meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
The Director’s Cut - A DGA Podcast

Freak Show with Trudie Styler and Ira Sachs (Ep. 133)

The Director’s Cut - A DGA Podcast

Directors Guild of America

Tv & Film

4.6806 Ratings

🗓️ 9 March 2018

⏱️ 31 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Director Trudie Styler discusses her debut film with fellow director Ira Sachs. The film tells the story of Billy Bloom, a confident and flamboyant teen newly relocated to an ultra-conservative high school in the deep South. After suffering persecution and bullying, he decides to wear his inner freak with pride and run for homecoming queen.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Hello and welcome back to the Directors Cut, brought to you by the Directors Guild of America,

0:06.3

where each episode we bring you a fresh and insightful interview featuring one of the film industry's top directors,

0:12.2

conducted by one of their peers.

0:14.5

Remember to subscribe to our podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.

0:31.3

This episode takes us behind the scenes of director Trudy Stiler's new comedic drama, Freak Show.

0:37.3

Based on the novel by James St. James, the film tells the story of Billy Bloom, a boldly confident and flamboyant teen,

0:39.3

newly relocated to an ultra-conservative high school in the Deep South.

0:43.3

After suffering persecution and bullying, he decides to wear his inner freak with pride and run for Homecoming Queen.

0:50.3

Freak Show is Miss Styler's feature directorial debut. Her other directing credits include the documentary The Sweat Box and the short film, Wait.

1:00.0

Following a recent screening of the film at the DGA Theatre in New York,

1:04.0

Ms. Styler spoke with director Ira Sacks about filming Freak Show.

1:08.0

During their conversation, Ms. Stuyler discusses how she came to direct the film,

1:13.1

how she tackled the film's themes of bullying, and her approach to handling the tonal shifts

1:17.7

between comedy and drama. Hello, everybody. Hi. Thank you for that film. I had only seen it tonight, so I'm with the audience in the experience. And for me, it was such, it's just a very moving story that I found much more personal than I expected. and I imagine for you it is as well.

1:47.0

It might not seem obviously autobiographical, but I sort of wanted to start by asking you

1:52.9

why this film, why this story.

1:56.0

Well the story came to Maven Pictures, which is a company that Celine Ratrae and me have headed up for seven years,

2:06.6

and to Flower Films.

2:08.6

And we really loved the story of Billy's fight against his detractors and the wit and the wisdom that he shows throughout,

2:21.3

even when he's beaten and bullied and beaten to a pulp, the first thing he asks for when he comes round is,

2:30.3

could he please have his lip glass? And he has an indomitable spirit and leadership qualities.

2:38.0

And so when he sets out his bid for Homecoming Queen,

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Directors Guild of America, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Directors Guild of America and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.