{"id":174003,"date":"2025-12-08T13:00:07","date_gmt":"2025-12-08T13:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/174003\/"},"modified":"2025-12-08T13:00:07","modified_gmt":"2025-12-08T13:00:07","slug":"julia-jackman-felicity-jones-and-maika-monroe-on-100-nights-of-hero","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/174003\/","title":{"rendered":"Julia Jackman, Felicity Jones and Maika Monroe on ‘100 Nights of Hero’"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tFelicity Jones<\/a> didn\u2019t realize she wanted to play a moon.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cPeople really underestimate fun,\u201d begins the Oscar-nominated actress, whose upcoming performance in Julia Jackman\u2019s 100 Nights of Hero is a whimsical and joyous departure from her recent portrayals on screen (see: The Brutalist and Train Dreams). \u201cThe most powerful stories are often the most entertaining,\u201d she continues. \u201cJulia has managed to do that amazing trick of combining those things, which is a very, very difficult thing to pull off.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAhead of this past Friday\u2019s release of Jackman\u2019s sophomore feature film, the director and her stars Felicity Jones and Maika Monroe<\/a> sat down with The Hollywood Reporter to unpack the making of 100 Nights, a visually stunning fantasy set in a fairytale kingdom and adapted from Isabel Greenberg\u2019s graphic novel of the same name.<\/p>\n

\n\tIt follows Longlegs star Monroe as the prim and proper Cherry, happily married to Jerome (Amir El-Masry) and living a seemingly idyllic life. But the couple have yet to conceive an heir, so when Jerome absconds and his dashing friend Manfred (Nicholas Galitzine<\/a>) arrives with dastardly intentions, Hero (Emma Corrin<\/a>), Cherry\u2019s wily and loyal maid, is forced to concoct a plan to distract Manfred by telling captivating stories about rebellious women (including popstar Charli XCX<\/a>, who has a supporting role as an ill-treated bride). Over the course of 100 nights, Hero\u2019s stories lure Manfred away from Cherry\u2019s bed chamber, leaving him in a not-so-threatening dream-like state. As aforementioned, Jones stars as Moon, a part as connotative as it is eccentric.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI was almost a little sad because I put this script in a drawer during the pandemic for a little bit,\u00a0and when you take something out again and you haven\u2019t looked at it for a while, you wonder if it\u2019s going to feel a bit stale,\u201d says Bonus Track director Jackman about the aptness of her patriarchy-bucking story. \u201cIt was exciting, but also a little bit of a bum-out to be like, \u2018Ah, nope. Still relevant.\u2019 Maybe even more relevant.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe movie had its world premiere in Venice and later closed the London Film Festival. Critics have praised the cast\u2019s wonderfully quirky performances, as well as the endlessly impressive costuming and makeup; THR\u2018s Leslie Felperin<\/a> said the work of costume designer Susie Coulthard and hair and makeup creative Natasha Lawes \u201cdeserve pre-title billing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tJackman, Jones and Monroe get into all of the above and more in a discussion about their fantastical fairytale film. They talk about working with Brat architect Charli XCX, why Scream Queen Monroe craved a dabble in fantasy and why this feminist flick is for everyone: \u201cIt was important to me to show no one is having a good time. Men are trapped as well. No one\u2019s living their best life when we suppress any part of society.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tJulia, this is your sophomore feature. What drew you to this story? Do you remember reading Isabel\u2019s graphic novel \u2014\u00a0and what impact did it have on you?<\/p>\n

\n\tJULIA JACKMAN I definitely do. I actually read Isabel\u2019s graphic novel when I was not a professional filmmaker at all. I think it was 2016 [or] 2017 when it first came out, and a friend had just said it was cool. I really thought, \u2018Oh, God, someone should make a film about this one day. I love this.\u2019 It\u2019s so funny. It transports you to another world. I love the mythology and the fairytale aspects. And then when I started making films, I worked up the courage to approach Isabel \u2014\u00a0because I thought maybe that someone could be me \u2014\u00a0and she and I clicked, and it was the two of us for a little while, and then these [gesturing to Jones, Monroe] brilliant guys came on board, and our lovely producer and cast.<\/p>\n

\n\t100 Nights of Hero is about the power of storytelling, but specifically between women and how, in passing those stories on, it becomes an act of resistance. It\u2019s that brilliant intersection of feminism and queerness. These messages are really important right now, given the current state of the world and with democracy feeling so precarious. Does that ring true to any of you?<\/p>\n

\n\tJACKMAN I was almost a little sad because I put this script in a drawer during the pandemic for a little bit \u2014\u00a0because it wasn\u2019t going to be a first feature and it was quite ambitious \u2014\u00a0and when you take something out again and you haven\u2019t looked at it for a while, you wonder if it\u2019s going to feel a bit stale. It was exciting, but also a little bit of a bum-out to be like, \u201cAh, nope. Still relevant.\u201d Maybe even more relevant! I don\u2019t know what you guys felt about that, but I think there\u2019s so much power in continuing to talk to each other\u2026 One of the best ways to control people is to control what they know, the information they have access to, the people they have access to. And [this film] feels like refusing to do that.<\/p>\n

\n\tFELICITY JONES I think in societies where we listen to women, we empower women. They tend to be healthier, happier societies, and also more prosperous societies. So everyone\u2019s a winner. We have to give women the opportunity to be heard and to be respected, and it\u2019s better for everyone.<\/p>\n

\n\tJACKMAN And for me, this was never women versus men \u2014\u00a0I can\u2019t say assholes versus non assholes \u2014\u00a0but it\u2019s a humanist thing as opposed to a purely feminist thing. It was important to me to show no one, as [Jones says], is having a good time. Men are trapped as well. No one\u2019s living their best life. When we suppress any part of society\u2026<\/p>\n

\n\tJONES Everyone suffers! [Laughs.]<\/p>\n

\n\tJACKMAN Exactly. It\u2019s not a healthy society.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tFrom left: Felicity Jones, Emma Corrin, Julia Jackman and Maika Monroe at the BFI London Film Festival premiere of the film.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy of Getty<\/p>\n

\n\tThere\u2019s something so Birdman-esque about certain people in power at the moment. Maika, can I ask you about Cherry? Because the last project I saw you in was Long Legs. Such a different tone to 100 Nights\u2026<\/p>\n

\n\tMAIKA MONROE [Laughs.] Very.<\/p>\n

\n\tYou have a reputation of being a bit of a Scream Queen. Was this a nice change of pace for you?<\/p>\n

\n\tMONROE Oh, yeah. This script came to me at a time where Longlegs had just come out and I was being sent a lot and reading a lot of things, and I was just blown away by the uniqueness of this story. It doesn\u2019t always happen with scripts \u2014 you can be like, \u201cOh, it\u2019d be so fun to play this role,\u201d but this was like, \u201cI need to do this.\u201d It doesn\u2019t happen all the time. We read a lot and there\u2019s a lot of really bad things. It\u2019s just so nice when you get sent something and it\u2019s like, \u201cOh, wow. This is not only so enjoyable and a fun story, but it has meaning and purpose.\u201d I was so, so excited to do something like this. It felt very different from anything else.<\/p>\n

\n\tCherry doesn\u2019t even know what it is to be desired or loved. It must have been really satisfying to get to the end of her arc and have that vulnerability of hers transform from the Cherry we see at the beginning.<\/p>\n

\n\tMONROE Absolutely. That\u2019s such a great thing about this particular role. You really go on this journey with her. You meet her, and [she is] very naive and ignorant to a lot of the world and and then she has this beautiful maid, Hero, who really guides her and teaches her.<\/p>\n

\n\tFelicity, you obviously have such a beautiful voice for narration. Maybe you can talk a little bit about Moon as a character and where she fits into Hero and Cherry\u2019s adventure?<\/p>\n

\n\tJONES Yeah, I didn\u2019t know that it was my secret desire to play a moon. [Jackman and Monroe laugh.] It was a no brainer. It\u2019s like, \u201cMoon? Yes, this is for me.\u201d Well, it\u2019s like [Monroe] is saying, it\u2019s very rare that something comes along that you feel the story is a story you want to be telling \u2014\u00a0which is why I wanted to be involved as a producer as well as an actor \u2014\u00a0and then also at the same time it\u2019s fun. People really underestimate fun.<\/p>\n

\n\tMONROE Totally.<\/p>\n

\n\tJONES And telling a story. The most powerful stories are often the most entertaining. Julia has managed to do that amazing trick of combining those things, which is a very, very difficult thing to pull off.<\/p>\n

\n\tSimilarly to Maika, you\u2019ve been doing a lot of intense roles roles recently \u2014\u00a0The Brutalist and Train Dreams come to mind. This must have been a joyous switch-up.<\/p>\n

\n\tJONES Yeah, I think I would say these are the kind of films that I love watching as a viewer, but it just immediately appealed. And the cast that Julia put together was all people that I like watching, so everything had a wonderful synergy to it.<\/p>\n

\n\tA perfect segue into my next question for Julia. You managed to get so many great actors on board \u2014 Felicity and Maika, of course, but Nicholas and Emma, too. Everyone was great, including Charli XCX. She is slowly pivoting into film, so maybe you can talk about that casting decision and if she surpassed expectations.<\/p>\n

\n\tJACKMAN Definitely. I was just so excited when these guys wanted to do it as well. And it was so funny, because every time you [to Jones] would come on set, you\u2019d be like, \u201cI\u2019m just gonna come and serve up some good Moon vibes and see myself out.\u201d [Laughs.] And it was just brilliant vibes. I was very moved, personally, by the fact that everyone could have taken on much bigger-budget projects with much more experienced directors, including Charli. And across the board, I was seeing people sign on with real passion and enthusiasm for something smaller and placing their trust in me.<\/p>\n

\n\tThere was a really wonderful agent who\u2019s now actually with Working Title called Ruby Kaye who worked with Charli and was also a big champion of the film, and she reached out and said that Charli had responded to the script. It was a delightful surprise for me, and I just went and met her and saw that we were both keen for it to make sense and not feel like a stunt casting thing. When I met her, she had her amazing, dry sense of humor and her thoughtful questions, [and] I just started to really see her as Rosa. It felt very refreshing and lowkey and I found myself really hoping that she would take Rosa and she was keen. She really surpassed my expectations, for sure. I mean, I tend to not go in with too many expectations, because I just want to leave actors to be free to make their own [decisions]. You just trust the actors. If you\u2019re working with them, you trust them, and these guys brought so many of their own choices and small behaviors that were incredible and made the film better than I would have ever thought. Charli was very similar vibes to these guys: devoted, kind, enthusiastic and very intuitive.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tCharli XCX, Olivia D\u2019Lima and Kerena Jagpal in \u2018100 Nights of Hero.\u2019<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy of Alex Rusu<\/p>\n

\n\tHow would you guys describe a Julia Jackman set and her processes?<\/p>\n

\n\tMONROE I\u2019m trying to think of a better word than this but it just felt so comfortable. There was so much room to play. Especially with a movie like this, a script like this, you need that space to play. It was so much fun. It was so nice that the cast were all of the same age and, I don\u2019t know, it was just magical. We\u2019re filming in this castle every day, we\u2019re wearing these incredible costumes. It was such a fun, exciting world to step into.<\/p>\n

\n\tJONES She\u2019s like a magician. She has these different things, and she makes a spell with all the different ingredients and brings little things out of you that you didn\u2019t quite know were there \u2014 and just does it so subtly, but with purpose.<\/p>\n

\n\tIt sounds so fun. Where was that castle?<\/p>\n

\n\tJACKMAN In Knebworth. And you guys were also such good sports about [things]\u2026 There was this one corset I remember \u2014\u00a0shout out to Maika\u2019s ability to act when she also had to sit in a corset. It was entirely their skill and their willingness to get into that headspace that made my job so much easier. Because [on] indie sets, the schedules are crazy. You don\u2019t really have any time. And so if they didn\u2019t have the incredible insight and skill that they have, I wouldn\u2019t have been able to pull it off.<\/p>\n

\n\tI mean, this film is just as much style as it is substance. Do you have a favorite costume, corset, or piece of headwear?<\/p>\n

\n\tJACKMAN Can I do three? Oh, no, there\u2019s more. Our hair and makeup artist, Natasha [Lawes] was so good. She made the masks. She\u2019s incredible. She made Birdman\u2019s helmet. And I have a soft spot for Moon. I\u2019m sorry, Cherry, because those puffy sleeves of Cherry\u2019s, I just loved it. And then Rosa\u2019s wedding outfit, where they made this flower cone on top of her head \u2014 and had to sew it into her hair. Susie Coulthard did the costumes on this, and she went above and beyond. She\u2019s incredible. Hire her, everyone!<\/p>\n

\n\tThis film closed the 2025 London Film Festival, which is so nice for the Brits in the cast. Why is that so special?<\/p>\n

\n\tJONES I think what\u2019s brilliant is when you feel there\u2019s a real appetite for the film. As we discussed, it\u2019s tapping into some really relevant issues. And it\u2019s been fascinating \u2014\u00a0so many people have come up to me and said: \u201cI\u2019ve been seeing, I\u2019ve been seeing on the algorithm, 100 Nights!\u201d Just the absolute excitement for it. It\u2019s a real moment in cinema, this film, and I think it\u2019s just so powerful [with] what it\u2019s saying and doing it in such a brilliant way. So it makes sense that it [closed] the festival.<\/p>\n

\n\tLastly, are there any stories that have had you so enraptured, as Cherry and Manfred were, that days could have passed and you wouldn\u2019t have known?<\/p>\n

\n\tJACKMAN I\u2019ve had a cold recently. I\u2019m better now. I\u2019m not spreading this to everyone. But me and my mom basically stayed inside, blowing our noses and watching the Colin Firth [and] Jennifer Ehle Pride and Prejudice. It never gets old.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Felicity Jones didn\u2019t realize she wanted to play a moon. \u201cPeople really underestimate fun,\u201d begins the Oscar-nominated actress,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":174004,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[8232,102578,146,73898,85,399,46,54298,102579,1299],"class_list":{"0":"post-174003","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-charli-xcx","9":"tag-emma-corrin","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-felicity-jones","12":"tag-il","13":"tag-international","14":"tag-israel","15":"tag-maika-monroe","16":"tag-nicholas-galitzine","17":"tag-united-kingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174003","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=174003"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174003\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/174004"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=174003"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=174003"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=174003"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}