Breznican started off by noting that Reitman's films do
not take the sharp edges off their characters. Reitman agreed and noted that
he's very much his father's (director Ivan Reitman) son, though they have
different outlooks when it comes to making movies: his father's instinct is to
want to make the audience feel better, while Reitman asks why there can't be
movies that depress the audience. When questioned as to why he is drawn to
characters like Mavis, Charlize Theron's main character in Young Adult, or
George Clooney's character in Up in the Air, Reitman replied that many films
are mirrors of our greatest qualities - they help the audience see those
characteristics in themselves or make them want to strive for those attributes
- while he wants to flip the mirror to show a character's ugliest qualities and
humanize them. For the director, it's important to know that as humans no one
is perfect, nor are we alone. During filming, he said it startled him a bit to
recognize certain characteristics of his in both Charlize Theron and Patton
Oswalt's characters, but he feels it's just as important to portray those
aspects of humanity as well.
Reitman also spoke at length about working with both
Charlize Theron and Diablo Cody. For the main role of Mavis, he needed an
actress who would be brave enough to take on the character and not judge her,
and Theron played it effortlessly. Reitman noted that it wasn't until this film
that he was really able to feel relaxed as a filmmaker and appreciate the
process, and it was during filming of Theron's breakdown scene near the end
that he fully realized this. He watched in awe as she performed for an audience
of one "before it would be an audience of many." That scene took only
two takes: the first was for choreography, and in the second take, Reitman
remembered, Theron nailed it with a perfect mix of ferocity and hilarity.
As for working with writer Diablo Cody, Reitman said he
got along with her instantly; he recalled that it felt like he found a
long-lost sister when he met her before filming Juno, which he partly
attributed to being around the same age and having a similar worldview. Reitman
said that he loves directing her scripts because he just gets her writing; he
knows exactly how her stories are supposed to look and feel, and she's so
specific in her scripts that they come ready to go. To Reitman, the most
interesting part of Cody's writing isn't the dialogue, but rather the
unexpected moments and reveals she includes that highlight a character's
humanity.
Reitman also briefly discussed an alternate ending for
the film. He mentioned that TBS recently picked up the film to play on
television and had to make a few edits to fit the runtime. When asked what he
wanted to cut, Reitman simply directed them to end the film early, after a
scene in which Sandra (Collette Wolfe) asks to go with Mavis and Mavis replies:
"You're good here." The line was actually producer Lianne Halfon's
idea, and Reitman joked that if he could remake the film, he would call it
You're Good Here.
He also mentioned the movie is partly a love story
between Charlize Theron and Patton Oswalt's characters, and when both actors
started reading the parts together, he noticed they had instant chemistry.
Reitman referred to a scene in the movie in which both are lying in bed, noting
how beautiful the scene was and how perfect the two are together, but the next
morning, Oswalt's character is treated like all the others Mavis goes through.
Indeed, one of the main questions of the movie is whether we are capable of
change. Reitman thinks we are only in small ways, and it's up to us whether or
not we capitalize on those changes when a chance presents itself. In regards to
Mavis, she's given the possibility of change and meets characters with whom she
could be happy, but she simply lets it pass her by.
When asked if Reitman ever thinks about the future of his
characters, he was quick to say that he doesn't. To him, his characters are
simply manipulative devices meant to make the audience feel and look at their
lives in a certain way. He doesn't think of the character's lives or ponder
what happens to them apart from what is written for them.
One of the questions from the audience touched upon the
fact that Reitman frequently writes, produces, and directs his films - how does
he manage all of that? Well, for him, writing and directing goes hand in hand
because it's the same process. As for producing, he says some of the
responsibilities fall into his lap - he helps with budgeting, casting, etc. -
but he also works with a brilliant team of producers that he thinks of as
family.