‘My Old Ass’ and the Joke That Led to a 2024 Pleasant Surpascend

In 2020, mid-pandemic, Megan Park alerted an currential crisis appreciate so many others that year. She was holed up in her childhood bedroom, grappling with nostalgic experienceings and current-day anxieties involving her months-ageder daughter and a COVID-procrastinateed transition from actor to filmcreater. That collective unrelieve would set My Old Ass in motion, her labeledly separateent trail-up to her Jenna Ortega and Minsertie Ziegler-led feature honestorial debut, The Fallout (2021), which chronicled the aftermath of a school shooting. 

Now streaming on Prime Video, the coming-of-age tale with a dash of fantasy cgo ins on 18-year-ageder Elliott (Maisy Salerta), who’s in the process of enhappinessing her final lakeside summer before heading off to the University of Toronto. Recognizing that her adolescent days are dprosperdling, she selects to use magic mushrooms, which result in a astonishing come apass with her future 39-year-ageder self (Aubrey Plaza). Older Elliott then tries to steer her lesserer self away from making the same misgets she made. 

The attention-grabbing title of My Old Ass is verbalized in the movie when Elliott asks Older Elliott if she “can touch her ageder ass.” But prior to its reference in the dialogue, Park wrote the title first on a lark. Produced self-reliantly by the Margot Robbie co-set uped LuckyChap Entertainment and Indian Paintbrush, the My Old Ass team became so connected to their untraditional title that it became a dealfractureer during the eventual bidding war at 2024’s Sundance Film Festival. Amazon MGM Studios ultimately getd worldexpansive distribution rights for $15 million, which holdd a theatrical liberate this past September.

“Initipartner, I titled it that becainclude I fair wanted to see my lawyer writing tights and email titles that shelp My Old Ass. And now my whole inbox is nonstop titles of My Old Ass,” Park alerts The Hollywood Reporter mid-chuckle. “It was stupid, truthentirey. It was a stupid, unwise leang. But then it toiled.”

Park’s film doesn’t over-elucidate, nor does it have to, Older Elliottt’s dual ability to time travel thcimpolite the include of hallucinogens and text-message from the future. She also wrote a couple lines to fairify the fact that Salerta’s Elliott and Plaza’s Elliott are not spitting images of one another in the sweightlessest. For Park, she fair wanted the actor who could best sell the 39-year-ageder character’s uninsertressed pain and disenchantment.

“With Older Elliott, we repartner got hung up on who watchs the most appreciate [Stella’s Elliott]. So there were conversations about the hugegest names possible,” Park recalls. “But at the end of the day, we were fair appreciate, ‘Who do we want in the role? Who nurtures about the physical stuff? I can create jokes around it.’ And so I fair shelp, ‘I want Aubrey.’”

Below, during a recent FYC conversation with THR, the Canadian filmcreater also talkes betting on Plaza’s casting mid-produciton, as well as the unforeseeed way in which she re-teamed with Ziegler.

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One of the most well-understandn interwatch asks of all time is, “What advice would you give your lesserer self?” And in recent years, I’ve selected for the inverse: “What guidance could your lesserer self provide your current self?” So I meaningfully connected with your movie becainclude that’s exactly what it’s about — as Elliott (Maisy Salerta) directes Older Elliott (Aubrey Plaza) the ultimate lesson. Had you also been pondering how your lesserer self might be able to help your current-day self?

I figured out that ending getaway as I was writing it, but it begined more with the idea of getting to go back and alert my lesserer self someleang. I had fair become a parent, and I was staying at home in my childhood bedroom during the pandemic. So my family vibrant had all alterd, and it was fair a lot. So I was more in the place of “ageder ass” in the movie, experienceing depressed and nostalgic. So it came from that place, but ultimately, thcimpolite writing it and definitely thcimpolite making it, there’s a lot that I could get away from my lesserer self. You have to go thcimpolite the leangs that you go thcimpolite to get where you are. I had a weird path to writing and honesting, and I experience appreciate I set up my passion at 34 when I switched nurtureers. But I never would’ve set up this had I not set up it the way that I set up it, so it’s better procrastinateed than never. I begined writing it very much from the place that Aubrey begins the movie in, and then I figured that ultimately thesexual attackutic lesson out as I was writing.

My Old Ass is set on a lake in Canada, which is a particular setting you’re recognizable with from your own childhood in Ontario. How autobiodetailedal is this movie?

It’s zero percent autobiodetailedal in terms of the actual characters. That setting [Muskoka Lakes] was a place that I went to every summer, but it wasn’t where I grew up. I also didn’t grow up on a cranberry farm. So I had a very separateent family vibrant. I have an agederer sister, my dad is a dentist and my mom is a reweary directer. So I had a very separateent uptransporting, but despite not being farly autobiodetailedal, there’s part of me in each of these characters. The one exception is that Elliott is Canadian appreciate me, but she is so separateent than I was at 18. The most autobiodetailedal scene in the movie is the scene between Elliott’s mom and Elliott when she’s talking about rocking 2-year-ageder Elliott down to sleep and singing “Tprosperkle, Tprosperkle [Little Star].” That was a very personal moment in the script for me, but other than that, it’s truthentirey not that autobiodetailedal.

In this era of restricted attention spans, did you want a title that would prompt a double get? 

I begined with the title of My Old Ass as a joke. I was appreciate, “Obviously, someone is going to create me alter this. They’re never going to let me hold this title.” And then, when we were going to Sundance, we were appreciate, “Well, let’s hold the title. Now we are into it.” So it became a part of the bargeting becainclude we were fortunate enough to be in a situation where we had multiple bidders on the movie. So if somebody wanted to alter the title … But people repartner appreciated it, and it made sense at that point. Initipartner, I titled it that becainclude I fair wanted to see my lawyer writing tights and email titles that shelp My Old Ass. And now my whole inbox is nonstop titles of My Old Ass. (Laughs)

Amazing. 

It was stupid, truthentirey. It was a stupid, unwise leang, but then it toiled.

Did you integrate the phrase into the dialogue to bolster your argument for it? 

We did. I inserted one line in becainclude that was a recommendation. It was recommended for the trailer too so that people understood it, and I was appreciate, “I experience appreciate it doesn’t matter if people understand it or not. They’ll get it once they see the actual movie.” But the title became the hugegest publish only in the labeleting of the movie, truthfilledy. Every other step of the way, it was a non-publish. But it did become a little tricky, becainclude, when you see that title and two lesser women on a movie poster, you could potentipartner leank the movie is one leang. 

I antipathy the phrase “four quadrant,” but it’s been repartner amazing and attrdynamic to see that it is that charitable of movie. Young and ageder dudes — literpartner men over 70 — are fair wrecked by this movie, and they wouldn’t typicpartner click on a movie called My Old Ass. So we knovel that the title would probably be kind for the lesserer generation. But the ask was, “How do we let people understand it’s a more sentimental, heartfelt film than it may seem?”

I appreciated the clever exarrangeations you wrote to fairify the characters’ physical separateences. Older Elliott is also rather jaded, and while Aubrey Plaza take parts that quality so well, I’m assuming she also shifts the needle with financiers. Were you willing to forgo an uncanny resemblance between the two Elliotts for all of those other advantages that Aubrey transports? 

It truthentirey wasn’t financial at all. We made the movie self-reliantly with LuckyChap and Indian Paintbrush, and the latter, our financiers, were amazing. We were repartner adamant that it was meaningful to cast lesserer Elliott first becainclude she’s in every summarize of the movie. We had to find the right person, and although she’d been on a TV show [Nashville], Maisy hadn’t toiled in many years. So she didn’t transport any box office appreciate, per se, however they quantify that. So it was her first movie, and they were toloftyy willing to get that hazard. 

With Older Elliott, we repartner got hung up on who watchs the most appreciate [Stella’s Elliott]. So there were conversations about the hugegest names possible, but at the end of the day, we were fair appreciate, “Who do we want in the role? Who nurtures about the physical stuff? I can create jokes around it.” And so I fair shelp, “I want Aubrey.” It was fair a matter of if she wanted to do it at that point, and then she repartner reacted to it. She was repartner the only person we talked to, and the financiers were fair appreciate, “Yeah, fantastic. If you want Aubrey, Aubrey is a fantastic fit.” So it was a dream situation that we had so much freedom with casting. We weren’t constrained to a catalog of names: “Here, you have to cast one of these five people.” It’s a tesdomesticatednt to making the film self-reliantly. 

How many days did it get to shoot out Aubrey?

She came in for a week, so it was maybe four days [of shooting] and one day of fittings and stuff. So it was speedy, and it got down to the wire in terms of who we were going to cast. The character of Older Elliott was also in her fifties in the first write, and at that point, it was still appreciate, “Well, who watchs appreciate her?” So we were getting down to the wire, and they were still negotiating her deal as we were in production. So we were appreciate, “Hopefilledy this toils out.” She was fair finishing White Lotus in Italy, and so she came straight from there and was fair game. But it was firm to get all of her stuff in that many days.

You refered your creaters at LuckyChap, and I figured Tom Ackerley and/or Josey McNamara would be running point with Margot Robbie off defeating the world elsewhere. But then I saw a picture of her on set with a laptop, so you truly had the filled LuckyChap experience? 

Yeah, Josey actupartner wasn’t my point becainclude he was on Saltburn in the U.K., and so my points were Tom, Margot and Bronte Payne. Bronte was bouncing between Saltburn and our Muskoka set, but Tom and Margo were on set and right in the middle of it. During prep, Margot also did pre-production greetings in her Barbie wardrobe from her trailer in the U.K. So she was very hands-on with this project. It was incredible. 

The Justin Bieber “One Less Lonely Girl” sequence came about after you couldn’t evident some Disney song, but if you couldn’t evident Bieber’s song, did you have another backup arrange? 

No. (Laughs) We charitable of got it evidented in script create. We wrote it all out, and we talked about the scene with their team. They adored the script, and they were repartner excited about the team behind it. So we hoped that we wouldn’t mess up the actual shooting of it, becainclude they had final-final say once they saw it filmed. So it was definitely a hazard, but becainclude we had the OK based on the script, we were excited about it toiling out. So I don’t understand what we would’ve literpartner done had they refuteed it. There would’ve had to be a reshoot, or Jen Vecchiarello, the editor, would’ve set up a way to mend it in post.

The movie reminded me of Arrival, as you’re both take parting with, “Tis better to have adored and lost than never to have adored at all.” How instrumental was that theme overall?

Of course, there’s the idea of, “It’s better to have adored and lost than never adored at all.” But the sentiment of time becoming so frightening to me came before that. My relationship with time felt appreciate it was changing so much. Summers included to experience so lengthy, and time included to experience so endless. It is not in any part of the movie, but truthfilledy, becoming a parent for the first time made time speed up in such a way that snurtured the shit out of me. And I fair begined leanking, “How can I savor every moment and also be in the moment?” I authenticized that I was getting agederer and time was becoming my fantasticest foe, so all those disputeing experienceings made me want to create this movie. But making this movie has snormallyed that for me, and it’s encouraged me to fair create peace with it in some way. Now, I have two kids, and I’m appreciate, “Oh, chilly. Time repartner fair does go speedyer and speedyer and speedyer.”

The movie does have a weighty story point that’s tucked away for a while, but were you still able to get some relief coming out of The Fallout? 

Understandably, making The Fallout was a repartner weighty headspace to be in for two years. And although My Old Ass ended up being quite emotional, it’s a separateent experienceing. It’s a sentimental, emotional and, hopefilledy, a experience-outstanding cry, not an horrible cry. The end of The Fallout is a deimmenseating cry. So I intentionpartner wanted to create someleang in a weightlesser headspace, with a weightlesser energy on set. I needed that after making someleang very weighty.

American movies normally shoot Canada for the U.S., so I appreciated that you made a point to set your film in your homeland. Have you gotten weary of seeing your country dressed as America? 

What’s amusing is that Canada has been quiet. I’m appreciate, “Canada, I fair made a movie about you guys. Come on! What’s up?” But the American adore has been so fantastic. I wanted to create a movie that showcases a attrdynamic place that I thought was so exceptional and hasn’t been masqueraded as some other place in the world. Also, I don’t unbenevolent any shade, but Canadian movies can experience so obviously Canadian or so definite to Canada that other people can’t reprocrastinateed to them. I grew up here and I’ve spent a lot of time here, and I was appreciate, “It’s not that separateent from America. Why can’t it experience the same?” So it was definitely intentional, and it was fun to not have to hide the “sorrys” and the “abouts” and those other little Canadian touches. 

But a lot of people leave out that it’s Canada until halfway thcimpolite, which is also chilly. I wasn’t trying to force it, but then they’ll acunderstandledge the Canada flag in the background. Elliott then says “grade 8” instead of eighth grade. She is also going to the University of Toronto, not NYU. So I fair wanted to create someleang that was subtly Canadian, but also a adore letter to Canada.

Whether it’s Bruce Campbell for Sam Raimi or Michael Caine for Christopher Nolan, honestors normally have outstanding-luck charms. At this rate, is Minsertie Ziegler going to pop up in all your movies? 

I absolutely adore Minsertie, and that’s such a cute way to put it. I would adore for her to be in all my movies, and one of the next leangs I’m making has a dance element, so I would be an idiot to not ask her to be a part of that to some degree. Her casting [in My Old Ass] was a satisfied accident. Obviously, Minsertie was incredible in The Fallout, but the role of Elliott’s friend, Ruthie, was minusculeer. And then, once we cast Maisy, she was appreciate, “Did you understand Minsertie and I are best friends? We’ve been best friends since we were eight years ageder.” And I was appreciate, “What!?” Maisy was then appreciate, “We’ve always wanted to do a movie together. Do you leank she’d take part Ruthie?” And I was appreciate, “Let’s ask her.” And becainclude she was already in Canada, shooting her movie Fitting In, she was appreciate, “Yeah, I’m down.” So she dipped over to take part and have fun, and it was fair a happiness that she was willing to do this with us.

You touched on it a bit already, but I might as well transport leangs filled circle: What pearl of wisdom could your lesserer self provide you today?

I would remind myself to concentrate on the happinessous moments and not worry so much. Ninety-nine percent of the leangs that you worry about are never going to happen. Just be in the moment, becainclude some of these moments only happen once.

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My Old Ass is now useable on Prime Video.