The Big Picture

Julio Torres stars, writes, and directs
Problemista
, crafting a unique and offbeat world in the film.
Tilda Swinton adores Torres’ comedy, making her role as Elizabeth in the film a perfect fit.
Torres was supported by Emma Stone and Dave McCary, whom he worked with previously on
SNL
.

There’s truly no one like Julio Torres. The colorful – in both the creative and literal sense – comedian, who’s written for Saturday Night Live (he and Jeremy Beiler are responsible for “Wells for Boys”) and co-created the comedy series Los Espookys with Fred Armisen and Ana Fabrega, has crafted a world in Problemista that feels like we are watching the inner workings of his whimsical, unpredictable, and wonderfully strange brain. Torres’ comedy, which is wholly unique, offbeat and often includes small inanimate objects (as evident in the aptly titled HBO special, My Favorite Shapes), feels like it has no bounds in the A24 movie.

Torres is a triple threat, starring in, writing, and directing the film that follows Alejandro (Torres), a sheepish yet passionate young man from El Salvador who dreams of being both an American citizen and a successful toy designer in New York City. His work visa doesn’t care about his ambitions, as time continues to run out, but it’s thanks to Elizabeth (Tilda Swinton), an “erratic art world outcast,” who helps him stay in the country and (hopefully) realize his dreams.

During this interview with Collider, Tilda Swinton talked about how much she adores Julio Torres’ comedy, Torres’ joke about Swinton in his HBO special, My Favorite Shapes, what it was like to have Emma Stone and Dave McCary champion the project, and, well, wigs. So many wigs.

Problemista Alejandro is an aspiring toy designer from El Salvador struggling to bring his unusual ideas to life in NY. As time runs out on his work visa, a job assisting an erratic art-world outcast becomes his only hope to stay in the country.Release Date March 13, 2023 Director Julio Torres Runtime 98 minutes Main Genre Comedy

COLLIDER: Julio, I’m a huge fan of your comedy, and the movie reminded me of an extension of My Favorite Shapes. In the special, you have a hilarious joke about what you imagine Tilda’s apartment to be.

TILDA SWINTON: (Laughs.)

I’m curious, Tilda, if you knew about that joke and how you went from that joke to working together.

SWINTON: I did know about that joke, and it is a funnier joke than anybody could know, knowing where I really do live and what it’s like. I live in an apartment that’s closer to the apartment that Elizabeth lives in this film. Yeah, I did know about that joke, and I made a beeline of course to the person who made the joke.

Going off of that, Julio, did you reach out to Tilda specifically for this role? Because it felt like it was made for Tilda. I can’t imagine anyone else playing Elizabeth.

JULIO TORRES: That’s a testament to everything that Tilda brought to the part. No, I wrote the character of Elizabeth and she was sort of like an amalgamation of different people I’ve met. I never got too ahead of myself in terms of what I thought the movie was going to be like. To me, I was just sort of writing a story. It sounds so corny but I never dared to dream that Tilda would be interested and suddenly she was! It was like, “Oh my God.” This would be a completely different movie if it had gone elsewhere.

That’s incredible, and Tilda, you’ve worked with so many writers and directors. What’s something Julio brought to this project that you hadn’t experienced before?

SWINTON: Well, I’ve been really privileged all my life to work with pretty wall-to-wall geniuses, I would say. It’s for them to be geniuses and for me to notice it, and people make their own worlds, and since I’ve known Julio’s work, I’ve just adored it for that reason. It makes its own world and it brings you into it. Or, it doesn’t even bring you in, it shines the light of its own world and you go towards it and I was like a moth to a flame. I had a pretty good sense even before… I mean when I heard he had written a screenplay, I had a very good sense that he would’ve done that in a screenplay, feature film. And I was right! I read the screenplay and I was like, “Yep, this is completely unique and completely of itself.” And then there was a question about who might direct it.

Being in possession of two brain cells, I said, “Well, you have to direct it,” and fortunately he finally agreed and again, to direct in the way that he did is just upping the game further. He just brought the screenplay into its own world, in a way that, of course, it’s unimaginable that he wouldn’t have directed it. It’s trite to say but he’s got such a unique and original, what the Germans would call “blick,” view. But he ignites it in everybody who sees it, so it’s not that unique, you know? He teases it up in all of us. We all recognize what he shows to us, and it’s such a joy to play around in his sandpit.

Producer Emma Stone Supported Julio Torres’ Bold Vision

I love that. Julio, you’ve worked with Emma Stone and Dave McCary a lot at SNL and with the special. They obviously love your brain as everyone should because it’s a work of art in my opinion, but is there anything you had to convince them of when going to them with this project? Where you’re like, “Trust me, I got this. It’s going to work.”

TORRES: No, no, I feel very lucky that I am simultaneously trusted and supported, and I feel that from them and I definitely feel that from everyone I work with in this project. You just heard Tilda be so trusting and so supporting and I feel like people that I’ve worked with have allowed for a very fun and creative environment. One of the very first sparks of joy making this movie was talking about Tilda’s wig and designing it with her. I think that’s when I knew, “Oh okay, this is going to be really fun.”

SWINTON: Hours and hours. Many flying hours were put in.

TORRES: (Laughs.) Hours!

SWINTON: Hours!

TORRES: (Laughs.) So many photos. But what a joy! Oh my God.

I want the behind the scenes on that. I have to wrap, I could talk about this movie for hours with you both. Have a great rest of your day and Julio, I hope that your social media manager Pirulinpinpina is doing okay.

TORRES: (Smiling.) She’s… she’s doing okay.

I’m worried about her.

TORRES: She’s hanging in there.

Problemista is in theaters now.

Buy Tickets