Exclusive Interview: Katie Holmes and Jim Sturgess Talk Alone Together, Their Collaborative Process, and More

Katie Holmes is the writer and director of the must-see new film, Alone Together, which finds her starring opposite Jim Sturgess and Derek Luke.

The timely project finds food critic June (Katie Holmes) going upstate for a short romantic getaway to escape the pandemic in New York City. But her plans go wrong from the start. Arriving at the AirBnb in advance of her boyfriend, John (Derek Luke), she is shocked to discover it has been double-booked by recently single Charlie (Jim Sturgess). When John decides to stay in the city to take care of his parents, June has to settle in for the long haul as she realizes that the initial two weeks of the pandemic might just drag on a little bit longer than expected. As spring begins to unfold around them, June and Charlie make the most of the sudden break in their routines and develop an unexpected intimacy as they bond over their goals, ambitions and, of course, relationships.

Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to speak with Katie and Jim about Alone Together, what it was like collaborating together during a pandemic, and more!

PC: Katie, you’re known for the incredible work that you’ve done on the screen and stage. How have your experiences as an actress and being on set prepared you for this moment as a writer and director?
Katie: It very much has. Some of my favorite experiences as an actor came from doing All My Sons on Broadway with Simon McBurney and the eight weeks of rehearsals we had and working with Dianne Wiest and watching her work and how we were all able to find these characters. I loved working with Curtis Hanson and Peter Hedges and all these creatives who helped you find your character and the scene. As a director, I always want to create the space for actors and allow them to bring all of their ideas so I can understand what they’re trying to do and capture that visually. I want to give them the best lens for that. I can be like, “I know they’re trying to do this, so this is going to look better. This is going to capture it better.” Those experiences really helped.

PC: Jim, you’ve said in the past that you were seeking a story that reflected the times that we were living in while actually living in it and how profound this experience has been for you. How did you first discover Katie’s script and what was it about this character that resonated with you?
Jim: I had been in lockdown. I was in Vancouver because I was shooting a TV show at the time. But everything shut down and I was waiting to go back to work. I was sent the script and I read it. I was so instantly excited by the idea of a film about the pandemic and particularly this one. I thought Katie did such an amazing job giving us all those little moments of what it was like to be locked down but also with this beautiful and very real sort of fantasy of falling in love with a complete stranger.

I thought the characters felt very real. I felt like I could bring some of my own reality into the bones of the character and flesh them out with Katie. She was so open to that. For the first time, I felt like I was able to bring a lot of myself into this character. Normally, I have to go the other way and escape myself. But with this, I was like, “Oh, I feel like there are so many things that I could bring to this.” It was really the opportunity to create and work on a story that was about this moment. It felt very, very exciting.

PC: Katie, you’ve said in the past that the creative process is about trusting and listening to the talent that you’ve surrounded yourself with. Can you talk a little bit about the process of how you created this sense of community amongst the cast while filming during a pandemic? Jim, how has that openness and collaborative environment allowed you to make bold choices and take agency over your character?
Katie: Jim and I met over Zoom. We started exchanging emails about the characters and different ideas. The same with Derek. When we got onto set, we felt comfortable. I knew what each actor wanted to achieve. They knew what I wanted to achieve. It does give room for you to play because then it’s like, “Do you want to do a take now where we try that thing that you mentioned back in February?” It’s like, “Oh yeah!”

Because in the editing room, you never know. We shifted a lot of different things. It was like, “Oh, we can use that from that scene.” I like keeping the story alive and that process. That sense of comfort allows me to do my best work. I hope that allows other people to feel the same.

Jim: We were able to be so loose because Katie was running everything. She’s the writer, director, and collaborator, and we quickly became friends. I felt like I was making a movie with a friend. We were very comfortable with each other. As the characters’ relationship grew, our relationship grew because we were spending so much time together. There was this really lovely looseness that Katie brings. That’s what she brings as a director. She really opens up the space for improvisation. She encourages that. She brings new things to the scene when the camera’s not on her. She’s behind the camera and saying all these different and new things that weren’t in the script. I loved it. I was all up for it.

It’s very rarely like that for an actor, unless you’re working with someone who’s very specifically carving a film around improvisation. There were days when I went home feeling elated. I was like, “Wow, that felt really real.” It was really lovely to sit, chat, and drink some wine. I was intrigued to see how it was all going to come together because there would be scenes where I was like, “How is she going to cut that conversation with that conversation?” Because we almost had two completely different conversations depending on which close-up we were on. I think I even asked Katie at one point, “How did you cut this together?”

Katie: I said, “I don’t know.” [laughs]

Jim: No. [laughs] You said, “As long as the feeling is right, it’ll work.” You were right. The energy that Katie brought to set was one of joy and gratitude. It fed into a really beautiful experience that we all needed. We were desperate. It was a lifeline. We just needed to have fun and tell a beautiful story. We were all hungry for that to be put out there.

Make sure to follow Katie (Instagram) and Jim (Twitter/Instagram). Watch Alone Together in theaters today and wherever you stream movies on July 29th!

Photo Credit: Jesse Korman