What would you tell your younger self if you could travel back in time? It’s an age-old question, and it’s the very center of Megan Park’s latest film, My Old Ass, which follows Elliott (Maisy Stella), who encounters her older self, played by Aubrey Plaza, on a mushroom trip.
When Elliott and her friends (Maddie Ziegler and Kerrice Brooks) camp out in the Canadian wilderness to celebrate her 18th birthday and the last summer before college, they are expecting an amusing trip before they all go their separate ways. Instead, Elliot sees her future self, who offers simple life advice, like “Be nice to your brothers” and “Wear your retainer” alongside a more complicated plea to “stay away” from anyone named Chad. The encounter has a lasting effect, as older and younger Elliott continue to guide each other through the summer.
Like all good coming-of-age films, the film’s humor is intertwined with the complications of heartbreak, a combination Park first nailed in her debut film, The Fallout, which starred Jenna Ortega and followed the aftermath of a school shooting. “I feel fucked up when people say ‘thank you’ for making them cry,” Park tells me over the phone, a few days after the release of My Old Ass. But she’s also aware that the emotional devastation of her films is what makes them work. She’s not thinking about that when she’s writing a screenplay, though; instead, she works from a place of wanting a career do-over. “I spent many years as a young actor feeling like I was saying words and telling stories that didn’t feel authentic to what I was going through at the time,” she explains.
How do you write Gen-Z characters so well? Where do you find inspiration and how are you making sure they don’t feel out of touch?
You have to go into making a movie knowing what you do know and knowing what you don’t know. I’ve been really open with the actors, asking them if they would say that when discussing the script. I try to create set environments where young actors, especially young women, have the autonomy to speak up. I also like to spend time with the cast before we’re actually making the movie, soaking that in and then infusing that into the script. I got to spend a couple of weeks with Maisy before we started filming, picking up on her energy and adjusting the script for that; being open-minded with her and getting her feedback on things helps. I don’t know exactly what it’s like to be a Gen Z. I’m a millennial, but I can be open and egoless about it. There’s a hierarchy on so many film sets that sucks, and it doesn’t create a good environment for creative collaboration. I always hated that as an actor. I want my sets and the people that I work with to have the opposite energy of that. I think it’s what makes the best movies.
You tend to cast young women on the brink of stardom, like Jenna Ortega and now Maisy Stella. What does it take for someone to become one of your leading ladies?
Maisy and Jenna are so different, but they have such an intelligence and groundedness — and I call it sparkle — but this joie de vivre in the eye, which is really hard to find in actors. I don’t want to be cheesy and call it star quality, but there’s definitely something so magnetic about both of them. Every frame of The Fallout was usable; Jenna’s so consistent and seasoned. And Maisy had this other quality to her that was so raw and a depth that’s really astounding.
There are a few key moments of My Old Ass that feel very of this generation, like her younger brother being obsessed with Saoirse Ronan and of course, the Justin Bieber mushroom-trip scene. Where did that come from?
We always knew we wanted to have a second, fun mushroom-trip moment. I’d originally written it to be a different musical piece that didn’t get cleared. So I was brainstorming with Maisy, Maddie, and Kerrice about who an influential artist from their generation would be, and they all said Justin Bieber. Originally, Elliott didn’t sing in the movie, but now we had Maisy, and Kerrice and Maddie are professional dancers, so I was like, “This is so perfect. It has to be cleared.”
We came up with the “One Less Lonely Girl” idea and gender-swapping it, and it made so much sense for Elliott and the movie. I wrote the scene and Bieber’s press liked it but said they won’t approve it until they actually saw it. So we had to shoot the whole thing knowing that his team could see it and kill it. But we felt like he would love it. It’s such an homage to him. And he liked it. It was one of the most fun days on set.
It fits in perfectly with Maisy’s character as well and reminded me of when Reneé Rapp recently sang that song onstage …
Oh my gosh, that came out after we shot our movie, and I was like, “Did she read our script? How did that even happen?”
What rules do you have on set as a director?
My No. 1 rule is reminding people that we’re not saving lives. There’s always so much drama and people get so intense about stuff, but I’m always like, “Let’s remember we’re making a movie.” I like to keep things as chill as possible.
How do you get in the mind-set to write?
It’s changed a little bit since I’ve had kids because it used to be that I needed to get my coffee and get in my comfy chair, vibe for a little bit, and listen to some music. I do not have that luxury anymore. I’m like, “I have 45 minutes, and I just have to get to it.” But I feel like I can get my shit done anywhere now, so I’ve definitely become more efficient. I hate writing on a desk. I like to sit on a big chair, and I usually cross my legs and have a pillow in my lap. I tend to write with rap music in the background, which Maisy thinks is so funny because it’s not my personality, but it works. I’ll just put it on and sometimes it’s just a single song on loop, and it dissociates me, and I just start writing. I don’t fuck with headphones either.
What is your No. 1 rule for a successful mushroom trip?
Since my kids might read this one day, I won’t talk about my drug use, but I will say I asked my friend, and her favorite line when I was writing the script was “I just feel like groovin’, man.” She was like, “That is me. I love good music.”
If someone told you not to fall in love with someone, would you listen?
Would me, old-ass Megan, listen? Yes. Would young-ass Megan have listened? Probably not. I was such an idiot when I was 18. I probably would have attempted and been a little bit like Elliott. It would have scared me, but I would have been sucked up in it. I would have had no control.
If you had the chance, would you go back in time and give your younger self advice?
I would want to do it for sure. People have asked me that, saying, “Wouldn’t you not want to fuck with your fate?” But I feel like I could still find my way back to the good parts. I’d want to go back and give myself a good talking to. I would 100 percent take advantage of that and get my shit together sooner. And I would tell myself to invest in Apple.
Do you have any rules around phone use for yourself?
I would have told myself, “You’re gonna fucking waste your life on your phone. Throw it in the river.” I’m constantly having to look down and check my phone. I just looked down and I have four emails and three Ring notifications since we’ve been talking. Life goes by so quickly, especially when you have kids, and you find yourself in moments where the baby is smiling and you think, Do I just soak this in, or do I grab my phone and take a picture? Every once in a while I’ll tell my husband a lockout code to keep me out of my apps on my phone, and I’ll be like, “Don’t tell me the code,” but then after like three days, I make him give it to me.
What is your No. 1 rule for raising a child or advice you’d give to someone who’s thinking about having kids?
Pretty much every single thing in your life changes, but it’s for the better. It is the hardest job in the entire world. Raising two kids, or watching two kids for a day, is so much harder than directing a movie. Directing movies is a vacation compared to that. The mom guilt is something that never goes away, especially as a working mom; I feel it so much every day. Just try your best and remember it’s quality over quantity.
What is something you like to do when you have a day to yourself and you’re not directing or taking care of your kids?
I’d just try to drink an entire coffee before it gets cold. It would be so luxurious.
What do you sign your emails with?
Usually just an x.
Do you have any rules about texting?
Maisy was horrified that I had my phone on light mode, so she changed my phone to dark mode. She also changed my phone to have no caps. But then I noticed she started using caps in her texts, so I have to ask her “Are caps back?” because she crucified me for having caps in my texts to her.
Were there any other Gen-Z rules that Maisy taught you that you were surprised by?
It was endless, and she’s still my go-to. I have a group chat with her and the other girls from the movie. I was writing something the other day and had to ask if people still say sus. She was like, “Yes, you can say sus, but give me the context.” They’re my Gen-Z whispers. I wouldn’t say they keep me cool, because I don’t think they would say that I’m cool, but they keep me somewhat in the know about what’s going on.
Do you have any rules for posting on social media or a private account you use?
I really only post for work. I do have a close-friends Story, but it’s just pictures of my kids for my closest friends. It’s nothing exciting … I’m an old ass.
