Charles Melton The director opens up about his transformative journey for Todd Haynes’ upcoming film, May December.
Riverdale Actor who stars alongside Academy Award winning actresses Natalie Portman And julian moorespoke to ET’s Nischal Turner at Netflix’s Los Angeles premiere of the film about the surreal experience of working with such respected talents, as well as the weight she gained for her role.
Melton expressed, “Yeah, it was really nerve-wracking and very surreal. And it’s kind of crazy to me that, you know, I’m here. I have to pinch myself because I’m Julie and Natalie. And I’m with Todd. But, you know, he really elevated the whole set and as did I, and right from the beginning, I learned a lot from him.”
may decemberWhich premiered at the 76th Cannes Film Festival in May, it is about actress Elizabeth Berry (Portman) who travels to Maine to spend time with Gracie Atherton-Yu (Moore), who has a relationship with a young teenager. Had made newspaper headlines for their relationship.
The film centers on Gracie, who is now married to grown-up student Joe Yu and has children (Melton), gave birth to one of her children while she was in prison for crimes against a then-minor.
The film is reminiscent of the real-life scandal between Mary Kay Letourneau and her 13-year-old student, Vili Fualaau. In 1997, Letourneau was convicted of second-degree child rape for his relationship with Fualaau, his then-sixth grade student. At the time of her arrest she was pregnant with her and Fualaau’s first child. Letourneau and Fualaau eventually married and had another child before divorcing in 2020. Letourneau died on July 6, 2020. She was 58 years old.
Melton’s physical transformation for the role caught the attention of many people. The 32-year-old actor shared that he gained 40 pounds to authentically portray his character, Joe, in the film.
When asked about the decision, Melton revealed, “It was a group discussion with Todd and I. We talked about how Joe would feel, not so much how he would look.” Given the facts of having children and a loving husband, she doesn’t really have a lot of time to spend on herself.”
Melton lightened the mood by detailing his unconventional way of gaining weight, “I just ate a bunch of Five Guys and pizza and ice cream and Capri Suns and Gushers. I could go on. And I really enjoyed it.” Enjoyed it.”
Portman and Moore also spoke to ET about how Letourneau-The Fualaau story played a role in the film and their parts in the film.
“Sammy Burch [the writer] Used it as an inspiration, this is not a story about them. But it was definitely a jumping off point,” Moore, 62, explained.
Portman, 42, reiterated, “It was very inspiring, it wasn’t meant to be a portrayal of her.”
“For me, it was interesting to watch some documentary footage and read about the case… There are definitely some things I learned from it [Letourneau]But the script itself was so strong and the character of Gracie was so finely crafted,” Moore said.
Portman shared, “I think Sammy Burch, who wrote the script, her decision to start it 20 years after the tabloid events was a wonderful decision.” “It allows you to see what happens after that, and what happens to their lives and the stories they tell and what is true and what is not.”
Thor: Love and Thunder The actress said the film also examines what effect being at the center of a major newspaper story has on a person’s life and how telling the story “changes your life.”
may december Will be released in select theaters on November 17 and on Netflix on December 1.
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