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In this episode of Pop Culture Weekly, A Woman, a Car,
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and a Toe bill for twenty one thousand, six hundred
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and thirty four dollars, and writer and director Stephanie Lang
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joins me and I sit down with the stars of
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the film Academy Award nominee Rose Byrne and Dominic SSSA
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talk about Toe.
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Let's go Welcome to pop Culture Weekly with Kyle McMahon
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from iHeartRadio, your pop culture news, views, reviews and celebrity
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interviews on all the movies, TV, music and pomp culture
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you crave weekly. Here's Kyle McMahon.
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Nick Nana Nick, Hello, and welcome to pop Culture Weekly
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with Kyle McMahon. I, of course am Kyle McMahon, and
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this is the show where we celebrate pop culture, question
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our life choices, and occasionally hear a story so insane
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it makes you wonder how any of us are actually
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functioning as a freaking society. I'm your host, Kyle McMahon,
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of course, and we are diving in to the new
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film Toe. Now, this film is really good. It's really
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crazy because it's based on a true story. But it's
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the true story of Amanda Ogle, who was a homeless
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woman in Seattle who ends up trapped in what can
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really only be described as Toe Company purgatory after getting
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hit with a bill for over twenty one thousand dollars
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twenty one thousand dollars for a toe, like at that point,
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just keep the car and like, what are we even doing?
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But beneath that real absurdity, it's a story about resilience,
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about fighting back against the system that feels impossible to
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win against, and somehow finding a way through it anyway.
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So let's start right at the source. I'm talking with
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the writer and director of Toe, Stephanie Lang, and we
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got into what drew her to this story, how you
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balance something that's both completely outrageous and deeply human and
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it's real, and why stories like this matter Right now
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here she is Stephanie Land. So first of all, you
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I love to and I wonder you know you managed
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to turn this one woman's story about a twenty one
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thousand dollars toe bill into you know, a movie. Where
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did it start for you? That this isn't just one
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woman's story but this is a movie.
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Yeah.
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Well I read the script and I think I was
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probably five pages in when I was already infuriated with
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the story and like the you know, the real Amanda's journey,
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and then felt that I felt her fight and I
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was like, oh, I have to I have to tell
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this story.
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Right.
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So so there's a producer on the movie who knows Amanda,
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who read an article and we were like, oh, he
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was smart enough to go this is this is every
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man's fight, right, this is going to be relatable because
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we're all fighting things in our own lives with different
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levels of stakes. So he was smart enough to do
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that part. And then I was like, I like, much
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like Amanda's journey, like finding your community to help you
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go fight another fight. So I got sent to I'll
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love it. The fell in love with Amanda, fell in
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love with Kevin, fell in love with Avery, and then
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I had worked with Rose, you know for many years
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on the Apple show Physical and just knew it was her,
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you know, and thankfully she agreed, so she took on
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the fight, and then everybody else who joined in castwise,
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it was like also, just like, we're gonna take on
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this fight and we're gonna make sure we tell this
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woman's story.
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How did you you know, as a director, how do
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you turn essentially paperwork into cinema.
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I mean, weirdly, for me, sometimes I hear it before
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I see it, so like I usually do a playlist,
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and it was a lot of like for me, a
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lot of pop, not but not pop, a lot of
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oh my god, a lot of punk rock songs because
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real Amanda, that's like what she liked. And I was like,
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what do you listen to? So I started listening to
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what the real Amanda listened to, and then just visually
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going all right, if like, how we're going to tell
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this story is like letting the character move the camera
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and letting it just you know, so for me that
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it's like that's a big part of it. It's just
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like how are you visually telling it? Once once we
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have it cast, and then really drilling down on the
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details of the characters across the board, like what they're wearing,
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what they look like. Octavia is is so interesting because
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I don't know if anyone notices that she has like
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she's an emotional eater character. She's always putting candy or
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something in her mouth, and I don't know, like how
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many you know, whether you notice it or not. It's
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just those layers make them feel real and relatable and
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you know, and then you fall in love with them.
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So did you learn more than you thought? You know,
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as you're doing research, as we're diving into this project,
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you know, were there instances of systemic problems, especially with
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you know, the homeless community that was worse than you
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thought going in.
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I think that, I I think it was very like
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we did a lot of research and a lot of
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going to comment house and meeting with with with unhoused
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youth and just hearing their stories and just being so
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actually blown away by like their hopefulness, you know, that
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was surprising. And and then also seeing like the like
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the wealth disparity when you would go like even just
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touring locations to film it in right, Like, we went
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to shelters and I kept noticing that they would use
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their decorations for the time we were scouting were like
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Easter decorations, but they were always on the Christmas trees
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or Christmas like they just saw the lack of resources,
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but they were still going to make this holiday, you
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know thing. And so and then we went to one
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location where they were doing you know Instagram photos of
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dogs and bathtubs for you know, holidays, and I was
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like Oh my god. The disparity here is so interesting
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to me, which is why we have the transitions to
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the movie that way, right, because it was like that
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was like surprising, But then I was also just struck
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by like like there was one teen that I, you know,
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interviewed at Covenhause and she said, like, you know, things
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are really bad, but you know they're good now and
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I'm on my journey, and I just I don't think
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I'll ever forget that scene because she was like she
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found her community and her help and was fighting her fight,
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but she still remains so hopeful and so resilient. And
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I think that's kind of that's what I hope people
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take from this movie, that like your voice matters and
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that you're hopeful and that it's about resilience.
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I love that. Stephanie. Thank you so much. Thank you
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for telling the story of the Unhoused, and I can't
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wait for everybody to see.
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To Thanks for having me, of course, have a great.
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Day, Stephanie leg And what I love about this is, yes,
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the story is absolutely batshit insane, but it's also real,
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like legitimately real, and it's that you know, emotional truth
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underneath all.
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Of that chaos that makes it hit the way it does.
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All Right, so we've talked about the story behind the film,
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toe let's talk about the people who had to step
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into it. I sat down with the incredible Rose Byrne,
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who somehow manages to be hilarious and devastating at the
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same time, and along with I should say, Dominiccessa, who
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is such an awesome talent and I can't wait to
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see his career continue to just blow up. But anyway,
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we talked about their characters, the emotional weight of the story,
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and how you portray something that feels this real and
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is this reel without overplaying it? Here they are Rose
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Byrne and domin Eccessa. Congratulations on the film. It really
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is touching and eye opening. And I wonder, Rose, if
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I could start with you, was there a moment, either
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reading the script or during filming, that you out, you know,
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playing Amanda, this was more than just a role, but
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like I have to do this. Was there a moment
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like that?
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No. I think when Stephanie approached me with the story
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and then I started reading up about Amanda, I thought,
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oh wow, what an opportunity, what a gift to try
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to bring this character to tell this person's story. It's
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an unbelievable story, and it's an unlike She's an unlikely
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hero in many ways, Amanda, she's some anything stacked against her.
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And it also confronts your own prejudices around people who
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are in house and how that happens, and what they
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may or may not look like or sound like or
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act like. And it really challenges you on all that level.
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And that's really a part of the story Amanda was
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very passionate about. And I got to spend time with
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her in Seattle, which is extraordinary, and we sort of
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went to all of the spots. I was like, take
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me to the towing company, take me to the shelter,
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take me to where you went to high school, you know.
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And it was a gift.
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It was such an opportunity to dive in. And then
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there's a great relationship she has with her lawyer, Kevin,
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who's like twenty years old. Junior is like, you know,
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you know, freshly kind of graduated, sort of you know,
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there's an optimism to him that you only have when
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you're young, and this sort of wonderful naivety in a
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way that he brings to the to the case that
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I think was you know, such a such a fun
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aspect of their story as.
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Well, and Dominic, did you, you know, playing Kevin or
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going into the role of Kevin, were you able to
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kind of channel that that optimism? I mean, obviously watching it,
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you know it comes through amazingly, but were you able
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to identify with that kind of optimism that he had,
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that like, I'm going to win this for her and
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for everybody else that that has that injustice? Yeah?
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Yeah, I think I definitely, especially you know, as a
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young person myself have and still do, like have this
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false sense of confidence certain things and optimism and also
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you know, a feeling of wanting to prove something as well,
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which I think all exists in this character as well.
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But along with that, it's just really admirable how especially
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at a young age and being naive and all of
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that stuff. Regardless I mean, this was years, like three
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years of this, and regardless of that, I would not
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be able to last that long with most things, you know,
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like like let alone something that I'm not making money for.
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I barely barely know this person. I really don't have
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any obligation that I'm other than the fact that I
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just ran into their situation, so that I think that's
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what really separates Kevin Is, at least for me as
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a person, as someone in their early twentieses is his commitment.
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And yeah, I mean, yeah, I give up on things
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even when I believe that in them possible.
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You know.
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I love that. And what do you both hope people
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take from this? I know what I took from it.
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What do you hope people take from it?
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I mean it's hopefully encourages people in whatever situation to
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speak up for themselves and and and speak up for
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other people, you know, like Kevin Is is standing up
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for this stranger and Amanda's standing up for herself, and
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I think people seeing that and also realizing that these
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are real people the story took place in real life,
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could encourage people to speak up for themselves.
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No, yeah, I never want to prescribe like what you
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feel take away from it, but I do think it's
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I think there's a lot in the movie. There's a
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lot of ways you can access this movie and find
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an access point in it, and and the fact that
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it's it really happened, and just the situation of being
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unhew in America and what this is one really specific
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example of how that can happen to anybody.
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It is very really important.
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I love that, and you know what I took from it,
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besides amazing performances, is that this can't you know this,
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not only can this happen, but it is happening, And
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how one person's voice can make a difference, you know,
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and believing in believing in a stranger and doing what's
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right rather than you know what, what would make money
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or whatever. So I think it's amazing. I can't wait
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for everybody to see it. Thank you both so much.
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Thank you.
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Rose Burn and Dominiccessa. Both of their performances in to
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Are they stick with you for different reasons, and when
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you see it, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about.
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And then you got to hit me up so we
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can discuss it, because they really really are are transformative
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performances because you know, sometimes it's not just about the entertainment.
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It's the kind of thing that makes you go, wait
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a second, this actually happens to people, like what the fudge?
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All right? Toe is out right now? My thanks to
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Stephanie Laying, Rose Byrne, domin Excessa, and if you enjoyed
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this episode and you're now side eyeing every tow truck
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you ever see. Make sure to follow or subscribe wherever
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you listen, and for even more interviews, deep dives, and
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pop culture breakdowns, head on over to popculturewekly dot com
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or my YouTube at pop Cultureweekly. I'm Kyle McMahon And
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until next time, keep watching, keep listening, and maybe double
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check where you park. Just saying all right, I love you.
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Well, thank you for listening to pop Cultureweekly. Here all
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the latest at popcultureweekly dot com told me baby.
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And now hurt you die? I said, why don't you try?
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Told me to be rare.
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And now hard to die?
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How you the change told me? Isout bringing down to
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the now You're learning?
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No no, no, no, no no no leady
