PLAY MOVIES MCDORMAND THE ONE

central character in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri probably wouldn’t exist without Frances McDormand, and writer- director Martin McDonagh says such strong characters and actresses are something to celebrate in an industry reeling from revelations of widespread sexual misconduct.

The film has been nominated for six Golden Globes and four Screen Actors Guild Awards.

McDormand inspired the film’s foulmouthed protagonist Mildred Hayes, who attempts to shame the town sheriff into solving the year- old rape and murder of her teenage daughter.

She posts three billboards on the edge of town to taunt him.

McDonagh said he saw “something in real life that was very similar to what we see on our billboards” 20 years ago and was mystified.

“I didn’t know who put it up or how to find out,” he said. “But once I decided in my mind that it was a mother and a really strong one and a fearsome and sort of outrageous one, the character kind of popped up fully formed” with a mental image of McDormand, he says.

“I had Frances’s voice in my head for the character, and that’s partly because of her film work, from Blood Simple through Fargo, has been really strong and intelligent and truthful.

“But also I think her offstage persona — you know, her not playing the Hollywood game — also informed the character and informed how strong and outrageous and different she could be.”