Few writer/directors are as good at capturing an adult’s arrested development on film as Lynn Shelton. In her improv-heavy early efforts, such as Humpday and Your Sister’s Sister, she dealt with grown-ups behaving like children. That theme is also present in her latest comedy-drama, Laggies, which debuted at Sundance and more recently, at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).
Shelton’s movies have always been heavy on improvisation (Humpday, for instance, began with a ten-page outline with no dialogue. The final draft was written in the editing room), but with Laggies, she worked with a witty pre-written script from Andrea Seigel. Laggies also marks a departure for the filmmaker in the sense that it had her biggest budget yet as well as an A-list cast, which includes Keira Knightley, Chloë Grace Moretz and Sam Rockwell.
Back at TIFF, I landed an exclusive interview with Shelton and she told me that this project is the stepping-stone to bigger ones, and that she still also has her sights set on maintaining her indie roots.
Check out the video above to hear more on what the director had to say about Laggies, and be sure to catch the film in theatres this weekend!