The Pod Generation follows Rachel and Alvy, a New York couple who are ready to start a family. As a rising tech company executive, Rachel lands a coveted spot at the Womb Center, which offers couples the opportunity to share pregnancy on a more equal footing by way of mobile, artificial wombs, or pods.
Alvy, a botanist and devoted purist about the natural environment, has doubts, but his love for Rachel prompts him to take a leap of faith. And so, begins the wild ride on their tech-paved path to parenthood.
Sophie Barthes (Madame Bovary) writes and directs the movie, and we were recently fortunate enough to speak with the filmmaker about her work on this unique sci-fi tale. Despite being a lower-budgeted project, the world she's created is incredibly ambitious and stars two A-Listers in Emilia Clarke (Secret Invasion) and Chiwetel Ejiofor (Doctor Strange).
During the course of our conversation, we asked Barthes why they were the right actors to bring Rachel and Alvy to life on screen.
"I was really lucky [with] Emilia. It was during the COVID pandemic and it was so hard to put a film together. Emilia happens to be at the same agency I am and her agent loved the script and Emilia said she wanted to do it. She fell in love with the script [and] was extremely supportive of the film."
"It was really hard putting everything together at that time and she was an executive producer and really pushed and was champion of the film. Something clicked with her I think and she felt like she was like the character a little bit, crushed by a world that’s developing technology too fast for our taste."
"Chiwetel came later in the process. It was really hard to cast the male role as I think a lot of actors were reluctant to be goofy with a plastic egg [Laughs]. It requires a hefty amount of sense of humour and a sense of derision to accept this role."
"Chiwetel has a really beautiful aspect of his film career in that he can do Shakespeare, slapstick comedy, and 12 Years A Slave. We haven’t seen him that much in comedies but he definitely has that muscle and a sense of comic timing. He’s extremely gifted as an actor and can deal with anything."
You can watch the full interview with Barthes in the player below:
0:00 - Introductions
1:06 - Why the nature versus science themes interested her
3:48 - Casting Emilia Clarke and Chiwetel Ejiofor
5:51 - The challenges of creating a sci-fi future with a limited budget
7:50 - The movie’s horror influences
12:40 - Why this sci-fi future isn’t good for men or women
15:32 - On finding levity within the darker themes
17:11 - Sequel possibilities and future plans
19:45 - Why she would never direct a Marvel movie
The Pod Generation arrives in theaters on August 11.