The Wilde bunch

Olivia Wilde makes her directorial debut in Booksmart, an unfiltered comedy about high school best friends. We chat to Olivia and the film’s stars, Kaitlyn Dever and Beanie Feldstein about the coming-of-age story

YOU could say Olivia Wilde’s latest film is a love letter to the younger generation. Or, as the actress-turneddirector sees it, it’s something she made to honour them.

The 35-year-old, who starred in long-running medical TV series House alongside Hugh Laurie, has made her directorial debut with Booksmart, an “unfiltered comedy about two high school best friends”.

The coming-of-age film stars Kaitlyn Dever (Amy) and Beanie Feldstein (Molly), of Ladybird fame, who decide to embark on a night of letting their hair down before they graduate. Critics have praised the film for not having as its focal point the fact that the character Amy is gay.

“I made the film to honour this young generation that I think is so evolved,” says Olivia emphatically.

“(They are) so much more fluid and truly political in a personalised sense, they understand the significance of their actions and their voice, and I wanted to make a film that honoured how incredible this generation is.

“And I feel like we’ve put them in such a difficult place in terms of the environment, in terms of political division, and I feel them standing up and saying, ‘Thank you we’ll take it from here, we’re going to live differently, we’re going to shift this paradigm, give us control’.”

It’s a scenario, she says, that makes her feel “excited, optimistic”.

But there’s also another layer here for her.

She explains: “It’s also aspirational in its telling of this generation, so that for young people who still live in really oppressive environments or within families who don’t understand them, they can watch the film and say, ‘I’m not alone and I’m going to hang on, because my generation actually will love and accept and support me’.”

Kaitlyn, 22, says the project and role was a dream.

“I fell in love with it – it was before Olivia was attached to direct it,” she explains.

“I fell in love with the idea of getting to lead a film, and a film that’s about a strong female friendship.

“These girls are so smart in their own ways and so funny. I think to play a girl like Amy was just a dream come true for me, immediately.”

On-screen she and her American

co-star Beanie, 25, share a chemistry that’s amplified by Katie Silberman and her team of female writers’ script.

As such, the film’s brand of humour was a plus point for Beanie.

She says: “I was just so taken by the humour between two girls that’s created by their intellect, and created by their love for each other.

“I’m not a fan of a humour that brings people down or is cutting – it’s funny, but it’s not something that I necessarily feel is a part of my comedic style.

“I loved that their banter and their obsession with each other, and they’re obsessively complimenting each other, that’s where the humour comes from.”

She reflects on the script, which was originally written in 2009.

“It’s always kind of wanted to be made, but we always say society had to catch up to the script, which is kind of a bummer, but in some ways it was meant to be told now and with this team,” she says.

For Olivia, stepping behind the lens after her own big screen appearances in films like 2010’s Tron: Legacy and

Ron Howard’s 2013

Formula One epic, Rush, meant she looked for a project that harked back to what had inspired her own love of film.

The New York

City-born star says: “I wanted to direct my first film as one that really pays homage to the films that made me want to be in the business. I grew up on movies like Breakfast

Club, Fast Times at Ridgemont High,

Dazed and

Confused, Clueless, these are movies that made me want to make movies.

“They also made me excited to be young, they made me feel that autonomy of being young.

“The fact that you aren’t alone, and seeing your experiences at a very fraught time in your life reflected on screen is something that is actually really significant, it’s important.

“These movies are fun entertainment, but they also allow you to feel seen, so I wanted to make one that honoured