This podcast is supported by Disney's Moana 2, now nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature.

Disney's Moana 2 awards eligible in all categories, including Best Animated Film, now playing in theaters.

Hi, everyone. Rebecca Ford here. Hope you're enjoying the holiday season.

Today, I'm so excited to share our final episode of the year,

the recording from our live interview with Marianne John Baptiste.

Richard and I got to chat with her following the screening of hard truths

at the Denver Film Festival in November.

As you all know, we have been huge fans of her performance in that film.

So it was great to hear her talk more about pairing up with director Mike Lee again

and how they developed the character together.

She also answered some audience questions, which is always such a fun treat.

Enjoy.

This season, I think there has not been a movie we've raved more about than Hart Trus.

When did Mr. Lee come to you with this film and what were those early conversations like?

Okay, Mr. Lee came to me with this film.

Probably 2019. And when I say he came to me with this film, he didn't actually come to me with that film. He contacted me and said, look, let's do it

again. Let's do something. Don't know what it's going to be about. Don't know what you'll be

in it, but you know, we're going to have fun.

Then COVID happened and it was put on hold and then it was put on hold and more hold.

And he said again, look, let's get together and we got together but at no point did we know what it was that we were going to do.

And Mike Lee's process is so unique with the development of character and story.

Can you walk us through a little bit about where you went from there, how the two of you created the character?

...