logo
episode-header-image
Nov 2023
45m 20s

Bottoms with Emma Seligman

SCRIPT APART
About this episode

The first rule of Fight Club is you do not talk about Fight Club. But when it comes to Bottoms – the new queer high school comedy from Emma Seligman, in which two teen lesbians start their own Fincher-esque Fight Club in an attempt to get closer to cheerleaders – well, there's really no helping it. 

On today's episode of Script Apart, the acclaimed filmmaker breaks down an early version of the smash hit new movie that began with our heroes, PJ (Rachel Sennott) and Josie (The Bear star Ayo Edebiri) “masturbating at a militaristic boot camp for horny girls.” In this version of the film,  a steroid epidemic that "causes people to hate women" was wreaking havoc at Rockbridge Falls High, with it up to PJ and Josie to save the day.

Listen to our spoiler conversation with Emma to discover the thematic connections between Bottoms and her groundbreaking debut Shiva Baby,  the inspiration behind fragile football star Jeff, her process of writing the script with Sennott and much, much more.

Script Apart is hosted by Al Horner and produced by Kamil Dymek. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram, or email us on thescriptapartpodcast@gmail.com.

Support for this episode comes from MUBI, ScreenCraft, Arc Studio Pro and WeScreenplay.

To get ad-free episodes and exclusive content, join us on Patreon.

Support the show


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Up next
Jul 4
Black Mirror with Charlie Brooker
Today on Script Apart, we’re taking a long, hard look in the mirror – Charlie Brooker’s dystopian anthology series Black Mirror, to be more precise, with the beloved British writer joining Al for a spoiler-filled breakdown of the show’s brilliant latest season. Yes, this week we’ ... Show More
1h 24m
Jun 27
Elio with Domee Shi and Madeline Sharafian
As the Talking Heads once nearly sang: “And may find yourself beamed up into a spacecraft. And you may find yourself pretending to be the leader of Earth. And you may find yourself hanging out with weird and wonderful beings from outer-space, going up against intergalactic warlor ... Show More
44m 3s
Jun 23
28 Years Later with Alex Garland
The last time acclaimed writer-director Alex Garland (Ex Machina, Civil War, Annihilation) appeared on Script Apart, he told Al about his desire to quit directing temporarily and focus on writing – you know, like in the early days of his career. Well, it doesn’t get much more lik ... Show More
1h 1m
Recommended Episodes
Mar 2021
Blockers — Emily VanDerWerff
Blockers tells the story of three teenage girls determined to lose their virginity on prom night; it’s also about their parents mourning the loss of their daughters, watching them grow up and learning to let them go. The 2018 movie, directed by Kay Cannon, has everything you’d ex ... Show More
41m 55s
Mar 2020
The Ranger (2018) feat. Annie Rose Malamet
In their attempt at social distancing, the boys abandon the city and head deep into the woods. Along for the ride is Girls, Guts & Giallo's Annie Rose Malamet, who schools the boys on all things punk (and Lisa Frank) so that they can understand the annoying teens in Jenn Wexler's ... Show More
1h 41m
Dec 2020
Upending the Rom-Com Genre with Filmmakers Kimberley and Amy Datnow on their feature Daddy Issues
Giles and regular co-host Lucinda Rhodes Thakrar chat to sister filmmakers Kimberley Datnow and Amy Datnow to discuss their quirky, playful romantic comedy Daddy Issues. Kim and Amy share how they both found themselves in the industry from different perspectives, how they decided ... Show More
1h 22m
Jun 2024
How To Have Sex: lead actor & BAFTA Rising Star Mia McKenna-Bruce joins us!
We lure the amazing Mia McKenna-Bruce to our studio to discuss our fave film of last year: How To Have Sex. She stars as the central character of Tara in this stunning film exploring sexual consent, female friendship, toxic friendship, and self discovery. Mia gives us the scoop o ... Show More
48m 38s
May 2018
But I'm a Cheerleader with Jenny Chalikian
Jamie and Caitlin founded The Bechdel Camp, a camp that teaches youth how to dismantle the patriarchy! Meet in the Rec Hall for a special presentation on But I'm a Cheerleader with guest speaker Jenny Chalikian!(This episode contains spoilers)For Bechdel bonuses, sign up for our ... Show More
1h 14m
Jan 2020
Beloved with Jourdain Searles
Co-host of the bad romance podcast , freelance writer for thrillist and bitch media Jourdain Searles joins the cast to talk about the team-up that no one saw coming, Oprah and Demme. The two friends and guest talk about the sexiness of the pepper beard and facial ombre, the Fifty ... Show More
2h 8m
Jun 2021
"Host" Screenwriter Gemma Hurley on Writing a Hit Movie
Today, Giles Alderson and his co-host Andrew Rodger welcome screenwriter Gemma Hurley to the podcast. She is one of the writers on the upcoming show The Rising and the co-writer of the amazing streaming horror hit Host, which took the internet by storm in 2020. Gem dives deep int ... Show More
56m 42s
Aug 2021
How to Make Academy Award-winning Indie Films with Shadow Magic and Confetti writer & director Ann Hu.
On this week’s podcast, Giles Alderson welcomes writer & director Ann Hu to the show. She is the Chinese Academy Award-winning director of the feature film Shadow Magic (2000), starring Jared Harris. Now Ann is back with her delightful second feature film, Confetti, which is out ... Show More
52m 2s
Feb 2021
The Way We Were — Sophie Krueger
The Way We Were is a quintessential breakup movie. Told across decades, it stars Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford as two wildly different people growing together before eventually growing apart. Writer Sophie Krueger says the 1973 movie has resonated differently over time. As ... Show More
36m 8s
Oct 2021
Emma Kenney (ft. Shameless)
This week, Father Cooper sits down with Emma Kenney. Emma spent more than half of her life starring as Debbie Gallagher on the TV show “Shameless” and in this episode Emma spills all of the tea about growing up on set. Emma even dishes which co-star she had a crush on. She gets p ... Show More
48m 37s