\n<\/p>\n
And you\u2019re coming out right before the election.<\/strong><\/p>\n Ferrell:<\/strong><\/em> Which is another thing we really pushed for.<\/p>\n Steele:<\/strong><\/em> I hope my guy Trump wins. [Group laughs<\/em>] Me saying that might actually help the cause for the Democrats. Transgender writer Harper Steele loves Donald Trump.<\/p>\n What did you learn about the country in making this movie?<\/strong><\/p>\n Ferrell:<\/strong><\/em> There are pockets of deep hatred\u2014which, once again, I\u2019ll always say is fueled by misinformation and not really stopping and thinking about it and asking questions. But I think folks for the most part just want you to live your life. Even if they have a super strong opinion, they\u2019re like, \u201cWell, that\u2019s your business.\u201d It\u2019s all this propaganda and everything being kind of contrived for clicks.<\/p>\n Steele:<\/strong><\/em> Let\u2019s not take away from the fact that there\u2019s a lot of violent crimes directed at trans people.<\/p>\n Ferrell:<\/strong><\/em> Right, let\u2019s not paint a sunny picture here. It\u2019s definitely harder for people with less advantages than me to navigate the country. And there is still danger there. I would never want to not say that.<\/p>\n This is a documentary about a trans woman driving across the country, but it\u2019s also, inevitably, about Will Ferrell, the celebrity, driving across the country. How did you approach that balance?<\/strong><\/p>\n Greenbaum:<\/strong><\/em> As Harper will tell you, this was not the average trans experience. I know Harper wanted to go places along the way without Will. Certainly, I did my best to keep this crew as small as possible. We never let anyone know who was coming. because otherwise, you do invite the crowds and that\u2019s not what we were looking for. But you have to acknowledge in any documentary work that cameras do change and alter any given situation.<\/p>\n Harper, as someone who\u2019s about to become a significant public figure, do you have any hopes or plans for how to use that platform\u2014whether creatively or politically?<\/strong><\/p>\n Steele:<\/strong><\/em> I would love to take on more of an activist role. I\u2019m political, but I\u2019m not getting on any stumps anytime soon. I\u2019d like to be more involved in the queer community in any way that I can. I resisted it and I was afraid of it and now I\u2019m not. That\u2019s just been a natural progression for me. That\u2019ll happen and it\u2019ll keep going, and then I\u2019ll get more involved in things I feel strongly about\u2014which is a lot of LGBTQ causes.<\/p>\n In terms of my writing, I wasn\u2019t the most bro-y writer as a bro, which I\u2019m proud of. I think I\u2019ll stick to the plan.<\/p>\n Ferrell:<\/strong><\/em> You almost made fun of that style of writing, anyway.<\/p>\n Steele:<\/strong><\/em> Well, I did. Thinking of Eurovision<\/em>\u2014If you\u2019ve ever seen a Eurovision, this is just a flat-out queer environment. And that was really important to me when telling the story of that film. Because I read an article\u2026 I\u2019m babbling, I\u2019m sorry.<\/p>\n Ferrell:<\/strong><\/em> Oh, we\u2019re used to it. [Group laughs<\/em>]<\/p>\n Steele:<\/strong><\/em> And Josh is like, \u201cOh yeah, no, she is<\/em> babbling.\u201d But no, I read an article right before we went to our first Eurovision<\/em> from this queer writer who wrote a big Eurovision book, and what he said in this Times<\/em> article was that Eurovision was what the union was supposed to look like\u2014the freedom of expression and all the countries coming together in a much more friendly environment. That\u2019s why I wanted to do it with Will. Before I was out, I knew I was trans, and I was looking at it going, \u201cThis is amazing.\u201d My writing had already gone in that direction.<\/p>\n