‘Wish You Were Here’ Interview: Director Julia Stiles

Opening in theaters on January 17th is the new romantic drama ‘Wish You Were Here,’ which is based on the novel of the same name by Renée Carlino and marks the directorial debut of actress Julia Stiles (‘The Bourne Identity’ and ‘Orphan: First Kill’). The film stars Isabelle Fuhrman (‘Orphan’), Mena Massoud (‘Aladdin’), Jennifer Grey (‘Dirty Dancing’) and Kelsey Grammer (‘X-Men: The Last Stand’).

Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with actress turned filmmaker Julia Stiles about her work on ‘Wish You Were Here’, adapting the novel into a screenplay, achieving the right tone for the movie, her directing process, what she’s learned from watching other directors throughout her career, the pos-production process, casting her ‘Orphan: First Kill’ co-star Isabelle Fuhrman, and if she will direct again.

Related Article: Julia Stiles and Isabelle Fuhrman Talk Prequel ‘Orphan: First Kill’

Director/Co-Writer Julia Stiles talks ‘Wish You Were Here’, a Lionsgate release. Photo courtesy of Lionsgate.

Moviefone: To begin with, can you talk about the process of adapting the novel into a screenplay and why you wanted to direct this specific story?

Julia Stiles: I’ve been wanting to direct a movie for a long time, maybe a little shy about it, but was actively looking for the right story. Then this twenty-five-year-old actress and producer (Gabby Kono-Abdy) with a ton of chutzpah slid into my DMs and then also went through my agency, but said, “What about this book?” I fell in love with it. That was kind of the thing that nudged me towards being more confident that this was the story that I’m ready to tell. What drew me to it initially was a couple of things. It was sent to me during Covid, and I was taken by this desire that we all had at the time to connect with other human beings in real life and not digitally. So, there’s all the sort of rom-com elements of the movie where her mother and her friends are pressuring her to get on a dating app and find the perfect guy and get her life together that I found really humorous and kind of refreshing, but then also just fundamentally, it was that this is a story where the main characters are very young, but the love story is so much more mature and deeper than just that, and it doesn’t just look at love at first sight or that initial dating period. They do this thing where they play a game and kind of pretend that they’re an older couple looking back on their past. I thought, “Oh wow, that’s so powerful”, the idea that we should be so lucky to create a lifetime of memories with someone.

MF: The movie has both comedic and dramatic moments, can you talk about the challenges of balancing the right tone?

JS: I wanted to pull the audience in with the more humorous moments of levity with the family, with her family and her friends and her dumb job, and then also have this exciting first date with a guy, and then we kind of ease into the drama and the tragic love story. That was my intention, and I also really wanted ultimately for the movie to be hopeful. That was very important to me. Without being saccharine, my radar was up because there’s a tradition of movies like this and some are great, and then some can very much veer into the too sugary, and I just thought, “Okay, how do I keep this grounded in reality and something that we can relate to?”

Director/Co-Writer Julia Stiles behind the scenes of the romance film ‘Wish You Were Here’, a Lionsgate release. Photo courtesy of Lionsgate.

MF: Can you talk about your process as a director? Do you rehearse with the actors, do you storyboard your shots, and what was it like working with the rest of your crew?

JS: We had zero rehearsal time because that’s what happened, but I was confident enough with my actors. I think one of the things that I’ve discovered as an actress and now also as a director is that the camera loves spontaneity, so I’m of the ilk that you don’t want to over rehearse something because you want to capture the spontaneous thing that happens in real time. I was confident enough that my actors could do that, and they did. In terms of my crew, my DP and I had a shot list. We would get together every weekend and even in advance of being in production, go through each scene in each location, talk about different angles and how we wanted to shoot it, and we were very much a good team. We were very in sync about movie references. I remember reading a book about directing by David Mamet, and he had this one quote in it that was “Fail to prepare, prepare to fail.” So, I really went in there with a plan. Then I also had to, which I also enjoyed, be ready to pivot if we had obstacles or if the plan wasn’t going to work.

MF: As an actress, you have worked with many great directors throughout your career. How did your previous experience on sets with other filmmakers help prepare you to direct this movie?

JS: I think my whole career as an actress has been film school, and I realized I’ve absorbed so much just being on film sets for so long, but I did in pre-production reach out to a couple directors that I had worked with. I called Rodrigo Garcia, and I was like, “I cannot believe you hid the stress so well. You were so calm on set. You kept it from us.” He was like, “I did that on purpose because you don’t want the children to know how stressful your workday was. You want to keep the actors set up for success in terms of being relaxed.” Then I also called Doug Liman who directed ‘The Bourne Identity’, because there was this specific sequence on the sailboat and I knew that it was going to be challenging, and he’s directed a bunch of action movies, and he also has a sailboat. So, I asked him about filming on water, and I was just complaining about it. I was saying, “Oh, it’s really challenging, but this is part of being a director is working within a budget and time constraints and managing that.” He was like, “Remember this time, because when they start giving you more money, they start telling you what to do.” He was right.

MF: Do you think as an actress you now have a different appreciation for directors?

JS: Oh, a hundred percent. I feel like I want to call most of them and be like, “Oh my God.” Also, the next time I’m on a film set as an actress, I’m going to be super-duper reverent to my director. I understand now, it’s a lot to manage and everybody’s coming at you, but it’s also so exhilarating and energizing because you’re the one in the driver’s seat.

Isabelle Fuhrman as “Charlotte” in the romance film ‘Wish You Were Here’, a Lionsgate release. Photo courtesy of Lionsgate.

MF: You first worked with Isabelle Fuhrman as an actress on ‘Orphan: First Kill’, which is a very different type of performance than what she gives in this movie. What made you think she’d be right to play Charlotte?

JS: It is a very different role, and it’s the first time I think, really that we see her, or audiences can see her as a grown up and a leading lady in a romantic movie. But I was confident about it because I knew that as a leading lady and the main character of the film in every scene, working every day, having to pour your heart and soul into it and emote as much as this character does and go through such a transformation, that takes a lot of stamina. I saw her have that stamina on the set of ‘Orphan’ that she was a real workhorse and always dedicated and giving a hundred percent, even if it was exhausting.

MF: As a director, did you enjoy the post-production process?

JS: I did. I really loved it, and I think that might be my favorite part of it, working with my editor, Melody London. It’s just more relaxed. You have the footage there. You can take your time and really sew the quilt together or rearrange puzzle pieces and see experiment. It’s very creative and the final place where the story is told, and I found it enjoyable. I also loved putting music to the film that was special, and it’s also a more manageable schedule.

Director/Co-Writer Julia Stiles behind the scenes of the romance film ‘Wish You Were Here’, a Lionsgate release. Photo courtesy of Lionsgate.

MF: Finally, do you have plans to direct again in the future?

JS: I would love to direct again. I’m totally hooked. Again, I would love to, I hope I get to make a second movie. Also, creatively, I’m just surfacing from the whole process of making ‘Wish You Were Here’. It’s just opened a part of me. Now I’m thinking about what the next genre or story would be, so I’m looking.

“What if forever is tomorrow?”

Showtimes & Tickets

Julia Stiles makes her directorial debut in a brilliantly warm and romantic film based on the bestselling novel, Wish You Were Here. Isabelle Fuhrman, Mena Massoud,… Read the Plot

What is the plot of ‘Wish You Were Here’?

The film follows Charlotte (Isabelle Fuhrman), a woman searching for a spark in her life, who experiences a whirlwind night of romance with a man (Mena Massoud) she meets. The next morning, she discovers he is terminally ill and commits to helping him spend his remaining time meaningfully.

Who is in the cast of ‘Wish You Were Here’?

‘Wish You Were Here’,opens in theaters on January 17th. Photo courtesy of Lionsgate.

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