Emma Stone Shocked by ‘How Many Agents You Have to Talk to’ as ‘Poor Things’ Producer

Producers from nine of the 10 nominees for Outstanding Producer of a Motion Picture at the PGA Awards spoke at a breakfast Saturday about their films.

Emma Stone introduced herself as the new producer of a panel including Oppenheimer producer Charles Roven, Past lives producer Christine Vachon and Leftovers producer Mark Johnson. Stone’s first producing credit was the 2018 Netflix series Maniacal.

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Produce The poor things, in which she plays a woman created from a reanimated body, Stone said what surprised her most about the production was “the number of agents you have to talk to.” Whoa, it’s very interesting to be on the other side now. It’s a lot. Agents are great, but phew.

Vachon backed Stone based on his experience, which includes Go fishing And Children. In context, Vachon said she enjoys producing films for first-time directors like Past lives Céline Song, because they offer a counterpoint to some of the negative aspects of the industry.

“Usually a beginning director tells the story he’s been waiting for his whole life,” Vachon said. “It’s impossible to be cynical on this set. I really feel like cynicism is one of the biggest creativity killers. It’s very difficult in this business to avoid for obvious reasons, i.e. agents etc.

As a producer of Barbie, Margot Robbie had unique negotiations with Mattel, the toy company that produces Barbie dolls. Robbie said Mattel and studio Warner Bros. were uncomfortable with certain aspects of Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach’s script. Robbie said she and her fellow producers consulted page by page with all parties involved to fight for the film, which became the biggest box office success of the year.

Robbie plays stereotypical Barbie, based on the more common blonde iteration of the doll. Robbie said Mattel objected to the term until she explained Barbie’s stereotypical visit to the real world, learning about patriarchy and sexism, and growing up as a woman.

“Okay, I understand why you don’t like the word stereotypical Barbie,” Robbie recalled of her conversations with Mattel. “But if she doesn’t call herself stereotypical, what journey will she take at the end of the film?”

Robbie said she might be more vague on other issues, like the Kens having a “beach.” Robbie said Mattel wasn’t comfortable with the sexual connotations, but she insisted they weren’t “pushing back.”

“There would be other things like, ‘When they say beach, when they beach, what does that mean?'” Robbie said. “We were saying, ‘What do you think this means?’ They like the beach, I don’t know. This might just be one of those fun things. Or it could be something like ending the movie on the gynecologist’s line. A few days before we imagined locked, it was still a struggle.

Bradley Cooper was also on the panel as producer of Maestro, which he directed and in which he played the role of Leonard Bernstein. Cooper joked that working with the director was difficult, but he took finding a home for the film seriously. Netflix eventually produced the film after every movie studio turned it down.

“I don’t take anything personally,” Cooper said. “It’s business, man.”

Stone was also asked how she, as a producer, protects herself as an actress. Poor things explores the sexual awakening of Bella Baxter (Stone) in numerous nude love scenes. However, Stone said that was “the easy part,” thanks to the film’s intimacy coordinator and closed sets.

“It was quick,” Stone said. “We knew exactly what we were doing. Understanding how to walk or eat 60 Portuguese pies, which at first bite are really delicious, but at the end you really want to vomit, seeing death and decadence was much more difficult than nudity, which is the only thing that the people seem to want to ask me questions. I understand. It’s provocative.

The panel also included American fiction producer Ben LeClair, Flower Moon Killers producer Daniel Lupi and The area of ​​interest producer James Wilson. Producers for Anatomy of a fall were not available, because they had attended the Caesar ceremony. The PGA Awards will be announced Sunday evening.

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