There’s a subtle wave of optimism that gently buffets you when talking to director Olivia Newman and author Shelby Van Pelt, a sense that everything’s going to be all right if you simply sit back and let things take their course. Of course, this comes as no surprise, what with the former helming the big screen adaptation of the latter’s bestselling novel Remarkably Bright Creatures. Having spent 64 weeks on the New York Times Best Sellers list, the book’s message of healing and the power of simple acts of human kindness obviously struck a chord in a populace desperately in need of both. A better pair couldn’t be found to bring the story to the screen.
So, it comes as no surprise that Hollywood would come calling. With the rights acquired by Netflix and Sally Field shepherding the project as one of its producers, the film adaptation debuts on the streamer on May 8. To promote the movie, Newman and Van Pelt were recently in Chicago and I had the great pleasure of speaking with them both.
Of course, with an octopus as one of the main characters, I had to ask Van Pelt about her writing process and how she developed Marcellus, the silent catalyst for much of the story’s action.
“Before I became a writer, I was in a whole other career that was unrelated. Before that, I had only written for a school blog. I taught myself how to write fiction by hunting for characters in the wild,” she said. “As it turns out, one of the places where I was able to find a really good character was on YouTube, watching videos of misbehaving octopuses that were escaping from their enclosures or just getting up to antics in aquariums. I remember thinking to myself when I was watching these videos, ‘That would be such a fun voice to write, such a fun character to harness.’ At first, I was writing a lot of these Marcellus pieces, little journal entries that I imagined an octopus in captivity would write. I decided to expand on those and that’s how the novel came about.”
The healing nature of the story is one that appeals to many and came to apply to Newman as she was working on adapting the novel into a screenplay.
“While working on this script, my family experienced one of the hardest years of our lives,” she relates. “We lost my mother-in-law and my sister-in-law within the span of three months, and then, five days before I started prep on the film, we lost our home in the Eaton Canyon fire. It was the most cathartic story in the world to be living in when I was going through my own grief and processing, for sure. I was so grateful for it.”
The healing that comes from interacting with animals is one of the concepts Creatures revolves around. As such, I had to ask if either had important pets in their lives.
“I actually had a cat in my college dorm room,” confessed Van Pelt with a sheepish smile. “I’ve always had animals in my life. I think there is some similarity to the role that pets play in our lives. If you look at the interactions between Marcellous, Tova and Cameron in the movie, you know it’s not exactly like a relationship. Sometimes that’s something that’s missing in our human relationships.
“When we make ourselves vulnerable, the human instinct is to try to fix one another. Your friends say, ‘I’m gonna make suggestions. I’m gonna try to fix you,’ and that’s certainly the case with Tova in the book. But she’s not comfortable with that; it’s too invasive, but Marcellus is someone who just listens so she can sort it out. Whenever you’re feeling upset and overwhelmed, they’re there for you. They know when something is wrong.”
“We actually just got a dog,” added Newman. “I and my kids have been wanting one for a long time, but my husband didn’t. But after the fire, he changed his mind and we have a dog. He’s as devoted to it as we are. Having him around makes all the difference. He’s just so happy whenever we’re around and that helps us all.
The quality of the material attracted a cast of veterans. In addition to Field, Lewis Pullman, Colm Meany, Kathy Baker and Joan Chen joined the production, bringing years of collective experience to the set. I asked Newman if they brought any valuable suggestions that made it to the screen.
“Oh, there were plenty of suggestions,” she said with a comical eyeroll and a laugh. “You know, for comedy you have to leave the actors time to play and find things for the moment. You can’t do that with all actors because they’re not all great improvisors. But Sally and Lewis had such amazing chemistry. They were so good at finding humor in the moment and throwing things at each other. It was like a ping-pong match and was great to watch.”
Remarkably Bright Creatures premieres on Netflix on May 8.
