Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Seth Rogen, Abbi Jacobson, Samira Wiley, and Leah Nelson Share Their Personal Journey in Bringing ‘Tangles’ to the Cannes Spotlight
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Seth Rogen, Abbi Jacobson, Samira Wiley, and writer-director Leah Nelson arrived in Cannes this week for the special screening of their animated feature Tangles.
Based on Sarah Leavitt’s graphic novel memoir, Tangles tells the story of Sarah, an activist and artist in 1990s San Francisco, who is called back to her conservative small-town roots after learning that her mother, Midge, is showing early signs of Alzheimer’s disease.
In her portrayal of Midge, Louis-Dreyfus described her character as “a human being who is honestly in denial and terrified and is tender and kind-hearted all at once.”
Louis-Dreyfus has a personal connection to the subject. “I have Alzheimer’s on both sides of my family,” she shared. “My grandmother had it, and I’m living with it now because my mother-in-law is fairly far along with her decline in dementia and Alzheimer’s, so my husband and I are caretakers. So, we’re in the thick of it. I can only imagine what that experience must have been like for Lauren [Miller Rogen] and so many others, and I did imagine it.”
Both Rogen and his wife, Lauren Miller Rogen, who produced the film, have been actively involved in initiatives related to Alzheimer’s. They founded Hilarity for Charity in 2012, a nonprofit organization aimed at supporting families affected by the disease. Miller Rogen’s mother was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s at just 55 years old.
“A lot of Alzheimer’s stuff was coming our way because of the charity and because Lauren had been very open about her own experiences,” Rogen explained. “But this was really the first thing where we were like, ‘Oh, this would make a really great film, we think.’ So, we both came on as producers, and Lauren, with her personal experience, was really able to help.”
Director Leah Nelson emphasized the importance of having the voice actors record their lines together, stating, “I remember one moment with Sarah Silverman when she was singing, and I was standing beside her with my arm around her while she was singing this really emotional song. To get to do that was really incredible.”
Jacobson, who voices Sarah, remarked that Tangles delivers a unique blend of emotion and humor. “This was the first project in the animated space I had worked on that had such an incredible balance of emotion and hard comedy,” she said. She also highlighted the film’s representation, noting, “It’s such a queer film – it’s like a really hot movie too. There’s a lot going on.”
Wiley added insights into her character’s relationship, explaining the challenges of embracing a new romance while caring for someone with Alzheimer’s. “To have to jump into something with that kind of depth is something that people might not say yes to,” she said. “It’s scary and for Donimo, who says the line ‘It’s weird but I’m going to say yes’ in the film, which is like a tagline for the whole film. I think it takes a very specific type of person to say yes to something like this.”
The film is generating significant buzz, reflecting both its emotional depth and cultural relevance.
