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Fuller, in a very meta twist, was a friend of Burstyns until his death in 1983.
She calls me back and said, Hes getting on a plane for New York.
So he came here and he said, You knew him?
I said, Yeah, I knew him and we were friends.
Not only that, I taped him sailing his sailboat late 70s or early 80s.
But it was quite a serendipitous event he had no idea I knew him.
I was sitting there listening to him and I went, Buckminster Fuller.
I wonder if theyre related.
I said, Thats it.
He only had layovers.
I said, Ill take the five hours in Chicago.
So I flew to Chicago.
We met in the airport, we had breakfast and spent five hours together, and became friends.
How long did you stay friends?Until he died.
I have all his books autographed to me, and our correspondence.
So I flew up to Maine, to his summer home.
Theres much more than whats in the film.
He was always rewriting it.
So I said, Come spend Christmas with me.
So she brought her husband who was in town too, and I met Nick.
Had you ever seen him onParks and Recreation?I saw it once.
Im not much of a TV viewer.
I usually watch the evening news, then I turn off the TV and read.
I go back for Rachel Maddow.
Thats my TV watching.
I was just floored by it.
It was so original.
It came out, the critics killed it.
Hated it and it was dead in no time at all.
Its a classic, and now its considered a classic.
I think thats going to happen toMother!I think its a masterpiece.
You have a bunch of scenes where youre with Asa Butterfield.
You two developed a real onscreen chemistry as a grandmother and grandson.
What did you like about working with him?His sweetness.
You know, hes really a sweet boy.
It just killed me to slap him.
He said, Sure.
Then I slapped him and I felt like I slapped him too hard.
I said, Are you all right?
He said, Yeah, Im fine, but his face was red.
I felt so bad.
But he was very dear about it.
He was just a lovely boy.
Hes innocent, you know?
And Alex [Wolff], he was just a dynamo, wasnt he?
I mean, he cut loose, and that music.
I went, Wow.
Maude Apatow, I thought she was a very fine actress.
I dont really like to play evil people.
I dont find it in me too much.
But I dont like to play people who are just greedy.
I like to play somebody who has some kind of purpose in life.
Some aim or cause or reason for being.
Josephines was her grandson but also keeping Buckys ideas alive.
She wanted to keep Buckys ideas alive through her grandson.
Which its not really up to anybody to do.
Whats the most challenging role youve ever taken on?To shoot it,The Exorcist.
But to play it, to find it, probablyFlowers in the Attic.
I dont understand somebody being cruel to their grandchildren and hurting them.
I dont get that.
But, in a way, its interesting to feel those juices and what thats like.
Whats the most fun youve ever had on a film set?Requiem for a Dream.
It had to do with age.
So I just told Darren [Aronofsky] that I only wanted to do that once.
I didnt want to rehearse it, and I didnt want to shoot [Jareds] close-up first.
I wanted to just do it once, and I did, and its whats in the film.
Its a good moment.
I see it on the internet, Facebook people replay it.
Which acting role taught you the most about acting?I recently did Shakespeare for the first time.
So its a male character.
I didnt play it necessarily as a man; I played it as a kind of androgynous character.
Id always kept my legs together.
The first time I did that, I went, Oh, thats very different.
And I find I can do it now comfortably, which I never used to be able to.
Its hard to describe.
Guys are different, though, and when you feel your own guy side, its not as pretty.
When you let go of that, theres a different kind of strength.
I was surprised; I went, My masculine side, what is that?
Its unlike anythingIveever seen.
I think it is the true beginning of the crumble of the patriarchy.
I think whats happened now, its like, Okay, the jigs up, folks.
Youre not going to get away with it.
Im not going to protect you if you treat me badly or disrespectfully.
We now have a woman cinematographer nominated for an Oscar, finally, in 2018.
Weve had a woman director win an Oscar.
So its baby steps, but now I think its going to change drastically.
Plus, I mean, look atWonder Woman.Wonder Womanwas a great movie.
So I think well be seeing more women in positions of power.
I want to really favor women.
He said, Great.
Hes all for it.
And hes the producer ofGet Out, Sean McKittrick.
And hes already done films with women photographers and women line producers, so hes already there.
People are now consciously thinking in terms of diversity and diversity of both gender and race.
Its not an exception to think that way.
Its now like, yes, lets do that.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
