Billboards character made for McDormand
LOS ANGELES — The central character in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri probably wouldn’t exist without Frances McDormand.
Writer-director Martin McDonagh says such strong characters and actors 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 foul-mouthed 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 said.
“I had Frances’s voice in my head for the character, and that’s partly because 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.”
Strong, self-possessed female characters like Mildred are something for Hollywood to celebrate, McDonagh said.
“Having a bunch of really successful female-led movies boxoffice wise, like ours and Lady Bird and Wonder Woman and The Post, is one of the positive things we can focus on. But in another way, I think it’s good that you know so many jerks in Hollywood are falling, and maybe it will be a better, safer place.”