Soon after J.T. Mollner began shooting his new film, Strange Darling, executives at Miramax shut it down. Within days, producer Roy Lee got the project back on track, but the writer-director was still reeling.
“During that week, I was thinking to myself, ‘I finally get a shot to direct another film. I know what we're doing is special, but if we get shut down now, I doubt anybody will ever give me another opportunity to make a movie,’” says Mollner. “So, from the time we went back into production, I felt like I was directing for my life."
With Strange Darling now sitting at 95 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, Mollner and Lee talk about the fight to keep the project going and how Mollner, after a strong test screening, wound up getting final cut. The filmmaker also talks about finding an unexpected ally in comedian Tiffany Haddish. Plus, the remarkable story of how actor Giovanni Ribisi made his feature film debut (as cinematographer) on Strange Darling after years of quietly lensing music videos and commercials.