Saoirse Ronan said alcoholism was a subject she “was always threatening to explore.” When she found Amy Liptrot’s book The Outrun, she decided to also make her producorial debut in developing it.
“Alcoholism for me was like the monster in the corner that I hadn’t dealt with for a very long time,” Ronan said. “It caused me a lot of pain and resentment and confusion in the way that it does for a loved one of an addict, in particular an alcoholic because so much of it happens in quite an intimate space. So I had been on the receiving end of that and could see how it can really destroy lives.”
Liptrot’s book was autobiographical. Ronan and director Nora Fingscheidt mutually agreed to change Ronan’s character’s name to Rona so that she would have more creative freedom. More on that soon, but first Ronan was clear that making The Outrun did not suddenly make her feel all better about complicated emotions.
“The time I finally decided to explore it more and take an interest in understanding it was when I felt very loved and supported in my personal life,” she said Saturday during Deadline’s Contenders Film: Los Angeles event. “I’d be lying if I said I came away from this experience being all forgiving and everything is fine. It’s not. It’s an ongoing journey. There’s always going to be pain there and loss and grief. But to have been able to take the sting out of it somewhat and actually humanize it has been a gift that has come out of this movie.”
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Fingscheidt decided to let the actors improvise the adaptation of Liptrot’s book. That was one reason they changed the character’s name, and Ronan drew on her personal experiences. The actor said she improvises with her friends anyway, often interviewing each other, so doing it on camera felt freeing.
“Something about having the camera there and me being on my own gives me this freedom to go wherever I want to go,” she said.
It doesn’t always work. Ronan said she has been on films where improvising had no focus, though she did not name the offenders.
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“I was weirdly able to become author and edit while we were performing.” Ronan said.
When Fingscheidt called “cut,” Ronan became a producer again. She said she needed to take on this role to take her work to the next level.
“To be able to use the experience that I’ve gained over so many years, to have watched directors who know how to deal with a crew and don’t know how to deal with a crew and implement what I know was a wonderful experience,” she said. “Knowing the onus is on me kept me incredibly alert.”
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Ronan encouraged her fellow creatives to produce or direct, referencing her two films with Greta Gerwig, and Bradley Cooper’s move to directing as well.
“If more actors experienced that they’d never want to give it up,” Ronan said. “Nobody knows how to talk to other actors the way actors do.”
Check back Monday for panel video.
The presenting sponsor for this year’s Contenders Film: Los Angeles is United for Business. Sponsors are Eyeptizer Eyewear, Final Draft + ScreenCraft, and partners are Four Seasons Maui, 11 Ravens and Robina Benson Design House.
