Francesca Scorsese has spent most of her life on sets, appearing in films such as The Departed, The Aviator, and Hugo. Now she is forging her own path as an up-and-coming actress and can currently be seen starring as Britney in HBO’s critically-acclaimed coming-of-age series, We Are Who We Are, co-created and directed by Luca Guadagnino. A story about two American kids who live on a U.S. military base in Italy, the series explores friendship, first-love, identity, and immerses the audience in all the messy exhilaration and anguish of being a teenager – a story which could happen anywhere in the world, but in this case, happens in this little slice of America in Italy.
Currently residing in New York City and studying filmmaking at NYU, Scorsese recently spoke with NOIAFT’s Chief Entertainment Critic, Giò Crisafulli, about her experiences on screen and behind the camera.
In the first episode of We Are Who We Are, your scene in the supermarket reminded me of the On the Waterfront glove scene but with the gender roles reversed. Jack Dylan Grazer’s character has so much energy that he doesn’t quite know where to direct it, while yours is so experienced and chill. That dichotomy was really alive. For your scenes, what is the point of communion between what you have prepared as the actress and what Luca Guadagnino has in mind as the director?
Originally when playing Britney, I was a bit reserved. I wasn’t used to being so confident and not caring what other people thought. So when we first started doing the scene, I was a little nervous. I was trying so hard to pull that out of me. When Luca talked to me about it, he said, “You know, you really just have to let loose. Don’t freak out too much. Just try to be in the mind of your character.” He even told me to spit the cherry pits on the ground in that scene. When I did that, I was like, “Wait, this has actually gotten a bit easier.” Spitting the cherry pits out on the ground was such a small note, but it’s something that I don’t normally do. It helped me open my mind in terms of Britney and how she comes across when she’s meeting new people. That’s the scene where she first met Fraser (Jack Dylan Grazer). She really just wanted to learn about him and was very excited to do so, but was also showing off. It was fun to do, and I feel like Luca really helped me.
The sound design of We Are Who We Are is a major characteristic of the show. The proliferation of sounds seems to be a part of the culture of the military base that the show is set in. I understand that the base was built from the ground up, but did you guys spend any time on an actual base?
Britney’s whole world was that false base. There was a base that the hair and makeup department would go to or a base where some people would go and get American food, but we never visited or became accustomed to a real base. We had our own set and we loved it.
Kudos to you guys because you really created an organic sense of ambience, environment and community. That’s really a testament to the artistry of all of you since the base is such a major aspect of the series. After seeing your wonderful work on this show, I checked out your directorial work. I know this is a large question for someone at the beginning of their career, but what do you see or hope for as your career trajectory? I’m interested in this also because you’re a director as well as an actress. Do you see yourself as Sydney Pollack or Vittorio De Sica crafting a major body of work as a director while working on other directors’ productions?
That’s a good question. I’m a very indecisive person when it comes to stuff like that! When I really enjoy doing something, I don’t want to stop. But then I find myself enjoying other things, and I don’t want to stop doing those things. I’ve practically grown up on film sets and have always been surrounded by films, but I really got into the acting world when I was around 14. I was sort of in a rough period in my life. I just loved going up to my room and screening films and just putting myself in someone else’s shoes and forgetting about my life for the time I was watching the film. I started to think, “Oh maybe I can get into acting.” So I did some work on Backstage, then I got this one role, and I loved acting ever since. I love the way it makes me feel. I love the fact that I can go into someone else’s life. Not that I don’t like my life! It’s just fun. Since I was younger, I’ve always wanted to direct and make my own films. But now I guess my love for films has evolved into something different. In the future, I certainly want to make films. That’s no question, but I’d also love to do more acting. I imagine it as a best of both worlds situation where I can do a bit of both and see where my life takes me. I’m a very go with the flow person. So I guess when I’m older, if I don’t enjoy acting or filmmaking anymore, I’ll focus on the other aspects of my life that fulfill me like photography and art. But right now, my two big things are filmmaking and acting so I’ll focus on those and do the other things as hobbies.
We are an Italian American organization, and We Are Who We Are is very apropos to our members’ own life experience, and apropos to a lot of the American experience for many people — people who all have roots from somewhere else now immersed in a larger culture that is not the one of their ethnic origins. I saw Luca Guadagnino say he loved that dichotomy. What is the nature of your Italian American experience?
My parents are very different. My mom is not Italian whatsoever, she’s pretty WASPy! And my father is obviously Italian American. They’re both older. So it’s a shame because I was never really able to meet my father’s parents. I’ve heard so many wonderful stories and seen so many wonderful things about them. So I know if I was born earlier or my parents were a bit younger, I would probably have more of a connection with my Italian American side. But I’m glad that my dad has really brought it through to me a lot throughout my life. I have a big family on my Dad’s side. When I was much younger, whenever we would have these get togethers at holidays and birthdays, I would see my relatives and friends from where my dad used to live on Elizabeth Street. They were always getting together. Big family: rowdy and fun and amazing. Sadly, I only got a small glimpse of that and now most have passed on. But looking back, whenever I did spend time with them, I felt this sense of love and serious family, even for a short amount of time. Seeing my father’s film Italianamerican, I get to see a little glimpse into my grandmother and grandfather’s lives. My older sister, Cathy, who was very close to them carried on my grandmother’s lasagna recipe. She made it for me all the time when I was younger and she still surprises me today with it. It keeps the tradition going and keeps them alive in a sense.
You’ve made a number of short films during quarantine, but one of your earlier shorts is Plastic Minds. In the film, you suggest that we “do the right thing, especially when kids are watching.” Because you produced this film a few years ago, have your feelings about this concept of “doing the right thing” changed, in the wake of what’s gone on in our culture and society since?
I actually made that for a college admission for RISD, I think! They said, “Do a play on the word plastic.” So I looked up the definition, and one of them was malleable, and I said to myself, “Oh well, children have very malleable minds.” They really absorb what’s going on around them, especially from what adults are doing. I think nowadays that’s a really important concept because children always look up to you and really need to know between right and wrong. Nowadays with all this hatred in the world, I think it’s so important to just show love, and be mindful of what you put into the world and how you treat other people. I think that is really, really important especially in front of children who are so easily impacted by things you might do, and might take after what you might do. So I think: the more love, the better!
Your short film, Pour Ma Grande Pivoine, reminded me of a series of photos I saw years ago in a retrospective at the Met of the legendary photographer Richard Avedon. The photos he took were of his father in what turned out to be his father’s deathbed. Your mother is living, and your short motion picture lovingly conveys that, and I think in ways only a daughter could. You’ve created a work of art about something private and intimate to you and your family, which you have exhibited on an online platform. I, and I imagine many artists, understand your need to do so, but many people might not. Can you speak to your needs as an artist, specifically as a filmmaker, to translate into moving images what is alive within you? (which I think We Are Who We Are is an exploration of as well for its characters.)
I’m a very open person. I can talk about anything with complete comfort. It takes a lot for me to be uncomfortable talking about something especially when it pertains to my life. My mother being ill has been something that I’ve grown up with and it’s not a secret. It’s something that has brought a lot of emotion into my life and I usually convey my emotion through my art. That’s just kind of how the film happened. I also want to bring awareness through the film. Parkinson’s is a huge part of my life, my mother’s life and our family, and I want to try to bring as much awareness as possible to that. I have a lot of emotion and a lot of things in my life obviously that bring that to the surface.
Well you are half Italian. There is a reason we invented opera, emotional is no surprise!
Absolutely true, ha! I love to express things through my art. I’m very bad at expressing my opinion sometimes. Verbally, I just get my words jumbled. Interviews originally would scare the crap out of me. I would apologize to the person asking me the questions or I’d ask them questions to make sure I was answering correctly. The way that I am most comfortable with expressing myself and what I feel or my opinions would be through my art, whether that be film, photography, painting, sketching, or writing.
We Are Who We Are is available on HBO and HBO Max.
ABOUT GIÒ CRISAFULLI:
Giò Crisafulli is the Chief Entertainment Critic for NOIAFT and writer/director of “Children of God” which he is producing with Melissa Batista at Zio Ciccio Cinema, in which an actor who’s the son of a priest and nun is on the verge of stardom while having an affair with a painter from Italy. A sensational and intuitive look into the romance of two people, it will show how any relationship can be a fleeting microcosm of one’s life. Giò is also an executive producer on the upcoming documentary, Heirloom, featuring Isabella Rossellini.
Check out Giò’s interviews at Lincoln Center’s Opens Roads New Italian Cinema:
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This was a great interview. Ms. Scorsese is very humble, open and honest, and I excited to see how her body of work continues to expand.
I don’t usually read interviews but this one was Great. It was an interesting and compelling read. Your question about Plastic Minds and Francesca Scorsese response is a must read for all Parents.
Thank you.