om his first watch, notably because he's about to start another new movie shortly that has thrown him for a loop. (Though he didn't name the project, he's due to start shooting Ari Aster's Scapegoat alongside Scarlett Johansson, Jude Law, Ella Purnell and Caleb Landry Jones.)

 I'm getting ready to do a movie now and I've been kind of throwing myself on the floor and wondering, should I just drink a lot of vodka? Or should I smash a window? What do I need to do to get to this point?  he wondered aloud.  And me re-watching the film now after making over 10 movies or something like that, again, it invited me back into the creative process and what it means. You can be searching for a character and not know that you're searching for it. It starts happening in your toes and your knees and your chest. And that's why I picked this movie because it always makes me feel less crazy and more like I'm actually a part of a process of filmmaking that's been happening for a long time. 

Gordon, a screenwriter known for work on Nightmare Alley, directed by her partner Guillermo del Toro, then asked Elordi if that's because he's so absorbed by Rowlands performance. He is and was.  Yeah. I mean the amount of times that I just want to throw myself on the floor and cry and scream and tell the director to go fuck themselves and just drink and drink and drink. It makes me feel a lot less alone as an actor. 

 I probably made three movies that I thought were pretty bad when I was young, and I had hopes and dreams of being this kind of terrific, ferocious stage actor. So I was pretty not fond of myself at that time,  explained Jacob Elordi during an event presented by Cartier Cinema… pic.twitter.com/eNpowE9jkU - Chris Gardner (@chrissgardner) October 17, 2026

That said, Elordi drew laughs when he said that he had no clue how Rowlands' pulled off any of her scenes on the big screen, particularly the ones where she was really throwing herself around and acting under the influence.  I don't know how you do that and not look like a ham because everything she does is so big and so expressive, but it's all completely contained in truth inside her. I've watched that scene so many times. You can spin around in circles until you're dizzy, you can get drunk, you can do all kinds of things, but I don't know how she does that. I don't know how she does anything. She's a genius. 

Baker then weighed on on Cassavetes' filmography and how inspired he is by the entirety of his work.

 You get asked often as an independent filmmaker,  What is your favorite Cassavetes?' And it really depends on the day because, first off, they're all masterpieces. They deal with very personal, universal issues and struggles that we all go through. So it really depends on where you are in your life,  he explained.  It's where I am in my life and that's how I gravitates towards a certain title. I said Husbands back in the day because I think that was my guy film. Then when I started exploring genre cinema, I was more drawn towards The Killing of a Chinese Bookie. 

Later, when he started working more with actors and honing his craft as a filmmaker, Baker then leaned more toward A Woman Under the Influence and Opening Night, he said.  I can go on forever about him. He's basically the godfather of U.S. indie cinema and had really just in many ways I think showed us how to do it. 

Morgan closed the conversation by asking both Elordi and Baker if they take inspiration from the many risks Cassavetes took throughout his career.

 I think all artists should take risks,  said the Anora auteur in answering first.  Obviously he did throughout his entire career, which may be hurt in the moment. He was always ahead of his time, but it also proves one very important thing - that cream rises. We're here 50 years later talking about this film and celebrating this film? That proves that taking risks, staying true to your own, not compromising, and making art that's a little unsafe is worth it. 

Baker's words generated an enthusiastic round of applause.

 [Cassavetes] said something like,  I'd love to be part of the studio system and have my rent paid and my family good, but I just can't do it. I'd love to, but I just can't do it.' And that's my favorite thing about these movies. There was no other story he could have told. It made him too ferocious and angry or upset. There was no other way that he could have made movies,  Elordi added in closing.  In movies now, we need a lot of that. Something that you can't deny, something that you have to do, no matter if it sends you broke, hungry, tired, jobless, you've got to make that movie that you have to make. And that's exactly what we do.