‘Mr. Malcolm’s List’ Team on the Magic and 7-Year Journey Behind Regency Rom-Com

For the team behind Bleecker Street’s enchanting Mr. Macolm’s List, determination and dedication were key to making a film that’s not only this summer’s sweetest romance, but in many ways, felt like an impossible feat.

During the New York premiere at the DGA Theatre, director Emma Holly Jones, screen and book writer Suzzane Allain and leading actors Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù and Freida Pinto spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about the film’s long and rocky journey to screen, what makes its leading actors so special and the women who helped bring the inclusive regency rom-com to screen.

Allain, who wrote the script as well as the original story — and who is currently writing two follow-ups — credited Jones with shepherding the film through its seven-year journey to getting made. “She was so determined and without her determination, I really don’t think we’d be here today,” the author said. “Because it takes that to get a movie made.”

The Mr. Malcolm’s List writer not only wrote the original story the film is based on, but also the movie’s script, which Jones previously told THR she had first heard as a podcast reading supported by The Black List. Allain called it “an incredible privilege” to stay with the project all the way through.

“Frankly, it’s surprising because for so many writers, someone else gets brought on,” Allain said of her ability to remain with the film from original script to the screen. “And I think there is an advantage because I created the world originally, so I’m very familiar with these characters. They’re part of my life at this point. I’ve lived with them for a long time.”

The characters have also been with Jones for a while — around seven years, to be more precise — with the director jokingly reflecting on how much she’s put into the film since wrapping as “a lot of post-work. I’ll say that. A lot of VFX shots I had to paint like switches out of.”

Jones, who worked with a predominantly female-led production and producer team on her feature directorial debut, is grateful for everyone who worked on the film’s 27-day shoot in Ireland during the middle of COVID-19. Ahead of the film’s screening, she celebrated that team of producers in particular — Pinto, Laura Lewis, Laura Rister and Katie Holly — in her pre-screening speech, alongside Bleecker Street CEO Andrew Karpen, who similarly championed the women behind the film.

On the carpet, Jones gave credit to “the cast and their absolutely incredible performances,” but also the “many impeccable people who have worked on this film,” including its costume designer, composer and editor.

“Amelia Warner, who is the composer — that girl is unbelievable. This music is unbelievable. I really hope more people get familiar with her and her work. [Also,] my editor Kate Hickey who deserves all the jobs and all the praise,” Jones said. “Pam Downe my costume designer; what that woman did on this budget was just mindblowingly good. She deserves all the money in the world and all the big budgets.”

While Jones’ praise was for the team, Dìrísù turned it back on Jones, crediting her with changing how even he saw himself as an actor and what roles he could inhabit in his career: “I needed her to believe in me because I didn’t believe in me. I didn’t believe that in my career trajectory that a romantic lead in a period drama was possible.”

“It’s only because of Emma, because of Tamara-Lee Notcutt, our casting director,” he added. “They said, ‘We want you to do this,’ and I was like, ‘Really?’ They were like ‘No, no. We believe that this can happen.’ And it’s because of their belief that I believed and I hope because of this film more people will believe.”

While Jones previously told THR it took years for studios to believe in the story with its inclusive cast (that includes Pinto, Dirisu, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Zawe Ashton, Theo James, Ashley Park, Divian Ladwa and Sianad Gregory) and two leading characters of color, once the team was on set, they also faced yet another challenge with the pandemic.

“We didn’t have much time to prepare. We were in a lockdown. I think we managed to go on two walks together. That was it,” Dìrísù said of how much time he and co-star Pinto had to build their believable and charming chemistry as Mr. Jeremy Malcolm and Selina Dalton.

The two both leaned on each other through the process, offering nothing but praise for their screen-partner.

“Ṣọpẹ́ is a very good-looking man,” Pinto said, nodding to the night’s numerous comments about the movie’s attractive cast. “But jokes aside, his generosity when it comes to his craft and how he’s so involved and dedicated to creating a character from a real true sense of meaning — that is commendable and remarkable when you’ve been in the industry for such a long time,” Pinto said about working the actor. “Ṣọpẹ́ does not slack. He brings his A-game, and it makes the chemistry and the partnership that much more palpable.”

Dìrísù offered a similar description of Pinto as a gracious and giving actor. “Knowing not only is she a phenomenally talented actress, but that she was an open and generous person — she was willing to be vulnerable but also there to interrogate the work and make it as good as it could be — without those qualities, I don’t think we have the Malcolm-Selina connection that we can see on the screen.”

Mr. Malcolm’s List is now in theaters.