Julia Louis-Dreyfus: A bad editor can make a comedy “butcher”.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus doesn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. Well, except maybe for untrained editors when it comes to filmmaking.

The “You Hurt My Feelings” star gushed about working with “good friend” director Nicole Holofcener again. The dramedy stars Louis-Dreyfus, a novelist who questions the state of his marriage. Her husband, played by Tobias Menzies, is a therapist who doesn’t shy away from sharing how depressing he finds his wife’s books.

“Nicole is actually incredibly collaborative, and there’s a real, mutual respect and sense of play and fun throughout,” Louis-Dreyfus said at IndieWire Sundance Studio 2023, presented by Dropbox. “He has the confidence to do it both as an artist and as a director. We all benefit, and the film benefits from that.”

And the tightness of the 90-minute film contributes to Holofcener’s helm alongside “Walking and Talking” editor Alisa Lepselter.

“The cutter is almost the unsung hero of a movie, so to speak,” said Louis-Dreyfus. “But when it comes to timing, both drama and comedy, but especially comedy, if it’s not on point, it can be carnage. If you’re not with the right person, it can be nails on a board.”

Holofcener agreed, saying, “I cut a lot of things out. I want it tight. I don’t care if I lose things.”

He added of Dreyfus, “I was smart enough during ‘Enough Said’ to listen to this woman (Julia) as much as possible, and whatever came out of her mouth usually ended up in the movie, whether I wrote it or not. . And this, only more. I knew I could do it, I knew it could be fun. I don’t know, we just meet each other.

In fact, Holofcener immediately envisioned Louis-Dreyfus in the lead role.

“I knew how brilliantly he was doing this. When I wondered if that was too bland or too silly, I said, “No. This will work. He’ll just nail it,” Holofcener recalled, referring to their shared sense of humor. “My films are so personal, so I feel like, ‘Well, if you love me a lot but you don’t understand my films, then instinctively I feel like you don’t understand me,’ which is weird because it’s not me. . And yet I am so vulnerable and sensitive to it. I just thought it was an interesting thing to think about and play.”

Luckily, Holofcener caught Louis-Dreyfus in the midst of a string of starring roles in record time, including recent turns in Kenya Barris and Jonah Hill’s Netflix comedy You People and joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

“It’s absolutely exciting,” Louis-Dreyfus said of his latest work. “I just had a lot of luck. I am filled with gratitude and completely shocked that this is happening.”

Read IndieWire’s review of “You Hurt My Feelings” here.

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