Jillian Bell and Paul Downs Colaizzo interview: Getting in shape for 'Brittany Runs A Marathon'

Photo courtesy of Sean McCarthy

The determination and struggle to train for a marathon may be daunting to most people and that isn’t lost on the makers of the new film, “Brittany Runs A Marathon.” In fact, writer-director Paul Downs Colaizzo believes that if the story behind his new movie wasn’t true, nobody would take it seriously. But he did meet a real life Brittany and after hitting bottom she decided to turn her hard-partying lifestyle around by getting in shape and actually running the New York City marathon. The finished film focuses on the human aspect of Brittany’s real life endeavor and it makes for a funny and heartwarming time at the movies.

“Brittany Runs A Marathon” captivated audiences so much at this year’s Sundance film festival that it not only won an audience award but also sold for a record figure to Amazon Studios. This smash hit is slowly rolling out to theaters nationwide, and director Colaizzo has brought along his leading lady Jillian Bell (“22 Jump Street”) on this warm San Francisco day to talk about the movie and his cinematic inspirations. Bell steps into Brittany’s persona with ease and balances the comedic aspects of the role with welcome dramatic flourishes, something she was looking to tackle as an actress. The following is a transcription of that conversation.

Q: The character of Brittany is based on a real person. How much license did you take with her story? Did you feel like glamming up a few details or is that part of her life what we see in the movie?

Jillian Bell: I remember in the beginning talking with Paul about the look of Brittany like her skin looking dehydrated. Just to show the evolution of this character’s journey.

Paul Downs Colaizzo: It’s about self-care. We show her hair greasy at first but not in a comedic way. We’re telling the story of a woman who is neglecting herself physically and emotionally so we wanted to manifest that in as many ways as possible.

Bell: That way we weren’t just telling a story about weight loss. That’s not what this film is.

Q: Jillian, you’ve recently talked about how you wanted the role of Brittany so badly that you had to hunt Paul down and audition for him to prove you could do the part. What did you do in the audition process to win him over?

Bell: We both gambled on each other. I had never done a movie that had this much drama in it or played the title character in a movie. And Paul had never directed…

Colaizzo: …anything (laughs). Jillian had a great understanding of the script. It’s not like she had only read it once. I had met with other actresses and they wanted me to tell them about the script.

Bell: Most times with scripts I try to talk myself out of doing them. Like I’ll tell myself that someone else can play the part better but with this one I knew I had to do it. It wasn’t in a narcissistic way but I felt like I knew this character so well that I wanted someone to get her right.

Q: How do you feel when the opposite thing happens? When you go out for a role, you don’t get it, and see someone else interpret it completely differently?

Bell: I don’t know. There have been roles I’ve been up for and haven’t gotten and think that person was supposed to do it. I’m very much a person of whatever is supposed to come into my life is supposed to happen.

Q: What do you need on set to feel comfortable doing your job?

Colaizzo: I need to go to set feeling prepared and open. That way if there’s a time crunch or a budget crunch I know every answer possible and can pivot on a dime if necessary. That said, once that is taken care of it’s much easier to come in with a collaborative attitude without feeling threatened by questions or possibility.

Bell: I want someone who is happy that I’m there and is rooting for me. I need the support of what we’re making together.

Q: After doing so much running for the film, do you hate it at this point?

Bell: No, I kind of like it. I don’t do it all the time but when I do I enjoy it.

Q: Did you have the real life Brittany on set?

Colaizzo: Not a lot. She came on set and shot a scene and then I cut the scene. It wasn’t her fault but tonally the scene didn’t make any sense when I put the film together. But I found a way to put her back in so she’s got a little cameo.

Q: How do you approach characters?

Bell: It just depends on the character. There are some things I’ve done in the past where I think I know who this person is and then there’s this project where it’s totally different. I had seven months before we started shooting anything and I memorized it like it was a play. Physically I was training before we started shooting and that was the first time I had done something like that.

Colaizzo: I start with what the character is lacking. I try to figure out why they are lacking that emotional hole and then look for what behavior they use to fill that emotional hole. I turn that into action and that into the story.

Q: What surprised you the most about the process of making this film?

Colaizzo: (laughs) How long it took. We finished filming two years ago so that was the biggest surprise. I went into it with hope and my hope was validated.

Q: You both have been going from city to city and getting a lot of the same questions. Is there one question you wish people would stop asking you?

Colaizzo: How do you say your last name?

Bell: How does it feel to be brave for being a woman that’s not a size 2. I just feel like I’m an actress who’s a human being who really enjoys it and hopes that other men and women will connect to it.

“Brittany Runs A Marathon” is now playing in theaters nationwide.

Photo courtesy of Sean McCarthy