After acting in over 30 movies, numerous iconic TV series (remember, House?) and producing a handful of music videos (Red Hot Chilli Peppers to Drake) as well as some shorts, Olivia Wilde releases her feature debut, Booksmart.
Out 27 May, this coming of age film tells the story of two academic overachievers (and BFFs) who realise there’s more to life than revision on the eve of their high-school graduation.
Watch Ladybird’s Beanie Feldstein (also Jonah Hill’s little sis) and Kaitlyn Dever try to cram four years of fun into one night and expect serious laughs as they go from ‘getting straight As’ to ‘giving zero Fs’.
‘Every single character in this film feels like a projection of myself,’ says Wilde.
‘When I was in school I felt constantly judged unfairly. There was a sense that if you were friends with boys – if you were sex positive feminist in your own way – then you couldn’t possibly be smart.’
Wilde, along with her all-female writing team (Katie Silberman, Emily Halpern, Sarah Haskins and Susanna Fogel), have retold and authentically updated the on-screen High School experience.
It is by women, for women, and it doesn’t half show.
‘I wanted to bring attention to the fact that women often inadvertently participate in this cycle of shaming and emotional abuse of our female peers,’ she says.
A far cry from The O.C (Wilde’s breakout series), Booksmart is a celebration of female friendship, forcing us to question the way we treat each other and why we feel the need to compete over men.
A hilarious instant classic, find out about Wilde’s own high school experience and Booksmart motivations in the video above.
