As director, producer and writer of Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, recently released by Lionsgate, Kelly Fremon Craig had a lot to live up to, most notably trying to do justice to a beloved novel of the same title penned by Judy Blume more than 50 years ago. Bringing to the big screen a candid yet humorous exploration of growing up–a story that has positively impacted generations–is a daunting proposition. Plus, this marked the first time a Blume-authored book had been adapted into a major Hollywood film. Still, Fremon Craig embraced the challenge, spurred on by what the novel meant to her when she was a youngster.
While Blume’s seminal work set the bar high for the movie, so too did Fremon Craig raise expectations with her prior film, The Edge of Seventeen, which received critical acclaim and earned a DGA Award nomination in 2017 for Outstanding Directorial Achievement for a First-Time Director.
A notable coming-of-age narrative in its own right, The Edge of Seventeen reflected Fremon Craig’s intellectual and emotional acumen for conveying adolescent life, helping to promote understanding of and empathy for young adult growing pains. In addition to the DGA nod, The Edge of Seventeen won the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best First Film, and was nominated for the same honor at the Toronto Film Critics Association Awards.
Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret centers on 11-year-old Margaret (portrayed by Abby Ryder Fortson) who’s uprooted from life in New York City for the suburbs of New Jersey. As if navigating her way through puberty, questions about religion, boys and the quest for individuality isn’t hard enough, Margaret also has to do so in a new community and a new school while trying to make new friends. Margaret also learns why her maternal grandparents aren’t part of her life, discovering that they objected to their daughter marrying a Jewish man (Benny Safdie). Rachel McAdams portrays Margaret’s mother, Barbara, who is also struggling to adapt to life outside the big city. Kathy Bates plays Margaret’s paternal grandmother, NYC-based Sylvia, who isn’t happy that her son has moved his family to New Jersey.
Fremon Craig said that a stellar cast and crew made it possible for her to bring the movie to fruition, with the end result garnering praise from Blume herself.
A measure of continuity in collaborators also helped Freemon Craig, including James L. Brooks who was a producer on both Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret and The Edge of Seventeen. Brooks is an eight-time Oscar nominee, winning three times for Terms of Endearment (Best Pictures, Director and Adapted Screenplay). Also teaming with Fremon Craig was Melissa Kostenbauder who served as casting director on both The Edge of Seventeen and Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.
SHOOT caught up with Fremon Craig who shared backstory on Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, the contributions of Kostenbauder and other collaborators, and lessons learned from her second feature film. Fremon Craig's comments have been edited for clarity and brevity.
SHOOT: Provide some backstory on how you got the opportunity to adapt Judy Blume’s book and what drew you to the project.
Fremon Craig: I read it when I was 11 and fell instantly in love with Judy Blume and then had to read everything she wrote. She was writing about what it was like to be a girl that age. I didn’t feel like anyone was doing it as honestly as she was.
Many years later, after The Edge of Seventeen, I was thinking about what to do next. I thought about how much I loved Judy and how her work influenced me, and started re-reading her books. I felt so moved again by “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.” And I related to it in new ways as an adult. I thought it would make a beautiful movie. So I reached out to her, wrote her a letter. When you write Judy Blume a letter, you don’t think she will answer. You’re reaching out to a national treasure. But she responded. She had seen my first movie, The Edge of Seventeen, and said yes. I can’t think of a higher compliment.
Every film I ever make will be an attempt to make people feel the way Judy Blume made me feel when I was a girl–less alone, a little more “normal.” She told the truth in a very specific way, with brave detail, very reassuring. I saw myself reflected in it, feeling, “Thank God, I’m not the only one.”
SHOOT: What was (were) the biggest challenge(s) that Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret posed to you as a storyteller?
Fremon Craig: It’s a challenge anytime you’re bringing something to life in a new medium–particularly something that is this beloved and that has been for so many years. There’s an enormous pressure not to screw it up. There’s a period of getting over your own fear of screwing it up. The first couple of weeks trying to write it were paralyzing. I felt like every change I made was sacrilege in some way. But then I came to realize that actually my job was not to deliver the book line for line but to deliver the spirit. The barometer became does this make me feel the way the book makes me feel? It became very emotion-based. The work went back to that simple question. That became kind of a North Star.
SHOOT: It’s said that one experience informs another. How did your experience on The Edge of Seventeen inform your approach to Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, just your second film as a director?
Fremon Craig: My second film was both easier and harder. Easier because you have your feet under you. The Edge of Seventeen was the first set I had ever been on professionally. I had visited a set before but that was it. I never actually worked on a set before and all of a sudden I was in charge of it. It was definitely a steep learning curve. That experience obviously made me more comfortable for my second film.
What made things harder was the circumstance. It was harder shooting during COVID. It was also harder with the limited working hours you have with kids. It’s always a race against the clock.
SHOOT: I wanted to touch upon your collaborators on Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret–specifically one you had a track record with, another whom you worked with for the first time. Would you talk about your working relationships with casting director Melissa Kostenbauder, whom you teamed with on The Edge of Seventeen, and cinematographer Tim Ives, a first-time collaborator?
Fremon Craig: Melissa has such a keen eye for nuance and acting. She also has a real sense of the type of acting that I gravitate towards which is naturalistic and improvisational. She is particularly great at finding young talent who can do that. The other thing about Melissa is she’s an incredible scene partner. She can act opposite the person who is auditioning. Someone who does that in a natural, quick, alive way is so helpful to the process. The actor has somebody they can really play off of. She has an incredible eye for talent. She found all of our young talent in both films.
Tim Ives is a kind, gentle spirit which is so lovely to have on set. He has such a beautiful eye for how to light for a specific mood. I had collected all these photos as I was thinking about directing this movie. They were up on all four walls of my office. Tim came in and said, “Oh, this is what you like.” He was able to pinpoint exactly what kind of lighting I was gravitating towards and put that into words. The photos had side lights slicing in, almost like casting little sprays of light on the floor. I subliminally love that. I didn’t know why. Tim was able to articulate that and deliver on it. He was a gift to me on this film. He helped me discover my own taste in a way, to articulate my taste. Going forward on everything, I will carry that with me.
SHOOT: What was your biggest takeaway or lessons learned from your experience on Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret. What resonates most for you?
Fremon Craig: Something I already knew but learned in an even bigger way–how deeply important all of your key creative collaborators are, whether it be Tim or production designer Steve Saklad or costume designer Ann Roth. All of these people bring such enormous talent and a wealth of ideas. All of them elevate the material beyond what I could have every imagined. That’s what I constantly learned through the process of collaborating to make a film, just how crucial these relationships are.
This was my first time working with Steve and Ann and it was inspiring on all levels. Both are so obsessed with details in a way that fills my heart up so much. I talked to Ann a lot about the messiness of this age [an 11-year-old girl]. It’s like your clothes look a little rumpled, have been through the wash a little too much, shoes are scuffed up, the hair is a little greasy. We talked about how to represent that. One of my favorite things that Ann did was she put Margaret in one dingy white sock and one clean white sock. That tiny detail made me so happy. I thought, “You get it. I’m so happy that you’re here.” She cares about something that small but may never be seen on screen. Only we knew about it. It felt right. And it had value in that those details help put actors more in character. They feel it even if it’s not on screen–or not that noticeable on screen.
