Monday night, cast members Kate Mara and Common joined director Gabriela Cowperthwaite and film subject, Megan Leavey for the world premiere of Megan Leavey, a film based on the relationship between a marine and her military dog. Before joining a group of nearly 500 people who also came to watch the screening at Yankee stadium, they spoke about their initial reactions to the script and filming with a crew mostly consisting of woman.
The Knockturnal: Congratulations! How was the experience of directing your first narrative film?
Gabriela Cowperthwaite: It was amazing! It was a great, great experience. There are some tools you bring over from documentary, for sure. And that is how to keep it real, how to know what real looks like, and some spontaneity. And then there was things that were completely new. I’ve never had that many toys in my life to play with. A little bit of a different budget level.
The Knockturnal: How was it working with a crew that was populated by women?
Gabriela Cowperthwaite: I know right! It was a special thing. I don’t know exactly how it manifests. But everyone knows that it is something. When dealing with some of these scenes with Kate that are more intimate, there is something that we bring to it that we understand.
The Knockturnal: How does it feel to have a narrative film portraying your story?
Megan Leavey: It is surreal! I have to literally pinch myself tonight… This is actually happening. This event is happening tonight here at Yankee Stadium. It’s like a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
The Knockturnal: How did you react when you received this script?
Kate Mara: It’s really rare that you get sent a script about a female in the military. I was excited to play a marine! Of course the animal aspect of it really tugged at my heart.
The Knockturnal: What did you get to learn about Megan that we may not have learned from the film.
Kate Mara: Probably things I shouldn’t tell you [Laughs]. She was awesome! We hung out when we weren’t on set, and we weren’t having serious conversations. We would hang out and watch football together and drink beer. Just like friends would. That actually was even more helpful to me.
The Knockturnal: How was it working with a crew that was mostly populated by women?
Kate Mara: Yeah! A lot of our crew were female which can be rare in this business. It was a very special thing. It was nice to look around and see that many females. I hope that it continues and that it’s not such a rare thing anymore.
The Knockturnal: What were your initial reactions to the script?
Common: What I first read the script, I realized it wasn’t a war story. It was like a love story. It shows Megan Leavey as a real person. She was drinking and doing crazy stuff that we all do sometimes. But then she started evolving once she joined the military and then met this dog. It was a different way of telling a love story. It wasn’t just about this woman loving a man, or a man making her better. It was like a woman who discovered herself through a relationship with the dog. It was empowering to me to see a woman character be that strong and go through it. And it not be about a guy.
The Knockturnal: What was the biggest lesson that you learned from this film?
Common: That we all can grow to become better people. That love overcomes everything and it’s worth fighting for.
The Knockturnal: What advice would you pass on to young people of color who are trying to get their “big break” in Hollywood?
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Common: I would say make your stories are original. Keep them truthful. Look for things out there in the world that people haven’t seen from us because there is so much diversity and depth in who we are, but many times Hollywood only want the stereotypical thing. It’s starting to shift and open because our voices. [We] have shows like Atlanta, Insecure, Queen Sugar and films that are coming out like Moonlight and different films that deal with the spectrum of who we are. Get inspired and go out there and do it! And another show… Chewing Gum. It’s a wonderful black woman that writes it. To write with your own voice, that’s what the young black filmmakers and storytellers need to be doing. Just write with your own voice. Write with a voice that is unique.
Additional guests included: Ramon Rodriguez and Edie Falco. The evening was hosted by The Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and a fun party followed with a performance by Common, in which Megan Leavey joined him on stage.