Kate Winslet has been acting for decades, which gave her the skills she needed to direct her first movie, “Goodbye June,” a heartfelt Netflix drama that is now streaming. The Oscar-winning director used her connections in the industry and her experience on set to lead the project, which is about families coming together after a loss.
A Quick Look at the Movie’s Plot
“Goodbye June” is about four siblings who come together at their mother June’s (Helen Mirren) hospital bedside after she is diagnosed with terminal cancer, just weeks before Christmas. The story is about grief, sibling conflict, and love, and June spends her last days on her own terms with her husband Bernard (Timothy Spall). Winslet plays one of the daughters, and Toni Collette, Andrea Riseborough, and Johnny Flynn are also in the cast.
From the Script to the Screen
Winslet’s 22-year-old son, Joe Anders, wrote the screenplay as a school project with Sam Mendes. Winslet agreed to produce and star, but when she turned 50, she took over as director, saying it was time to “damn well do it.” To make her performances more real, she memorized the script like a play and used small actor mics instead of booms.
Acting Insights as Director Winslet learned how to prepare, communicate clearly, and keep the energy up on set from her work on “Eternal Sunshine” and “Mare of Easttown.” She put actor support first, stayed away from bad places, and cut down a 2-hour-18-minute movie by 30 minutes for impact. Working with both veterans and newcomers worked well, like in a 20-minute scene with Mirren and Collette.
