My Chat With Orphans Director Ry Russo-Young - Page 2

Talk a little about the casting process. How did you decide to cast James Katharine Flynn and Lily Wheelwright?

I have known James Katharine Flynn since she was a kid; in grade school James was my sister’s best friend. I cast her in my short film Marion and was very impressed. I knew I wanted her to be in Orphans and asked her to pick which sister she wanted to be; she chose Sonia. I then set out to cast the role of Rosie. I posted information about the film at local acting schools and put an ad in Backstage. I also asked my high school theater teacher to give me a list of the best actresses from the school who were in the right age range.

I saw a lot of these young women; one of them I auditioned was Josephine Wheelwright. She is a fantastic actress but wasn’t quite right for the role. We got to talking and she said that her older sister Lily was now acting and that I should audition Lily. Lily was perfect for the role of Rosie. It’s funny though because I auditioned many different women but ended up casting two girls I had known since childhood.

The entire film was powerful, but two sequences in particular struck me as extraordinary. The first was the sequence in which Sonia and Rosie were dancing and it almost turns into a physical confrontation. What does that represent?

The dancing scene is about the way that Sonia doesn’t have a sense of physical or emotional boundaries with her sister. Her emotional need for companionship becomes inappropriate and threatening.

The second sequence took place at the end of the film. To me, it struck me as a meditation on how we each deal with grief in our own ways. Talk about the differences between Sonia and Rosie when it came to dealing with the death of their parents.

Your questions are tough! I do think the answer to your question is in the movie, particularly in the last scene you’re talking about. Sonia is crying in one car and Rosie sits frozen and still in another car.

How do you feel the tragic death of Lily Wheelwright impacted Orphans? Does it become, in some ways, a stronger picture?

Article Author: Jordan Richardson

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