Actor Anne Hathaway shares that filmmaker Nancy Meyers is a really warm person who will get down on the floor with you and give you the support you need.  By Team Viva

What was it about The Intern that made you want to be a part of it?

Honestly, my in-laws. I was spending some time with them over the holidays and we wanted to go to the movies together but we couldn’t find one good film that spoke to all of us. I can recall thinking ‘Oh God! This is so sad that we can’t find a single film that we can see together’. Then I started thinking of a few hits from the 90s such as all the Cameron Crowe’s films... I was like where are such films gone... Literally three days later, this script showed up. So, I said yes to it because I thought it’s a film that I can sit and watch with my family. The story fascinated me and it’s absolutely a treat to watch.

The director Nancy Meyers is really good at writing and her characters always have a good arc. Tell us about your character, Jules Ostin?

I think one of the best things Nancy does with this film is that she manages to grab some issues that we haven’t been talking about. When I read the script, it was a conversation I wanted to be at, the discussion that I wanted to be a part of. The film revolves around my character, of course, and a seventy-year-old widower, Ben Whittaker, (played by Robert De Niro), who has discovered that retirement has become too boring for him. Seizing an opportunity to get back in the game, he becomes a senior intern at an online fashion site, founded and run by Jules Ostin (my character). I loved how Nancy didn’t make Jules a tough-cold, unapproachable boss. Although it has been five years, I love reliving the character because I learnt a lot from her. Jules has so many wonderful traits and she just happens to be in a moment where she is overwhelmed and Ben comes in and helps her navigate that moment, but he doesn’t navigate for her, she navigates for herself.

Your chemistry with Robert De Niro looks great. How was it working with him?

I had a lovely time working with him. So much of the chemistry was in the writing. When you take on a job, in the beginning, you don’t always know your co-actor well. But by the end of the film’s shooting, you literally become their best friends. I can still recall an amazing moment. When we were filming the Facebook scene, which is pretty long, we both actually forgot that we were acting. The process became so natural with him.

You haven’t worked with Nancy. What is she like as a director on set?

When I think about Nancy, I think about two  scenes. One, where I needed to say a line the way she wanted... But it wasn’t coming out her way, so we had to shoot that scene a couple of times until I got it right and Nancy was satisfied. And second, we just came back from lunch one day and we got late. There was something that triggered my bad memory and I got so emotional. I told her that I needed a few minutes to feel okay. So I just sat down on the floor and all of a sudden, I looked up and Nancy was sitting on the floor with me. She had so much pressure from the team but she made sure I was feeling okay. She said, ‘take your time, let’s just talk’. So, she is both the things. She is the person who will push you to get the best out of you and will make you say the line until you get it right. She is really a warm person who will get down on the floor with you and give you the support you need. A kind soul she is. She’s also the most spectacular writer and makes films that I completely adore.

(The film premieres on Sony PIX on January 31 at 9 pm.)