Thelma
The feature directorial debut of Josh Margolin, Thelma is a poignant action-comedy that gives veteran Oscar® nominee June Squibb (Nebraska and star of Scarlett Johansson’s upcoming directorial debut Eleanor The Great) her first leading role and features the final performance of trailblazing actor Richard Roundtree (Shaft). Squibb, who did most of her own stunts in the film, plays Thelma Post, a feisty 93-year-old grandmother who gets conned by a phone scammer pretending to be her grandson (The White Lotus’ Fred Hechinger) and sets out on a treacherous quest across Los Angeles, accompanied by an aging friend (Roundtree) and his motorized scooter, to reclaim what was taken from her. Parker Posey, Clark Gregg, and Malcolm McDowell also star.
Inspired by a real-life experience of Margolin’s own grandmother, Thelma puts a clever spin on movies like Mission: Impossible, shining the spotlight on an elderly grandmother as an unlikely action hero. With infectious humor, Margolin employs the familiar tropes of the action genre in hilarious, age-appropriate ways to tackle aging with agency. In the first leading film role of her 70-year career, Squibb portrays the strong-willed Thelma with grit and determination, demonstrating that she is more than capable of taking care of business – despite what her daughter Gail (Posey), son-in-law Alan (Gregg), or grandson Danny might believe.
Available everywhere now, the album features original score music composed by Nick Chuba for the poignantly comedic film written and directed by Josh Margolin. A clever new spin on the action film genre, Thelma stars June Squibb as its unlikely hero, an elderly grandmother on a quest for revenge against phone scammers. For the score, Chuba took inspiration from classic action film soundtracks of the ‘60s and ‘70s, melding live instrumentation with electronic production to fashion a 20-track album that captures both the onscreen action of the film as well as its moving underdog story.
Of the score, composer NICK CHUBA explained, “I set out to write an action movie score from our unlikely, nonagenarian hero’s perspective, melding electronic production techniques with live instrumentation that recalls the iconic ‘60s and ‘70s soundtracks that might be playing in Thelma’s head when she revs her scooter or outwits her nephew. In a full-circle moment, we even recorded percussion in the same studio where the great Lalo Schifrin recorded the iconic theme for ‘Mission Impossible,’ which is what initially inspires Thelma to action. Working in close collaboration with writer-director Josh Margolin and producers Zoë Worth and Chris Kaye, we were able to create something that bridges the comedy to the action stakes of the film, while always keeping our protagonist front and center.”
Thelma is now playing exclusively in theaters.