Julia Marchese
She is the filmmaker of I Know What You Need Dollar Baby film.
SKSM: Hi Julia! This is our second interview for this website. Could you remind our readers who you are and what you do?
Julia Marchese: My name is Julia Marchese, and I am a filmmaker, actor, writer, cinephile, film programmer and podcaster. I love film deeply. I have been a King junkie since I was 11 and recently completed my quest to read all of his works.
Find me at @juliaCmarchese at Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Tiktok!
SKSM: In addition to being the filmmaker of I Know What You Need Dollar Baby film, you also wrote the script. Did you make any changes from the original story that you can tell us about?
Julia Marchese: I tried hard to keep the story in tact and change as little as possible, but I did write some transition scenes. Edward’s powers are altered slightly, but still within King’s universe. When King wrote the story in 1976, the Necronomicon was an obscure Lovecraft reference, but in 2023 people associate it with the Evil Dead so I thought it best to have his powers come from another source.
It’s kind of incredible that the Dollar Baby contract with King leaves the adaptation up to you completely – you can do whatever you want with the story, but as a Constant Reader I know my favorite adaptations are the ones that stick close to the original material.
SKSM: You had several jobs on the film. Was it a positive experience or was it stressful?
Julia Marchese: The filming of this went so incredibly smoothly, I was so delighted. We shot and stayed at the University of Maine dorms, and it was 22 people living all together like college students for a week, with roommates and everything, so it was a total possibility that everyhing could go pear shaped, but it didn’t.
We were all focused on making this film the best it could be and soon it became clear the cast & crew really were ka-tet – we worked together so well and had such a fun time. I was flying high the whole production, living my Stephen King dreams and being so very grateful. Staying in King’s own dorm room – which hasn’t changed a bit – was incredible.
SKSM: Does the movie already have a release date? If so, where will it premiere?
Julia Marchese: The premiere is July 13th, 2023 at the Maine International Film Festival, which I think is apropos since the film was shot 100% in Maine. I am so excited for the film to be seen and to be there for the festival!
SKSM: Was there any funny things that happened while filming (Bloopers, etc)?
Julia Marchese: My family went to Shakespeare festivals a lot when I was a kid, so the term “Huzzah!” has always been in my terminology, and it became the cry of joy across the entire crew when the take went well. I loved that.
The strawberry ice cream was a delicious mess – a local parlor, Spencer’s ice cream, donated it to us and it was amazing. William & Caroline, who play Edward and Elizabeth, never complained about having ice cream running down their hands, and it happened quite a bit. They suffered for their art, but were total champs about it!
SKSM: What are you working on nowadays?
Julia Marchese: I have a couple of scripts that I am working on that I would love to get the chance to make! The creative bit is the easy bit – the financial and business end of show business is the tricky part! Financiers welcomed!
SKSM: Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions. Would you like to add something else about your film that you have not told?
Julia Marchese: A lot of people have asked me how I got the rights to do the film and shoot in Maine and all, and honestly all I did was send in an email and ask. That’s all. I always say you get in life what you have the courage to ask for – the worst they can say is no.
Stephen King has his list of Dollar Baby films on his website – if you want to make one, all you have to do is ask. And maybe they will say no.
But maybe they will say yes.
