A is for Answers

What was the best thing you learned when doing PLL, profesionally and personally?

How to come to set every day and go to work. Even when I didn’t want to, even when I was tired or had a bad day or missed my husband. Showing up and committing myself to 12 hours a day, Monday through Friday, for 9 months a year for 7 years taught me what making television demands. I deeply respect anyone who works in television (in front of and behind the camera) because even if you don’t necessary think the show is good, it takes so much work to make it happen.

Hi Troian, congratulations on the release of your latest movie Feed. The writing was absolutely moving, and your perspective on the mental illness was powerful in a way I hope touches the people in need of it. For those wanting to write something of their own, how long did it take you to write Feed? Thank you for your work, I'm inspired by you every day and wish you luck on whatever journey comes next.

Thank you so much for saying that, I hope it touches people in need too!

I wish I could give you a less intimidating answer. I wrote Feed first in a week. It just poured out of me, but it was probably really bad. Then I started working on PLL so I could only focus on it in fits and bursts. I ended up re-writing it and trying to get it made for the subsequent 6 years. But that was mostly because it was difficult to get people to understand it. It bends genres, between a psychological thriller and a straight drama, it is about an eating disorder, but not in the day that most “issue” films are. It was really, really hard to get people to understand what I was trying to do. It’s not for everyone, but I think the people we made it for get it, so it was worth waiting 8 years for it to finally come out.