IN CONVERSATION WITH EVA VICTOR

Eva Victor wrote, directed, and starred in their incredible debut feature film, SORRY, BABY. We spoke via zoom about clothing affecting mood, attending Paris Fashion Week, tonal dressing, working with stylists, Iliad Bookshop in North Hollywood, and so much more. SORRY, BABY is playing in select theaters now, and is in theaters nationwide July 25.

Hagop Kourounian: I’d love to start this off by asking you about your own personal style and your relationship with clothing. How much time do you spend thinking about clothes?

Eva Victor: That's a great question. I think clothing is so powerful and I think it can create complete euphoria and change a bad mood into a good mood, like almost instantaneously. It also has a very evil power as well and can do the opposite. If you're wearing the wrong thing and it feels wrong on your body, it can destroy the mind. So, I feel like I worry about clothes to the extent that if I don't think about what I'm wearing, then it's a perfect outfit. I like to think about clothes. I love clothes. I think especially when it comes to gender and play it allows you to really dream up a day and exist how you want to exist that day. I find I have so many clothes and I don't want to get rid of any of them because I just know one day it'll be the right thing for that day. I used to do a thing where I was so consumed by how to exist in my body and I was so in discovery of how I wanted to exist in my gender that I would bring changes of clothes so that if something felt weird during the day I would change into it. I would bring a big t-shirt and a tank top and just have all my bases covered. When clothes feel good I'm obsessed and I try to make everyday feel good obviously. I love clothes. I think they're amazing. 

Hagop Kourounian: Who do you think are the best dressed filmmakers? Are there any you look to for inspiration? 

Eva Victor: That's a cool question. Hmm… that's a really good question. I don't know why I want to say this but I do feel sort of like Adam Sandler in his comedy movies, like big shorts, big shirts. I really like that. And I don't know, the only people I can think of right now, which is crazy, are Jim Carrey and Adam Sandler and that doesn't make any fucking sense but it's true. For some reason, I’m picturing Dumb and Dumber and I don't know what else to say. Like, I'm thinking of Dumb and Dumber. It was fun to do the costume design on this film because Agnes gets to wear really, really loose stuff and really comfortable stuff and that was really fun to build with Emily Costantino, our costume designer. Well, I'll keep thinking about it though. There's some films like In the Mood for Love. The costumes are beautiful and that's not my inspo but it's my inspo someday. Oh, you know what? Okay. In White Christmas, Danny Kaye wears an all gray suit. That made an impact on me growing up. 

Hagop Kourounian: I had a similar moment like that too actually. It's not a fully tonal look but there's a scene in Wes Anderson's Rushmore where Bill Murray's character wears a tie that's the exact same color as his shirt under his suit. I just thought that blending those two garments together was so cool. 

Eva Victor: I think if you're lost, if you wear the same color all the way down it looks like you've found something even if you don't know what you're doing. 

Hagop Kourounian: Yeah, I love that. That's a cool take. 

Eva Victor: Well you said that, I just repeated it…

Hagop Kourounian: Well you said it way more eloquently than me! I noticed you attended some shows at Paris Fashion Week earlier this year. I’m curious what that experience was like. 

Eva Victor: I'd never been to a runway show before. I went to Hermès and I was so moved I almost started crying. Honestly, I didn't know how I would feel watching a fashion show and it was really like watching a play. It's so alive and it's so vulnerable. I was very struck by the models being really brave and alone and we're all watching them. That runway was in a circle, so they were constantly turning. I was very, very overwhelmed by it and they all had this sort of androgynous bug-like thing going on. I was like, oh this is cool in a million directions. They kind of looked like horses because the ground was dirt. It was very cool. I'm finding fashion to be one of the most creative places during this press tour. The press run is not so creative so being able to work with Danielle Goldberg on my looks for different things has been so fun. I wore a Gucci suit for the New York premiere of Sorry, Baby, I wore Loewe at Cannes. I got to wear both a big black Loewe suit which was super structural and also a sort of white gown. It was very fun to do my own bride and groom situation with myself, like an alien bride and groom. Yeah, I've been having an amazing time with fashion.

Hagop Kourounian: I loved your Loewe looks at Cannes!

Eva Victor: Isn't it crazy amazing? Now I have a Madrid bag. A red Madrid bag and I'm walking around town in my like $2 t-shirt and my Madrid bag and I’m over the fucking moon. It's such a cool bag. I got to wear these Jimmy Choo heels. I've never really found a pair of heels. It feels so amazing. And these Jimmy Choo’s they're like a tiny heel, they’re silver, and they have a corset on the toes. Like I'm addicted. 

Hagop Kourounian: That's the perfect segue to my next question… You've worked with some amazing stylists like Danielle Goldberg but also Rebecca Ramsey and Shiva Mizani. They've all styled you this year. Is there anything significant that you learned from them? 

Eva Victor: The person I've worked with most consistently is Danielle and she is so confident, she knows exactly what she wants and it's so amazing because she has no doubt in her mind that it will work. She makes it really fun and makes it this really joyful thing. The thing I found so exciting about fashion is that people really don't actually want to put you in a box. It feels like other people in the world do. It's a very fun and creative thing. It's about an eye. I think Danielle has sort of been an amazing advocate for me, she basically sets me up to have an amazing night because I feel so myself in my outfits. She knows what will make me feel prepared to be seen in that way, she's so confident. It’s like we're giving everyone a gift when they get to see you wearing this. That's such a fun mentality and not really how my mind works. So, yeah, I feel like she's very inspiring and she's very herself. I like being near people like that, especially women who are so confident. I'm finding over and over that I'm really drawn to women with an opinion. 

Hagop Kourounian: I feel like styling is one of the hardest jobs because people on the surface don't really see it as something that's so difficult. The way I heard you describe her work felt a little scary, almost like she knows something about you that you don't know.

Eva Victor: She knows everything about me that I don't know. 

Hagop Kourounian: It's like a therapist and a fashion designer in one person. 

Eva Victor: Totally. I know this is going to sound kind of insane, but it does feel like she's kind of channeling. Like she's completely in flow. Being around people like that is very, very cool, especially in fashion because it's so much about how it feels on that person's body. It's so specific to the people. It's very energetic. It's amazing. 

Hagop Kourounian: I'm always fascinated by people who both direct and act in their films. I feel like that's such an interesting role to have on a set. Do you have to switch between mentalities on set? What is that process like? Are you directing in your character's outfits? 

Eva Victor: Yeah, I basically put on my costume for the scene and then do everything in the costume. So whatever I wore to set, I'm in for like the four minute drive to set and then the four minute drive home. Sometimes during lunch I would change just to not spill. It was a very immersive thing. I think it's true on most sets though, even when you're an actor who takes breaks while the different shots are getting set up, you are in your costume all day unless it's crazy uncomfortable or something. I found that whenever I could wear my UGGs, I would, because my UGGs are my life. And yeah, I mean, it's an interesting challenge to be behind and in front of the camera. I was very happy, in retrospect, to have written something where my character's clothes were super comfortable because if I was in an outfit that was really tight and you get into the 3AM territory and you seriously don't want to be there anymore. So comfort was good for me for this one. I like what my character wears in the jury scene. She's in this blue t-shirt, v neck t-shirt and these sweet, long black shorts, and little sneakers. Every time it gets to that scene, I'm like, oh, it's Agnes' summer outfit. It's so cute.

Hagop Kourounian: I think my favorites are her professor looks. I read that you shadowed Jane Schoenbrun on the set of their last movie and I also noticed their name in the special thanks credits. Was there something you learned on their set that you then implemented into your own process?

Eva Victor: Jane is so warm and funny and keeps energy really deliberately fun and warm in order to make the set a joyful place to be. They're like a born leader and they know exactly what they want. I came into wanting to direct with a lot of anxiety around, can I do this? With Jane it was like watching someone day in and day out just inherently know that they're the person who should do this. There was no doubt it was such an inspiring energy to be around. They also were so generous. They let me in on conversations that were so important to the film that I learned so much in. Every day there was like some sort of advice that blew my mind either by me observing it or them just saying something. They've been a huge, huge support system for me while making the film and after making the film. And I just can't thank them enough for being so loving to me and for taking me under their wing. 

Hagop Kourounian: That's so cool. In one of your Vogue interviews I read that the interviewer was speaking to you at a used bookstore in the valley. And I'm a San Fernando Valley born and raised lifer so I'm just curious, was that Iliad books? 

Eva Victor: Yeah, of course it was! I love it there. It's so cozy and the cats are amazing and they're so sweet. 

Hagop Kourounian: It's the best place to get lost.

Eva Victor: I know the couch in the back is a real game changer. 

Hagop Kourounian: It's kind of like a maze in there, you can get lost so quickly.

Eva Victor: But that's what you want.

Hagop Kourounian: Thank you so much for taking the time to speak to me Eva and thank you for the movie! I can’t wait to watch it again with my fiancée, I think she's going to love it so much.

Eva Victor: Oh, thank you! It's so nice to meet you. Thank you for going to see it with her.

Hagop Kourounian: Have a good rest of your Friday. Bye! 

Eva Victor: It's Friday, that’s great.