Director and filmmaker Laura Murphy chatted about directing her new movie “F Marry Kill,” and being a part of the digital age.
The film stars Lucy Hale, Virginia Gardner, Brooke Nevin, Samer Salem, Jedidiah Goodacre, Brendan Morgan, Bethany Brown, and Jay R Tinaco.
Experience directing this film
“It was so fun,” she said. “It was a really fun movie to make, especially since it’s both a thriller and a comedy. The cast was so great. They were all so talented and that allowed us to play around and improv on set.”
“Everything went great; it was one of those experiences where the process of making it was as fun as the end product, and those are my favorite kinds of projects,” she added.
Working with Lucy Hale
“Lucy Hale is amazing, Murphy exclaimed. “I knew going in that she was super talented, and she has so much range. She is such a pro, but I didn’t realize how hilarious she is.”
“Lucy has such range in the drama and the rom-com world, but she is also really good in comedy. She brought her improvising A-game, and so much of what we ended up using are things that we came up with on set,” she elaborated.
“Lucy is also a technical pro,” Murphy noted. “She is such a great person with amazing energy, and she’s a really good scene partner. It was fun to watch her, and it was fun to interact with her. It was such a collaborative process, overall.”
“So, when it came to editing, we had so many choices,” she added.
Lessons learned from this screenplay
On the lessons learned from this screenplay, she said, “I knew I liked true crime content and I knew I absorb a lot of it but I don’t think I realized how much it affects your psyche until this project.”
“I watch a lot of Dateline and listen to a lot of True Crime podcasts, and I watch a lot of documentaries, and then, I wonder why I have core fears about home invasion,” she added.
Future plans
On her future plans, she shared, “I have a couple of projects happening. I am always writing in addition to directing. Lucy Hale and I have something that we want to do together in the future, so we are developing some ideas for that. We definitely want to work together again.”
“I have another project that I am attached to, which is in the beginning stages and that’s more of a true comedy… that’s where I started, and I want to do one that is all about the laughs,” she elaborated.
“I love doing these cross-genre projects. I would love to be involved in more fun projects like that,” she admitted.
The digital age
On being a part of the digital age, she said, “I’ve really benefited from the digital age as have many filmmakers because there was this surge of opportunities for directors.”
“Before, there were very few slots for directors, and people who had the experience would fill those slots. So, as a new filmmaker, it was hard to break through,” she noted.
“What the digital world did was crack that wide open, and through the streaming services, more content meant more opportunities. That has been great for diverse and female filmmakers, directors, writers and cast members. It has been fantastic for that, and I think it will keep evolving,” she elaborated.
“I do think there are some really cool opportunities to do things in the new world of technology. You just have to come at it from the right strategy. There is a lot of potential for where that can go eventually. It is an exciting time for creatives,” she explained.
“Sometimes, I think it is hard as a viewer because there is so much content out there. I have a backlog of shows I am trying to catch up on. That’s the challenge, but as a creator, I think it’s fantastic,” she added.
Stage of her life
On the title of the current chapter of her life, she said, “Cheese and Beaches.”
“I just moved closer to the beach, and I’ve always been stress eating a lot of cheese,” she said with a sweet laugh.
Superpowers of choice
If she were to have any superpower, it would be “to have more control of things that are out of my control, as well as to fly.”
Success
Regarding her definition of success, Murphy said, “Success means being able to pick projects that I want to work on and have the confidence in me and the authority to be able to fully execute my vision on those projects.”
“Also, having the freedom financially and creatively to pick projects that I want to work on by choice. That would be another level of success that I am constantly evolving and working towards,” she added.
Closing thoughts on the film
For fans and viewers, she remarked, “I just think this movie is so fun and I really want people to have fun watching it. There is a little bit of a mystery, twist, and a thriller aspect, which is always exciting.”
“I hope we achieved the perfect blend tonally where there is excitement in it and the viewers are invested in the story, but also, they are laughing. Ultimately, I think it’s so fun,” she concluded.
To learn more about Laura Murphy, follow her on Instagram.
