The Women of Ghost World on Working with Terry Zwigoff
After establishing his irreverent directorial style in the documentaries Louie Bluie and Crumb, Terry Zwigoff transitioned to fiction filmmaking in 2001 with Ghost World, an adaptation of Daniel Clowes’s cult comic about a pair of teenage misfits. Chronicling the post-graduation lives of high school best friends Enid (Thora Birch) and Rebecca (Scarlett Johansson), this acerbic comedy mines stingingly satirical humor from the absurdities of overcommercialized America, matching its dark ironies with a tender portrait of close relationships forged during the vulnerable years of adolescence. In this excerpt from a supplemental feature on our newly released edition, three members of the remarkable cast—Birch, Johansson, and the scene-stealing Illeana Douglas, who plays a loony summer-school art teacher—talk about their experiences making the film, recalling the freedom Zwigoff gave them to explore their chemistry on set and indulge in their kookiest impulses.
