When you first started working on Past Lives, did you expect this scale of reaction?
There was a sense that we were doing, or at least we were after, something really special. It did feel like the small flame of something really sacred that we were all collectively on a mission to honour. The first time I met Celine [Song, the director], we were two little girls scheming together about what felt like a really huge flex: can we make something that’s really precious and intimate monumental, and reach a lot of people? As we move more into a world that honours what sometimes seems to be the loudest voice in the room, I’m curious about something that isn’t that. That being said, you have no idea if something is going to pay off, or what kind of audience it’s going to find, and it’s so scary. And now I genuinely can’t believe what has happened. It keeps me up at night, because I’m just so amazed. It does feel miraculous.
Was there anything about the reaction to the film that surprised you?
I was so scared to show this movie for so many reasons. The Eccles [Center, where the film premiered at last year’s Sundance film festival] is huge. We felt really proud. We were also like: “Is that house too big?” I remember being so scared about being an Asian woman and seeing myself like 15ft high. That still felt so radical, and really dangerous. I asked Celine: “Can we not show the movie?” She was like: “Greta, it’s kind of essential to the film-making process.” But I will never forget that screening. I remember sitting in the audience during the last scene, and noticing people start to fidget and reach for things. I thought people hated the movie and that they were getting antsy and wanting to leave. And it was this crazy experience of realising en masse that all these people were starting to cry. People were reaching for tissues. It was just so wild and surreal. And maybe that was one of the first times we had the sense of: “Oh my God, is this possible?” I still get chills when I think about that day.
