Uma Thurman had some nerves working with Paul Schrader for the first time — but once she learned the filmmaker is a Swiftie, she felt right at home.
During the premiere of Oh, Canada at the New York Film Festival on Saturday, Oct. 5, Thurman, 54, spoke about her collaboration with Schrader, 78, on the movie, which she stars in alongside Jacob Elordi, Victoria Hill, Richard Gere and Michael Imperioli.
“I mean, Paul Schrader!” Thurman said during a question-and-answer session at the premiere. “I’m a really big fan of Paul Schrader. So to get to contribute, to lend myself to his piece, and get to see him working was a real, real privilege.”
Paul Schrader and Uma Thurman at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2024.
Mustafa Yalcin/Anadolu via Getty
She recalled being “nervous” about working with Shrader at first — until hearing about his musical interests.
“I was very nervous to meet him, you know, this macho filmmaker [who] made these legendary films,” she said. “And as I was on my way to the meeting, a person driving me was Googling and she’s like, ‘Oh my God, he’s a huge Taylor Swift fan.’ I was like, ‘What?’ And then I read Paul’s quote or tweet about defending Taylor and I was like, ‘Oh, I’m fine.’ “
Thurman described Shrader as “a big softie” and said he had a great working relationship with the entire cast.
“I think the cast and crew were all there for Paul and learned so much, just watching him as a master. So centered and I would say a big softie,” she explained, adding that it was inspiring to watch him in action.
“The movie was shot in a very precise, quick way,” the Pulp Fiction star continued. “There was not a lot of time. And to see a sort of master of cinema who is going to have to go in and get precisely exactly what he wants and needs… and has the entire vernacular language of cinema at his fingertips was just breathtaking.”
Per Deadline, Oh, Canada is a drama based on the novel Foregone by the late Russell Banks. (Schrader previously adapted Banks’ book Affliction into his 1997 film of the same name.) Gere, 75, plays a fictional documentary filmmaker named Leonard Fife, who sits down for a final interview with one of his former pupils (Imperioli) to reveal the “unvarnished facts of his life, reflecting on his relationships, regrets and mortality” as he looks back on the Vietnam War and his past relationships.
Uma Thurman attends the ‘Oh, Canada’ red carpet in Cannes in May 2024.
Mike Marsland/WireImage
Schrader, who is known for his dramatic films including Taxi Driver and American Gigolo, has shared posts on social media in praise of Swift, 34, on many occasions.
Back in April, he made a post on Facebook which featured the artwork from the pop superstar’s self-titled debut album cover.
“This girl became Taylor Swift. There’s a movie there,” Schrader wrote. “What’s the best article written about the TS phenomenon?”
The writer-director told Variety last month that he is in “awe” of the empire that the “Karma” singer has built.
“It’s not so much the music that entrances me, it’s the phenomenon. The Elvis-ness of it all,” Schrader explained. “You have to look in awe at how well she and her people have created this empire.”
