‘Are you there God? It’s Me, Margaret’s Abby Ryder Fortson: I’m ‘Honoured’ To Have Been ‘Castled To Play Margaret’ (Exclusive)

Millions of Generation X and Millennial women have had them by Judy Blume Are you there God? it’s me, daisy on his bookshelf sometime during his childhood. After more than 50 years, the best-selling novel finally comes to the big screen, with abby ryder fortson as the beloved Margaret. hollywood life EXCLUSIVELY talked to Abby about stepping into Margaret’s shoes after Judy gave her blessing to make the film.

“Honestly, I feel so honored to have been cast as Margaret,” said Abby. hollywood life. “Judy held Margaret very, very close to her chest for 50 years. I think when she was on set, we all nervously looked at where she was sitting she’s like, is she having fun or are we doing it right? This was the most important thing. We just wanted to make her happy because Margaret was her child, so she gave her to us. We were like, if nothing else, Judy must love it.

Abby, whose stellar performance is a real watershed moment, admitted she hadn’t read the book before being cast. “I’m a big reader, but I think Judy Blume and I don’t click,” she said. “I really liked science fiction when I was younger, but as soon as I auditioned I read the book. I was struck by how connected I was with Margaret and how relevant she continued to be. I remember turning to my parents and saying, “Oh my god, that’s the experience.” How did someone write that in the 70s?’ I loved it so much.

The 15-year-old was related to Margaret “on so many levels”. She continued, “Honestly, just all the feelings that she has, all the weird stuff, all the self-discovery along with her journey of realizing that she’s okay to be herself. It was a really incredible experience playing someone so similar to me.”

When Margaret moves to New Jersey, she finds a new group of friends in her small town. Throughout the film, Margaret begins to find herself and forge her own path. In the end, Margaret is left alone and goes dancing with Laura at the New Year’s party, challenging Nancy. hollywood life asked Abby if she thinks Margaret is still friends with Nancy and the other girls as they move on to the next class.

“I think she’s definitely still friends with Janie and maybe even Gretchen, but I think Nancy has some food for thought before Margaret can be friends with her again. I think Nancy needs to meditate a little bit, work on her attitude a little bit and learn to be nice to other people,” Abby said.

While Margaret was dealing with new friendships and menstruation, she was also trying to decide her own path with religion. Her parents did not force her to follow any religion and she explored various religions to get an idea of ​​which suited her best.

“I’m actually very happy now that we have the ability to let kids decide what they want to believe because it’s such a big part of a lot of people’s beliefs and identities,” Abby said. hollywood life. “Religion is a big part of people and it can be nice to find community within religion, but it’s also nice that it’s not forced on people who don’t want to believe in it. I think it’s great that you have so much choice now. I think we’re going back to the belief that you get to choose which religion you believe in, and I think it’s great that we’re moving in that direction.”

The film transports you to the suburbs of the 70s. Abby wasn’t born until 2008, but there is a 70s aspect she would love to bring back. “Yes, I have my stuff that I love so much. They’re rotary phones,” Abby observed. “When you’re really mad at someone these days, and you just want to hang up but you want them to listen, hitting the end button on silence doesn’t give you the same satisfaction as hanging up and listening. It’s very therapeutic. Maybe take them around for a therapy exercise. That would be a fun thing to do. Are you there God? it’s me, daisy it’s in theaters now.

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