What was the most difficult scene to shoot, and why?

"I would say the scene where they’re first getting to know each other, when Meredith comes and takes Josie out to lunch, and you also get the see the kind of restaurant that Meredith would take Josie to, which is fine dining, white linen, where you can hear crystal clinking in the background. Josie’s got her elbows on the table and is slurping out of a straw — there’s no refinement about Josie Tyrell.

"So, I wouldn’t say it was hard, but it was really fun. We did a lot of takes of that one, which I don’t do, I do one or two takes, that’s all that I do. As soon as I have what I want, I don’t fuck around and waste everyone’s time with more shots for selfish purposes. I like to make sure I get on to the next thing. That was one we had fun with and we got to tweak every little thing like, 'Now try one where you’re more playful with her, because you know at the end of the scene you’re going to go ask to go over and see her house. So try one that’s more manipulative,' or whatever we got to do. And because Ali and Janet are veteran actors and they’re, as one would say 'well oiled,' their acting chops are so strong that it was really fun for them to play off each other."

How important did you feel it was to follow the book’s narrative? Were there any scenes or plotlines you decided to leave out? Others that had to stay in?

"Michael was a very large part of the book and there [were] lots of flashbacks, you really got to know his relationship with his mother, you really got to know his relationship with Josie, there’s lots of flashbacks in the book. I thought if I could make a movie that barely had him at all, you never got to know him, but that we cared so much about the two women and basically what they were going through and cared more about their obsession with each other than what the truth of his suicide was, that to me was the more interesting film.

"I know there’s lots of people like David Mamet who would disagree with me, but I just think it’s a more interesting story if Michael was never really introduced to the audience. If the audience was also left with questions, was also wanting to know what it said on that suicide note, if the audience also felt like they never got to know him but only got to know him through the memories of these two women, who both were pushing and pulling to control his story after the fact."

As a female director, do you have any advice for women who want to work behind the camera? Have you ever experienced sexism in the industry?

"Is a pig’s pussy pork? The answer’s yes, it is. My advice would be to never ask for permission from anybody, only ask permission of yourself when you want to do something, and do not take no for an answer, ever. You have to be stubborn and diligent about your creative dreams."