‘The Intern’ is the Female-Led Film You’ve Been Waiting For

For many students, college is the time to explore possible career options via internships. We’ve all heard stories about internships (whether they were good or bad), and some of us have experiences of our own. While TV shows and films have addressed the world of interning in the past, we’ve yet to see a movie that examines it quite like The Intern. Directed by Nancy Meyers and starring Academy Award winners Anne Hathaway and Robert De Niro, this film is guaranteed to appeal to both older and younger audiences. We caught up with Meyers, Hathaway and De Niro during the film’s press day in NYC, and learned all the behind-the-scenes secrets about the film!

The Intern, developed from Meyer’s screenplay, tells the story of Ben Whittaker (Robert De Niro), a senior citizen who has realized that retirement isn’t what he imagined it to be. Desperate to find an activity to fill the empty void in his life, he applies for a senior internship at an online fashion company created by Jules Ostin (Anne Hathaway). Ben comes into Jules’ life during a moment of immense stress, but she quickly realizes that he is just the person she needs. The result is a film that is hilarious, touching and completely relatable. 

Even though movie casts often gush about how they love working with each other, there was a genuine sense of respect and appreciation among Meyers, Hathaway and De Niro at The Intern press conference. This dynamic translates perfectly on screen, and explains why the relationship between the two main characters is so effortless and believable. As seasoned actors, Hathaway admitted that she and De Niro didn’t find it necessary to engage in any bonding activities prior to filming. “I just trusted that everything was going to be okay; we didn’t do anything special,” she told us. Hathaway found it quite easy to work with De Niro, who she described as “zen,” “approachable” and “a Jedi.” Likewise, De Niro had nothing but kind words to share about his co-star. “I had a great time doing this film; it was just a really terrific experience,” he said.  

Drawing on today’s technologically-driven culture, Meyers has created a movie that directly speaks to young people, while also relating to older generations. “I thought Nancy made amazing observations about how old school meets the new world and each is made better because of the other,” Hathaway eloquently put it. 

Although Ben is a widower in his 70s, his character shouldn’t be discredited as an older man who can’t contribute to a modernized company. As De Niro points out, there is a tendency “to feel that when you’re a certain age and get older, you’re less relevant in some ways, and that’s just not the case.” On the contrary, Ben proves to be an integral person in Jules’ company. “One of the things I love about the movie is that Jules has so much heart, and she builds an incredible structure. … They have bones, but there’s no connective tissue in it. And nobody in the company knows how to build connective tissue, and that’s when Ben comes in and he kind of figures out how to get everyone to connect to each other,” Anne shared. “Ben doesn’t judge her; he just observes her and gives her a safe space full of compassion and understanding, and she thrives in it,” she added.    

For Hathaway, playing the role of a young CEO of a startup company was vastly different from her previous film characters. “Up until now, I’ve made a lot of my movies from a place of insecurity, neuroses and self-doubt. I kind of got tired of it and decided to make one from a more positive place and to feel good about what I was doing and to embrace the unknown,” she shared with us. “I had a wonderful time making this movie, and I think it yielded a more relaxed performance. I’m really proud of the work we all did, and it turns out that you can make a movie without nonstop sleepless nights,” she added with a laugh.  

While audiences will have plenty to take away from the film, Meyers, Hathaway and De Niro assured us that they have a newfound appreciation for the interns they encounter in their day-to-day experiences. In fact, Meyers told us that she unconsciously wrote one of her own interns into the film! Best boss ever? We think so. And although Hathaway doesn’t have interns of her own, she shared a story from an encounter with an intern at a recent photo shoot. “I was greeted at the door by an intern and I think that because of our movie, I went out of my way to pay her more attention and ask about how she was, why she was doing this, and where she wanted to go,” Anne said. “I have some interns who I now work for,” De Niro jokingly told us.   

Despite wonderful performances from Hathaway and De Niro, they were extremely humble and attributed the film’s final product to Meyers, the woman behind the entire operation. “You look at Nancy and see this tiny, adorable woman with awesome hair. And at first glance I had no idea of the tenacious, uncompromising, inexhaustible powerhouse that she is. I’m so lucky that I got to work with her on this,” Hathaway said of her experience with Meyers. Likewise, De Niro echoed Hathaway’s sentiments towards Meyers. “Nancy was very specific about what she wanted and I totally get that and understand it, and it was terrific,” he told us. For Meyers, attempting to film a movie over the course of 15 weeks was somewhat of a challenge. “I was racing on rollerblades the entire time,” Meyers said with a laugh. Thankfully, Meyers had De Niro’s “zen” demeanor to help her maintain her sanity. “There are a gazillion people running around on set and he’s just sitting in a chair, having a little tuna sandwich, on a phone. He’s always there when you need him, calm,” Meyers said.

 

• anne hathaway
• entertainment
• interview
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• Robert De Niro