Interview: 'Best Sellers' director Lina Roessler

For her feature directorial debut, Lina Roessler hit the jackpot with not one, but two beloved stars, an appealing premise, and collaborators to help see her vision through.

The Canadian actor-turned-filmmaker’s Best Sellers follows Lucy Stanbridge (Aubrey Plaza) as she attempts to save her family’s struggling publishing company by putting out a new novel by long-reclusive author Harris Shaw (Michael Caine) and hitting the road with him on a book tour.

A few weeks before the film’s release in theaters and on VOD, Roessler spoke with Asheville Movies about the enduring allure of solitary artists, working with a screen legend, and honoring her father.

Edwin Arnaudin: Where are you calling from today? 

Lina Roessler: I’m in Toronto. 

EA: Are you there for TIFF or is that where you're based? 

LR: It’s where I'm based right now, and I'm also in Montreal. But TIFF is just starting, so I'll be checking out some films and seeing some friends and stuff like that, too.

EA: I’m jealous!

LR: [Laughs] Where are you? Oh yeah, I know where you are — N.C. 

EA: Yeah! In Asheville. I was curious if you have any history down here in Western North Carolina.

LR: Unfortunately not. I would love to come visit. Just tell me when I'm allowed to. I think I am now, but… [Laughs].

EA: You are! Yeah, we're a pretty liberal city, so I think we're doing it right. Maybe some other spots in the South, not as much, but yeah! Thanks for taking time out and, first off, looking at your path to making Best Sellers, you've directed several short films. How did you know that you were ready to take the leap to a feature?

LR: Oh God, I didn't. [Laughs] I still don't know if I'm ready. Actually, now I feel like I'm ready, right? I've done it, so I'm like, "OK, now I'm ready to direct my first feature." No, you’re always learning. There's always something more to discover and more skills to learn and to take on. At least for me, there's never like a moment...it's not like you're training for a marathon. It's not like you're an athlete and then your coach is like, "Yeah! You just made that leap!” Or, “You made that in record time. Now you're ready for the Olympics!" [Laughs] You know what I mean? That never happened to me. [Laughs] But I'm not training at the gym every day either. 

EA: It’s a very visually striking film — I was taken with the imagery really quickly, and it made me wonder if there are any directors or cinematographers that have really influenced you in that regard?

LR: I'm sure there’s countless artists and directors and cinematographers and filmmakers who have informed me over the years — and probably subliminally and subconsciously. But for this film in particular, I think I knew right away when I read the script, I saw it and how the characters were going to be portrayed, even insofar as colors and the look and the structure — the framing. Who they were as people had to be reflected in the cinematography, in the framing, in the production design.

So, all these choices of how the character of Lucy, Aubrey Plaza: at the beginning, really buttoned up, kind of a square — that's reflected in the frame, how she's placed in the center of things. Everything is kind of perfect and tight. And the lenses we used are way more sharp and clear, versus Michael Caine or Harris' character, which those lenses become almost like drunk lenses, kind of woozy and the colors are richer. We get sort of a darker, kind of kneeling, more handheld stuff.

And I worked really well with my cinematographer Claudine Sauvé. And she got it right away. We had a lot of conversations about the look, about the sort of two chapters of the film, kind of the beginning of Lucy's story. And then when they hit the road with Michael Caine's character and how are we going to work on that? What lenses we want to use. What the color was going to be like. We'd made those decisions quite early on and it was just great to work with a crew that was so good at putting it all together. 

EA: Nice. And you mentioned the great cast. In addition to that, I was immediately taken with the premise — I’m definitely a fan of reclusive artists, J.D. Salinger, that kind of stuff. I was curious what you think it is about artists that kind of tuck themselves away —authors in particular — that continues to resonate with people? 

LR: I know! There is this sort of mythology that's built around artists as tortured souls, and more particularly artists that work alone. So, painters or writers and novelists, because it's a lonely job. It's a lonely business. So that's part of it. And with that comes a sort of mysterious world — or, like, somebody battling with their own demons and that's it because there's nobody else in the room. [Laughs] You know, except that artist and and their own creation.

And then with that comes this other mythology of... and I have to say, a lot of it is more for men in general, but I wonder if that's because they're more examined. I guess you could look at a Sylvia Plath or a Virginia Woolf for this kind of thing. But still, then with it comes this mental struggle — alcohol, drugs, whatever it is. And that, to me, is obvious, just the idea of pouring a cap over a bunch of pain, a bunch of emotion, a bunch of feeling, kind of like a numbing device, right? And this might be, as I said, just total mythology, but people who are in pain and battling with things, that kind of goes hand in hand. That that kind of makes sense.

EA: And I feel like another strength of this firm, obviously, with these two strong actors that you have at the lead, they develop a really strong rapport with their characters. I was curious how much your acting background played in terms of shaping their relationship, or if that was something that Aubrey and Michael did more independently.

LR: They’re both brilliant and incredibly talented artists and performers. And I am so lucky to have worked with them both and to have them both in my first feature film. I mean, it's just incredible. [Laughs] I'm really, really lucky. I'm so blessed and it's not lost on me. I still can't believe it. And I think, when working with actors like that, or even if I'm working as an actor myself with other actors, it's not like I would ever tell another actor how to create their character. It would be as though I'd tell an engineer how to build a bridge. That's not my place. But what my place is is to guide the performance, to kind of make suggestions, to kind of mold things, to kind of move things along —  to steer the ship, to make sure that we're all going in the right direction at the same time, in the right place, at the right spots in the film.

My job is to keep the whole picture, and their job is to be focused on the moment, you know? If they're in the moment with their characters — and that's their job, playing and working and doing that, then that's good. And my job is to make sure that what they're doing in that moment makes sense amongst all the other moments that are building this whole story and the arc of their characters.

Also in a film, you barely ever shoot in sequence, so you want to make sure that, "Oh, is this what this character would be feeling or doing at this particular moment in time?" "I don't know! Maybe it's a little bit like this, or maybe it's like that. Or why don't we try it like this? Or why don't we try that?" And both Michael and Aubrey are generous actors and they want to do their best. And Michael is amazing. He kept asking me, "Oh, is that all right?" after every take, and we would talk about things.

So, it's a team effort. It's about telling the best story we can together. And I think as an actor, just to answer the question more [laughs], I don't know if I did, but of course, I know what it's like to be on that side of the camera. And I know that different actors work differently. I know different actors feel comfortably in different situations, so it's my job to make sure that they're feeling comfortable and in a great ,confident place that's cozy and solid enough to give it their all.

EA: And just thinking about this being your first feature and then working with someone like Michael Caine, who has worked on so many features. You're saying he was very encouraging and very helpful, but were there any other kind of professional or even life lessons that he imparted during the production?

LR: Oh, I think it was just that. I mean, to see a guy that we all know or think we know because we've seen him in a million things…we love him — his voice, we could listen to him read the Yellow Pages for hours because he's just brilliant. I learned so much. I learned that even though he has all these accolades — he's a Knight also, by the way — he's just a lovely human being. Just generous — he's there for the work. He's there to do the right thing. He likes to have a good time, go out for dinner, tell jokes. He's just a gem. There's no ego. He's beyond any of that. He's been there, done that, and what I learned from him is it's obviously the little things that make the difference — little gestures: Be kind, be cool. [Laughs] And do it because you love it.

EA: So, at the end of the film, the dedication, is that to your father?

LR: Yeah, it is. My dad passed away right before we started shooting the film, so that was tough. And also, because the nature of the story, this sort of surrogate father/daughter relationship. Also, my dad looked like Michael Caine and they even had met once, a million years ago, in this weird situation. So there were a lot of strange connections and, of course, just the fact that he passed away right before shooting and there was already a lot of [laughs] pressure going on with my first feature and these amazing actors. So, it was a lot. 

And at the end, I was able to bring a lot of details of my dad into this story with little Easter eggs and little things in the film that only my friends and family could probably pick out. And at the end, it was actually the producers who suggested that I make that dedication. And I did, but I have to tell you— it's funny, that was one of the hardest decisions, weirdly, was where to put that dedication, because I felt weird about it. So it was my editor who was like, "Oh, I'm just gonna put it here." And I was like, "OK, fine!" [Laughs] And then that was it. But yeah, it seemed right. It seemed like the right thing to do, especially for this particular film and because of the timing. 

EA: Definitely. Well, I'm sorry for your loss, but I'm happy that you got to have this experience and to honor him that way. I think that's really special, and yeah! Thanks so much for your time and I hope you have a great time at TIFF with all your friends.

LR: Thanks so much! It was really nice to chat with you. 

(Photos courtesy of Screen Media Films)

Photo by Samuel Engelking