I said, “We should do a play.” She said, “No, we should do a film.” But she was always gonna be my no. We said we wanted to work together on something. Then we bumped into each other again about five years after that. We met each other about 16 or 17 years ago after a play that I’d written that was in New York. She’s, I think, the best actress of her generation. MM: Yeah, it was completely written for her. Did you write this with her in mind or how did you come about bringing her on board?
#THREE BILLBOARDS SCRIPT MOVIE#
GD: I do wanna mention to anybody watching, if you haven’t seen the movie yet you might wanna watch this video a little later, ‘cause we are gonna get into a couple of plot points. At the same time you want it to be as truthful as possible to that anger. It’s a little bit more about humanity and change and hope than a story that stays in an angry, raging place. But I’m glad to say the film is a little deeper than that. It seems to be something that’s been going on for a while and I kind of tapped into my own latent rage a little bit in the writing of this, so it’s kind of exciting to set a character off from that place, of a take-no-prisoners woman who’s seeking justice. MM: I think it is sort of prevalent in the world today, not just in America today. Talk about that thread weaving through several characters. GD: We were talking in our editors meeting this morning, several of the characters in the movie, not just Frances ’s character, but several have this rage within them or are seeking revenge of some sort or have some kind of anger issues. So if people like good acting and a couple of laughs but also a meaty story, then I think they’ve come to the right place. But it’s done in a blackly comic way, with a character that’s a force of nature. Martin McDonagh: It’s a story about a mother’s rage at the loss of a child, and it’s about her attempt to seek justice for that. To you, what is the theme of this movie? Why would somebody wanna go see your film? Gold Derby: Martin McDonagh, “Three Billboards” opening soon nationwide, worldwide. SEE 2018 Oscars scorecard: ‘The Shape of Water,’ ‘The Post,’ ‘Three Billboards’ dominate early precursor awards Watch the video of Gold Derby’s webchat with McDonagh above and read the complete interview transcript below.