'Freeheld' Director Peter Sollett in Conversation

I'm ashamed to admit that I hadn't heard this story, or about its subsequent documentary. Even more so, that I didn't have any idea what a pivotal role Laurel Hester and Stacie Andree played in the battle that would follow their own, in the fight for gay marriage.

"Freeheld" is based on the Oscar-winning documentary of the same name by Cynthia Wade and is about the true love story between Laurel [Julianne Moore] and Stacie [Ellen Page] and their fight for equal justice.
Hester was a decorated, 23-year veteran of the Ocean County prosecutor's office, in New Jersey when she was diagnosed in 2006 with a rapidly-spreading cancer. The request she makes to have her pension benefits left to Stacie is soundly rejected by county officials (known as Freeholders). Their fight to reverse that decision, as well as the conspiracy to prevent Laurel from doing so is the topic of the film, featuring her partner, detective Dane Wells [Michael Shannon] and activist Steven Goldstein [Steve Carell], who unite in Laurel and Stacie's defense, rallying fellow police officers and ordinary citizens to support their struggle.

Her final deathbed appeal resulted in the reversal of the Freeholder's decision and is widely thought of, as the seminal beginning moment in the battle for marriage equality. Interestingly enough, that decision came down just one month after they finished shooting the film. Those chance moments, when things come together, are so very interesting... aren't they?

PETER SOLLETT, "FREEHELD" 'S GIFTED DIRECTOR, TOOK A MOMENT TO TALK ABOUT THE FILM AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE.

How did you become involved with Freeheld, Peter? It's such a unique story and film.

This script was sent to me in 2012 by the producers and originally, I had no clue that it was a fictionalization of a true story. I noticed that one of my mentors at the Sundance Lab from ten years prior had written it, which was exciting to me because it was somebody that I really looked up to, Ron Nyswaner, who had also written "Philadelphia." I cracked it open, absolutely devoured the script and was incredibly moved. I watched the documentary and saw that Ellen [Page] was onboard to play Stacie, which made it just irresistible to me.

The timing of the film is fascinating, with the deliberations around gay marriage happening and the fact that it's Ellen Page's first role as an out lesbian. It's incredibly fortuitous that it was all happening at the same time.

I wish those things were something that we could take credit for (laughs), having that kind of vision. But of course, we didn't. We made it over the course of three years and Ellen was on it for a total of six. It really was fate, coincidence and luck that it timed out this way.

I remember being in the back of a truck one day, which, when you're directing a film, is where you spend most of your time. (Laughs) I was with one of the producers who received an update on his phone from The New York Times about the case, which made it seem unavoidable that the Supreme Court was going to have to take on gay marriage. We didn't know when or know how they were going to rule and wondered what it might mean to the film. Either it will say to the audience, "This is why we need marriage equality, because it's about equal rights." Or one that says, "This is why we need to defend those equal rights."It turns out it's the latter and that is just great to me.

In Europe, the journalists are a little different, so different points have come up. There was a great screening with two press guys who knew each other. At the end, the straight journalist turned to the gay one next to him and said, "We're beyond this... it is over. It's the law. You can marry whoever you want." Later, the gay journalist told me of how just on the previous day, a telemarketer in Barcelona phoned him to sell him cable television. He told the guy that he wasn't really interested: "I don't watch it and my boyfriend isn't in to it at all." The person on the phone said, "You're a maric�n, a fucking faggot."

Even though marriage equality is the law of the land, it doesn't mean that everyone is going to become tolerant. It also doesn't mean that we have to defend it and it doesn't mean that we live fully in the culture that we want to live in, yet. So, for me, the film is relevant and still timeless.

There seems to be an interesting shift taking place around storytelling and films with an LGBT topic. We've shifted into stories with a more historic perspective, like "Stonewall" and "The Imitation Game" and other more recent films.

I know exactly what you're talking about. Though "Freeheld" is more about recent history-we're talking 2002 to 2005. To me, that's pretty contemporary, and I sort of feel that distinguishes it from some of those other films. I hope in a way that makes it exciting for those that are interested in social change, to see how quickly things can evolve. On the other hand, I don't think that the activists in our film get as far as they do without the achievements of everyone that came before them. In a sense way, it's all a piece of the same narrative.

Sadly, I had never heard Lauren and Stacie's story, or how significant it was to the LGBT marriage fight.

It's really incredible. It was sort of one of those Trojan horse situations. It appeared to be about one thing-but it was really about something else-meaning marriage equality. They turn the county and that ends up turning the state, which forced the Supreme Court to take the case. One of the politicians says that in the film, "We're one step away from giving this all away." It was a huge deal.

Had you wrapped before the Supreme Court decision came down?

Yes. We were editing at that point and the film was essentially as it is now, with the exception of one thing. I had been through adding Hans Zimmer's ["Gladiator," "Inception," "Interstellar"] music and I remember telling Hans (laughs), "If the Supreme Court rules the way that we hope they will, you're going to have to rework some of the music. Your going to have to put one more title card at the end of the film, because we're going to need to acknowledge the outcome of this." (Laughs) It happened in June and he made more music to accommodate the ending that says,"Marriage equality is the law of the land."

Did you work with Stacie during the filming process?

Ellen, Julianne, Michael and I, we all spent time with Stacie. We visited their house and went to all of the places where she and Laurel would go. Where they had coffee in the morning, where they went to the beach... just to try to have our own personal experience of it and a connection to Laurel. Dane Wells [Laurel's detective partner, played by Michael Shannon] was also available to us, Laurel's sister was too, as was Steven Goldstein [Stacie and Laurel's attorney, as played by Steve Carell]. I think what we were all trying to do by spending time with them, was trying to understand Laurel.

We all felt such a great sense of responsibility towards them and in particular to Laurel-we just couldn't be careless. You're coloring someone's legacy and Laurel is not here to defend herself. She doesn't get to talk to you in an interview; she doesn't get to discuss it with anyone, only her actions are there. It's a bit "Rash�mon" like [1950s film that features contradictory interpretations of the same event by different people] to interview people about her and to come to know her that way and of course, using Cynthia's [Wade] documentary, as well. I gave Stacie, Goldstein and Dane sort of featured extra parts in the film also. The actors had to learn to be comfortable when the real characters wanted to be on set. Though they didn't want to see everything, some scenes were more comfortable for them to witness than others.

I would imagine that to be true for most of them, especially for Stacie.

She came to the final scene in which they win the case and I think she thought, because there was going to be a room full of people, she could fade into the woodwork. When Julianne came in to do the scene, she arrived onset in the morning looking like her cool, hip self. Later, she came back after hair and makeup, bald and thin, made up to look very ill. That was very hard for Stacie... it really took her back. Julianne handled it with incredible grace and took Stacie in her arms to console her. I think by the end of the experience it was very cathartic.

This is kind of a puerile question, but if you had a legacy wish for "Freeheld," what would it be?

My hope first and foremost, is that people see this as a beautiful love story, to do so means that you have accepted these characters for who they are. If they do that, the political point, which is all about equal rights in spite of whom we decide to love, will resonate with them too.

My secondary wish, is that I hope the political aspect of the film soon becomes dated. There was a fairly uncomplicated scene we were filming with Julianna and Ellen, where they go into the town clerks office to register as domestic partners. We were trying to figure out if there were other films that we could reference, when two people did this. We realized that it was the first one and then thought, "Well maybe this will be the last." I hope people look back on the film as a beautiful love story and that, thank God, we're beyond having to deal with the absurd obstacles they had to face.

That's what is so important about telling them. Not only to show what it was like, but to illustrate how far we've come. I thank you for that.

My pleasure... Thank you for saying that.