Meghann Fahy and Eve Hewson's 'Overnight Success' is More than a Decade in the Making

Meghann Fahy and Eve Hewson, two of the stars of Netflix's whodunit “The Perfect Couple,” have news for you if you want to call them breakouts: They've been working in this business for more than a decade.
Fahy made her TV debut in 2009 in an episode of “Gossip Girl.” Hewson's first big film role was in 2011's “This Must Be the Place.” They do concede, however, that it's recent TV roles — “The White Lotus” for Fahy and “Bad Sisters” for Hewson — that have led to new frontiers of opportunity, The Associated Press said.
Susanne Bier, who directed “The Perfect Couple,” says both Fahy and Hewson are “going to be big stars.”
“They certainly have proper, profound star quality, Both of them in very different ways,” Bier says. “Both are incredibly creative, incredibly smart, and also have a impressive insight as to who they are. You can be a great actor or actress and not necessarily really know who you are yourself. And they do.”
Hewson, 33, whose dad is U2 front man Bono, may have grown up in a famous family but she's now in demand in her own right. She will next be seen in a second season of “Bad Sisters, ” out in November. She's in Noah Baumbach's next film, alongside Adam Sandler, George Clooney and Riley Keough. She's also been cast in Steven Spielberg's next production and is set to star opposite Murray Bartlett in a racing series for Hulu.
Fahy, 34, is in production on a limited series with Julianne Moore and Milly Alcock called “Sirens,” written by Molly Smith Metzler (“Maid”) for Netflix. She also has two films in the can with Josh O'Connor (“The Crown,” “Challengers”) and Brandon Sklenar (“It Ends With Us”).
The two actors spoke candidly with The Associated Press about this phase of their careers. This interview has been condensed for clarity and brevity.
AP: You've both had popular, zeitgeisty TV shows in recent years. TV fans are particularly passionate. Have you experienced any interesting interactions with fans? HEWSON: It’s actually really fun to experience because even when we were in Cape Cod shooting “The Perfect Couple,” I would go to the local shop to get my groceries and little old ladies would follow me down the aisle and be like, “Excuse me. Are you that girl from that ‘Sisters’ show?” Who knew that they were watching it? It doesn’t change my life, so it doesn’t bother me, but when someone comes up to me and says that they love the show, especially when it’s someone unexpected, I’m like, “Oh, cool.”
FAHY: It’s not happening so much to me that it feels like a huge imposition or anything. I feel like I’ve been really lucky. A lot of the people that I’ve met who have been a fan of “The White Lotus,” or whatever, they’re really sweet people. And, I think, part of why we do this is because we want to tell stories that people can connect to and play out scenarios for themselves. So I think it’s always really nice.
AP: What's it like to now be a part of conversations about whom to watch? FAHY: Part of it feels really nice because you work really, really, really hard for a really long time — maybe that’s not how it happens for a lot of people — but I feel like we’ve both been doing this for a minute. So, of course, it feels really good. but I try not to like dwell on any of it. I try to acknowledge it and be like, “Oh, that’s so nice.” And then just kind of keep going.
HEWSON: You hear so many stories of people who were like, “I walked into my first audition and I just became a star.” Or, there’s this element of being an actor where people don’t want to tell you how hard they work. They want it to look like it’s really easy. But we've been doing this for a long time. People just don’t really tell those stories. It's usually about the one that was found on the street.
FAHY: Yeah. You took 15 years to become an overnight success.
AP: Do you notice you're now treated differently by people in the industry? FAHY: Yeah, but I always think that nobody ever knows who I am. It’s always very embarrassing. I embarrass myself in those moments. I don’t always feel like I fit in those rooms.
HEWSON: What’s nice is, I’ve spent so long going into a room and people just being like, “OK,” and act like they’re just not getting it. I know at least like I have work that people understand, what I’m doing a little bit more so they get me as an actor.
FAHY: It’s like a different level of respect.

Renowned American director Francis Ford Coppola believes his harshly criticized science fiction film “Megalopolis” offers audiences a unique narrative vastly different from what they are accustomed to seeing.

"We're so used to seeing movies that are like other movies because they're financed that way,” Coppola told Reuters during a Zoom interview while he was at the Toronto International Film Festival, where the film was also screened.

"It's [movies like other movies] always something that's already proven that it will make money. It's like a potato chip that you know is habit forming and 'Megalopolis' is new,” he added.

After debuting this year at the Cannes Film Festival, Coppola's $120 million self-funded project is going to be shared with broader audiences when it arrives to US movie theaters on Friday.

While the film will be distributed by Lionsgate, Coppola maintains ownership of the movie.

Adam Driver stars as Cesar Catilina, an architect-scientist who wants to better a fictional version of New York City called New Rome, pitting him against Mayor Franklyn Cicero, played by Giancarlo Esposito, who prizes authority and institutions over change.

Catilina falls in love with the mayor's daughter, Julia, played by "Game of Thrones"' Nathalie Emmanuel, as she helps him work towards his vision and re-ignites his power to stop time.

When asked if “Megalopolis” is an allegory for his film-making journey, the 85-year-old director said, “All of my films are.”

“When I was young and made 'The Godfather,'” I had to be like Michael [Michael Corleone] because I had no power and I had to be very Machiavellian. When I made 'Apocalypse Now,' I was in an absurd situation with helicopters and millions of dollars every week that I was paying for, so I had to become a megalomaniac like Kurtz [Colonel Kurtz]. You know, I have always become the characters in my movies just to survive,” he added.

While the press response to the movie has been poor with a low score of 51% on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, Driver believes “Megalopolis” is a film that needs more than one viewing to be truly absorbed.

"I think it does have legs and I think it is something that you want to return to and can return to and mine something else out of it," Driver said. "And it, you know, has a place in people's minds as being one of a kind, which I don't think a lot of films can say that, you know."

Meghann Fahy and Eve Hewson's 'Overnight Success' is More than a Decade in the Making