A Minute With: Maggie Gyllenhaal, Olivia Colman on ‘The Lost Daughter'

The 78th Venice Film Festival - Photo call for "The Lost Daughter" - in competition - Venice, Italy September 3, 2021 - Director Maggie Gyllenhaal and actors Dakota Johnson and Olivia Colman pose. (Reuters)
The 78th Venice Film Festival - Photo call for "The Lost Daughter" - in competition - Venice, Italy September 3, 2021 - Director Maggie Gyllenhaal and actors Dakota Johnson and Olivia Colman pose. (Reuters)
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A Minute With: Maggie Gyllenhaal, Olivia Colman on ‘The Lost Daughter'

The 78th Venice Film Festival - Photo call for "The Lost Daughter" - in competition - Venice, Italy September 3, 2021 - Director Maggie Gyllenhaal and actors Dakota Johnson and Olivia Colman pose. (Reuters)
The 78th Venice Film Festival - Photo call for "The Lost Daughter" - in competition - Venice, Italy September 3, 2021 - Director Maggie Gyllenhaal and actors Dakota Johnson and Olivia Colman pose. (Reuters)

Maggie Gyllenhaal brings Elena Ferrante's novel "The Lost Daughter" to the big screen for her directorial debut, a gripping drama about motherhood choices starring Oscar winner Olivia Colman.

Colman plays Leda, who while alone on holiday in Greece, befriends a young mother and daughter. The meeting brings back painful memories of her own decisions towards her children.

Gyllenhaal and Colman spoke to Reuters about the story and communicating with the famously secretive Ferrante.

Below are excerpts edited for length and clarity.

Q: Why did you pick this story for your feature directing debut?

Gyllenhaal: "When I read Ferrante for the first time, I guess I felt like she was saying things out loud that I knew to be true, but that I had never heard said out loud. And I found that both disturbing and comforting, and I thought, in fact more than that, it was kind of like ... a really exciting shock."

Q: What was it like liaising with Ferrante?

Gyllenhaal: "All my interactions with her, which have all been via email, have been everything you would want them to be. There's something amazing about her being anonymous because she can be the fantasy that I want her to be. And she has been nothing but supportive at every turn ... really intelligently, thoughtfully supportive."

Q: What attracted you to the role and as a mother, did any aspects of the story resonate with you?

Colman: "I don't think I'd ever seen anything where someone says 'I left and it was amazing' so I found it fascinating. Leda is very different to me ... I couldn't leave and I wouldn't want to. But I do understand the thought process behind it and I think most parents will also feel the same. Everyone's gone 'if I could just have, oh my god, just an hour on my own' though she took it to an extreme."

Q: You filmed in Greece early in the pandemic when travel was difficult and formed a bubble, what was that like?

Colman: "We all fell in love with each other and we all got on really well and everyone had loved ones at home and so we were missing all of them and just had such a nice time ... as soon as Maggie said 'wrap', people would go in the sea. I feel a bit bad that it was so nice."



Unreleased Beyonce Music Stolen From Car in Atlanta

FILE - Beyonce, left, accepts the Innovator Award during the iHeartRadio Music Awards, April 1, 2024, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)
FILE - Beyonce, left, accepts the Innovator Award during the iHeartRadio Music Awards, April 1, 2024, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)
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Unreleased Beyonce Music Stolen From Car in Atlanta

FILE - Beyonce, left, accepts the Innovator Award during the iHeartRadio Music Awards, April 1, 2024, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)
FILE - Beyonce, left, accepts the Innovator Award during the iHeartRadio Music Awards, April 1, 2024, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)

Computer drives containing unreleased music by US superstar Beyonce and plans related to her concerts were stolen last week in Atlanta, police said Monday, with a suspect still at large.

The items were stolen from a rental car used by Beyonce's choreographer and a dancer on July 8, two days before the pop icon kicked off the Atlanta leg of her "Cowboy Carter" tour, a police incident report said, according to AFP.

Choreographer Christopher Grant, 37, told police that he returned to the car to find its rear-window smashed and their luggage stolen.

Inside were multiple jump drives that "contained water marked music, some un-released music, footage plans for the show, and past and future set list (sic)," the report said.

Also missing were an Apple MacBook, headphones and several items of luxury clothing.

Police investigated an area where the MacBook and headphones had pinged their location, but the report did not mention any items being recovered.

Atlanta Police said in an online statement that a warrant had been issued for an unnamed suspect's arrest, but that the suspect remained at large.

The "Cowboy Carter" tour kicked off in April after the global superstar took home her first "Album of the Year" Grammy for the 2024 album.

The sweeping country-themed work saw Beyonce stake out musical territory in a different genre from much of her previous discography.

The ambitious, historically rooted album also aimed to elevate and showcase the work of other Black artists in country music, whose rich contributions the industry has repeatedly sidelined.

As her stadium tour to promote the album winds down, Beyonce ended her four-night stint in Atlanta on Monday, with two final performances set for late July in Las Vegas.