Chloé Zhao’s 2025-26 awards contender “Hamnet” wasn’t just an emotional journey for its stars and their characters — because the director herself also had to look inward in order to take on a story such as Shakespeare’s.
Ahead of Sunday’s Golden Globes, the Oscar-winning filmmaker sat down for a conversation with Seth Rogen on Friday, in which he explained that “The Oner” episode of “The Studio” was actually inspired by her film, “Nomadland.”
“I remember watching it for the first time and it just, like, blew my f—king mind. I had so many questions about how you go about making a movie like this, honestly, because it’s so different and more delicate in many ways,” he said of her work. “I was also sort of astounded, I guess, again as somebody who makes movies … your entire third act is, like, unbelievable and incredibly bold and original and not something I’ve ever seen, I don’t think, in a movie before, but something that was incredibly profound in a lot of ways.”
Rogen then asked, point-blank: “What made you confident that this was something that would work?”
“I think the reason why is because I’ve changed a lot,” Zhao replied. “In my 30s, I was very… I was about going as wide as possible, going one horizon after another and there’s an insatiable restlessness to the camera, so that I’m constantly searching; if I arrive in a place and there’s something more exciting, I forget what I’m doing. I’m going over there.”
“And then in my 40s, I realized I was running away from myself a lot. And so now I was given a story about Shakespeare — it’s about all the world is a stage,” she continued. “So then the challenge became, if I stay still and I don’t run and the only place I can go is below, into the depths of myself, which is like, as you know, uncomfortable. But that’s the journey of this story.”
Zhao’s busy weekend also included winning Best Picture at the AARP Movies for Grownups Awards, as well as a Hollywood Hills screening followed by a star-studded reception on Saturday. Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley were both in attendance, as were original book author Maggie O’Farrell, composer Max Richter, and producers Liza Marshall, Nicolas Gonda and Pippa Harris. Hosted by Sir Ben Kingsley, other notable guests included Lisa Rinna, Harry Hamlin, Lauren Tom, Anya Taylor-Joy and Vicky Krieps.
Now onto Sunday, Focus Features’ “Hamnet” is nominated for six Golden Globe Awards — including Best Director, Best Motion Picture, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Screenplay and Best Original Score.
