The Knockturnal was on set for the black carpet of “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” at the SVA Theater on Sunday October 14.
Melissa McCarthy stars as Lee Israel, the best-selling celebrity biographer (and cat lover) who made her living in the 1970’s and 80’s profiling the likes of Katharine Hepburn, Tallulah Bankhead, Estée Lauder and journalist Dorothy Kilgallen. When Lee found herself unable to get published because she had fallen out of step with the marketplace, she turned her art form to deception, abetted by her loyal friend Jack (Richard E. Grant).
The Knockturnal: This is a story about a female protagonist portrayed as an anti-hero, do you think the narrative would have been different had she been a man?
Anna Deavere Smith: No, I think it’s very specific to a woman and I think her crisis is very specific to a woman.
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The Knockturnal: This is a story that’s so unbelievable in its nature- and it’s a true story. What was your first exposure to it like?
Anna Deavere Smith: My first exposure to it was in the screenplay itself. It was just reading it and thinking that in so many ways it was hilarious but in so many ways it was really not funny. And of course, things could have turned out very very badly for Lee Israel. She could have been in jail but she wasn’t. But, the ending isn’t sappy. There’s ex machina, she suffers the consequences for what’s she’s done and she should.
The Knockturnal: Do you yourself have any famous literary writers you look up to or admire?
Anna Deavere Smith: Many! The playwright Lorraine Hansberry, Shonda Rhimes – who I’m working with now in California is one of the greatest women of letters in this country. Toni Morrison.
The Knockturnal: This is a story about a female protagonist portrayed as an anti-hero, do you think the narrative would have been different had she been a man?
Amy Nauiokas: It’s funny you call her a female antihero – we’ve been calling her a superhero, because she’s so filled with anger and rage and I think that’s hitting so authentically with so many women right now who are also filled with anger and rage and she stands out I think and shows that it’s okay to state your mind and have your opinions. Some of those things might not be popular but you have the right to have them. So in some ways she is I think a superhero rather than an anti hero.
The Knockturnal: This is a story that’s so unbelievable in its nature- and it’s a true story. What was your first exposure to it like?
Anne Carey: A friend of mine who works in publishing sent the copy of the manuscript and said that they thought I would like it, and that was the first exposure. And then I had to meet Lee and that was a little bit intimidating. Before she would grant us the rights she needed to sit down with us and make sure that they we were going to take care of her story and do it justice. So that was a big thrill, and then we had to buy her lunch from time to time but that was really the first exposure.
The Knockturnal: Do you yourself have any famous literary writers you look up to or admire?
Amy Nauiokas: For me Joan Didion is my absolute favorite and to be able to write like that woman would be a dream come true- to write half of the way she writes would be a dream come true.
The Knockturnal: This is a story about a female protagonist portrayed as an anti-hero, do you think the narrative would have been different had she been a man?
Dolly Wells: Yes, that’s a very interesting question, no I don’t think it would have been necessarily a different story but if it was a man, you would have seen this film a lot sooner. I think that’s the only difference.
The Knockturnal: This is a story that’s so unbelievable in its nature- and it’s a true story. What was your first exposure to it like?
Dolly Wells: I think she just fell into it, I think that she had been on the New York bestsellers list and then suddenly people just weren’t interested in her writing which happens to all of us; actors, writers, musicians and doctors. I think she tried to find a way to make money, but she didn’t know how to and I think it really was by any means possible to pay for her rent and keep her cat alive. I don’t think she was a villain, she did what she had to do.
The Knockturnal: Do you yourself have any famous literary writers you look up to or admire?
Dolly Wells: I mean lots! Virginia Woolf, I grew up reading Jane Austen whose actually my great great great great aunt. I was influenced by lots!
The Knockturnal: This is a story about a female protagonist portrayed as an anti-hero, do you think the narrative would have been different had she been a man?
Melissa McCarthy: Absolutely. I think she would have been determined and unflappable and you don’t mess with “him” granted she was difficult I’m not saying she was not tricky. But I think that if Lee had been a man it would have been reflected very differently also at 52 years old she would not have been suddenly obsolete, I don’t think anybody could argue that.
The Knockturnal: Do you yourself have any famous literary writers you look up to or admire?
Melissa McCarthy: So many! It’s impossible to say, that’s like “Pick Your Favorite Album.” There’s a long delightful list that I couldn’t even begin to name.
