Amy Poehler directed the film and also stars as your mother. Can you tell me about working with her both on- and off-screen?
I looked up to her my entire life, so to be able to work with her on a project where she is not only the director but also playing my mother was a lot to process in the beginning, but I jumped into it. She made it so easy because she is just so incredible, and I was nervous she wasn’t going to be. They say don’t meet your heroes, but she was my hero, and I met and worked with her, and she’s lived up to the expectations and exceeded them because she is as smart as she is funny as she is professional as she is brave. She is the perfect leader of this group, this cast, and maybe this revolution.
Did she give you any advice that you are taking with you into other projects?
If I’m being completely honest, we were sitting in the pews of this church for this one scene, and we were talking about love actually. She was looking off through the stained glass window, and she said, “You know, Hadley, people come into your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. All people, they will come in for a reason, a season, or a lifetime, and that’s just how it is, and you can’t get hung up on anything and just have to accept that a relationship with anybody or a friendship with anybody will be what it will be.” That’s something kind of unexpected that I almost repeat to myself every day of my life, honestly. She also leads by example. I watched her a lot and stole things from how she worked, like how she stuck to tea instead of coffee after a certain time of the day or how she would play a certain type of music to get her energy up. Little things like that I have definitely stolen.
Prior to Moxie, you worked with another incredible female director, Greta Gerwig, on Little Women. At this early stage in your career, are you consciously looking for female-led projects and stories?
It’s definitely something I have been focusing on. I worked with Greta in the first movie I ever was in, and then, I worked with Gillian Flynn in a project, and she was incredible. I find that it is a different feeling on-set than when I am directed by a man, especially when it’s a female story versus a male story because I find that the female roles are portrayed very differently. And if I’m being completely honest, there is more complexity, and maybe I’ve just convinced myself of that, but usually, I feel like I can delve into the characters in a more real way and really flesh them out. Also, I feel a little safer with women sometimes, especially early on in my career. So it’s been really nice, and I do seek that out on purpose and wish to continue that trend.
Who are some of the other female creators out there who you are inspired by or would love to work with?
Okay, some of my favorite films of the past have been Booksmart, so Olivia Wilde. I saw 13th, and I would love to work with Ava [DuVernay]. Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Céline Sciamma, and Lulu Wang, The Farewell, I was blown away. These were all projects that I was completely compelled by, and to work with any of those women would be a dream come true, so I will put it out there into the ether now and hope that it comes to fruition.
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