From KCRW Santa Monica and KCRW.com, it's The Treatment.

It's the Treatment.

But you can also hear at KCRW.com.

I'm Elvis Mitchell.

My guest has worked with filmmakers from Peter Weir to Pedro

Almodovar, so why wouldn't he direct himself? Ethan Hawk, documentary director, actor,

stage actor, now making a film an adaptation in spirit and certainly a biopic about the life

of the amazing Flannery O'Connor starring his daughter, Maya Hawke.

First of all, Ethan, it's good to see you in person.

It's been way too long.

Yeah, great to see you.

I've got to ask you, what is this thing you hear about Southern women who need to rebel

between Joanne Wilworth, the documentary and Flannery O'Connor here?

Where does this come from for you? Nobody has ever asked me

that. The answer is so obvious. My mother was 18 when I was born, right? My mother is what you would

call a hell of a woman, but she is a rebel. She was subscribing to the New Yorker at 13 years old in Fort Worth, Texas.

She was hell bent to get the hell out of there. And, you know, she wanted to be Patty Smith.

She ended up working 25 years in Romania for Gypsy Rights doing unbelievable work over there.

She did all that. You know, she raised me from

18 to, whatever, you know, from 18 to 36, she had a kid. And she was my great teacher. And I saw

through the formative years of my life, like I saw the world through her lens. I mean,

she gave me Flannery O'Connor because I only liked male writers, you know,

...