Summary
Christy Hall, whose television debutI Am Not Okaygained a cult following despite its untimely cancelation, steps into the world of cinema withDaddio.Her tightly written and deftly directed screenplay is deceptively simple at first: a young woman takes a seemingly neverending cab ride out of JFK and falls into a deep conversation with her driver. But there is far more to the story — and the filmmaking — than meets the eye.
DaddiostarsDakota Johnson (Madame Web)as Girlie, whose carefree attitude belies the anxiety she feels over her current toxic relationship with an unseen man whose text messages are one of the only interruptions to her tête-à-tête. Her partner in philosophical discussion is Clark (played by Sean Penn), a seasoned cab driver who is fond of pointed questions and not affronted by a passenger reciprocating his curiosity. Their encounter, though brief in the grand scheme of life, leaves each of them with a greater understanding of themselves and the world around them.
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Screen Rant interviewed Hall about how complicated the shooting process forDaddiogot despite its confined setting, which aspect of the screenplay came full circle before production began, andwhat Colleen Hoover fans can expectfrom Hall’s upcoming adaptation ofIt Ends With Us.
Daddio May Have A Simple Setup, But Christy Hall’s Feature Debut Was Rather Complex
Screen Rant: Given thatDaddiois your directorial debut, it’s almost perfect that it’s such a simple setup — and yet nothing is ever simple in Hollywood. What would you say was the most challenging aspect for you?
Christy Hall: This film is very complex in its simplicity. You think that two people in this contained space would be really easy to just grab a camera and run out and shoot it, but it really wasn’t [that easy].
First, I had to think to myself, “Okay, are we going to trailer them?” But that’s really hard on the cast and crew. It’s hard to reset, and it would’ve all been night shoots. I really wanted to protect the performances; I wanted to make it comfortable, and I also wanted optionality in terms of what we’re seeing in what we’re not seeing.
Then the next thought that you have is, “Okay, let’s go onto a sound stage.” But then you’re using blue or green screen, and that would’ve swelled the VFX budget by millions of dollars. It would’ve actually made this film very un-producible. I actually had to do a lot of research, and I really stumbled upon this incredible technology where you basically have these LED panels that you surround the cab with, and we shot the drive from JFK to Hell’s Kitchen on an array car with nine cameras. Those panels are actually projecting the drive, and it does this incredible thing where it makes more of an immersive experience for the cast.
Dakota would look out the window, and she’d actually see the streetlights going by, or she’d see a car going by. It was really funny for Sean when we got into Manhattan. He was driving, and he was like, “I got nervous that I was going to hit some of the pedestrians!” It gave them a feeling of time and place, which is great, and then that soft light actually engages with the set. Phedon Papamichael, our incredible DP, was able to add hard light on top of that, and then we could be in the monitor and really see what it was going to be. We could easily reset.
This was way more technologically demanding than I would’ve liked my first movie to be, but I’m also really grateful I got to cut my teeth on it. Now, I’m not afraid of it, and I’m really excited to use it as I move forward as a filmmaker.
How Daddio Evolved From Page To Screen With The Help Of The Stellar Cast
That’s wonderful. And it must be so gratifying to have people like Dakota Johnson andSean Penn wanting to workwith you. on your first film What were those first few meetings like, deciding how they’re stepping into these characters?
Christy Hall: Yes, I’m so grateful to both of them for lending themselves to this film. Dakota got attached really early on and also came on board as a producer. She’s the one who said, “What do you think about my dear old friend Sean Penn?” She slipped him the script, and he read right away. And then we did some table reads of it. We did a little light rehearsal, but it was really important not to rehearse something like this because you want to preserve those natural reactions, and you want to give them the ability to explore on camera.
But we did have a couple of meetings where we got together, and it was really sweet. It was a lot of fun. We went to Sean’s house, we did some table reads, and then at one point it was like, “Okay, well let’s get it up on its feet a little bit just to get a feeling for it.” He sets out a chair in front of a couch, and he had a pole and a hand mirror, and he duct taped the hand mirror. Because if you think about it, they’re not actually looking at each other for most of the film. They connect every now and again by way of the rearview mirror, so it was important for them to get a little bit of a feel for that. So, he did this little thing, and then they just kind of marked through the script.
I was like, “I can die now, and I can die very happy. This is incredible.” I just watched it all take place, and it was really special. But we didn’t over-rehearse it, and it was just very kind and collaborative; very respectful. They’re both word perfect in this movie; they really deliver the script. We just had really wonderful conversations, and we had a lot of fun. It takes a lot of trust and a lot of joy to do something like this that is so intimate. We also didn’t have a lot of time, so we jumped in the deep end and just went for it.
I find it so fascinating that there’s the dark energy of an illicit affair happening only through text messages. You see Dakota’s expressions and how they change based on the words she’s reading. Was that always going to be the case, or did you ever think about doing flashbacks? What made you want to relay the information that way?
Christy Hall: Originally, I wrote a script that was all contained in the cab because that was my original vision for this film. When this script started getting passed around in Hollywood back in 2017, I got some feedback from people who were like, “Maybe you could expand it a little bit and give it a little more scope.” So, there is a version out there that people have passed around where — we never go into another scene with dialogue ever, but — we do steal into her memories. We see visions of some of the stuff that she’s talking about.
But then when it came time when we got our money, and it really came time to go shoot this movie, I had a conversation with producers just saying, “Hey, which version do we all like better?” And Emma Tillinger Koskoff, who is an incredible producer and legend in her own right, just said, “You know what, Christy? You’re the director of this movie. It’s your vision, and we will champion either version, but you need to go away and really meditate on which one you want to do.”
I realized that the one with the memories was me satiating some note, but it was never my intention. I really wanted the audience to feel like they were a fly on the wall during this real, organic conversation that unfolds before you. So, I thought, “Do you know what? Let’s go back to the original script.” And that’s what we did.
Christy Hall Takes A Similarly Realistic Approach To It Ends With Us
You wrote the screenplay forIt Ends With Us, which is such a popular novel. What is your approach to adapting someone else’s work, especially someone as well known as Colleen Hoover?
Christy Hall: Colleen Hoover is such an incredible writer; I’m a huge fan. First of all, it was an absolute dream to get that job, to meet her and to sit with her. In my first meeting with her, because the book is so beloved, I assured her that I would try to preserve everything that I possibly could in the book.
But novels and screenplays have very different structures. A screenplay has a three-act structure that you really need to honor, so sometimes you do have to massage or even invent certain things that maybe aren’t necessarily in the book. But what I told her was, “I want to preserve everything that I can.
And then anything that I change or slightly massage or alter, I will do it with the utmost respect.” Because the goal always was that I wanted audiences to, when they’re watching the movie, have the same feeling that they had when they were reading the book. Even if there are slight changes between the two, it should still feel like every decision was still in the spirit of the book and just carrying on the legacy and the torch of what Colleen Hoover has created.
You’re working with some incredible young women in Hollywood, like Dakota Johnson andBlake Lively. Is there anyone that you really want to work with next, or is there any female perspective that you would like to explore?
Christy Hall: I think it’s a really exciting time in Hollywood of pressing into all these stories that have yet to be told. We talk a lot about corporate responsibility, but I also really believe in creative responsibility. So, I’m just excited to be one of those voices in town that unapologetically is telling stories that I think move the human heart.
You think of Daddio and you think ofIt Ends With Us pressing into subject matterthat maybe Hollywood has been a little afraid of, or things that make us uncomfortable. But I think it’s really important for us to move forward as a society. These are the kinds of stories that we should be telling. Yes, really empowering stories about women, but also empowering stories about the human experience at large.
But for me, at the heart of it, I have to know, “Why are we telling this story, and why are we telling it right now?” I want to scratch under the scabs of society a little bit and be like, “Hey, let’s lift the hood a little bit and let’s kind of poke around in places that we were never really allowed to be, and let’s have those conversations.” These things are happening in real life, so let’s talk about it.
About Daddio
New York City. JFK airport. A young woman jumps into the backseat of a yellow taxi, the cabbie throws the vehicle into drive as the two head out into the night toward Manhattan, striking up the most unexpected conversation resulting in a single epic remarkable journey.
Daddio
Cast
Daddio follows a chance encounter between a woman named Lisa, played by Dakota Johnson, and her taxi driver, portrayed by Sean Penn. The narrative unravels during a single taxi ride from JFK airport, delving into deep and unexpected conversations that ensue between the two characters, revealing personal stories and vulnerabilities.
