FS: What was your reaction when you first heard that Waitress was going to premiere here?

NF: I was ecstatic of course, I was very, very excited – however we found out that we were accepted right after we found out that [director/writer] Adrienne Shelly had passed. So, everything that’s been very, very positive and very, very exciting and everything that’s given us cause to celebrate, at the same time is a bit of a pang about if only Adrienne could be here to share it with us and be excited with us.

FS: So do you think its paying homage to her to be able to show it here and hear crowd reactions?

NF: You know what, this is a beautiful movie, it’s a really sweet movie. I read it and I thought ‘this is great, I’d really love to be part of this movie.’ Then I heard about the cast that was going to be involved and I’m fans and I’m thinking, ‘I need to be in this movie, and if I get that chance, I’ll be happy.’ And there I am, you know you do the best job you can. But from the [script] to the cast, you can’t put that together and say ‘I know what this movie’s going to be like, I can tell what it’s going to be like.’ So seeing the movie for first time yesterday, I was amazed, because I wasn’t around for any of the process. I forced them to show me a couple scenes when I had to go do my looping. I’m amazed, proud, very, very excited about how well it’s done. And of course I think it becomes a little more important that it does well and that more people see it simply because now it’s become a legacy.

FS: I truly loved it, I have to say. I was astounded by it, I didn’t know what to expect going in and honestly I loved it.

NF: Thank you for that. Cheryl Hines I thought was so frickin’ great. Keri Russell – you have this woman that has no love in her heart anymore, there’s no love in her life, in her environment. Nothing intimate – not that she’s unlikable, not that she’s, ‘feel sorry for me, I’m sad.’ She was just so… she had a dry heart. Jeremy Sisto – one of these things where, I understand he’s the bad guy, I understand I’m supposed to hate him, and I do. But then as the movie goes on, because of what Jeremy’s doing, I don’t hate him. I feel sorry for this guy, I pity this man, I have sympathy for this idiot. He’s got no clue. It hit me on a lot of levels. And even seeing Adrienne in there – I thought it would be a lot harder watching the movie than it was, because I was taken, I was transported, I had to see these characters. I think also by virtue that I hadn’t seen the movie yet. I wanted to see how it ended. Until right at the very end the little walking into the sunset, that struck a chord with me. It had extra meaning, so to speak.

• Listen to the Interview: (13.8mb) WARNING – contains spoilers
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• Full Interview Transcript: WARNING – contains spoilers

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