How ‘The Changeling’ Visionaries Kelly Marcel and Melina Matsoukas Combined Powers to Make Auteur Magic
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On December 6, the 2023 IndieWire Honors ceremony will celebrate 11 filmmakers, creators, and actors for their achievements in creative independence. We’re showcasing their work with new interviews leading up to the Los Angeles event.
Kelly Marcel, who believes in signs from the universe and sees magic everywhere, was at home with her six-month-old baby when “The Changeling” appeared at the door.
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“The book landed, I read it, and I was horrified,” the showrunner said, laughing as she recalled her overly intense introduction to Victor LaValle’s dark fantasy novel from 2017.
“I was at home with a new baby, and I was experiencing all of that crazy stuff that you go through as a new mom, whilst reading this horrifying book about parenting! Ultimately, it’s very hopeful and incredibly beautiful, but it was also scary and felt very real to me as well.”
The “Venom” screenwriter hadn’t been particularly comfortable enduring the spiky fairytale about stolen children and the demon doppelgangers who sometimes replace them — at least as a parent. But as soon as Annapurna got the screenwriter thinking about the book’s potential for a serialized adaptation, Marcel felt obsession take over.
“It’s rare that I immediately engage with something and feel like, ‘I have to do this,’” Marcel said. But “The Changeling” had its hooks in its new mom. Well, at least one of them.
What would soon emerge was a rare partnership: a twinning of auteur visions that IndieWire is celebrating as a bold, singular, artistic expression and voice in television.
“I get a lot of scripts and most of them are bad, but I read this piece of material and it was the most intriguing, mysterious, authentic story that I had read in a long while,” said series director Melina Matsoukas, who will receive the Auteur Award with Marcel at the IndieWire Honors on December 6 in Los Angeles.
The filmmaker — who made her feature debut with “Queen & Slim” in 2019, but has also been behind culture-defining music videos like Rihanna’s “Rude Boy” and Beyoncé‘s “Formation” — had a similarly all-consuming experience reading Marcel’s scripts. Matsoukas received just the first three episodes of “The Changeling” before insisting she meet with Marcel to learn “what the fuck” would happen next in the story.
The eerie fairytale that charmed and terrified them both to the point of signing on tells the epic story of Apollo (LaKeith Stanfield) and Emma (Clark Backo): a mesmerically in-love Black couple from New York City who unexpectedly welcome their son onto the floor of a subway car with joy. But when the growing family returns to their Washington Heights apartment, Emma becomes convinced something is terribly wrong, and that the bundle they brought home with them isn’t a baby at all.
“It really touched home with me, because it was about my home, New York, and the stories that happen there with Black people falling in love,” the director said. “And then, [as a matter of genre, it had] people of color being able to inhabit spaces that they don’t normally inhabit.”
Meshing a creator’s vision with that of a director/producer can often be a source of conflict. But in this project, both Marcel and Matsoukas settled instantly into an organic groove where each felt like a natural matching half of the other’s creativity and they never disagreed. Marcel goes so far as to describe it as “love at first sight.”
“That first conversation she [Matsoukas] was talking in her visual language, and what she was saying were the things that had been in my head that I had imagined while I was writing,” Marcel said.
Matsoukas echoes the sentiment: “We just had so much in common, politically, ethically, and creatively. It was just very obvious that we had to tell this story together.”
From that initially promising relationship, the two forged the template for the production which would steadily strengthen their bond. They would work in a kind of natural tandem virtually every step of the way, while still (miraculously) keeping and respecting their own gifts. Their offices were next door and daily lunches were expected; a display of camaraderie that was felt by everyone on set, including author LaValle who was an executive producer.
“Authoring isn’t just words on a page. When you do a show like this, it’s throughout,” Marcel said. “Melina and I made every choice hand in hand. It’s standing in a room with [costume designer] Ann Crabtree and picking the linings of Apollo’s coats. It’s allowing every single artist to bring their best self to the show and shine.”
Production designer Lester Cohen spoke at length with IndieWire about the level of collaborative artistry behind the scenes. Matsoukas says that their process infused their work with the actors as well, as they sought to not merely build a project, but to develop living, breathing relationships.
“It was an absolutely beautiful cast and absolutely beautiful crew and really magical just in its own way,” Marcel said. “We didn’t have any rehearsals, but they were so dedicated. Like Clark and LaKeith would spend a lot of time together outside of us — talking about their characters, talking about their relationships, talking about what kind of music they listened to in their apartment.”
Through it all, the dynamic duo of Marcel and Matsoukas moved in an almost mystical synchronicity. “There was never something that Melina wanted that I didn’t, or that I wanted that Melina didn’t. Never — and that is unusual,” Marcel said.
“How do I say we’re witches without saying that we’re witches?” Matsoukas laughed.
If there was ever friction, the director insists it most often flowed from her asking for too much input from Marcel and vice versa. “I’ll be asking her too many questions and she’s like, ‘You got this! Stop asking, stop bothering me! I got to rewrite a script.’ And I’m like, ‘No, but I respect you so much. I can’t do this without your input!'” Matsoukas said.
It is not lost on the auteurs that a sense of nurturing and motherhood permeates both “The Changeling” story and their partnership. As the pair awaits news for Season 2 (Marcel tells IndieWire she delivered a script this week), they are also appreciating what they have.
“It’s the season we’re all proud of regardless of what happens,” Marcel said. “It’s just a piece of art that’s out there in the world that’s important.”
Plus, they’re celebrating. As a final, magical twist to their tale: Matsoukas is now expecting her first child — and Marcel could not be happier.
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