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Winnipeg Free Press
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Winnipeg Free Press
How ‘Sorry, Baby' writer-producer-star Eva Victor made the year's most exciting debut
The Oscar-winning producer of 'Moonlight' really wanted to get in touch with Eva Victor. Adele Romanski and her producing partner Mark Ceryak were 'kind of obsessed' with the short, comedic videos Victor was putting out on various social media platforms. Titles of some that still exist online include 'when I definitely did not murder my husband' and a series called 'Eva vs. Anxiety.' Romanski and Ceryak started bugging their Pastel productions partner Barry Jenkins, certainly the most well-known name of the bunch, to make the first move and send Victor a direct message. But they had to ask themselves a big question first: Would that be weird? 'We had to negotiate whether or not that was appropriate for Barry, a married man, to send Eva a DM,' Romanski said. 'We were like 'yessss, do it!'' What started as a curiosity about a distinct voice, someone whose observations about the world and society were hilarious, sharp and undeniable, just a few years later would become one of the most exciting debuts in recent memory. 'Sorry, Baby,' which Victor wrote, directed and stars in, is a gentle film about trauma. It's also funny and strange and fresh, a wholly original statement from an artist with a vision. And there's a cat too. The film opens Friday in New York and Los Angeles and expands nationwide in the coming weeks. A boost from Barry Jenkins It's a wild turn of events for Victor, who goes by they/she pronouns and who never dared to dream that they could possibly direct. Victor grew up in San Francisco in a family that cherished and pursued artistic endeavors, even if it wasn't their primary careers. At Northwestern University, Victor focused on playwriting — it was something they could have control over while also pursuing acting. After college it was improv, writing for the satirical website Reductress ('Woman Seduced by Bangs Despite Knowing They're Bad for Her,' 'How to Cut Out All the People who are Not Obsessed with Your Dog'), some acting gigs, like a recurring role on the Showtime series 'Billions,' and social media, where their tweets and videos often went viral. But there was an itch to work on something longer form, something beyond that immediate gratification of virality. Jenkins' message came at the right time. Then at Victor's first meeting at Pastel productions, he planted a seed of an idea: Maybe Victor was already a director. 'He said something that very profoundly impacted me: That the comedy videos I was doing were me directing without me realizing it,' Victor said. 'It was just a different scale. That kind of stuck with me.' 'Sorry, Baby' was born out of a personal story that Victor had wanted to write about for a while. After the general meeting, they had a renewed sense of purpose and went away one snowy winter to a cabin in Maine to write, with their cat, movies and books as companions. The screenplay, in which a New England graduate student named Agnes is assaulted by her thesis adviser, poured out of them. 'I wanted to make a film that was about feeling stuck when everyone around you keeps moving that didn't center any violence. The goal was to have the film and its structure support the time afterwards, not the actual experience,' Victor said. 'I really think the thing it's about is trying to heal and the slow pace at which healing comes and how it's really not linear and how there are joys to be found in the everyday and especially in very affirming friendships and sometimes, like, a sandwich depending on the day.' Somewhere along the way Victor started to also believe that they were the best person for the job. They were the only person standing in their way. 'The less focus there was on me as the creator of it, and the more focus there was on how to tell the story as effectively as possible, the more comfortable I became,' Victor said. 'I understood exactly what I wanted it to look and feel like.' Learning to direct But there was a lot to learn. Before the shoot, Victor also asked Jane Schoenbrun, who they'd met once for pie, if they could come to the 'I Saw the TV Glow' set to just watch. Schoenbrun said yes. 'It was a completely wonderful, transforming experience of friendship and learning,' Victor said. 'Jane is so confident about what they want in their films and it was a real honor to watch them so many decisions and stay so calm.' Empowered by what they'd seen, Victor assembled a 'dream team' of experts, like cinematographer Mia Cioffi Henry who also teaches at NYU and an editor, Alex O'Flinn, who teaches at UCLA. Victor rounded out the cast with Lucas Hedges, as a kind neighbor, 'Billions' alum Louis Cancelmi, as the thesis adviser, and Naomi Ackie as her best friend Lydie – the first person she talks to after the incident, the one who accompanies her to the hospital, and the one whose life doesn't stop. 'We built the schedule in a way that allowed us to have all our friendship fun scenes at first,' Victor said. 'We kind of got to go through the experience of building a friendship in real time.' Ackie immediately connected to the script and thought whoever wrote it, 'must be the coolest.' The reality of Victor, she said, did not disappoint. 'They don't realize how magnetic their openness is,' Ackie said. 'There's something extremely honest about them and curious and playful.' A Sundance sensation Romanski and everyone at Pastel productions knew they had something special, a gem even. Weekly A weekly look at what's happening in Winnipeg's arts and entertainment scene. 'They're chasing something tonally that I've never seen anybody go after before,' Romanski said. 'It's the blend of both a very, very specific, personal comedic tone and also a true sense of artistry.' But nothing's ever guaranteed until you put it in front of a public audience, which they did earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival where it quickly became a breakout sensation, with standing ovations and the screenwriting award, whose past winners include Lisa Cholodenko, Kenneth Lonergan, Christopher Nolan and Debra Granik. 'You just don't know. Then on the other side, you know,' Romanski said. 'We felt it with 'Aftersun.' We felt it with 'Moonlight.' And we definitely felt it with 'Sorry, Baby.'' And like 'Aftersun' and 'Moonlight' before it, 'Sorry, Baby' also found a home with A24, which promised a theatrical release. Among the giants of the summer movie calendar, in which everything is big, bigger, biggest, 'Sorry, Baby' is the delicate discovery. 'I wanted it to exist in this space between reality and escape. I wanted it to be this immersive thing,' Victor said. 'It's a sensitive film. I hope it finds people when they need it. That's my biggest wish.'
San Francisco Chronicle
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
How ‘Sorry, Baby' writer-producer-star Eva Victor made the year's most exciting debut
The Oscar-winning producer of 'Moonlight' really wanted to get in touch with Eva Victor. Adele Romanski and her producing partner Mark Ceryak were 'kind of obsessed' with the short, comedic videos Victor was putting out on various social media platforms. Titles of some that still exist online include 'when I definitely did not murder my husband' and a series called 'Eva vs. Anxiety.' Romanski and Ceryak started bugging their Pastel productions partner Barry Jenkins, certainly the most well-known name of the bunch, to make the first move and send Victor a direct message. But they had to ask themselves a big question first: Would that be weird? 'We had to negotiate whether or not that was appropriate for Barry, a married man, to send Eva a DM,' Romanski said. 'We were like 'yessss, do it!'' What started as a curiosity about a distinct voice, someone whose observations about the world and society were hilarious, sharp and undeniable, just a few years later would become one of the most exciting debuts in recent memory. 'Sorry, Baby,' which Victor wrote, directed and stars in, is a gentle film about trauma. It's also funny and strange and fresh, a wholly original statement from an artist with a vision. And there's a cat too. The film opens Friday in New York and Los Angeles and expands nationwide in the coming weeks. A boost from Barry Jenkins It's a wild turn of events for Victor, who goes by they/she pronouns and who never dared to dream that they could possibly direct. Victor grew up in San Francisco in a family that cherished and pursued artistic endeavors, even if it wasn't their primary careers. At Northwestern University, Victor focused on playwriting — it was something they could have control over while also pursuing acting. After college it was improv, writing for the satirical website Reductress ('Woman Seduced by Bangs Despite Knowing They're Bad for Her,' 'How to Cut Out All the People who are Not Obsessed with Your Dog'), some acting gigs, like a recurring role on the Showtime series 'Billions,' and social media, where their tweets and videos often went viral. But there was an itch to work on something longer form, something beyond that immediate gratification of virality. Jenkins' message came at the right time. Then at Victor's first meeting at Pastel productions, he planted a seed of an idea: Maybe Victor was already a director. 'He said something that very profoundly impacted me: That the comedy videos I was doing were me directing without me realizing it,' Victor said. 'It was just a different scale. That kind of stuck with me.' 'Sorry, Baby' was born out of a personal story that Victor had wanted to write about for a while. After the general meeting, they had a renewed sense of purpose and went away one snowy winter to a cabin in Maine to write, with their cat, movies and books as companions. The screenplay, in which a New England graduate student named Agnes is assaulted by her thesis adviser, poured out of them. 'I wanted to make a film that was about feeling stuck when everyone around you keeps moving that didn't center any violence. The goal was to have the film and its structure support the time afterwards, not the actual experience,' Victor said. 'I really think the thing it's about is trying to heal and the slow pace at which healing comes and how it's really not linear and how there are joys to be found in the everyday and especially in very affirming friendships and sometimes, like, a sandwich depending on the day.' Somewhere along the way Victor started to also believe that they were the best person for the job. They were the only person standing in their way. 'The less focus there was on me as the creator of it, and the more focus there was on how to tell the story as effectively as possible, the more comfortable I became,' Victor said. 'I understood exactly what I wanted it to look and feel like.' Learning to direct But there was a lot to learn. Before the shoot, Victor also asked Jane Schoenbrun, who they'd met once for pie, if they could come to the 'I Saw the TV Glow' set to just watch. Schoenbrun said yes. 'It was a completely wonderful, transforming experience of friendship and learning,' Victor said. 'Jane is so confident about what they want in their films and it was a real honor to watch them so many decisions and stay so calm.' Empowered by what they'd seen, Victor assembled a 'dream team' of experts, like cinematographer Mia Cioffi Henry who also teaches at NYU and an editor, Alex O'Flinn, who teaches at UCLA. Victor rounded out the cast with Lucas Hedges, as a kind neighbor, 'Billions' alum Louis Cancelmi, as the thesis adviser, and Naomi Ackie as her best friend Lydie – the first person she talks to after the incident, the one who accompanies her to the hospital, and the one whose life doesn't stop. 'We built the schedule in a way that allowed us to have all our friendship fun scenes at first,' Victor said. 'We kind of got to go through the experience of building a friendship in real time.' Ackie immediately connected to the script and thought whoever wrote it, 'must be the coolest.' The reality of Victor, she said, did not disappoint. 'They don't realize how magnetic their openness is,' Ackie said. 'There's something extremely honest about them and curious and playful.' A Sundance sensation Romanski and everyone at Pastel productions knew they had something special, a gem even. 'They're chasing something tonally that I've never seen anybody go after before,' Romanski said. 'It's the blend of both a very, very specific, personal comedic tone and also a true sense of artistry.' But nothing's ever guaranteed until you put it in front of a public audience, which they did earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival where it quickly became a breakout sensation, with standing ovations and the screenwriting award, whose past winners include Lisa Cholodenko, Kenneth Lonergan, Christopher Nolan and Debra Granik. 'You just don't know. Then on the other side, you know,' Romanski said. 'We felt it with 'Aftersun.' We felt it with 'Moonlight.' And we definitely felt it with 'Sorry, Baby.'' And like 'Aftersun' and 'Moonlight' before it, 'Sorry, Baby' also found a home with A24, which promised a theatrical release. Among the giants of the summer movie calendar, in which everything is big, bigger, biggest, 'Sorry, Baby' is the delicate discovery. 'I wanted it to exist in this space between reality and escape. I wanted it to be this immersive thing,' Victor said. 'It's a sensitive film. I hope it finds people when they need it. That's my biggest wish.'
UPI
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- UPI
Eva Victor: 'Sorry, Baby' is 'punching up' at oppressive institutions
1 of 5 | Eva Victor stars, wrote and directed "Sorry, Baby," in theaters Friday. Photo courtesy of A24 LOS ANGELES, June 26 (UPI) -- Warning: This article contains references to rape. Writer, director and star Eva Victor says her movie Sorry, Baby, in theaters Friday, finds humor in difficult subjects by targeting the corrupt institutions involved. Victor plays Agnes, a thesis student who is raped by her faculty advisor (Louis Cancelmi). In a recent Zoom interview with UPI, Victor, 31, said the film points out the absurdity of institutions that exacerbate trauma when they are intended to help. Agnes and her friend Lydie (Naomi Ackie) mock a doctor who questions Agnes' handling of her rape, and the film shows the college HR department as incompetent. "There's this comedy rule in writing that is about punching up and not punching down," Victor said. "All your jokes are at the expense of institutions that are hurting people and people in power. You never point the finger at making fun of someone who's victimized or not in power." It was important to Victor to point out the film is not just a criticism of said institutions; Sorry, Baby also celebrates the friendship between Agnes and Lydie. "There's also just joy between friends," she said. "The film is funny in moments but it's funny because they're in their own perfect little world and life is weird." When discussing her experience in private, Lydie never says the word "rape." Victor said the specific language Lydie and Agnes use to discuss the traumatic event was intended to feel comforting to the audience, as well as Agnes. "It's actually like they figured out a way to talk about it that doesn't scare either of them," Victor said. "It's only the people in the film that are failing them that use harsher words, like the doctor says that word and it's obviously pretty shocking to both of them." Victor called Sorry, Baby "a very personal story" but clarified the specific situations in which Agnes finds herself were her creative invention. Victor previously acted in TV shows like Billions and Super Pumped, and wrote and directed her web series Eva Vs. Anxiety. "I got to be an artist through it still," Victor said. "I did build the world and I got to talk about things that are emotionally intense inside me that I wanted to talk about but I did find a lot of joy in building characters and the worlds to support Agnes's journey." In one scene, Agnes meets a stranger, Pete (John Carroll Lynch), who recognizes she is distraught and stays to comfort her. "I think Agnes feels this comfort in him because he's a stranger," Victor said. "Something about being with a stranger lowers the stakes of what you could say that could scare someone. She could finally be honest with him and say what happened to her and what she's dealing with on her own terms." Agnes also realizes she does not necessarily want to see her professor punished. Her desire to prevent future attacks is even more difficult to realize. "She says, 'I want him to be someone who stops doing this, not someone who does this who's now in jail,'" Victor said. "She also says, 'I don't want him to die' and I think she's reckoning with the fact that though he enacted this cruelty on her, that doesn't mean she wants to enact cruelty back." Nor was Sorry, Baby intended to be a how-to manual for overcoming a crisis. Victor crafted a four-year journey for Agnes that is as unique to her as any human being's situation, and concludes with complex feelings rather than a neat ending. "I wanted the film to feel honest," Victor said. "It's definitely not a film that's meant to be about from being hurt to healing. It's about what happens for this one person in these four years and how does she emerge in those four years a bit different?" In portraying her growth, Agnes represents the kind of person Victor says she aspires to be. "I wrote her to be pretty blunt and pretty comfortable in silence," Victor said. "I was excited to enjoy silence playing her and to say things that I wouldn't feel comfortable saying, but [that] I think." As director, Victor cultivated silence by locking off the camera and letting scenes play out from a distance. The rape occurs while the audience watches the professor's house from daytime through sundown, and other shots linger on Agnes alone in her house. "We're going to wait sometimes," Victor said. "The film will take time to reveal itself to you but I hope it'll be worth it for you. Definitely, I wanted it to feel really simple." Sorry, Baby will have a wide release in theaters Friday.
Malay Mail
21-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Malay Mail
‘When Life Gives You Tangerines' actor and singer Lee Jun-young to meet Malaysian fans in KL on Aug 30
SEOUL, June 21 — Fans of South Korean actor/singer Lee Jun-young can look forward to him visiting Kuala Lumpur this coming August 30. Lee announced his Asian tour yesterday where he will also visit Taipei, Macau and Jakarta before coming to KL. Ticketing details have not been announced as yet but fans should follow Lee's agency Billions for updates. Lee first entered the South Korean entertainment scene as a member of K-pop group UKISS before joining project group UNB after appearing on the survival show The Unit. His supporting actor role in Netflix series When Life Gives You Tangerines alongside IU and Park Bogum gained him notice as well as his roles in two other Netflix series that came out this year, Melo Movie and Weak Hero Class 2.
UAE Moments
13-06-2025
- Business
- UAE Moments
Dubai Police Named World's Strongest Police Brand
Dubai Police has just been ranked the world's strongest police brand, topping an international index that measures reputation and institutional strength. According to the latest Institutional Brand Value Index by Brand Finance, Dubai Police scored 9.2 out of 10 — the highest among all police forces assessed globally. The ranking was based on insights from over 8,000 participants across 10 countries. Rated Best in Ethics, Innovation, and Efficiency The force earned an AAA+ rating, praised for its ethical standards, modern technology, and operational performance. It was also recognized for its transparency and active engagement with the public, especially through social media. Dubai Police led in several key areas: 67% recognition for maintaining safety and security 64% for effective performance in daily duties 60% for integrity and strong commitment to service Tech-Savvy and Trusted Beyond community engagement, Dubai Police was commended for using advanced tech to prevent crime and streamline law enforcement, positioning itself as a future-ready security force. Adds Billions to UAE's National Brand Value Brand Finance estimates Dubai Police contributes AED 57.9 billion to the UAE's national brand, which now exceeds AED 4.48 trillion. The report highlights the force as not just a local authority but a symbol of the country's global image and soft power. Dubai Police's achievement marks a new milestone for policing standards worldwide, placing the UAE's law enforcement on the global stage for excellence.
