Interview: ‘The Starling’ Writer Matt Harris on the Road to the Big Screen For His Project

It must be a ridiculous feeling to see something you’ve written get turned into a movie. For scribe Matt Harris, his screenplay for The Starling did in fact become a film, after years of fits and starts. As described in the interview I did with him via Zoom about a week and a half ago, it began with an idea, before ultimately ending up in the hands of Netflix. I saw the flick back at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival and was rather taken by how emotionally honest it felt. Even given some unusual plot points, the emotions and trauma that the main characters are going through feel real. Plus, who doesn’t love a project that brings together people like Melissa McCarthy, Chris O’Dowd, and Kevin Kline? Exactly.

Below, you can see my chat with Harris. We have a fairly leisurely interview here, so more than one angle is taken in this discussion of The Starling. Just hearing how the film came to be was really interesting for me, so this went on perhaps longer than either of us expected. He’s a really interesting guy, and tells some really nice stories, making this a mellow and perhaps even fun talk. The movie is well worth checking out on Netflix, either before or after watching him and I, so be sure to give it a shot…

Here is a bit from my TIFF review of The Starling:

Director Theodore Melfi and writer Matt Harris are simple in their approach, which serves The Starling well when it gets serious. Some of the more overtly tearjerker moments are the most effectively handled…Harris and Melfi do have terrific musical cues, including a lovely new song from The Lumineers.

Enjoy my interview with The Starling writer Matt Harris. It comes your way now:

Look for The Starling on Netflix right now!