In his directorial debut, “Thelma,” Josh Margolin teams up with actress June Squibb, who gives us a stellar lead performance as Thelma Post, a character based on Margolin’s grandmother.
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“The movie is inspired by something that happened to my grandmother. She received one of those calls where scammers pretended to be a relative, they told her it was her grandson and asked her for a sum of money for bail. Luckily, we could intervene in time (in real life) before she sent the money. And that got me thinking, and from there, the idea of making this film, which is a kind of lo-fi action as a way to explore her independence, came up,” the director told Diario Las Américas.
“And I hope it helps raise awareness because it happens often and is horrible. In the movie, we use the exact script from those calls so that the elderly are alert.”
According to Comparitech, statistics reveal more people are falling victim to online scams. “One demographic particularly affected by this issue is the elderly. Older homeowners with healthy financial savings, decent credit scores – and a trusting nature – often find themselves targeted by scammers. Scammers mimic communications from romantic partners, tech support staff, government employees, bank staff, etc.”
Margolin also shared a touching account of his grandfather, Ted Post, a television director in the 1950s and 60s, who had a profound impact on his life and career.
“My grandfather was a director. He directed television in the 1950s and 60s. So, she [my grandmother] aged alongside someone who was in this industry and was already familiar with the ups and downs and the struggles.”
He also shared that his grandpa made the movie ‘Go Tell the Spartans’ (1978), with Burt Lancaster, which was his proudest achievement, and was a great inspiration to embark on the movie industry.
