Kate Winslet’s Directorial Debut: A Deep Dive into “Goodbye June”
Kate Winslet, a seven-time Oscar nominee and winner for her role in “The Reader,” recently took over the Screen Talk podcast to discuss her directorial debut, “Goodbye June.” The film features a stellar cast including Helen Mirren, Andrea Riseborough, Johnny Flynn, Timothy Spall, Toni Collette, and Winslet herself. It centers on a fractious family coming together ahead of Christmas to sit vigil for their matriarch, played by Mirren.
Winslet also shared insights into some of her favorite films that didn’t receive as much attention as her big hits like “Titanic.” She mentioned her lifelong friendship with Leonardo DiCaprio, whom she considers an uncle to her children. Winslet is also proud of beating Tom Cruise twice on underwater breath holds. She returned to work with James Cameron in “Avatar: The Way of Water” and will appear in his upcoming holiday movie, “Avatar: Fire and Ash.”
After producing five projects, including TV series “Mare of Easttown” and “The Regime,” and the movie “Lee,” Winslet felt ready to take on directing. “Thirty-three years of my career has taught me so much,” she said. “As an actor, you’re never just showing up and doing the job. You are also learning an awareness of how to be on a film set, how to conduct yourself, how to collaborate and behave with other people, so that everyone feels respected and included.”
She also emphasized the importance of being an active producer and putting the financing together. “Sometimes paying for screenwriters’ fees out of my own pocket just to keep something alive was the best possible way I could ever have learned the nuts and bolts of that job,” she added. Her collaboration with Ellen Kuras, the cinematographer of “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” was a significant part of her journey as a producer.
A Personal Touch
Winslet’s son, Joe Anders, wrote the script for “Goodbye June,” based on the 2017 death of his grandmother, Winslet’s mother. He studied screenwriting at the National Film and Television School. “He’s about to turn 22 years old,” said Winslet. “He has read many a script. He has practiced lines with me time and time again… He invented this fictional story and this fictional family that you see in ‘Goodbye June.’ So when I first read the script, it was incredibly funny, touching, moving. It had all the hallmarks of a great screenplay.”
Joe spent the next year after that, until he was 20, working on various drafts of the script, and it was ready to go. “I said, ‘Do you think that I could maybe direct it?’ Because I felt so close to the material at that point, and I also did feel ready,” Winslet explained. “I knew that I couldn’t step into that role unless I felt emotionally brave enough, strong enough, prepared enough, technically aware enough of what it was going to take.”
Creating the Right Environment
As a new director, Winslet felt strongly about creating the kind of working environment she’d always wanted as an actor. She miked her actors so that every nuance would be picked up by the sound department: no distracting boom mics. “Spontaneity is so important,” she said. “And with this film, it was absolutely critical that actors felt free to change things and to listen to one another. So we didn’t have any overhead booms. Every single actor, including the children, was radio-miked, and I also hid little mics everywhere around the set…”
Winslet also emphasized the importance of trust among the cast and crew. “We all worked together closely for an intense week of rehearsal, during which time I cooked meals at my kitchen table, and we shared stories. When you establish a space that is entirely bound up on trust and discretion, there’s a code of silence that you wrap around one another that becomes a security blanket.”
The Significance of Setting
Setting the film at Christmas was a significant choice for a movie about death. “Christmas is such a heightened, emotional time for anybody,” said Winslet. “It’s a time when we all get together, or not. We all have our different rituals and rhythms or not, but it is a time when there’s a pressure-cooker of emotion, and that sense of a clock ticking as you creep closer to that big day…”
Winslet also reflected on the importance of having tough conversations about loss and grief. “Life is so short and so precious, and we don’t talk about loss, we don’t talk about death and grief in Western culture, we’re not typically very good at it at all. And I think it’s just a reminder to have those tough conversations, because life is very short.”
Challenges and Triumphs
Winslet had a 35-day shoot with seven adult actors and seven children, and she only had her title actress, Mirren, for 16 days. “You just get ready, you run at it, and you are just as prepared as possible,” she said. She and her assistant director figured out exactly how much time they had for each Mirren scene. On a low-budget movie, there was no overtime.
“So I had to make my days. I’m proud to say I did. If I had not made my days, I simply would not have gotten the scenes done, because we just always had too much to do. Helen was incredible. She’s the definition of a mensch…” Winslet added.
Looking Ahead
Like many actors-turned-directors, Winslet can’t wait to get back in the directing chair. “I honestly didn’t want it to finish,” she said. “I loved everything. I loved all of it. I loved the development. I loved working with my son. I loved our crazy pre-pre-production period, and our pre-production, and actual production, and the edit, and the mix, and the grade, and all of it. I loved everything. I just hope I do get to do it again.”
“Goodbye June” opens in select theaters December 12 before streaming on Netflix December 24.
