Improvise! That's how 'Are You There God?' director elicited natural performances from film's young actors

For almost half a century, novelist Judy Blume had a single word for filmmakers interested in creating a movie from her iconic 1970 book "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret."

NO.

That changed in 2018 when Kelly Fremon Craig and Oscar-winning writer, director and producer James L. Brooks met with the writer to make the case that they could produce a film worthy of her book.

Blume said yes, undoubtedly because she had already been impressed with Craig's 2016 middle school coming-of-age comedy "The Edge of Seventeen," which I reviewed, saying "Craig knows this turf well and mines hilarious, raw honesty from her characters and their universally awkward situations, conflicted feelings, perceived slights and total miscomprehensions."

I recently met with Craig at Chicago's Peninsula hotel to play a round of Seven Questions from the Critic.

Q. Why did you choose to set the movie in 1970, the same year the book published, and not 2023?

A. When you read the book, you're able to project your own images on it. For the movie, I set it in 1970 because what I didn't want was a girl growing up today to feel alienated from the story, or feel that the story was somebody else's, and not hers. So, I asked my production designer and costume designer, how do we do 1970, but also do anytime, too? Something timeless. They did a good job. For instance, in Margaret's room, it's true to 1970, but you could see that room in 1980 or 1990 or today. I wanted universal nostalgia. It was quite a challenge.

Q. You really brought out some wonderfully nuanced performances from very young performers. What's your directorial secret?

A. Even if a person does an amazing job in a single take, I never stop. I keep shooting until they tell me it's time to go onto the next thing. I am not looking for "OK, we got it. Let's go." I am looking for choices. OK, you moved me with that take, now move me in a different way.

Q. OK, but how exactly do you inspire your cast members to act so realistically natural?

A. We improvised. I encouraged them to improvise! Improvise! Improvise! You can't just read a monologue. You have to be able to do it off the top of your head. Be fresh! So, someone (an actor) will say new things, and everybody in that scene must be there - in the present - reacting and being part of it. It's fresh and it's natural and, you know, it's messy in the way that life is. I like uums and aahs and fumbles. That, to me, is life, and that's what I try to do. I try to create messiness.

Q. Margaret supplies the movie with first-person narration in a series of interior monologues. But the movie includes scenes of things that her character does not see or hear or could know about. Why that choice?

A. When I was 11, I related to Margaret deeply and felt everything that she was going through. But now, I deeply related to Barbara and what grandma was going through. Then I realized that they are whole characters who have their own lives. There were only whispers of their lives in the book. In the movie, I wanted them to have their own journey, to have all three women going through life transitions. To show that we are all grappling with the changes in our lives.

I constantly feel like an awkward 12-year-old, again and again and again and again, even in this press tour. I don't know what I'm doing! This forces me out of my comfort zone again and again. That's what I wanted to show in this film. I think you're always coming of age.

Q. What's the best part about being a movie director?

A. I feel like an adult woman playing with dolls. I love it! That's what I'm doing! I'm playing! I get to create lives and worlds out of thin air. It's joyful for me. There are all these logistics and responsibilities, of course, but, at the end of the day, I'm telling a story. That's exciting to me.

Q. How did you feel about meeting Judy Blume in the flesh.

A. Oh my god! She is everything you ever hoped she would be, looking at her book jacket when you were 11 years old. She is as honest as her books are. She's warm. There's no BS, in the best way possible. She exceeded my expectations, and my expectations were very high.

It was an out-of-body experience. I mean out of the building! It's Judy Blume! The thing about Judy is that she doesn't let you stay in that state of awe very long. She's too approachable. You know what I mean? I think that's really generous of her.

Q. What's the best advice that James Brooks ever gave you?

A. When I was writing "The Edge of Seventeen," he asked me, "What is your movie saying about life?" That really struck me. I hadn't thought about writing in that way until he asked that. I thought about writing in terms of first act, second act, third act. I never thought about it in terms of what it means to be a human being.