Charlie Says, directed by Mary Harron and written by Guinevere Turner, tells the familiar story of infamous cult leader Charles Manson through fresh eyes—those of Manson’s most devoted girls, Leslie van Houten (Game of Thrones’ Hannah Murray), Patricia Krenwinkel (Sosie Bacon), and Susan Atkins (Marianne Rendón).
We spoke with some of the cast at the film’s Tribeca Film Festival premiere.
The Knockturnal: What inspired you to be a part of this project?
Hannah Murray: Mary Harron and Guinevere Turner, and this very female-driven story that was an angle on something … I thought I knew about, I thought I knew about the Manson murders, and I didn’t know it from these women’s perspectives, and I really was keen to dive into that and explore it.
The Knockturnal: Can you tell me about your research into it?
Hannah Murray: I basically focused mainly on sources that were written by people who had known Leslie personally. So the most important thing was Karleen Faith’s book, The Long Prison Journey of Leslie van Houten, and Karleen is a character in our film, played by Merritt Wever, played beautifully by her. And then I also read an essay by John Waters who is a friend of Leslie’s and an advocate for her release. I didn’t want to read accounts that were sensationalized or distant from her, I wanted to read things that were felt really intimate and honest, and by people that knew her.
The Knockturnal: How was collaborating with the ensemble?
Hannah Murray: It was so wonderful. I feel like every single person in this project gave their all, and they were really, really keen to just dive in and tell the story as well as they could. So we felt like a family on set, and it was an amazing collaboration with everyone.
The Knockturnal: Tell us about your character.
Julia Schlaepfer: So I play a Sandra Good. She was picked up by the family from a very affluent Santa Barbara home and she remains a follower to this day and is a very devout Charles Manson fan and was very vocal about it after the murders.
The Knockturnal: Tell me about some of the resources that you went to. How did you learn more about her?
Julia Schlaepfer: Yeah, well like I said, she was very vocal after the murders and she wasn’t arrested and there are so many videos of her online, so I really got to study those and watch those. And I read as many books as I could, because so many of them now have written books on the murders and so I just read and soaked in as much of it as possible to learn about her mannerisms and what made her tick and why.
The Knockturnal: What do you think made you made her tick from your research?
Julia Schlaepfer: I think at the end of the day in the ’70s with all these cults, I think that a lot of them were brainwashed. But I also think that a lot of them were just looking for love and someone to love them and give them homes where they didn’t have that. And I think that he gave them that. He knew what each of them needed and he gave that love to them and she needed it and she soaked it in and she embraced it. And that’s why she followed him for so long. And to this day, I think that’s why she follows him.
The Knockturnal: How was collaborating with Mary, the director?
Julia Schlaepfer: Incredible. She’s amazing. She was such a wonderful leader for all of us. She was so gentle and let us all do what we needed to do with this really difficult material. But she wanted it to be known that it was a female-led set and it was so important to all of us as women in this film that that was the case.
The Knockturnal: And you’re also in the new Netflix show The Politician. What can you say about it?
Julia Schlaepfer: It’s about student body high school race for president. And we’re so excited.
The Knockturnal: How exciting is it to be in a Ryan Murphy project?
Julia Schlaepfer: It’s huge. It has been a dream of mine since I was little. I grew up watching Glee and all of his shows. And so it’s just a dream come true for me. It really is.
We also spoke with actress Dayle Mcleod, who plays Gypsy in the film.
So great chatting with Dayle McLeod @Tribeca premiere of @IFCFilms “Charlie Says.” [Part 1] pic.twitter.com/Etwzhk63k0
— The Knockturnal (@_TheKnockturnal) May 2, 2019
So great chatting with Dayle McLeod @Tribeca premiere of @IFCFilms “Charlie Says.” [Part 2] pic.twitter.com/Rj8ts0rZFv
— The Knockturnal (@_TheKnockturnal) May 2, 2019
The IFC release opens in theaters May 10 and on VOD May 17!
