If you haven’t seen it yet, you’ve definitely heard of Poor Things. The film which is based on an Alasdair Gray novel has been nominated for 11 Oscars and has been lauded by critics and audiences alike as director Yorgos Lanthimos’s best work to date.
However, according to an interview with producers Ed Guiney and Andrew Lowe on the Hollywood Gold podcast, the fantastical film couldn’t have gone ahead if it weren’t for Emma Stone.
How Emma Stone ensured the production of Poor Things
On the podcast, the producing pair revealed that they had been fans of director Yorgos’ Greek films and helped him successfully navigate the transition to English language films, starting with 2015′s The Lobster which starred Colin Farrell.
According to the producers, Emma Stone was Yorgos’ first choice for the film after he worked with her on 2018′s The Favourite. Emma was brought in as both a star of the film and producer, and it was because of her name and role in these crucial positions that the film was even made by a studio.
They said, “we needed an actress like Emma, and actually, there aren’t any other actors like Emma. So it was a unique proposition; we needed her to be on board to get the film made.”
Adding, “not only was she on board with it but she was instrumental in shaping it and guiding it, defending it, and advocating for it at every step.”
The producers revealed that they believe that Emma and Yorgos will continue to collaborate on projects and they expect that the two will “goad and push each other in the best way.”
Poor Things is out in cinemas now.