Jonah Hill leads True Story as Michael Finkel, a disgraced New York Times reporter who can’t score a new job after he’s caught massaging story details. Soon after heading home to his wife Jill (Felicity Jones) in Montana, Mike gets word that accused killer Christian Longo (James Franco) is using his identity. Rather than steer clear of the supposed murderer, Mike suspects that writing a book about Christian could help him get his career back on track. Jill knows something isn’t quite right, but even she becomes intoxicated by Christian and his story.

With the film now playing in theaters, I recently got the opportunity to sit down with Jones to discuss how she approached bringing this true story to screen. We talked about her meetings with the real Jill, her experience working with Hill, Franco and director Rupert Goold and how the set itself reflects Jill’s relationship with Mike and Christian. As one might expect, Jones couldn’t reveal any details about Star Wars: Rogue One, but she’s certainly excited about scoring the gig. You can catch her thoughts on that and True Story in the video interview below. (Please note, this interview was conducted before the Star Wars: Rogue One event at Star Wars Celebration.)

true-story-jonah-hill-james-franco
Image via Sundance Film Festival

Felicity Jones:

  • 00:00 - Prepping to shoot True Story; meeting the real Jill.
  • 00:45 - Giving Jill a meaningful character arc with minimal screen time.
  • 01:33 - On Jill being the character who’s with the audience more than most.
  • 02:14 - Jill’s relationship with Mike is never explicitly defined in the film.
  • 02:50 - How the set itself reflects the status of Jill’s relationship with Mike; how it mirrors Christian’s situation.
  • 03:44 - It’s an intense, profound story; can the cast relax when Goold calls cut or does the material stick with them?
  • 04:32 - On working with Hill and Franco;
  • 04:56 - On working with Goold as a first time feature director with an extensive theater background.
  • 05:30 - How Goold works with his cast on set.
  • 06:01 - A brief attempt at talking about Star Wars: Rogue One; was she into the Star Wars films before signing on?
true-story-poster