This interview contains discussions involving domestic violence.
and Netflix’s upcoming “Addams Family” spin-off, “Wednesday.”
The movie, fittingly, will debut on October 1, the first day of Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
How aware were you of the story of Gabby Petito before you took on the project?
I became struck by a number of elements.
There is that disconnect.
It was an interesting strategy for a young woman of her age to take.
It could be also highlighted that at least she was trying to be an inspiration to people.
She wasn’t on there as a hater.
But I imagine there must have been some challenges shooting on location there.
Utah is a beautiful state, and it had a lot to offer.
From time to time, it was difficult to make it seem like Florida.
We cover a lot of ground in the story.
But there were some struggles trying to find the outside of the Laundrie house [in Florida].
We had a lot of fun renting palm trees and planting them and then trying to return them.
What about the heat?
Did it get quite hot when you were filming during the summer?
Thankfully, nobody passed out or anything like that.
Did that also help the actors to make things more real for them when they were playing those characters?
It gave a somber perspective …
The gravity of the …
I don’t want to call them “events.”
The gravity of Gabby’s journey hit home for a lot of us.
I know that the crew kept that in their minds as well.
Was it always the plan to get into directing at some point?
It was a desire of mine since I was about 10.
It took me a while but no, no, no.
It was matter of timing and this story.
I do have a long, successful relationship with Lifetime …
I give them a lot of credit for offering me this opportunity.
That’s a great way to put it.
I wish I had come up with that.
Sometimes, you learn from the ones who aren’t so good, too.
I’m such a thief that I give a shot to take from everybody.
I’ve worked with some great ones, and I love them all.
I feel like to name some versus others is a little bit politically not my gig.
But like I said, I steal from everybody.
Directing is such an all-encompassing gig.
There’s so many aspects to keep track of.
I’m not going to lie.
It’s daunting, especially going in on your first feature.
Acting since I was 4 and being on set since I was 4 gave me a good lead.
There’s a lot of different types of directors in how they approach their role.
I would love that, but that’s not how things are made these days.
It’s being cognizant of that while also keeping an eye on the end goal creatively.
I feel blessed with this one to have had two incredible leads.
I give them a lot of credit.
What was that experience like for you to direct yourself in a role?
Thankfully, I didn’t have too many days where that was …
This was a quick shoot.
There [was] only 16 days.
You don’t even think about it.
Some of those days, I don’t even remember I don’t even know what we shot.
You just have to execute.
You’ve had previous experience working with Lifetime on different movies.
Well, I don’t know about full circle, because at least the circle keeps going …
It’s been a great journey with Lifetime.
For my first feature, they were a wonderful, very supportive fit.
In terms of what’s coming up next, are you circling any other projects?
Is there anything else on the horizon that you’re looking at?
Anything you could share about that?
Oh, not yet.
It’s an adaptation of a well-known author.
I can say that.
Has that been by design?
It was always my creative goal to try out as many genres and types of genres as possible.
It can become a little boring.
It’s a little bit of both considerations.
I look at the whole arc of it.
Enid [from “Ghost World”] will always …
I identified with her at the time.
She really stuck with me.
I feel like that about so many of my characters too.
I don’t know.
I look at it in its totality.
It’s hard to have my favorites.
I let the fans pick their favorites.
What was it like for you to revisit that movie after all those years?
It was good to catch up with him.
To see how I am now, comparatively, it’s a trip.
Looking back, I look at it more …
I put myself outside of it and give a shot to watch the movie in and of itself.
At the same time, I don’t do that often, because I don’t like watching myself.
That must be difficult to do.
I don’t know if I’ve mastered it, but that’s the goal.
Going back to what I said about seeing it as a cautionary tale … That’s something that this highlights.
“The Gabby Petito Story” premieres Saturday, October 1 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Lifetime.
This interview was edited for clarity.
