating her and dealing with those contradictions and those concerns that I had about her safety and well-being, as well as her ability to hold onto her identity.”
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“For me, it’s always been a kind of expression or a way to celebrate my grandmother’s spirit and her determination and her tenacity,” the writer, director and editor explained framing the film around Thelma’s quest to find justice. “And I think I’m very excited to try to explore that through the lens of a lo-fi action movie. And then the tone was always really important. I never wanted it to feel like we were making fun of her as much as we were accompanying her on the journey and experiencing these trials and tribulations through her lens.
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Squibb, who was Margolin’s first and only choice for the role, said she relied on her instincts when it came to keeping the movie’s comedy grounded and not compromising toward the elderly. “I always look at funny things as being very real, so I never think ‘that’s funny’ – I don’t do that,” she revealed. “I had friends like Dom DeLuise and Ruth Buzzi – now they’re considered funny and I can recognize that, but I can’t do that. So we worked together completely on how to play this or what we felt in our emotions as we went backstage.
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In her first major movie role, Squibb said she was happy to convey a positive message about aging. “It was like saying: “Age is not destructive,” she said. “It can be very empowering.”
Check back on Monday for the video of the painting.
Presenting sponsor of this year’s Contenders movie: Los Angeles is United Business. The sponsors are Eye glasses, Final Draft + ScreenCraftThe partners are Four Seasons Maui, 11 Ravens and Robina Benson Design House.