Megan Park’s coming-of-age drama,My Old Ass, is currently available in select theaters and will be released everywhere on September 27. Filmed and set in Muskoka, the movie follows 18-year-old Elliott, played byMaisy Stella, who meets the 39-year-old version of herself while taking mushrooms with her friends. The older woman appears jaded, prompting Elliott to heed her warnings about the future. But when her future self’s advice causes Elliott to question her current feelings, she starts down a reflective path that takes her to unexplored regions.
Parks and Recreation’sAubrey Plazaportrays Elliott’s 39-year-old self, with Percy Hynes White, Maddie Ziegler, and Kerrice Brooks also starring. In addition to directing, Park also serves as the writer and executive producer of the film. She has over forty acting credits and her previous directorial work includesThe Fallout, City on Fire,andLucy in My Eyes. Meanwhile, Stella is most well-known for her role as Daphne Conrad inNashville.
My Old Ass Review: Maisy Stella & Aubrey Plaza Have Great Chemistry In Emotionally Piercing Dramedy
Megan Park is a rare example of an early-career director who knows how to create authentic YA stories that are equally endearing and meaningful.
Screen Rantinterviewed Stella and Park about the inspiration behindMy Old Ass, the role of nature in the story, and Elliott’sjourney of self-discovery.
The Idea For My Old Ass Originated From Park’s Own Feelings Of Nostalgia
“I was sleeping in my childhood bedroom and just feeling really nostalgic for this place that I used to live, and how beautiful it was, and wishing I’d appreciated it more.”
Screen Rant: Megan, what first sparked the idea of Elliott, and how did she evolve as you wrote the script and started filming?
Megan Park: The idea was such an emotion. I was home, and it was the pandemic, and I was sleeping in my childhood bedroom and just feeling really nostalgic for this place that I used to live, and how beautiful it was, and wishing I’d appreciated it more, time passing, all those kinds of feelings. This idea of talking to your younger or older self came out of that feeling.
Elliott was a combination of all different things. I’m a writer who discovers as I go. I’ve never written an outline. I just kind of go with the flow. I really discovered the film in real-time from page one. When we cast Maisy, Elliott really became real to me, and we sort of tweaked the script a little bit around [her] and it just all came to life.
On that same note, Maisy, what stuck out to you about Elliott and made you want to play this character?
Maisy Stella: Elliott, to me, was very standout as a character. The first time I read the script through, I couldn’t help but say her lines outloud. The way that she spoke was very similar to me. I think her arc really drew me in so much. I think the beginning portion of her self-absorbedness felt so beautifully written, and all of her learning. I was so drawn to her as a character. I was just really taken with her.
The location of this film is absolutely breathtaking. Megan, I’m curious how you wanted that added element of nature and the outdoors to add to the story itself.
Megan Park: We always said that Muskoka is a character itself in the film, and I grew up going there every summer. Maisy and I are from hometowns thirty minutes away from each other, so we really have this attachment to Canadian summers and childhood. It runs very deep. It was such a beautiful place.
It really is so breathtaking, and it just feels very timeless and one in a million. To actually be able to film the movie where it’s set is so rare. And just the vibe of it, being there, it felt like summer camp. I think that’s why some of the energy comes across in the movie. It was just such a wonderful atmosphere to make a film in truthfully.
Park Wanted To Write A Story That “Felt Accurate” To The Current Generation’s Experience
“It just felt like a story that needed to be told.”
Maisy, do you think talking with her future self has a positive impact on Elliott’s life, or would she have been better off without this experience?
Maisy Stella: I think it’s absolutely a positive thing. I think the lessons that were learned from older Elliott and that connection—I think Elliott’s brain developed so much in this one summer. I think it was a very beautiful and good thing for Elliott, and for me. I took as much as Elliott did from it.
Part of this film is about the main character figuring out her sexuality. What made you to do the reverse of what would be expected in a story like this?
Megan Park: I think exactly that because it was something I hadn’t seen before. I think coming out stories are really important, but I hadn’t seen something that felt really accurate to this generation’s experience. She identifies as one thing and feels really confident and accepted within her family and her community, and then has a crisis in a bit of a reversal way than how we normally see the story told.
It felt really authentic. Once more people started to read the script, even more people were like, “Oh my God, this is exactly true to what I’ve been through,” and “I don’t ever see this told in this way.” It just felt like a story that needed to be told.
“It’s just been such a beautiful, heartwarming, joyous experience all around.”
Maisy, as you were going on this journey alongside Elliott, what do you feel you’ve learned from her?
Maisy Stella: I was so softened by Elliott. I really did learn everything that Elliott learned in the movie. I really did go into the making of this movie thinking I had it all figured out and that I had already had all these epiphanies and I knew not to take my family for granted. And then when I was in it, it was just so touching.
Even everyone that was making the movie, all the crew, everyone was just so tender in the making of this. Everyone was just inside out. We all took something different, but I feel a lot more open since knowing Elliott. A lot, dare I say, braver. I think Elliott’s so special. I learned so much from her and literally will take it with me forever.
What will you each take away from this experience and carry with you into future projects?
Megan Park: Personally, so much. Friendships made for life. It’s just been such a beautiful, heartwarming, joyous experience all around. But professionally, as a filmmaker, you learn so much with each project that you take on. And I always say that I learned the most about myself as a director, as a writer too, in the edit.
And I learned a lot about trusting my audience, trusting myself as a writer in the edit of this film. Our editor,Jennifer Vecchiarello, is a genius and an incredible collaborator. Hopefully, my films evolve as I get more experienced, but I learned a lot.
Maisy Stella: I learned so much. Personally, same. It was such a bonding experience for everyone involved, and I honestly can’t even go into how much I took from it personally. I think this experience was really necessary for me as a person and feels very significant. I think forever it will live in such a specific place in my body, and I am so protective over it.
Career-wise, it has been the biggest gift. I auditioned for ten years without booking anything, and this was the first time anyone’s really taken a proper chance with me. Career-wise, it has really changed my life, and I’ll forever be so grateful for Megan and everyone that took a chance on me.
About Megan Park’s Film, My Old Ass
“Elliott Comes Face-To-Face With Her 39-Year-Old Self.”
In this fresh coming-of-age story, an 18th birthday mushroom trip brings free-spirited Elliott (Maisy Stella) face-to-face with her wisecracking 39-year-old self (Aubrey Plaza). But when Elliott’s “old ass” starts handing out warnings about what her younger self should and shouldn’t do, Elliott realizes she has to rethink everything about family, love, and what’s becoming a transformative summer.
Check out our interviews with theMy Old Asscast at Sundance, as well.
My Old Assis currently available in select theaters and will be released everywhere on September 27.
My Old Ass
My Old Ass follows Elliott, who encounters her future 39-year-old self during a transformative summer marked by introspection and discovery. Celebrating her 18th birthday, Elliott’s psychedelic experience prompts her to reevaluate her ideals on family and love as her older self offers sage advice and warnings.
