‘Thelma’ Interview: June Squibb And Director Josh Margolin Talk About The Sundance Breakout Action-Comedy

If there’s one film that everyone was talking about at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, it was ThelmaWritten and directed by newcomer Josh Margolin, the heist action comedy gave 94-year-old June Squibb the starring role she’d never received in her decades-long career.

Inspired by a close-call experience with his own grandmother, Margolin’s Thelma follows a 90-something grandmother as she journeys to get back the money scammers took from her. Joining Squibb is the late Richard Roundtree as the Bonnie to her Clyde. Fred Hechinger plays her directionless grandson determined to find her, while Parker Posey and Clark Gregg play his helicopter parents.

There’s a lot to talk about with the film. From it being Squibb’s first starring role to Richard Roundtree’s last to action-packed scooter chases. I had the opportunity to chat with Thelma’s star and director at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival where they told me about the love and passion that went into this project.

 

Cortland Jacoby
A D.C area native, Cortland has been interested in media since birth. Taking film classes in high school and watching the classics with family instilled a love of film in Cortland’s formative years. Before graduating with a degree in English and minoring in Film Study from Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania, Cortland ran the college’s radio station, where she frequently reviewed films on air. She then wrote for another D.C area publication before landing at Punch Drunk Critics. Aside from writing and interviewing, she enjoys podcasts, knitting, and talking about representation in media.