about filmmaking, inequality in Hollywood, and why
Mister Rogers is more important now than ever.
ELLE: You grew up in the ’80s, when Mister Rogers’
Neighborhood was at the height of its popularity. Did
you watch it as a child?
MARIELLE HELLER: I did. It’s funny because you start
watching Mister Rogers so young, it’s sort of in this
subliminal part of your brain. I think that’s why peo-
ple have such a visceral reaction to him. But I also
remember the moment when I rejected the show and
thought I was too old for it.
ELLE: At what age did you feel you outgrew him?
MH: I don’t remember, but I just remember thinking it
wasn’t cool anymore—that sad thing that happens in
childhood of rejecting things that feel too sincere. But I
think there’s a misunderstanding about Mister Rogers.
I think we think that he was just happy and saw the
world through rose-colored glasses, and it’s not true
at all. He actually helped kids deal with some of the
hardest stuff in childhood, like divorce and death. He
did it in a gentle way that tried to help children deal
with their feelings, but everything wasn’t rose-colored.
ELLE: Your first two films were distinctly about wom-
en, so what drew you to this male-focused project?
MH: Everything we’re talking about. I never thought
I was going to make a movie about men. I’ve always
thought we don’t have enough movies about women,
and if I spent my whole life making movies only about
women, there still wouldn’t be enough movies about
women, so that’s a wonderful thing to dedicate my
career to. And then I read this script. And I thought,
“Damn, now I have to make this movie.” For the
same reason I want to make movies about women,
I also want to make movies that help men be better
men and that can be an antidote to toxic masculinity.
And I think the beginning of that is so deep in Mister
Rogers’s teachings—being able to admit your feelings,
being able to access them, finding ways to be more
connected to our humanity. And that’s what this
movie was about for me.
I’m also a parent of a young child, and there’s a big life shift that happens when
you become a parent. You start reflecting on your own past and your own childhood,
and it’s a really raw, emotional time, where you have to decide what values you want
to put forth into the world and what you want to teach another person about who to
be. What do we teach our boys, versus what do we teach our girls? How do we stifle
our boys in terms of their emotions? How do we teach our girls that they have to be
the emotion bearers of this world? Making a movie that tries to blast those gender
roles and help bridge that divide felt really important to me.
ELLE: Mister Rogers himself feels especially important in the current cultural and
political climate.
MH: I guess I always view movies as, in their best form, connecting us more to each
other and to humanity. And Mister Rogers’s message was potent. He really believed
that there was goodness in all of us, and that we all had value. And we’re obvious-
ly in a political time where we are not seeing the value in many people. So I hope
the message of the movie is to remember that we all have value. And to remember
what a hard thing it is to be alive in this world—and that we can find ways to be
compassionate with one another.
ELLE: What are the challenges of making a movie about a real person?
MH: We were so conscious of wanting to get it right and be respectful. It feels like a
responsibility to make a movie about somebody so beloved. And I think there are a
million movies that could be made about Mister Rogers. This movie is sort of taking
his mission and seeing it in action. It’s about experiencing what it would be like if
you were becoming friends with him, and how he could change your perspective
on the world.
ELLE: Speaking of perspective, it’s a really interesting time to be a female director. In
some ways, it does feel as if there is more visibility. And in others, as with the lack
of female nominees in directing categories at awards shows, it feels as if nothing
has changed.
MH: Well, the numbers show nothing has changed.
ELLE: Right. A USC Annenberg study said that only 4.3 percent of directors from 2007
to 2017 were women. What is your percept ion of t hat , a s someone who is on t he inside?
MH: I don’t think I’ll ever feel like I’m on the inside. That’s just not my personality.
I think it’s probably why I can handle being one of the few people who have the
privilege of doing this job right now. There are so many talented women and nonbi-
nary people out there who should be getting more opportunities. And I know that
the only reason I am able to do this is because of all the women who came before
me and pushed the door open. I’m getting to benefit from that, and I feel incredibly
lucky in that way. But the numbers obviously show that’s not helping everybody,
particularly women of color. So what’s the answer? I don’t know. I want to do a good
job so that other women are granted opportunities. ▪“MISTER ROGERS’S MESSAGE WAS POTENT.
HE REALLY BELIEVED THAT THERE WAS GOODNESS
IN ALL OF US, AND THAT WE ALL HAD VALUE.”135