Jenny Lewis: “I feel like my nervous system calmed down because there was nothing on the books” | Interview

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As our time’s wrapping up, I want to go on a tangent about something only briefly touched on in our 2019 interview, about former actor Lewis remaining a “deep film nerd.” So, what’s she been watching lately?

“The Criterion Channel is on constantly in my house,” she says. “Their collection is insane. I put on a lot of Sun-Ra films and avant-garde jazz stuff, and westerns. I also became obsessed with Ryan Murphy during the pandemic and watched almost everything, except Nip/Tuck and Glee. Every American Horror Story, which I think are so amazing and so well done. And I watched every season of Fargo. There’s so much great TV. I don’t watch any mainstream reality or superhero stuff. Marvel, that stuff’s not for me.”

Given Lewis’ own connection to the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles County, I’m particularly keen to hear what she thought of Licorice Pizza [2021], the Alana Haim-led love letter of sorts to ‘the Valley’. “I loved it,” she replies. “And I love Paul Thomas Anderson. Inherent Vice has become one of my favourite movies. I’ve watched it 30 times. The Master is a masterpiece. And Licorice Pizza, if you’re from the Valley, really resonates. I definitely encountered some folks who didn’t grow up in the Valley, who didn’t necessarily get it. I thought Alana Haim did an amazing job. I’m friends with the family and I was just so proud of her. And that film is for me. I am the perfect audience for Licorice Pizza. And I’d love to work with Paul.”

It’s unclear if she means a return to acting there, but Lewis already has a proven track record with writing tracks for movies: “I’ve scored two indie films [Very Good Girls, 2013, and Song One, 2014] and written for a Disney movie [Bolt, 2008]. I wrote a song that Meryl Streep sang, with Jonathan [Rice], my ex-partner. I love the challenge of that and I love the collaborative process of filmmaking. I was a kid actor, so it wasn’t very cool. You don’t get a lot of respect when you’re a struggling actor. But when you’re writing music for a film, you get so much respect. It’s crazy. We went on the set for Ricki and the Flash [2015], which was Jonathan Demme’s last [fiction] film…”

I interrupt to mention that the late Demme is one of my favourite filmmakers. “He’s the best. I miss him. Wonderful, wonderful person. What a loss, and what a gift to be in his presence. Such a nurturing artist. He brought us onto that project and we got to visit the set and meet Meryl Streep, who was so warm and kind and smart and involved in the process. We were collaborating with her and Jonathan and sending these songs in. That was an amazing experience. Scoring a film is really hard because I’m not a tech person. I don’t work Pro Tools, but I am writing all the parts and demoing on my phone. So, it was hard to get the idea across without going in the proper studio.”

I wonder if she has a favourite of Demme’s films. “I mean, what do you think?”

Stop Making Sense?

“Nope.”

Something Wild?

“Nope.”

Ricki and the Flash?

“No, go back. Go back. What’s the one?”

The Silence of the Lambs?

“Abso-fucking-lutely! Masterpiece. Flippin’ masterpiece. Jonathan told me a story about the song in the scene with “Would you fuck me? Because I’d fuck me”, which is [a line] in a Rilo Kiley song [“Glendora”]. I forgot that reference until now, honestly. Anyway, Jonathan was getting into a cab and when he got in, the driver said, “Hey, I play music.” And she played him this demo. And he used it. That’s the song from that scene: “Goodbye Horses” [by Q Lazzarus].

“Can you imagine an artist like Jonathan? Eyes and ears are just open. I feel like those are the signs in the universe when you’re an artist. He found that song, which is one of the most magical songs ever recorded.” Once again, as it always seems to be with Lewis and her collaborators, there’s that matter of serendipity once more.

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