In this red carpet, there is a presence. The presence of major Hollywood figures uniting at the AMC Lincoln Square in New York City on Thursday, January 16, 2025. They arrived for NEON’s new horror movie, Presence. Among those in attendance were director Steven Soderbergh (Ocean’s 11, Magic Mike, Erin Brockovich), writer David Koepp (Jurassic Park, Mission: Impossible, Spider-Man), and the rest of the cast.
ComingSoon’s Jonathan Sim attended the carpet and spoke with the cast about their roles in this new film about a family moving into a house and becoming convinced they are not alone. This movie subverts your classic ghost story by putting the camera in the eyes of the ghost, following its POV throughout the entire runtime.
One of the more notable names in the cast is Julia Fox, widely known for her supporting role in Uncut Gems. She has a small role as CeCe, the realtor who sells the family the house. Fox reunites with Soderbergh after their previous collaboration in 2021, No Sudden Move. A while ago, she went viral for saying, “I was Josh Safdie’s muse when he wrote Uncut Gems.”
When asked if she had now become Soderbergh’s muse, she laughed and said, “No! I don’t think I inspired the part of CeCe. I’ve never sold a house in my life. But I really admire people that . . . I’d talk the person into not buying it. I’d be like, ‘It has all these issues! and I don’t know! Someone died here!’ So yeah, I don’t think I’m the girl. I don’t think I’m a salesgirl. But I admire the hell out of people that can do that ‘cause it’s so boss.”
The cast includes a few fresh faces, starting with Eddy Maday as Tyler, the son of the family. “Once you see the movie, I think you kinda understand like, your first impression of him, he’s kind of an asshole,” Maday says. “But our job as actors is to kind of figure out why. To figure out what are the parts we can empathize with so that we don’t think he’s an asshole anymore. So definitely say, by the ending, my impression of him is, he’s going through a lot and he’s wounded and he’s lashing out.”
“I mean, I think there are characters that you identify with much easier because they do contain things about them that you yourself empathize with,” he continues. “He was definitely one where I definitely had to, especially his dynamic with the parents, I think especially because I’ve never shouted at my parents, I think, ever. You know, that’s kind of like half the movie for me. And so it definitely took some like some work to figure out how to do that.”
Callina Liang portrays his sister, Chloe, a teenage girl who recently lost her friend. “My first impression was that she’s just such a broken girl,” says Liang. “She’s been through so much and she’s so pained and she doesn’t know all the answers, so I really felt for her, so I saw a little bit of myself in her. I actually grew up with only my dad and the fact that Chloe finds the most comfort with her dad. I was able to relate to that. And also that feeling of isolation with siblings. I’m the only child. So, you know, I also related to that. Translating that to screen, it all just came very naturally because I think I tried to do a lot of prep. So I came in every day and I was just able to play it.”
Chloe’s dad is played by Chris Sullivan (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, This is Us). He shared his first impression of his character Chris: “I found him to be a very compassionate father and a very loving man. And it feels like it played out that exact same way in the film so I think he kind of is what he is and what you see is what you get.”
West Mulholland portrays Tyler’s friend Ryan and shares his perspective on a character also going through pain: “The part of the character that I felt like I could really get into was the hurt and the pain. Ryan is a very hurt sort of character, and he has a lot of pressure bubbling up between his mom and his social life, being captain of the swim team and like having to
just be the best at everything. He is under so much pressure there. Which is something I can relate to. You know, in my own life, I filmed this going into my first year of college. I actually hopped off the plane onto campus as soon as we wrapped this movie. It was so incredible getting to come off a Steven Soderbergh film and go, ‘Hey, guys, what’s going on? I’m Wes, I’m a new freshman.’ But I think, you know, for Ryan, he’s definitely a warning to a lot of people. And so, yeah, I really connected with this character and the hurt kind of builds the character in that way. And so, I think that was my first impression.”
When asked about what it was like to work with Soderbergh, Maday sings his praises. “It’s a dream come true,” he says. “And he’s clearly one of the best. And I think you see it
because the challenge of this movie is such that there’s no material really to reference. You know, he had to create each moment out of his own mind, he was so efficient. He’s so fast. He knows exactly what he wants.”
Sullivan echoed a similar sentiment, saying, “You know, the process of filming anything with Steven Soderbergh is unlike anything else. You know, he is a completely unique experience. He is a completely unique filmmaker. And this was no exception because he set himself a new challenge that had never been set before and probably will never be set again. And it turns out that it worked.”
The cast also stuck around to answer some fun Presence-themed questions.
Because Presence is filmed entirely through the eyes of a ghost, if you could live one day seeing through the eyes of anyone, living or dead, fictional or non-fictional, who would you choose and why?
Eddy Maday: This could be a little bit meta. I’d say myself in like 10 years. It would be really cool to have some, I guess, confidence or honestly, just like because once you see that
that future self, it’s so interesting to see how it ends up being.
Callina Liang: The only thing coming to my head is Demi Moore from The Substance. But I just want to know what that is like, to go into that and take the Substance. If it was only for a day, if I’m a presence! I don’t want the Substance! But listen, if I was a presence that I could just dip in and out, yeah, I’ll try it out!
Chris Sullivan: You know what would be helpful? I would live one day through the eyes of my wife. Have a little perspective and I think that would be the most beneficial for me.
West Mulholland: That sounds like Being John Malkovich. I would love to be John Malkovich. Who wouldn’t want to? Maybe we all are John Malkovich.
What is the scariest movie you’ve ever seen?
Lucy Liu: Well, I didn’t feel ready to see it but it was Halloween (1978) when I was younger. That movie really threw me for a loop. I don’t think I slept in my own room for many, many, many, many days after that.
Callina Liang: Incantation. It’s a Chinese film. It actually ruined me. On Netflix. Because I’m from China, so yeah, I think the culture hit a little bit too close. And that’s why it really scared me. Listen, if you want to get scared, Incantation.
Chris Sullivan: The scariest movie I have ever seen is Hereditary. Yeah, that’s the scariest movie ever made.
West Mulholland: E.T. Which is such a weird thing because I saw it when I was so young, it was so suspenseful when he’s in the corn fields and E.T. jumps out at Elliott. They call him a leprechaun or something like that. It’s one of my favorite movies of all time. It’s just such a beautiful film. Like watching it now, I just laugh at my younger self who would hide behind a pillow and peek and be so terrified when E.T. came out. But I knew that ultimately he wasn’t real and that E.T. is the best friend in a way very similar to the Presence like this alien kind of this force that moves into the house and he’s in a place that he doesn’t know who he is, and he’s trying to learn how to live in the world. So yeah for me, E.T. Scariest movie if you’re 4 years old.
Presence arrives in theaters on January 24, 2024.
