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AE: Early in the movie, there is also this scene involving a goldfish in a water-filled plastic bag from a pet store. What was the inspiration for that scene?
MJ: That’s a funny one. Initially, it was just about the conversation that my character was having with Michael and I was just writing stuff that he might see out the window--people going by and maybe a girl holding a goldfish in a bag. Then I left and went and did some errands, and I thought, “A goldfish! That’s so cliché. That seems very Disney. Why would someone be walking with a goldfish? I have to go home and take that out immediately.” Instead of taking it out, it just became bigger and bigger until it was this oddly madcap…

AE: …it was magical. It’s one of those scenes where your heart races. It’s like your own personal Finding Nemo.
MJ: (Laughs) That’s true. When I saw that later, I was like, “Oh, my God!” (Laughs)

AE: There is a famous quote attributed to W. C. Fields about working with children and animals. What was your experience like working with Brandon (Ratcliff, who plays Robby) and Carlie (Westerman, who plays Sylvie)?
MJ: I would probably say the opposite [of what Fields said] (laughs). That everyone should work with children if there are children that want to work with them. Brandon and Carlie--there’s the difference between a six year old and a ten year old. Carlie was as professional, if not more so, than everyone on the set. I learned a lot from her. Brandon could even be old enough now, just a few months later, to be no longer as wonderfully unaware as he was. Not like he couldn’t try and not like he couldn’t make himself focus as anyone would in a grueling day when he would rather do anything else. At the same time, if I said to do something, there wouldn’t be a lot of thought. He’d just do it, and he’d either do it wrong, like pretend to do it, like a cartoon.

AE: Like “acting.”
MJ: Right. Or he would just do it. The main things was making sure that he went into that slot. But once there…his face is so beautiful and expressive.

AE: As the writer of the screenplay, would you say that there are characteristics of you in all of the characters?
MJ: In everyone. So much. I really think I sat down each day with the feeling that I had that day and thought, “Which one of these people can be me today?” Even in some scenes that I’m in, I actually identify with the other person more. Christine isn’t always the “me” in the scene. Sometimes I actually relate more to Richard (John Hawkes), which becomes funny psychologically (laughs).

AE: The film also makes a comment about children and the internet.
MJ: It’s funny, I have to say that my interest isn’t really about fears around the internet. It is maybe more about children reaching out to the world. I was that kind of child. I had a pen-pal in prison. Totally inappropriate, but at the same time craving real people, people outside the family. [Robby] maybe pushes the age; it’s ever so slightly fantastical. Although, as I started to do it, I became aware that even children themselves are changing as they have access.

AE: There are a number of interconnected stories in the film. The newly separated father Richard and his sons Peter (Miles Thompson) and Robby. The budding romance between Richard and Christine. The relationship between Michael and Ellen (Ellen Geer), and the sexual exploration and blossoming of Heather (Natasha Slayton) and Rebecca (Najarra Townsend). Is there one of those stories that you feel more connected to or strongest about?
MJ: I would say that there is the moment in all of them that is the moment that emotionally overwhelms me that I feel so connected to. Like the girls (Heather and Rebecca) and Andrew (Brad William Henke). I have a certain distance [from them] throughout a lot of it, and then when they’re running away.

AE: It’s an exhilarating scene because you can sense the relief on the parts of all the characters involved.
MJ: I never got in any major trouble, but I don’t think it ever occurred to me that you could just run. Either way, it’s kind of fantastical, because where are they going to go? That’s the sad part. There is really nowhere--they’re just running, but at least they are free in that moment.

AE: Me and You and Everyone We Know has been heaped with acclaim, including a major award at Sundance and words of praise from Roger Ebert. How are you enjoying this experience?
MJ: It’s funny (laughs). It’s an odd thing. It’s stuff I’ve always dreamed of, for sure. It’s definitely a weird time, but I guess it’s a skill like any other one, figuring out how to adjust to changing times.

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