Filmmaking duo David Siegel and Scott McGehee’s projects include The Deep End, Bee Season, and What Maisie Knew. Their latest is an adaption of Sigrid Nunez’s 2018 novel The Friend, which stars Naomi Watts and Bill Murray. The film follows Watts’ character Iris as she navigates grieving a close friend… while also caring for Apollo, the enormous dog that her recently deceased friend left to Iris in his will.
Siegel and McGehee tell The Treatment about casting the right Great Dane to play Apollo, Murray’s embrace of his flawed character, and the challenge of adapting the novel for the big screen.