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――This film was so much fun. It brought me back the feelings I had when I was a teenager and made me want to talk to my best friend from that time.


Augustine Frizzell: Aw, that’s the best compliment! I didn’t want it to be a bummer, I wanted it to be fun [laughs.] I love stoner comedies and coming-of-age [films] and I thought I’d never seen a stoner comedy or a coming-of-age film about my life situation; you live on your own, no parents, working jobs and being too young, you’ve dropped out of school… So I just thought, I’ll do that [laughs].


――I’ve read that a lot of this film is inspired by your own teenage years.


Augustine Frizzell: For a long time, I felt like my teen life was unfortunate and that I maybe had a rough start. And had I had more of a stable life and not as many obstacles, maybe I would have done something or gone on to do something. But I think really early, I started realizing that that wasn’t true and that it wasn’t too late and I could still do something. For many years, I thought about my upbringing and my teen years is just super unique and something that not many people had experienced. I remember talking to my husband about it and every story I would tell him, he’d be like, “Jesus, there’s so much. It’s crazy!” [laughs] I never realized it just because that was my life.





――Why did you decide to make a film about it?


Augustine Frizzell: At some point, I just decided maybe I should write some of this down, and that just led to, “Gosh, this would make an interesting movie!” And when I got to the heart of it, that became a story about friendship and this best friend that I had and how important that was for who I became. I think having that spot of that stability when you’re young, whether it’d be a parent or a friend or a partner, whoever it is, it really does shape you and help you get through those times and become who you’re going to be. So that was important.


――We all make bad decisions when we are teenagers, and in a lot of teen movies, they get punished for it. I’m glad that this movie was not like that.


Augustine Frizzell: Yeah, when you’re young, you’re doing really stupid things. And most of the time, if we’re lucky, you live through it. Unfortunately, a lot of people do have long term consequences, but for the most part, when you’re a teenager, you can get away with doing really dumb things and be OK at the end of the day. So what I wanted to focus on was that we were young and making mistakes, but we were still living a happy life. Because we had each other and we were able to see the good time. I really wanted to focus on that and not making it like a lesson or something like that.

――Wasn’t it difficult for you to tell such a personal story?


Augustine Frizzell: I’ve never been a person to hide from my past. I think I’ve been pretty open about everything. I feel like a lot of shame can be associated with our mistakes from when we were younger and it’s hard to learn if we don’t share. I think what’s most important is who we are now.





――How did you find Maia Mitchell who played Angela and Camila Morrone who played Jessie? Their chemistry was great!


Augustine Frizzell: We just sent the script out to different agents. I held a lot of auditions and watched tapes so I knew from the tapes that they were exciting. We had four girls that were really exciting, but the thing that really nailed it was them together. That chemistry is not something you can fake, you either have it or you don’t. And they had it. So it felt very fortuitous.


――They were amazing. How did you give them directions?


Augustine Frizzell: So much of that they brought it, I wish I could take credit for it, but it really was them. But we talked a lot about the physical closeness of between me and my best friend. I’m a person who is comfortable being physically close with my gal pals. Also, we talked about the comfort you get from your best friend. Even when life is hard and all the external things around you are bringing you down, to have that anchor, that non-stop anchor, that’s their true blue. You could make the worst mistake and they would still love you through it. That’s one of the things that we discussed.


――I’m sure you guys had so much fun on set. What were some of the things that you remember from making this film?


Augustine Frizzell: There was an accident, actually [laughs.] We were in Texas and Camila and some of the cast went out to a bar where they have a mechanical bull [laughs.] Cami rode it and pulled her neck!


――Oh no!


Augustine Frizzell: She pulled her neck and could not get out of bed on the next day. So we had to push the shoot by a day and she was in a neck brace for the duration.　She pushed through and finished the shoot, but for a minute there, we thought we wouldn’t be able to finish this movie. But she really pushed through. She had to go to physical therapy for like two years or something.


――Wow. But I guess that what you want to do when you go to Texas.


Augustine Frizzell: I know! I’ve lived there my whole life, and I’d never been on the mechanical bull [laughs.]





――How did you feel when you completed such a personal film? Was it cathartic in any way?


Augustine Frizzell: Yeah, something of that sort. I think it was good to finally finish it, because I’ve been writing it for so long. So it was kind of nice to have it done and move on from that chapter in my life. I think it also just reinforced how lucky I was to have had such a weird childhood, because that fueled my art, and then my arts fueled my career. And luckily, I have a career now.


――Did you show the film to your best friend from your teenage years?


Augustine Frizzell: Yeah, she’s very proud of it. She’s not in the film industry at all, so she’s like, “Do you know that movie is about me and that’s based on my life?” [laughs]





――A24 films are very popular in Japan. How was it like working with them?


Augustine Frizzell: Amazing. It’s a dream. There is no other goal, you just want A24 when you make a film like this. They are the company who supports and kind of champions different POVs. What I hoped to do was to bring a different perspective to the stoner comedy or the female stoner comedy and female lead stories, so I felt really lucky. I love their films, too, and had been such a fan. And I always wait and see what’s coming out next.


――Me, too.


Augustine Frizzell: Yeah! There’s such a level of trust in their filmmakers, and I think that’s what’s also so exciting. They take risks. And you see it time and time again, where those risks pay off. And the films are good and have an audience and change the conversation. I think that’s what’s so exciting.





――Would you ever consider writing a book about your teenage years?


Augustine Frizzell: Yeah, I really should, maybe someday. I think you can experience something, but it’s not until later that you can look back on it with a well-rounded perspective. I think maybe, I don’t know, 30 years from now, I’ll write a book. And hopefully it’ll make some positive difference. 　


――Is your daughter old enough to watch this film?


Augustine Frizzell: She’s in it! [laughs] She plays Crystal, the sassy hostess.


――Wow. What does she think of the film?


Augustine Frizzell: She loves it. She heard all these stories growing up, so she’s fully aware of everything. She thinks it’s really funny. That character is so opposite from who she is. She had a lot of fun being really sassy and bitchy [laughs]


――So now the film is about to open in Japan. How do you feel?


Augustine Frizzell:　I’m excited. I think it’s really cool. I hope people like it and just go and have fun and zone out for an hour and a half. It’s not meant to be taken too seriously. There are no lessons to be learned. There is no moral of the story. It’s really just a day in a life of a couple of crazy teen girls, and I think if anything, hopefully there’s some empathy. Not that I’m asking for empathy, but like some empathy for people whose lives are different than yours.





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