Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.
Are You There God ? It ’s Me , Margaretis a new coming - of - age movie ground on the iconic Judy Blume novel of the same name . The tarradiddle follows the eponymic Margaret and her family through a turbulent yr following their move to New Jersey . With her father ’s side of the family being Judaic and her female parent ’s Christian , Margaret begins to question her religious identity while also deal with the many other aspects of puberty .
The picture show total over 50 years after the book was put out , with Blume lastly agreeing to give the rights to James L. Brooks and Kelly Fremon Craig , who previously worked on the filmThe Edge of Seventeentogether . Brooks has been in the amusement industry for decennary , and is well known for films likeHow Do You Knowand being one of the original developer ofThe Simpsons . Releasing later this calendar month , Are YouThere God ? It ’s Me , Margaret ’s receptionfrom critic has so far been overwhelmingly plus .
connect : Are You There God ? It ’s Me Margaret Trailer Brings Blume Classic To Life
Screen Rantsat down with producer James L. Brooks to discuss the biggest challenges and funniest moments from bringingAre You There God ? It ’s Me , Margaretto life on the big screen .
James L. Brooks on Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret
Screen Rant : First , can you talk a little bit about how this undertaking began ? For the team to in conclusion get the film rights to such an iconic book must have feel like a lot of pressure .
James L. Brooks : Kelly Fremon Craig , the director and author , want this for her next job . So what does she do ? She writes Judy Blume , " I ’d bang to adapt your book . " Fortunately , Judy Blume had seen Edge of Seventeen , which is a movie Kelly and I both worked on . And we go out to see her - directly go out to see her , it was n’t going to be letter back and forth , we wanted to take advantage of the chance . And that day when we go away to see her , mighty then she afford us the rights that she had been holding for 50 years .
That ’s amazing . And what were the fully grown challenges you find in adapting the al-Qur’an for a film ?
James L. Brooks : Filling it out , filling out the mother character , break her a story . I reckon those are the challenge . Preserving the Word of God , honoring the book , I think that ’s what it was all about . But having the two other generations happen as well , momma and grandma , was the gravid matter with the adaptation .
Something that really suffer out to me about the movie is its tempo , it really seamlessly go through an integral class while still having all of these really in - depth peculiar mo . What was that sort of balance act like to let in so much but still keep up the pace and not puff it out too long ?
James L. Brooks : That ’s two editing rooms work farseeing hours for six month from each one . Yeah , that ’s it , that ’s post - yield .
In term of just filming in general , are there any scenes that really stand out to you , either that you ’re especially gallant of or just take them was so much fun ?
James L. Brooks : The " I must increase my fizzle " scene come up . [ Laughs ] That was fun . And then the aspect where Margaret let to say , ironically with snag running down her human face , " I ’m a cleaning lady , " always made me cry .
Yeah , it ’s a really aroused movie for sure . What were the elements from the book that maybe could n’t make it in that you were a slight disappointed did n’t ? Or did that happen at all ?
James L. Brooks : It does n’t hit me that that happened . That does n’t hit me .
That ’s in all probability a good thing .
James L. Brooks : Yeah . I think we dumbfound all we loved in , I retrieve that all the things people eff about the Good Book got in . And I think there was a diplomacy in Margaret speak to God , and I think that was challenging just to make that natural . We sort of loosened up when she first talk to God she says , " I ’ve see a lot about you . " [ Laughs ] So that start us well .
Did you always have that variety of auto-mechanic in mind of how she was going to peach to God ?
James L. Brooks : No , there was endless conversation about that , when she would move her lips - eternal conversations . We saw that as the most thought-provoking thing .
About Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret
For over fifty years , Judy Blume ’s classic Are You There God ? It ’s Me , Margaret . has link with reader through its relatable storey , achingly queer detail , and candid exploration of life ’s biggest questions . In Lionsgate ’s big - screen adaptation , 11 - year - old Margaret ( Abby Ryder Fortson ) is uproot from her life in New York City for the suburb of New Jersey , going through the messy and tumultuous throe of puberty with raw friends in a new shoal .
She trust on her female parent , Barbara ( Rachel McAdams ) , who is also struggle to aline to life outside the enceinte metropolis , and her adoring grandmother , Sylvia ( Kathy Bates ) , who is n’t well-chosen they moved away and like to prompt them every opportunity she gets . The film also asterisk Benny Safdie ( Licorice Pizza , Good Time ) and is written for the screen and point by Kelly Fremon Craig ( The Edge of Seventeen ) , based on the Scripture by Judy Blume , and bring forth by Gracie Films ’ Academy Award winner James L. Brooks ( Best Picture , 1983 – full term of Endearment ) , alongside Julie Ansell , Richard Sakai , Kelly Fremon Craig , Judy Blume , Amy Lorraine Brooks , Aldric La’auli Porter , and executive director produced by Jonathan McCoy . Lionsgate presents , a Gracie Films production .
hold out our otherAre You There God ? It ’s Me , Margaretinterviews here :
Are You There God ? It ’s Me , Margaretreleases in theaters on April 28 .
