When you think of filmmakers that use every technology and filmmaking shortcut at their disposal to get a feature made, Steven Soderbergh must top that list. This is a filmmaker that is constantly working on a new script, editing a film he just shot four days ago, and prepping the work he’s going to do on his next project with an all-star cast. It’s an exhausting cycle but it’s clearly something that Soderbergh has mastered. His latest project, “Let Them All Talk,” might have an incredible, blockbuster cast led by Meryl Streep, but it utilizes the same guerilla filmmaking techniques that even a film school student might scoff at.
READ MORE: Steven Soderbergh Says HBO Max’s ‘Let Them All Talk’ Will Come Out In December
Speaking to EW, Meryl Streep, along with her “Let Them All Talk” co-stars Dianne Wiest and Candice Bergen, talked about what it was like working with Steven Soderbergh on the upcoming HBO Max drama. Specifically, about how the acclaimed filmmaker proves that all you need to make a film is “25 cents,” a camera, some sound equipment, and a wheelchair.
“I told [Soderbergh] he was gonna ruin everything for every director, and every production designer, and everything else, because he made the movie for 25 cents — I know that’s what I was paid,” said Streep. “Then it was made in two weeks, and it was a free ride on the boat.”
Weist added, “And no equipment. The only equipment was sound equipment. Steven held the camera in a wheelchair and just rolled along. None of the lights, and the trucks, all that stuff that goes into making movies, there’s none of it. There was Steven and this new camera.”
“Let Them All Talk” stars Streep as a novelist that is invited to the UK to accept an award. She then invites her best friends (Wiest and Bergen) along for a cruise to join her for this occasion. As the title suggests, conversations follow about their lives and their pasts.
We all know that Soderbergh is all about using the best technology for the job, and when he’s not using iPhones to film his features, he also uses lightweight, cost-effective cameras (such as the ones made by RED) to allow for such small-scale productions. But “Let Them All Talk” doesn’t just skimp on the size of the set or the cost of the feature. There’s also a surprising lack of script.
When asked about the “improvised” feel of the script, Streep commented, “Improvised feel? Well, yeah, it does, because it is. I mean, they would give us the outlines of a situation, and then we knew where we had to end up. But they didn’t tell us how to get there.”
Normally, when you hear about low-budgets, improvised scripts, and the director being super hands-on in the filming process, you might be worried. However, when you have Soderbergh attached, there’s no doubt that “Let Them All Talk” is going to be one of the most interesting films on the horizon. HBO Max has yet to release an official arrival date for the feature but it’s expected in December.
