Laura Moss and Brendan J. O’Brien are the writers behind the film, Birth/Rebirth, which premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. The film was inspired by Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein, but with a focus on the madness and monstrosity of motherhood.
In this episode, No Film School’s GG Hawkins speaks with writers Laura Moss and Brendan J O’Brien to discuss:
- How Laura and Brendan met and their very unique relationship
- One of the best pieces of advice Laura ever received on scriptwriting
- Finally getting accepted into the Sundance Labs on the 5th attempt
- Advice for anyone who applies to Sundance Labs and gets rejected
- The amazing experience working with the production company
- The biggest challenge they had in post-production
- Using natural sounds like ultrasounds and fetal heartbeats
- Weaving in sound design and score in a complicated scene
- What it was like working with a six-year-old actor for a horror film
- Casting Judy Reyes as one of the stars
Memorable Quotes
- “We got to know each other. We fell in love. We got married. We got divorced. And then we started really writing together in earnest.” [5:14]
- “One rejection does not mean you are punted.” [14:03]
- “The thing you think is going to be the easiest, turns out to be the hardest thing in the movie.” [29:56]
- “We both have had so much rejection behind us and so much rejection in front of us.” [46:35]
Resources:
Birth/Rebirth
Follow Laura and Brendan on Instagram
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