There’s something refreshing about Parker Posey’s open bidding. The actress, whose name became synonymous with the mid-’90s indie film boom, wrote openly about feeling behind in her 2018 memoir. you are on a plane, as she watched the movie industry rapidly change before her eyes: “Character stories have been swept under the rug in favor of caricatures and stereotypes. I also felt swept under the rug… It was hard not to become jaded and feel left out when rom-coms became bromantic franchises.

Though she’s had some memorable turns lately on shows like The staircase And Research group, there is a distinct feeling that she is “just happy to be here” when she is, in fact, present. This was the case, apparently, for his brief stint on the set of by Ari Aster Handsome is scared, of which she figures prominently in the third act as the love interest of Beau (Joaquin Phoenix). Posey said she filmed for two or three days and enjoyed her time on set, where she bonded with Patti LuPone. (This piece was originally intended to be a moderated conversation between Posey and LuPone, though Posey was ultimately unable to zoom in as she was in Mississippi caring for her mother, who underwent heart surgery last week. last year.)

When we reunited the next day, Posey put on an airy conversational style as she drove to meet people in a park (about nothing, she noted when she passed a Lincoln Continental – “Oh my God. It’s actually a convertible”) She was dryly funny but also serious about wanting more work than she has, sometimes in the same sentence, like when she wondered out loud, joking, “Why does Toni Collette get all my roles? She’s not even from America.”

We turned the shit up in regards to beautifulthe state of her career, rumors of her joining the Shout franchise, and her desire to play an old woman for Marvel. “I’ve had the kind of career that for some reason, and I don’t really understand it, but where I have to be chosen by these guys, and I have to be the only choice,” he told me. -she says. “Despite being in all those 90s indie movies.” At least she still has her sense of humor. An edited and condensed transcript of our conversation is below.

JEZEBEL: You said in your book that you don’t like horror movies. Had you seen Ari Aster films before signing on Handsome is scared?

PARKER POSEY: I don’t like horror movies that just serve to provoke and aren’t entertaining. You know, like those really gory movies that kinda look like a Halloween haunted house experience that I once went to and still get traumatized by. I don’t know if you’ve ever been to one of them.

I have, yes.

It was like Corn Children. They made all these corn stalks and then they coming to say hello to you out of nowhere in the bushes. And you’re just like, “That’s not cool.” But then the kids there are about 16 and they say, “I’m not scared.” They’re used to it because they’ve played video games and seen horror movies all their lives, you know? I’m too sensitive for this kind of game. But I would never turn off the brilliant. I never would. It’s the scariest movie of all time, but I’d still watch it.

I saw Ari’s movie [Hereditary] first on a plane, then I went home and saw him again. I was like, “This is the real deal. He is a real visionary. Why does Toni Collette get all my coins? She’s not even from America.

She can do the accent, though.

What witches is she up to that I can’t? Anyway, I just thought this movie showed us a new voice in cinema. In the film industry, there are not many author voices that are supported. I have seen it over the years. Someone makes a great first movie and then they’re like, “How am I going to make my second?” Often they are not given the opportunity. And then what if your second one isn’t great and you don’t get the chance to do it again because they’re on the next new youngster? You know, we like the new in our culture. So I think Ari is really smart about it. It was a Zoom meeting when I met him, and I said, ‘The only thing I didn’t like about Hereditary is that I was not in it. [Laughs] And it was so nice. We talked for about an hour and he said, “I want you for this, Joaquin wants you for this.” And I’m like, “You know, I love working with real business. Of course I will. He said, “Well, wait a minute. Let’s make sure you read it first.

We just had a great Zoom call. I’ve had the kind of career that for some reason, and I don’t really understand it, but where I have to be chosen by these guys, and I have to be the only choice. I don’t really go there unless… you know, it’s rare. Despite being in all those indie films in the 90s. It’s like I know how to play ball. And I love it and I have experience. I like to step into someone else’s vision.

So you’re actually swimming upstream at this point?

It’s just my way. I’m not complaining. It is not my fault.

So I read [the script] and I’m like, “Who would do that and who could do that?” I was like, “This is so outrageous.” But I found it really moving, in a way. And, you know, I had to go through lifelong mold all over my body, which is like sitting for two hours with mold all over my body.

And you only have tiny holes for your nostrils to breathe in?

Yeah.

It would make me claustrophobic. It’s frightening.

You know, every time you step into some kind of unknown and you’re offered that opportunity, you just have to take it. I think it’s like moving, deep things that you learn from, that you grow from. At my age [54] be like, “Oh, okay, now I do this?” [Laughs and then coughs.] I feel like I’m 30 all the time, and I think I’m going to feel like I’m in my mid-thirties for a while. But then, you know, your body catches up to you. Everyone’s knees hurt me now because they walked barefoot during covid. But we are not only of the body. And it was an interesting meditation to prepare [Beau Is Afraid] playing Freda Black [in The Staircase] in Atlanta under the direction of Antonio Campos, who is a friend of Ari. So everything felt in its place.

But I will say it was very nervous at first, which I think is always a good sign. I only think [shot for] two days, but I came three days earlier to get settled. Oh, and I’ve changed hotels about three times. I immediately understood that it was like a strange country. I was just happy. It’s like what I said to Ari in the Zoom meeting, I was happy to be chosen to play this small role. Because it’s so competitive and it feels like there are so many people involved in the decisions. As a woman, it’s just a whole different game.

Do you think it got worse or better in terms of opportunities and roles?

You know what, I don’t know, because things seem so… We’ve got a lot of genre in the superhero realm right now. Like Patti [LuPone], I wonder. Patti is having fun at Marvel, isn’t she? [In the upcoming Marvel show Agatha: Coven of Chaos.]

We didn’t talk about it, Agatha project, but she’s in it, so it seems like fun.

It’s a different job for an actor. It’s just a different thing. The culture just changed. It will always be a boy club. We just had the conversation about misogyny. But it will always be that. Do you remember those movies in the 80s and, you know, like Jessica Lange or Sally Field? Dustin Hoffmann. I miss those. News broadcast. You know, it was drama and comedy genres. Or what they now call “dramedies”.

Adult movies.

Also known as adult films. So it’s interesting, right? The placement of women when you’re making movies that aren’t adult movies. I enjoy these parts. I’m happy to be a witch or an old woman or, you know, a black mother figure. It’s funny.

There have been rumors that you might return to Shout franchise. Did you hear that? Is it true at all?

I started this rumour. I just finished a play a year ago, but we closed last weekend and did an interview with playwright Thomas Bradshaw on WNYC Radio. The radio host said, “Well, we happen to have some other guests here and they’d like to say hello.” And then that was it Shout crew, producers and writers of the latest. I was disgusted when I was shooting [Scream 3] that I had to die. So the pitch back then is still kind of the same: “Really, Wes, take me back.” There is, you know, another dimension to reality, and me and all who are dead can, I don’t know, haunt all who are alive. I don’t know!

People seem to like these movies and when they’re entertaining and full of wit and energy, it’s great. Why not? It was really fun, because Wes [Craven] really let me do a lot of stupid things. And I was really excited about it, because it was fun and everyone was nice and kind and, and yeah, the lunches were amazing. It was one of those jobs where people were like, “Why not take a lunch break? These didn’t come up much for me, but it was a great experience.

I’m curious to film the nude scene In beautiful-how it was for you and whether you saw any change in the era of intimacy coordinators. You’ve been topless on screen before. Is there a difference between being like this now and, say, in sleep with me?

I mean, it was very nice. We were shooting at night, so I… It’s kind of your homework, I guess, because I heard those conversations about intimacy coordinators. But, you know, they’re just kind of…they are around. For me, it can’t be a distraction and it can’t be something where I’m like, “What are they doing here? So it went very well and I’m happy with it.

You know, I’ll be able to process this and then I’ll write about it. Everyone has a lot to do inside, and I think an actor’s life is exciting and interesting. It’s a lot to go through these things. I’m just happy to be able to voice it and work on Freda and Elaine’s story in this chapter, which includes, you know, my mom’s heart operation, it includes the play I just did. I’m like in a world of stories. IIt’s not as simple as it used to be. The issue of difference isn’t really something I’m familiar with, as I haven’t done a lot of nudity. And also I can just say that when I’m working, it’s my job to be in the story.

Got it.

How about that for a quote?