FemmeFilmFest20 Interview: Meagan Adele Lopez on that ‘Raging Cult’

I honestly didn’t expect to rekindle a teenage crush or crave expensive coffee from Montmartre when I sat down to talk to Meagan Adele Lopez to discuss her latest short film, Raging Cult. That’s often, and gratifyingly, how film folk collide with their love for cinema. It sure beats tolerating the degenerate zombies we might encounter on the dark side of Twitter.

Raging Cult is from the outset a pensive, penetrating and rather funny little film. Sets its stall it right away with inch-perfect dialogue and snappy editing. Meagan Adele Lopez’s film is not flashy or forced, but carries the weight and projection of women’s anger under her passionate and poised direction.

Lopez co-stars alongside the terrific Mollie Keane, two characters so different yet you don’t doubt for a second they are the closest of friends. That chemistry and character alignment is tough to project on film, but Lopez makes an immediate, homely impact with it.

Truth be told, I could talk about Raging Cult all day. And it is a film that just gets better, and becomes more of a part of you, with each viewing. And that’s a man talking. Plus there’s a lot more issues under the surface that Lopez deals with in a runtime of just 17 minutes with consummate ease. And these themes are not easy, they are scream-inducing, hair-pullingly real, and are handled with precise honesty, yearning and of course splashings of truly inspiring humour.

Check out our wonderful conversation right here:

ROBIN WRITE: So I’ll ask some background questions, then we’ll talk about Raging Cult. What films or filmmakers or actors or actresses did you love growing up? Which ones made you think “I want to do that”?

MEAGAN ADELE LOPEZ: Oh I love this sort of discussion about the film. I was lucky to have gone to some film festivals live and there was some great conversation around it at that time.

Growing up, I loved Winona Ryder. She was an actress who got cast in the a-typical, quirky roles. She didn’t fit a type – she could play the goth girl in Beetlejuice, the misunderstood filmmaker artist in Reality Bytes, the outsider in Heathers who ultimately sees through the abusive, rebel boyfriend. I even loved her in Great Balls of Fire.

I was a finalist in Macy’s Be a Star contest when I was thirteen or so, and I still remember when they asked me which actress was my favorite – it was her. In terms of stories, I loved watching any story that made my imagination go wild, where there was a sort of magic involved. Or anything involving love or young, free girls. I saw myself in Winona’s roles, for sure.

Winona Ryder was one of my major crushes. Big time.

Such a bad ass. And such a perfect face.

I wonder if Lydia in Beetlejuice inspired Sandra in Raging Cult?

Yes! Actually on my mood board, I had her image for the transformed Molly.

Right! Winona could easily play Sandra or Molly. Or both!

For sure! Sandra’s inspiration was really a kind of dark Amelie mixed with Marla from Fight Club. I took a lot of the colors from Amelie for her apartment. I live in Montmartre, so I feel like Amelie’s energy is constantly around me.

Yeah you could imagine Amelie being pushed over the edge into agoraphobia.

I think if she lived in this time now, Amelie would DEFINITELY be agoraphobic.

Can’t believe you live in Montmartre. Crazy. And that we’ve already covered my teenage crush and my favourite film.

No way!! This was meant to be. Amelie is your favorite?

Yeah. Amelie is perfect! And the best film version of Jane Austen’s Emma.

So right! I’ve made friends with the owners of the restaurant where she works in the film. One of my favorite places to take friends in town. It’s pricey, but so magical.

I’m so jealous.

We will go if or when you come to Paris.

I will. But we must ride a motorcycle together.

Dream. Love this.

When I was editing our 100th podcast, which is about cinema moments, with loads of people telling theirs, I must have watched that cinema scene from Amelie about a million times during that. With the Jules et Jim score playing constantly.

Ah man. Amelie really is perfect. I know she inspires so many people, but one more image – it’s the colors again. Happy to send you the look book. I’ve never shown anyone besides the crew! So would be my pleasure.

I love seeing the inspiration behind films. Did you choose to live in Montmartre? That sounds like a weird question written down.

No, it’s a great question. Yes, I chose to live here. I had been living in the 16th for three years – which, if anyone knows Paris is very posh and quite boring. I had been attacked on the metro – basically, had a man follow me and grab my ass multiple times in a row – my first week in Paris so chose to live in the “safest area” at first. Then, I looked for my apartment in Montmartre for six months. Amelie (if I’m honest) and the history of this place as being a haven for artists – was my inspiration.

I totally get that. That’s why I live on the Millennium Falcon.

Ha ha, brilliant.

So where did you live before Paris?

London, Chicago before that, Bristol, England before, Los Angeles, New York and grew up in Baltimore.

Wow. How much did that physical harassment subject play a part in Raging Cult, aside from the agoraphobia and social media issues?

Actually, it was a friend’s story that kind of tipped me over the edge. She told me after years of knowing her that she had been raped in the metro in Paris and no one did anything about – as in, none of the authorities or anything. She does still go out, but it got me thinking about how dangerous it is for us as women.

Personally, as a writer myself, I often find I can spend days in my apartment without leaving and do often live through social media. So, with the #MeToo movement, and starting to speak to women about their anger – I found so many women were so angry. But instead of showing it, they cried because they had been trained for so long to keep it inside. Or to “smile”.

Also, there are cameras everywhere in the metro so they could have tried to identify him. And that got me thinking about using social media as a weapon to show men we weren’t scared, we were pissed.

The sad thing is, a lot of women will have similar experiences to varying degrees either themselves or people they know.

Yes exactly. I wanted to keep humor in it though, because didn’t want it to be all doom and gloom. Taika Waititi is a huge inspiration for me. I love how he takes tough or ridiculous subjects and finds the outlandish humor in them.

Agree. What other films or filmmakers do you take inspiration from that do that humour and serious issues thing really well?

“Fleabag” or Phoebe as a creator herself. Diablo Cody – or the film “Juno” specifically. I worked in casting in another lifetime and actually was the casting assistant on Juno so saw how the actor’s really could chew on her words. Anything out of New Zealand really.

I think Milos Forman was one of the all time greats with that.

Oh for sure! Yeah, he was probably even darker than most of my inspirations. I used to love Tarantino. I’m good with going dark, but don’t want to sexualize violence at the same time. It’s like he hasn’t grown with the times.

True. So I suppose with the creation of Raging Cult in mind, what makes Meagan angry? Artist or person. And how do you channel that rage through writing and filmmaking?

What makes Meagan angry? Telemarketers. Someone literally just called me. When people aren’t honest with themselves or others. When people don’t take the time to truly see the person in front of them.

I was angry for a long time about women’s place in this world (hence Raging Cult) – but I think the film truly helped me to move past that. I have long been a fierce advocate for women’s rights – I started the international chapter of the women’s network for the New York Times and mentored young women. But now, I’m just focused on telling the stories differently.

I love anger because I believe it pushes change forward, and we need to channel it. Then, we need to make sure it doesn’t fester and become toxic inside of us. I hope, in some ways, this film does that for people. Let’s them see their own anger, let it out, then channel it for good. That is what I hoped to express with Sandra’s cult.

I get angry when people don’t take the time to grow and listen and learn. I really don’t understand people who never grow – like why are they here? Seriously.

What is your writing process? Where do you sit? Do you take breaks? Listen to music? Detest interruptions?

I typically have to start with freehand. I write in my journal every morning in old-fashioned cursive to put my thoughts in order. This really helps me establish what I want to say first before sitting in front of the computer. For some reason, computer feels more final.

For the beginning of a process, I am on the floor with a marker writing in big ideas and filling big pages. For my novel, I had several journals filled with scribbles, magazine pages ripped out, etc.

I listen to classical music typically, or anything that is subtle enough so that it washes out my thoughts but doesn’t override them. I prefer long days with no interruptions or meetings.

I often will book at least a week away in the country once a year to write completely uninterrupted. I’m actually about to embark on a six month countryside adventure to edit my first feature (amongst a few other projects). To be honest, I just can’t do another lockdown in the city and I’m craving nature.

Oh, about my process – I always move to my desk by the window once I start writing. Don’t know why that’s important but I find having my writing spot helps the inspirational elves know where to find me. And I turn off my phone for one hour at a time.

I was wondering if you sit by the window as I asked that.

Always a window! I can’t face a wall.

Tell us about your novel.

Ah the book! It’s the most painful thing of my life! Took me six years to complete, and I never really was happy with it until this last edit. Luckily, I found a literary agent who believes in it, and it’s about to get sent out to publishers! It’s a young adult feminist fantasy novel.

I actually started it with another writer after he directed me in an experimental film in Italy together using these characters. He got bored because I was taking too long to write each chapter while I was working full time. But I owe him a lot because the spark of the initial idea was his. It’s transformed a lot since that week six years ago. He’s going to write the screenplay edition of it though.

Oh my God – I saw you posted about Vagabond [on Instagram]! Seriously, one of my favorite films of all time. I also love the soft humor of Agnes Varda and the female characters she showcased.

It’s a masterpiece.

Ugh. I think about that character all of the time – I keep thinking about her freedom that she was allowed to feel and be… especially as I leave the city myself.

That is awesome. That you relate to that character. One of the most perfectly composed films ever made.

Yeah, Varda is really amazing. And that film, when I saw it in French cinema class at the Sorbonne – it changed me.

It makes me comfortably sad, if that makes sense.

Yup, definitely. I need to watch it again.

Look out for my write write-up for the Femme Film Fest. Let’s watch it together when you’re next settled.

Ah amazing. Yes, might be a while before that – but would love to watch it again.

So tell us about the shooting of Raging Cult. The location, the casting, the budget, and time etc.

This was a funny one because I kind of took this film as a dare to myself to see if I could do it. I told someone at a film festival that I had a film. I didn’t but I knew this would give me the motivation to make one. This is often how I work – use outside motivation to help me accomplish a goal. So, I wasn’t lying – I was telling the truth in the future.

I wrote it, filmed it, cast it and found the crew in a week and a half. We shot the second week. If you include film festival fees and editing, it was a $10k film. The location was all my apartment in Montmartre.

I wrote the role of Molly for Mollie Keane because I knew she could handle it, and that we bounced off each other really well. We had acted in a play a few years before – and I adore her.

The rest of the women were some friends of mine plus a few people who answered a casting call. I flew in the Director of Photography from London, even though she is, ironically, French. I wanted a female DOP because I wanted the women to feel safe to be able to express their real, raw anger. Plus, she was the best one I interviewed.

I would love to release some of the longer forms of the interviews of the women at some point. I am really interested in docu-fiction – so I did direct some of the women to act a certain way, and others I let them answer the questions naturally. For me, storytelling is always a mixture of reality and fiction, so why not do it blatantly?

And how was Raging Cult received?

So much better than I could have imagined! It’s won about six awards and gotten into more than a dozen festivals. But beyond that, for me, the best part was hearing women say they really felt seen with watching it, and gave them a sort of freedom to express themselves.

Honestly, the best for me was showing it in Baltimore (my hometown) and hearing a guy yell out “this is awesome” followed by laughter from the crowd at all the right moments. I felt like my Baltimore people really got my quirky sense of humor.

Great response. So you mentioned a feature…

Ah yes! My first feature already has a website. It’s a docu-fiction film about hopes and dreams, and what happens to them if you don’t pursue them. Charlie Kaufman and Orson Welles and Sarah Polley’s Stories We Tell are inspirations.

My editor was supposed to fly from Baltimore to Paris to edit with me in September but, you know, the world ended. So I taught myself Premiere Pro during lockdown and will give it a go by myself.

I love Stories We Tell. Have you seen Elena by Petra Costa?

No! Do you recommend?

Oh yeah. I think you’ll love it. Okay, a couple of closer questions. What do you have planned the next few months, personally and professionally?

The next few months, my literary agent is busy pitching my young adult feminist fantasy novel around! I’ll be editing my feature starting in October. And before that, rehearsing for my TEDx talk taking place end of September. I’ve been accepted into an artists retreat in the south of France called La Muse so hoping the muse will show up! Have a few other projects I’m editing as well.

That’s terrific. As a female filmmaker do you feel part of a special group? How have you seen the landscape change in the last few years?

As a female filmmaker, I do feel part of a special group. The reason I didn’t truly ever think about being a filmmaker when I was younger was probably because I didn’t see a woman in the role. It never occurred to me that I could do that. Then again, I also loved performing so much so perhaps I needed to get that out first.

I have seen the landscape change. Then again, I’ve always seen women helping women. People talk about bad female bosses and how women are catty – I’ve never seen that to be true. I’ve only ever seen women support each other.

But yes, there are more women as well at the top so you see people like Geena Davis, Reese Witherspoon and Ava Duvernay starting funds to help women get to work. We haven’t been given much of a chance before, so now it’s time to take that chance and no longer ask permission. We still have a long way to go to reach parity.