Stephanie Laing On Honoring That Moment Between Laura and Bruce Dern on ‘Palm Royale’

Apple’s Palm Royale has captivated viewers with its stunning visuals and comic performances, especially from lead Kristen Wiig. We are now halfway through the first season, and we are slowly realizing that Wiig’s Maxine isn’t just a schemer with lofty, money-grabbing aspirations. She is growing before our very eyes as a person who longs to be part of a community and have that community thrive. Much like Maxine herself, the comedy series bends, twists, and dodges around to expand and extend the story. No stranger to balancing boisterous casts, director Stephanie Laing hones in on several pivotal moments in the arcs of these tricky, complicated characters.

Entering the hallowed halls of the Palm Royale felt like a no brainer for Laing. With a creator as creatively open as Abe Sylvia, Laing knew that she would be given the freedom to truly play in this colorful, high-drama-filled world.

“With Abe, it was so obvious that we were just the same person,” Laing says, with a laugh. “I didn’t know what episodes I would be doing when I initially signed on, and Abe is just so generous and trusting. He really lets you try stuff like when I asked if we could put an alligator on the golf course at the end of episode five. Or if we have earned Ricky Martin spitting in people’s drinks. We can always cut stuff out, but he let us try.”

Laing’s resume is filled with other television shows that know how to tow that line between absurd and pathos. Made for Love explored gender roles in modern marriage with a shiny, futuristic wink, and Apple’s Physical featured a brilliantly ruthless central performance from Rose Byrne. Embracing that balance was something the director was eager to dive into, especially because episodes five and six come right in the middle of the season.

“I love playing in a tricky tone,” she admits. “I approach life with absurd shit happening–there’s comedy everywhere. I love watching people, and I love character-driven shows. Palm Royale definitely has something to say about this particular period of time, so this had this sweet mixture of story, tone, period, and character. Abe created such a fun sandbox to play in, and Kristen is just so brilliant at swinging back and forth. When I shoot stuff, sometimes comedy is in the wide, and sometimes you have to go in tight. You really care about these people…and they aren’t great people–let’s be honest. But you are along for this ride. In episode six, we earn some emotional payoff that leads into the rest of the whole season. With protecting the tone at all costs, you never play the joke. You play the stakes.”

When Maxine goes to visit Laura Dern’s Linda at the hilariously titled bookshop, Our Bodies, Our Shelves, she parks Norma in between two of the shelves. Burnett, the legendary performer who will take advantage of every moment on screen, picks up a copy of Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar and begins thumbing through the pages. I wasn’t even sure if that was an intentional joke–or even what the joke was–but it made me laugh, and Laing confirms that Burnett scooped it up as the camera rolled.

“That was in the moment,” Laing says. “I did the blocking, and Kristen wheeled Carol in between the shelves. We talked about what she could do there, and that was a happy accident that that book was there. That’s what’s so great when you have such a detailed, gorgeous set like all of the sets on this show. You can find inspiration in the moment–even the painting on the walls of that store looks like a woman’s womb.”

Sitting back and seeing where the moments took them was also key for any time Norma becomes more stable and she quite literally tries to find her voice.

“Since we had such freedom to play around, we were, to put it quite simply, able to collectively try things,” she says. “I remember Kristen asking me if she wanted me to jump on Ricky, and she asked, ‘Do you want me to lay on the ground and roll around?’ Yes, I want Kristen Wiig to do that. With Carol, it was exactly that. She would mumble but I could hear the words too clearly, so we had to back off. With her first step, I wanted her to act like she was taking her first steps on the moon.”

In the second half of episode six, we see a very special moment between Linda and her father, Skeet, played by Laura’s real-life pop, Bruce. As they watch a rocket launching into the sky, they are high on acid, but it comes to an unexpectedly high emotional point. Laing gently pulls the camera back as they ready themselves for the broadcast, but then she hones in on their hands clasped together.

“It was the first thing I talked about when I read it,” she says. “He is sitting in his bed originally, so I wanted to put them in chairs so they were like in their own rocket seats while watching the launch instead of on a couch. We organized the room so they could hold hands, and so much of it became about the simplicity of that shot for me. I wanted it to say so much. When we filmed them on acid, we shot a lot of blue screen and played ‘Moonshot’ as we filmed. There wasn’t a lot of dialogue, so I wanted to use the music to feel the emotion of the scene. Abe and I were both crying on set–we were so overcome. And then, speaking of tone, Allison Janney appears in the show in the background.”

Laing’s skill with the camera is seen again when we see the difference in two scenes dealing with Robert’s sexuality. Leslie Bibb’s Dinah spills on why he has no interest in Maxine as the ladies are gossiping in a restroom, and the camera is tight from the shoulders up, the audience being informed on the secret too. In episode six, Maxine confronts Ricky Martin’s character, but the camera holds back. Laing is giving the character space.

“I try to approach everything from an honest place,” Laing reveals. “With paying attention to how these characters use the space, you wonder if we want to get closer or subjectively watch this. I thought that moment with Robert was very intimate, and then, in episode six, she realizes that she never really had a friend like Robert before and she doesn’t know how important that bond will become to her. Maybe it sounds trite, but it is as simple as understanding how the character interacts in the space they are occupying and deciding how the camera should move depending on the emotion of the scene without being heavy-handed.”

Laing’s next project, the feature film Tow, is compiling a very impressive cast with Oscar-winner Ariana DeBose joining Rose Byrne, Dominic Sessa, and Demi Lovato. Even though they are in the middle of production, Laing was bursting with excitement to amplify this true story.

“It’s very high-stakes with not a million dollar payoff for someone. The story is out there and it’s public information, but I knew this piece had something to say about the world we are living in now. I am incredibly proud of this cast that has come together to help tell this story. I keep pinching myself when I see what we are doing.”

Palm Royale drops new episodes every Wednesday on Apple TV+.