Question #1

So Demi, why don’t we start with you? After a very prolific career, what is it about this script that resonated with you and made you want to be a part of it?

Demi Moore:

Well, first of all, it was an absolutely unique way of delving into this subject matter, one that scared me just enough that I knew it would push me out of my comfort zone. And it was also just a richly complex character to play that I can say I certainly hadn’t seen come across my desk before. I think it was something where I felt like it was also exploring this idea of not just aging, but that violence that we can have against ourselves, which I feel is such a human relationship relatable issue that we all share. I just didn’t know if it was going to all work. That was the variable.

Question #2

Margaret, did you get the chance to do any prep work with Demi prior to filming the film? And how were there discussions between the two of you regarding the movie and your roles?

Margaret Qualley:

I think Demi and I both prepped a lot, and it looked different. I think for me, mine was so much about the physicality of Sue and trying to figure out what her body looks like and how she moved and trying to reach some form that could represent an idea of perfect in Coralie’s mind. And then simultaneously, for me, the experience was very much about trying to feel like my body could move through the world in a painless way. I did a lot of yoga, too, to try to… If you’re entering the world as a fully formed human without having had any experiences, you wouldn’t carry any pain in your body in the same way. Even the way I’m doing this right now is saying, I’m uncomfortable talking right now. None of that would happen. So trying to just figure out what that looks like. So the way in which Demi and I prepared that had a big overlap was just how, I think, seriously we took our prep, and we were both setting out to achieve different things whilst doing it with the same intent and full throttle, putting yourself into it. And I think we are so like minded in the way that we digest material and put ourselves into the film that inherently there were like, overlapped without us even having to have intentional conversations about, quote unquote, being one.

Demi Moore:

Yeah, it didn’t really take us very much. And I think, although I was just thinking as you were speaking, we did do a few activities together. We worked with someone who did this activity where we were using a ball, and it was less about it having any specific intention, but just in deepening in our connection. Because I agree with Margaret, it did require very little conversation. It’s Almost as if just our knowing and our trust in each other and the way in which we looked out for each other almost gave that connection without us having to overanalyze it.

Margaret Qualley:

It’s funny because as you’re saying that, we were in our own way doing that. We just weren’t necessarily setting out to do that. We were constantly communicating and sharing our experiences and building off of one another. But I guess it just happens inevitably.

Question #3:

Yeah, that’s amazing because it’s such a seamless performance from both of you, but it’s one character. I mean, I guess there is a scene down to me’s back in the film, but other than that. But I think there was a vulnerability within I think we went into it with also a lot of the prep conversations about what does that look like?

Demi Moore:

And also just knowing the focus for Coralie She’s a visual writer as well as director. And so in really being there for each other in the physical vulnerability as well as the emotional vulnerability. And because we were on these two separate journeys, but really having to hold the counterbalance for one another.

Question #4:

Yeah. This next question is for the both of you. Margaret, why don’t you start us off with this one? Has working on this film given you any new perspectives on body image in Hollywood or the pressures of maintaining a certain image?

Margaret Qualley:

I think one of the reasons why I gravitated towards the script was because I think that it’s talking about topics that, unfortunately, are super present in everybody’s lives and in this elegant, fantastical way that makes it exciting. But that said, I grew up a dancer, and then I modeled for a second, and then I started acting. And every single step of the path has been an incredible amount of pressure on the idea of being perfect or having this unattainable, especially within the dance world. There’s a very specific thing that you’re reaching towards. And I think I’m so lucky to be living in a time when so many of those standards are being broken down and reinvented. And so I think I’m really grateful to be alive right now. And with that said, I think everybody’s dealing with these themes to some degree in their life. And playing Sue was certainly entering the eye of the storm. It was challenging, and mentally and physically challenging, and somewhat exhausting. So I’m glad that I had to deal with all these things head on, and I do feel stronger because of it. But I also think that despite the fact that the world in a, I think, better place than it was 10 years ago, and hopefully it just gets better and better and easier and easier. These are still things that women and men are constantly dealing with.

Question #5

To me, what about you? Same question. Did this change your perspective at all on Beauty Standards in Hollywood? This film in particular?

Demi Moore

I don’t know if it changed my perspective on the beauty standards. I think that it was a reflection of the beauty standards that have been in place, and in many respects, in an unspoken way, in a conscious agreement that was almost like a silent agreement. What I think it did for me was just expand again on that idea of the circumstances are in Hollywood and in society as a whole. But I think it’s a lot of what we as women have also agreed to in this idea that in aging out, you are sidelined or that you are less desirable or less valuable. I don’t think it’s necessarily the truth, but I think that there is a collective consciousness. And I think that in the process of doing this film, it allowed me on a personal level to look at those areas of judgments that I was holding against myself, where I I was pushing and holding myself to those standards that are not necessarily realistic versus the beauty of focusing and celebrating all that I am versus focusing on all that I’m not. I feel like that, for me, was one of the most powerful parts of this film. And so to answer simply, I feel like I’ve walked away a little bit more liberated within my own self from this experience.

I mean, look, we’re human, and we’re out here, we’re doing press, we’re sitting here. That idea that Hollywood is an amplifier of this issue. I think that to know that we could be a part of creating a cultural shift by just expanding the awareness by doing something that I think is provocative and creating conversation. I had someone come up to me, a flight attendant, on on a plane, a man, and say, I saw your movie, you were great, but what he said that was most important is, and it really made me stop and look at what I was doing to myself and completely change how harsh I was all these things, dieting and all this stuff. I literally felt like that was the greatest gift I could possibly have had from this, is to know that it’s actually made a difference in how someone is looking at themselves.

Question #6

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, that’s the greatest hope any of us can have in our work, right? Is to hope that we can affect positive change in others.

Demi Moore:

So that’s great. I mean, you’re right. And that’s the part of of art being a pursuit of truth, and that when truth resonates, that if it can translate on a deeper level, then it is what you can only hope for.

Question #7

So going off on that, to me, Obviously, this is a very daring film. It was a daring choice to play a role like this. What was the moment when you realized you could totally trust Coralie as a director, and why is that?

Demi Moore:

You know, what I trusted was this was such a personal story to her, and I think that… And the script was… I think I trusted in her material. I think you never know when you… And I think more than anything, it was about trusting myself, committing and being able to trust myself and being able to go all in. That is really much more, I think. I think I trusted really in the story that she was wanting to make. Because you have to understand on paper, This was something that could have… You go, Wow, this could really be amazing. It’s so beyond what anybody can imagine, and it could also be a disaster. So I think visually, I think a lot of this was… I think I fully trusted Coralie when I saw the film for the first time in Canne.

Question #8

Margaret, I have a question for you, what is it like to embody a character that represents the beauty that many women want to have, but at the same time, that beauty is hostile. How did that make you feel?

Margaret Qualley:

It’s very strange I have a strange character to play, to be honest. I’ve never had an experience quite like this. It’s very bizarre because she’s ultimately quite heartless. Now. And she’s soulless. And the things that she about the most or maybe the worst parts of being a human. So to amplify that, to be as big as I could possibly make that thing was pretty exhausting. But I’m super… I feel I’m a part of a greater message. You know what I mean? I’m doing. I’m being a good little soldier in attempts to try to tell this story and work with to me, and I’ll be the bad for her good.

Demi Moore:

But I’ll add into that because I think, yes, while everything for Sue was an external drive, I think that what also was the thread that connected us, since we were playing the same person, was just the deep wounding and desire to be loved.

Margaret Qualley:

 That’s true.

Demi Moore:

I think that it would have been somebody with lesser depth than Margaret could have made it just a surface character, but I feel that there is such a new once in our shared pain.

Margaret Qualley:

 That’s true. I’ll run with that.

Question #9

You both talked a lot about the positive effect this movie can have on the world and changing beauty standards, and that story about the flight attendant was incredible to me. But the movie has also become quite a fun hit for all of us out there in the world, and it’s a tremendous fun to watch. This is for both of you. What was the most fun to shoot in the movie? Margaret, why don’t you start?

Margaret Qualley:

The shoot was a lot harder than maybe… It was quite challenging. It was over five months, so it was broken down into these tiny little pieces that I think the thing that was the most fun was whenever we would have… Oftentimes, you’re doing one eighth of a page a day. It’s that slow. It’s that specific. And whenever we would be able to shoot a couple of pages, that would be the most exciting because it would mean that you would get to run with something. So examples of that for me were the dance sequence. That was an opportunity for me to prep something that I knew was going to be filmed rather quickly in succession. You have a bit of agency and something like that. The same goes for… I actually had a lot of fun doing my talk show scene because that’s banter back and forth. Anything where you could take off running for just a moment was fun for me. Then the last thing I’ll add was one of the most rewarding moments for me in the film was when Demi and I are both conscious at the time. I’m such a fan of Demi’s, and so it was hard to be present with her on set over and over and over again without having the opportunity to toss the ball in the air with her. To be able to do that and look alive was really thrilling.

Demi Moore:

I would agree, too, on that, doing the scene, when we finally actually had a scene where one of us, where we were both conscious, I really looked forward to that, even though it was such a

brutal sequence and difficult scene to shoot. It was not like that was easy, but it was a joy, especially for me, because I was so I had so many scenes that were just alone. The other, for me, I would say, if I were thinking of fun, and again, it was still difficult, was the cooking sequence. It was just so mad as Hatter. I mean, and gross beyond belief.

Margaret Qualley:

Well, a lot of that, I’m going to speak for you because I think this is interesting, and I don’t think that you’ll talk about it yourself. But a lot of that was to me just like, Okay, yeah, fine. Losing it on the day in a way that was really gratifying for us as filmmakers to watch because she took it to the… I mean, as audiences to watch because she took it to the next level just with the eggs. And a lot of that, she’s coming up with the thing on herself just out of sheer madness. Yeah, I love those moments.

Demi Moore:

 Yeah.

Question #10

Another example of how much fun the movie is to watch right there. Demi, this question is for you. We are in a very intriguing cinematic period where there are several films like Night Bitch, The Last Show Girl, and Baby Girl that deal with important themes relating to women. To me, how do you feel like the substance addresses that women constantly have to deal with that? I think the question is, how does the substance directly deal with these issues? How do you feel that the substance is doing that? I guess an extension of that is this seems like it’s a topic that’s coming up a lot right now, and maybe is there a reason why?

Demi Moore:

Well, and I haven’t yet had the privilege to see all of the other films. I actually have Night Bitch queued up actually to watch, and so I’m really excited. But what’s interesting is what I’m getting from some of those that are mentioned is, again, there seems to be a collective consciousness around this idea of accepting ourselves, loving ourselves, that seems to be coming through. I know in Baby Girl, there’s aspects about addressing issues of shame. And I think that there’s some aspects of that in the substance, which it’s fascinating that that is in a way, out in the zeitgeist. And I don’t think that it’s exclusive to women. I think in the substance in particular, that it really is about looking at that way in which we can be so harshly critical to ourselves. And because in the end, it’s not what anybody’s doing to us. It’s what we do to ourselves that create our experience and our reality in life. And at the same time it’s also one of the most powerful recognitions of being able to create change when we can stop looking on the outside of us and go within ourselves. Because I think change It happens first within each of us, and then the outside begins to reflect that.

And I think that’s part of what I see that’s happening. I think as we are, as women, are finding more value in who we are at various ages, sizes, races, cultures, that the more we’re taking ownership, the more that the outside world is opening up and the place is being taken. That’s always existed. It’s like, who says that you’re less desirable after 50? Who says that that’s the truth? So I think as we challenge those things, and I think that that’s coming up, I mean, I can’t speak for the world, but it is interesting. It’s an interesting reflection that all these films are bringing up things so that we can step, I think, into the fullness of who we are. Yeah.

Question #11

There’s a real sense of reclaiming a space or maybe just acknowledging that why were people not occupying that space, right? Margaret, I have another question for you. You often choose unconventional roles instead of the easier path that Hollywood offers. After working on the substance, poor things, and kinds of kindness as examples, What draws you to these complex portrayals of people grappling with other people’s desires?

Margaret Qualley:

I feel like life happens to you a lot of the time, you know what I mean? My path has not always been up to me. I think I choose my roles as much as my roles choose me. And there’s the literal element of that in the sense that there’s casting directors and directors, and I’m quite literally being chosen to play these complex, strange, sometimes, people. And then, of course, I am gravitating towards specific roles as well. But I’ve tried many times to just be in a rom-com. I’ve tried many times to be a romantic lead in a silly movie. It’s just not panned out. I’d love to do it. I’m tired. I’m not well. No, I’m kidding. I’m half getting and I’m half serious. I don’t know. I think things work out the way that they do when you to just take meaning from it and try to grow. That’s all I’ve got for you.

Question #12

That’s a good answer. I want to come back to something that you both said earlier. And expand on it a little bit, and I’m going to use Robert Semmes from the USA’s question to do so. You guys mentioned a ball activity that you were doing, so this question maybe could help clarify that a little bit. What discussions did you both have in order to have certain elements of your performance sync up? What elements did you feel like absolutely needed to be different so

Elizabeth and Sue were unique in their own way? Margaret, why don’t you start us off there?

Margaret Qualley:

We’re inherently just like… The things that will be different, I feel like it’s much more intangible than I can even begin to describe. It’s just We’re two different people who’ve had many, many crossovers because of the way we were raised, the way that we experience being an actress, the way that we have led with our hearts and tried. I don’t know. I think we have a lot in common and a lot different, and we didn’t work too hard to define those things. It was more natural than that. But I think the thing that we both had in common was just a big commitment and And in terms of… To me, there isn’t a more committed actress. There isn’t a more hardworking, compelling actress or supportive. She’s fantastic to work with. And so I’m just trying to just try to keep up.

Demi Moore:

I think we both get dirty. I think we’re both willing to get dirty, look messy, and really, I think, both physically go all in in the ways that aren’t necessarily glamorous. I think we share that pushing the edge. I don’t think we had to have It is hard to completely place it tangible because we were also working within the confines of a script that was very, very specific. And so Yeah, we didn’t. It’s almost like we just understood it and knew it. I think the moment, probably to give you a tangible that really allowed us, is the moment when we had our first scene where we’re making the switch and we’re both having to be nude on this cold tile floor for hours, where Margaret’s body is having to flop completely unconscious in stasis on top of my body. And being in that mutual state of vulnerability of that, I think it took already the connection that we had, the understanding of the little things. The most crossover that’s the same in terms of a physical action we had was the kissing during the dance sequence. And the rest was so much more, I think, the internal work that we did separately that was really about what’s driving these two women. Because in a way, more that Sue is in her physical body, even though it’s supposedly me, she’s creating her own experience, and thereby it was creating separation with each time that we were we exchanged. Yeah.

Question #13

There’s a lot in the physicality, I think, between the both of you that sinks up the performances. Demi, this is for you. There was a lot of physicality to your role, ranging from athleticism of the aerobics performances to the deformity of the monster you turn into, the fight sequence with Margaret. What was it like to have to be physical in the film, but in such radically different ways?

Demi Moore:

I mean, a lot of it was finding some of the physicality as you go. I didn’t until I really had all of the prosthetics on, finding the body with the pump back So it unfolded. And sitting in the chair when the prosthetics were going on also allowed for a little bit of some of the shifting in the transition. In some ways, I have to say, there was some of it I didn’t even think through until we really got there with it. Some of it I did. I It was straight up for both of us in different ways, really exhausting, really physically challenging. For me, doing a month hunched, where every scene is hunched over, running, pulling. It was like something I couldn’t have anticipated, where it’s a much easier read on paper. And also because we’re dealing in a reality that is not grounded entirely in reality, that it’s somewhat of a surreal, heightened reality And so some of the rules of things were interesting to try to find what applied. If I’m hunched over and I’m like, Scrani, can I really run that fast? Well, we’re making our own rules here. So yes, I can run that fast.

Can Margaret throw me across the entire room with a kick? Yes, she can. There were so many things that really challenged also your logic mind when we were in it. Because I feel like our job was to ground the heart of this in a reality so that it didn’t become just a cartoon. And that was the main thing is once we could grasp where Corley wanted to go, some of the extreme edges of it, it’s then really going back to the real root and anchor and foundation of creating a real woman, a woman that we all know that we can see ourselves in or know someone as. And again, because there was not a lot of dialog, a lot of that work we had to do before we even showed up day so that it was as alive at all times, regardless of what madness we were getting into.

Question #14

Yeah. I mean, it’s like you’re saying, there’s so much to the interiority of both of your performances. I mean, Sue’s desire to be loved, as you were describing earlier. And then the scene that I think a lot of us remember the most from the film is when you’re getting ready and leaving or not leaving in front of the mirror. There’s just everything is interior in both of you. And coupled with the physicality, it’s just an incredible combination. So it’s led to the film being a great success, as we know. I talked about on- Lots of great memes.

Demi Moore:

And- That was good.

Question #15

Lots of memes. So this last question I have for both of you is, how have you responded to the way that the film has been received? And is there anything that you found really fun or really interesting about the memes or whatnot or out there in internet lore? Margaret, why don’t you start us off just about the phenomenal reception the film has received?

Margaret Qualley:

Oh, it’s wonderful. I’m really stoked about it. We worked really hard, and it feels when you’re working in a small studio every day for five months, you feel crazy, and you’re like, What the hell are we doing? And why are we doing this to ourselves? And it’s very gratifying when something takes on life of its own and reaches people outside of our very insular crew and stage and bizarre little life that we were living for five, six months. So, Demi?

Demi Moore:

No, I think, again, going back to what I said earlier, there’s no way we could have known. Is it going to translate? Is it when it goes to these extreme places? And the fact that it’s really permeated out in a way that’s been And it feels like a joyous event. But I have to say, if I go all the way back to our first time sitting through it in Cannes, I feel like there is still a shock and an absolute awe and gratitude at this experience because I didn’t have any expectations. I really had let it go. But you always hope. And so to see the joy, the fun that people are having with it, Halloween costumes, because there is something that I feel like what drew both of us to this was the impact of the subject matter and not knowing if the body horror genre was going to of, was it going to diminish the impact? And seeing that not only has it not diminished it, it’s actually elevated it through the fact that it is this visceral, entertaining experience that people are, and not to mention, I feel like the fact that we have participated in something that people are wanting to go to see the film in the theater is also beyond. They’re wanting a cinema experience. And that, for me, is another layer of added joy to this.

Question #16

I mean, yeah, this is a movie that’s just so enhanced by watching it with other people in a theater, more so than I think I can think of in recent memories. So congratulations to both of you.

Demi Moore:

To me, Marg- Even people, by the way, going multiple times. I’ve had now people come up to me who’s like, Yeah, I’ve seen it three times. I’m like, Oh, my gosh.

Question #17

That’s amazing. I think we can thank you both for creating something that’s going to go on and live a long time past just the current conversation that we’re having. So thank you both so much. And for joining us today. Audience members, stick around because we’re going to have Coralie for a join us for a conversation after this. But to me, Margaret, thank you so much for your time.

Margaret Qualley:

 Thank you so much.

Demi Moore: Thank you all. Thank you for your lovely questions. Bye. Thank you so much