'Trap', Composer, Herdís Stefánsdóttir

0:00Herdís StefánsdóttirWhat is the vibe? How does everything look? It definitely influences, and it gives me some kind of an understanding of how I can start the music. So it was incredibly helpful. I already had a little bit of more of an idea of what I was gonna do. But then again, it's also, like, always such a different process because when I was going through this film with M. Night, and as we were starting out, because, Jas Hardnett is… I mean, he's kind of funny, as the butcher. So this is a thriller. So like as… I was, like, watching the scenes, I was like, "Damn," like this… I wasn't sure, like, is this a comedy? Is this a dark comedy? Like, where are we going, and what story is the, is the music gonna tell? So it took us a few weeks just to kind of figure out what would be the role of the music in the storytelling.

0:58Jawad MirHow does it feel to be part of an M. Night Shyamalan experience?

1:05Herdís StefánsdóttirIt's definitely an interesting ride to work with M. Night. It's

1:11Jawad MirHow did that, how did that start? How did that happen? Can you share that story with us?

1:15Herdís StefánsdóttirYeah. So originally, like, I did his last film too, which was called Knock at the Cabin, and that was, So how that happened is, yeah, it was kind of surprising because, Sue Jacobs, who is the music supervisor on this film and the last one as well, she had shared with him some of my music, I think particularly something from a TV series I did called Y: The Last Man.

1:41Herdís StefánsdóttirAnd I had no knowledge of this happening. And then I get a phone call like a few weeks later and, my agent just says, "M. Night wants to talk with you on the phone. Like, are you available now?" And I'm like, "What?" So he had heard that music, and it had inspired him, and while he was, I guess, writing the storyboard for Knock at the Cabin, he was listening to the music. So he called me and said, you know, "Let's try this out, and if it doesn't work out, no hard feelings. Let's see what happens." And, it worked out very well. So here I am finishing the second film in a couple of years.

2:25Jawad MirThat's amazing. That's really cool. What… Did you re… did you read the script of Trap, or did you see the f… the finished film before you…

2:38Herdís StefánsdóttirI read the script. First thing I did that was I read the script. And how I work with M. Night is, like, immediately after I read the script, I always start writing music. So I s… kind of start exploring just based off the script, and I will write a suite, maybe like twenty minutes of music. And, as I've done that, I share it with him. And then I also this time went on the set. So I flew to Toronto, where they were, filming, and I was there for a couple of days just kind of feeling the vibe. So I'd already started thinking quite a bit about the music, and I was already writing before I got the first, cut.

3:19Jawad MirThe interesting thing about Toronto is it's twofold. One, I'm from Toronto.

3:25Herdís StefánsdóttirNice

3:26Jawad Mir... Number two, there's a scene, I'm not gonna reveal the context of the scene, but there's a shot, actually, I shouldn't say a scene. There's a shot of a limo making a turn. I think you know what I'm talking about.

3:39Herdís StefánsdóttirWow.

3:41Jawad MirThat street where that happens is five minutes away from my… where I live.

3:47Herdís StefánsdóttirOh, really?

3:49Jawad MirAnd interestingly, another interesting fact is there's a store that appears, when that car makes a turn, and it's a jewelry store. And, our company was… So I direct films, and one of our part of the business is doing a lot of branding films for, you know, businesses and all that. So that jewelry store is some… a place where we did work last year for a couple of weeks, and we produced a whole bunch of stuff for them. So it was interesting to see. I see that logo, and I'm like, "Where have I seen that logo?" Right? And it wa… it was pretty cool to see that, and being in Toronto and being that away from, like, you know, five to seven minutes away, it was, it was really cool. I just thought I wanted to add it that. It was, it was kinda nice little thing.

4:36Herdís StefánsdóttirYeah. I think it's, I think it's so funny when, like, you're… I can imagine it's different when you're from like Canada or the States and, like, obviously if you're from New York, like a bunch of films, are shot there. But Iceland is another story. So I mean, we're just a super tiny country, and they filmed, True Detective: Night Country, here in Iceland. And I think it's very funny for Icelanders to watch, a show that is supposedly, you know, supposed to happen in Alaska, and you're like, you just can't believe it because you know, as an Icelander, you will know each house in the frame. You will know each street, and you're gonna be like, "I don't believe that." Like, "I know where this is."

5:16Jawad MirAnd you know, that, it is kinda cool, but I don't know about you, for me, it is cool, but it's not cool, and the reason it is… So when the film started, the, where they shot the entire film, it's now known as Rogers Centre, but it used to be called SkyDome, and I always call it SkyDome because that's just the way I, you know, I grew up with that. It's like, okay, that's pretty cool, but I feel for me, if I… i… it kind of takes away the novelty from it, if that makes sense.

5:48Jawad Mir'Cause you know the place.

5:49Herdís StefánsdóttirYeah.

5:49Jawad MirYou know, if you don't know where it is, it's kind of like, even if it's just like a street, a hou… it's magical because you don't know where these people live, where they are, even though they, it may say it's New Jersey or Oklahoma or whatever. I think it's, I, it is kind of like a… a two sword, a two-edged sword, sorry.

6:09Herdís StefánsdóttirYeah.

6:09Jawad MirThat's nice…

6:10Herdís StefánsdóttirTotally

6:10Jawad Mir... But it's not nice. Anyways, going off topic here. W… what... When you said you went to the set to get, you know, inspiration of the music, I don't, I don't wanna talk about any of the scenes. I don't wanna talk about any of the details or anything.

6:29Jawad MirWhat was the feeling that you got from something that you saw? Let's say take a moment from what you see in the trailer, like, you know, anything…

6:39Herdís StefánsdóttirYeah

6:39Jawad Mir... That's in the trailer that kind of brought you to that, you know… ... Internal feeling and to be able to produce the music that you did.

6:48Herdís StefánsdóttirYeah, exactly. It's, like, such a difference to work off a script and to see the visuals. Because for me as a film composer, it is amazing to work off script because it gives you a lot of freedom, and you can go wherever you wanna go. Sometimes you're lucky and, like, magically it's gonna fit into the film.

7:09Herdís StefánsdóttirAnd sometimes not, and that's just how it is. So I think, like, being able to, like, see a little bit of how it's visually gonna look, and just look through the camera as, Night is filming, helps me to understand a little bit the aesthetics. Like, all of that, like, really matters for when I start to decide on the sound world and the music. You know, what is the aesthetics that he's going for? What kind of cinematography are we talking about? How is he shooting this? Like, what is the vibe? How does everything look? It definitely influences, and it gives me some kind of an understanding of how I can start the music. So it was incredibly helpful. This is the first time I've ever, I've ever done this. I've never been to a set before, and obviously it's also weird, you know, to see, like, how they film things. You're like, "Oh, it's, it's not real." You know? It, you know, takes a… takes away this, like, beautiful…

8:04Jawad MirYeah

8:04Herdís Stefánsdóttir... Illusion you have about films. But it was good. It was helpful for me because then as soon as I got back, I already had a little bit of more of an idea of what I was gonna do. But then again, it's also, like, always such a different process because when I was going through this film with Night and as we were starting out, because, Josh Hartnett, he is... I mean, it's kind of funny, as the butcher. So this is a thriller, so, like, as I was, like, watching the scenes, I was like, damn, like, this... I wasn't sure, like, is this a comedy? Is this a dark comedy? Like, where are we going, and what story is the, is the music gonna tell? So it took us a few weeks just to kind of figure out what would be the role of the music in the storytelling. You know, going between these, like, kind of funny moments to actually, like, going to the underlying darkness and kinda, you know, fucked up shit that is also happening in the story.

9:02Jawad MirRight. And it's interesting you mens… mentioned you couldn't figure out what it was. For me, and I... Look, I'm a huge fan of M. Night. Like, you know, from Sixth Sense up until, Split, I have seen everything. I haven't seen Knock at the Cabin and Old yet. And then I saw Trap. For me, one of the things, the trailer was really well put together, and the concept is really cool, which I read M. Night got it from an article that he read about something like that happened in the '80s, not like a butcher, but some concert and things went wrong, and he just kind of took it from there and then turned it into something…

9:40Jawad Mir... Of his own. I personally felt it was least favorite film of mine of his because I couldn't figure out what the tone was. Maybe I need to see it again, 'cause I just…

9:56Herdís StefánsdóttirYeah

9:56Jawad Mir... I couldn't figure out. And I'm not trying to be critical. There were some great moments in there, great scenes. Josh Harn… Harnett was amazing. And you know, the final scene was really strong and powerful. Like, you know, you know what I'm talking about, right?

10:11Jawad MirBut it's interesting you mention that. Maybe it's one of those films that needs to be seen again. But going back to what you said about being on the set, what, did M. Night ask you to come on the set or was it like he gave you an option? What was, what was that like? W… what was the reason?

10:28Herdís StefánsdóttirI don't remember exactly. I think it's like when we were working on Knock, the Knock at the Cabin, I think, I think we talked about it would be fun to, you know, come to the set. And as I was, like, started the second project, it was just kind of we decided that it would be good just to come over and,.. And it's also just obviously fun to be able to get a bit earlier into the process before you start, a project like this.

10:57Jawad MirWas there a difference for better or for worse being on the set versus not being on the set in terms of what you were able to produce at the end, the final score?

11:10Herdís StefánsdóttirIt's so hard to answer these kind of questions, I think, because when you're, like, doing music, it's, so much of it is, like, a work of the subconscious. It's a work of…

11:25Jawad MirI agree

11:25Herdís Stefánsdóttir... Your instinct and your gut, and it's so complicated. Like, I don't even know how it works. It's like…

11:31Jawad MirI…

11:32Herdís Stefánsdóttir... This thing just

11:34Jawad MirI'm so, I'm so glad you said that because it is all about that. That's exactly what I was hoping you would say because it's, everything is different. It's just sometime, sometimes you don't even know why is what happening and how is it happening, but it's just happening, right?

11:48Herdís StefánsdóttirYeah, absolutely.

11:49Jawad MirIt's so cool. But I'm glad that you felt, feel that because it's, you can't just label everything on one thing. It just a feeling that you get that you can't explain.

11:58Herdís StefánsdóttirExactly. Where does it even come from? We don't know. Some other multi dimensions.

12:09Jawad MirI find you're quite sel… self-aware, which is awesome. When did you see the film? Well, no, that's not the question. When you saw the film, what was your reaction as moviegoer, as an audience member? Do you remember that feeling that you got or when you were watching certain scenes?

12:34Herdís StefánsdóttirI still have not seen…

12:38Jawad MirThe final cut

12:38Herdís Stefánsdóttir... The film. Yeah, I haven't seen the final cut because I couldn't make it to the premiere, and I am gonna see it tomorrow for the first time, which is obviously a little bit, anxiety-provoking. But I… It was, like, kind of funny because I never saw the entire film until quite late in the process. So when we started, we started from the end. So it was a very, like, strange way of working the score, and I think partly, like... Yeah, because sometimes, like, when you're working on a film, it's so good to start at the beginning, and you're kind of, like, starting a story, and then gradually you're expanding it and going deeper. So I had to kind of start at the end, you know, when everything has happened, and go backwards.

13:26Jawad MirOh, wow.

13:26Herdís StefánsdóttirSo it took me, it took me a little bit of, like, I guess, longer time to figure it out, I guess, because I started, as you can imagine, see… having seen the second half of the film. There's a, there's a lot of difference in the, in the story and in the tempo.

13:44Jawad MirYeah, and I truly feel... Well, for any kind of a sc… a horror film or a thriller film or a butcher film, for the lack of better word, you know, it's, it's… There is suspense, and a lot of suspense sometimes built with no music and no sound effect, just like the roaring silence. But obviously, more than a lot of times it's with the music, and your music really s… And this is one of the things that I s… I've spoken to a lot of composers, on this podcast. You know, well-established ones, upcoming ones, and one thing that I really enjoy with Trap in terms of the score, like many other films, which is not that m… not that many, some other films which are not that many, is that they were… I can remember the score, but I can't remember it, because it was so part of the film as a character that it pulls you in, but it's not like something that overpowers the characters, the story, you know, and all that stuff.

14:48Jawad MirSo I thought that was really cool with what you did with the score.

14:52Herdís StefánsdóttirThank you.

14:55Jawad MirHow did your career in music started? What did you… What inspired you to become a composer?

15:03Herdís StefánsdóttirYeah, it's k… I have kind of a weird story because I never thought about being a composer, like, my entire, I guess, childhood and young adulthood. I was kind of on the more straighter line. I don't know where it came from, but I... You know, my dad is a philosopher, and my mom, did, like, political science and was an editor of a magazine, and I saw them, and I was like, "Damn," like, "I don't wanna be poor." Like, "I need to figure my shit out." Like, "I need to study something that, you know, I'm not gonna be, like, totally screwed." So I went, you know, did, like, physics in my, you know, kind of high schools, like physics and maths, and I was thinking about going into that, or medicine or something super practical. And I ended up, because a bunch of my friends were going to law school, and I'd never even thought about it. So I signed up for that. Just simply being, like, nineteen years old and, like, quite lost.

16:02Herdís StefánsdóttirI signed up for law school, and I was there for one and a half year or two years, almost have a bachelor degree in law, and I hated... Yeah, with full respect to lawyers, and I have a lot of them around me. Some of my best friends today. I, like, absolutely hated it a lot. I found it, like, profoundly boring. It just… I should have, like, signed up for literature or philosophy or something that I was interested in, but somehow I went that route. And while I was, studying law, I would come home from school every day, and I started playing the piano again. So I hadn't played for a few years. I kind of dropped out of… I did, like, piano lessons. Was kind of, like, lazy, you know, not that interested in it. Dropped out, and I started playing again. And as I was playing, I was also, writing music, and I started to become super interested in the process of that, and I started studying. I know it's very nerdy, but I started studying music theory by myself.

17:03Herdís StefánsdóttirJust like, homeschooling myself, and I started, like, teaching myself how to write for string arrangements and how to write for choir. So it was like a full-on hobby that I would just spend my time instead of, like, opening the law school books. And, like, the first thing I did was that I wrote, like, a choir piece for, like, a senior citizen choir that my grandmother was, a part of. So I was just, like, kinda like dabbling around in the kind of more, like, classical zone of music. And then my childhood friend, she's an actress, and she was studying at the art academy, and she was like, "You know, there's a bunch of kids at the school, and they are studying to be composers." I was like, "What?" Like, "Can you even study that? Is that even a, you know, a school or a degree?" And it sparked an interest, so I decided just to throw, like, a portfolio together with the, you know, with the stuff that I'd been doing over this year. And, like, magically, I got in with no background. I didn't know shit in music theory.

18:04Herdís StefánsdóttirI barely read any sheet music, but somehow I got into this, bachelor program. And I thought I was just gonna stop and just, like, kinda check it out and then go back to law school or whatnot, and that did not happen. Like, after the first year, I just felt that I was, Doing something that I was truly interested in and that I really loved and I guess had always been. I guess it's just when you know something is a big part of me, part of you and you can't escape it. And music had been a very big part of me since I was a small child. Like since I was eight, I would sit and go through records and listen to Beethoven and Mozart, like a really weird kid, really interested in classical music a… and all that. And I guess just finally in my early 20s, I kind of accepted that it was my fate, to do this, and I just allowed myself to take the jump and go for it. Obviously, my parents were very nervous about the decision and all that, but it somehow just, you know, worked out to the point that I'm, I'm able to work as a musician today.

19:16Jawad MirThat's incredible. That's really cool. Who were the composers that you looked up to growing up?

19:27Herdís StefánsdóttirI was a big fan, like when I was like playing the piano, I was like a big fan. I was kind of in the early 20th century or late 19th. Like I loved like Debussy a lot. He was a big inspiration.

19:45Jawad MirThat's amazing.

19:46Herdís StefánsdóttirAnd later I was… Later I was super into like the Polish, like minimalists like Penderecki and Górecki and that stuff inspired me as well. Ligeti.

19:58Jawad MirThey say that even whether you're a director, writer, composer, whatever, editor, cinematographer, they say that watch the old stuff or listen to the old stuff because that's where the real, art and storytelling is. And even like a lot of musicians now, like music composers, you know, with the likes of Hans Zimmer, John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith, I mean, Alan Silvestri, they all get in… have been inspired or maybe even sometimes borrowed from classical composers, right? And ga… gave a little spin of their own on it. So it's really good to hear that you're going in that same realm, which is awesome. You still there? Did I lose you?

20:48Herdís StefánsdóttirYeah. Yeah.

20:49Jawad MirOkay.

20:50Herdís StefánsdóttirHi.

20:50Jawad MirWhat's next for you?

20:58Herdís StefánsdóttirRight now I'm working, which I love to do in between, to work in my home country. So I am working on a miniseries, which is about, Iceland's first, female president and the first female president in the world, Vigdís Finnbogadóttir. So we had the first female president elected, in the '80s, and I am working on that.

21:27Jawad MirAmazing. It's an Iceland production? Like

21:29Herdís StefánsdóttirYeah.

21:30Jawad MirYou mean...

21:31Herdís StefánsdóttirYeah.

21:31Jawad MirGot it. What's… What was her name?..

21:35Herdís StefánsdóttirVigdís. So my name is Herdís.

21:37Jawad MirI know…

21:37Herdís StefánsdóttirIt's almost the same name. Vigdís Finnbogadóttir.

21:42Jawad MirFirst… Oh, she was a president, not prime minister.

21:45Herdís StefánsdóttirPresident. We also had a female, you know, I think... I might not be telling the truth, but I think we had…

21:52Jawad MirWell..

21:53Herdís Stefánsdóttir... The first or at least one of the earliest female prime minister as well.

21:58Jawad MirBecause I know, Indira Gandhi was the prime minister, in the '80s, and she was… I'm just looking it up just to get the factual stuff right. She was, prime minister from 1966 to '77 and then from 1980 until 1984. I didn't know, I didn't know the first part. I knew the second part. Anyways, sorry, we're… I love going on a tangent. But, working with M. Night, what is it like?

22:37Herdís StefánsdóttirM. Night is a super interesting director. He's a very musical director, which not all directors are. For some directors, the music is more of an afterthought or something you add, you know. It's like humans, like some humans are like really into music and inspired them, inspired by it, while others are not. But he really truly is. So for him, which is interesting, in the early stages, he will want to have a lot of conversations with the composer, and the… he brings the composer a lot into the storytelling and into the narrative. Like, as we were discussing early on, like who is the butcher? What is his story? Like, what is his motive? What is his background? Kinda going a bit like deeper into the characters, quite early on. And I think it's cool as a composer to be involved in that, not just getting like an almost final cut and you start like smudging some music to fix it up.

23:39Herdís StefánsdóttirSo, yeah, for him it's like very important to enroll the music as a part of the storytelling.

23:46Jawad MirIs he… I mean, I've seen his interviews. I've seen a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff. In terms of his vision on the set, well, from what you were there, you've only been there like, you know, once, for a little bit. How is he in terms of directing his actors and, for the lack of better word, controlling his team or leading his team, I should say?

24:10Herdís StefánsdóttirYeah

24:10Jawad Mir... What did you think of that?

24:12Herdís StefánsdóttirI mean, I don't really have… I've never seen anybody direct before, so I don't really have the comparison of how it is. But it seemed, I mean, to me it seemed very like confident and kinda easygoing. It was like It didn't feel stressful to be there and watch it. They were just, like, kinda running the ship, smoothly.

24:34Jawad MirThat's nice to hear. What's, what's... Have you seen all of his films?

24:37Herdís StefánsdóttirNo, not at all.

24:39Jawad MirYou haven't seen the all... Wh… which movies have you seen?

24:42Herdís StefánsdóttirI've seen The Sixth Sense.

24:44Jawad MirOkay.

24:44Herdís StefánsdóttirI've seen Unbreakable.

24:46Jawad MirOkay, that's a good one too.

24:47Herdís StefánsdóttirI've seen Split.

24:49Jawad MirOkay, that's a good one too.

24:51Herdís StefánsdóttirAnd Old.

24:52Jawad MirWhich one, sorry?

24:53Herdís StefánsdóttirOld, I've seen.

24:54Jawad MirOkay.

24:56Herdís StefánsdóttirI think I saw The Village, like, a long time ago.

25:01Jawad MirYeah, that's a great movie. Very underrated movie of his.

25:03Herdís StefánsdóttirYeah.

25:04Jawad MirAnother great one of his…

25:06Herdís StefánsdóttirAnd Signs. Obviously Signs

25:06Jawad Mir... Signs. I was gonna say Signs.

25:08Herdís StefánsdóttirYeah. Yeah, those…

25:08Jawad MirI haven't seen... I didn't, I wasn't really too crazy about Lady in the Water. I saw Servant, the first season.

25:18Herdís StefánsdóttirYeah, I did Servant too

25:19Jawad Mir... And then he did something else in between about the grandparents. I forget that. I haven't seen that either. It was some interesting concept.

25:29Herdís StefánsdóttirI mean, he does a lot. It's, you know, it's a kind of a work to keep up. He's a very productive person.

25:36Jawad MirHave you seen The Happening?

25:38Herdís StefánsdóttirNo, I have not.

25:41Jawad MirOkay. I remember when it came out. I'm sorry, I'm just going on a tangent here. I remember when it came out, everybody thought, "What the hell did he do?" Like, what did he, what did M. Night Shyamalan do? I loved it. I absolutely loved it.

25:55Herdís StefánsdóttirInteresting, yeah.

25:57Jawad MirSo all I will say that The Happening came out, I would say, in the early 2000s, and then just around COVID or during COVID, another movie came out called Bird Box.

26:11Herdís StefánsdóttirOh, yeah.

26:12Jawad MirAnd…

26:12Herdís StefánsdóttirYeah. Yeah, I saw it

26:13Jawad Mir... Very similar to Happening.

26:16Herdís StefánsdóttirOkay. Yeah, I mean…

26:18Jawad MirExcept the blindfold, like, the, that whole thing, but it was very similar in terms of the feel.

26:23Herdís StefánsdóttirOkay.

26:23Jawad MirYeah, I just felt like they took that idea and just moved it around a little bit and turned it into something else. But I…

26:30Herdís StefánsdóttirYeah

26:30Jawad Mir... I love The Happening. You should watch The Happening. I think it's one of his…

26:34Herdís StefánsdóttirYeah

26:34Jawad Mir... Best films. And I don't know why people don't like it, but I love it.

26:38Herdís StefánsdóttirBut I think that's what's so, like, interesting about, M. Night, is that whatever he does, like, people have very strong reactions. Because a lot of films are, like, people are like, "Yeah, it was fine," but people are either like, "This is the fucking worst piece of crap ever made," or they're like, "I absolutely loved it." So I think it's always good as an artist when you can also get, you know, kind of polarized opinions, that it's just not the…

27:02Jawad MirIt is. It is

27:02Herdís Stefánsdóttir... The middle somewhere.

27:03Jawad MirBecause then you're not pleasing everybody, right? You're just making…

27:06Herdís StefánsdóttirYeah

27:06Jawad Mir... A film that you want to make.

27:08Herdís StefánsdóttirYeah.

27:08Jawad MirWhether people like it or not, that's up to them. But nevertheless, you know, it's... It just has, it has so much tension in that movie, and it's just completely out of the box. But I urge you to see it. I, you know, I,.. He… Yeah, he was really targeted with that movie, and I think that movie and Lady in the Water kinda s… put a stop to all of his films until he made a comeback, and now he self-finance, which is, like, crazy and amazing. I mean, kudos to him that he does that. That's awesome.

27:45Jawad MirYou know, just kind of wrapping it up, w… who are some of the directors that you would love to work with?

27:54Herdís StefánsdóttirUgh, I always find it a little bit hard to, like, drop names, but I think, like, my... What I'm really interested in i… as an artist is to be approached with, filmmakers that are telling a story that I want to be a part of telling, something that I feel is important. And yeah, I hope that, you know, one day I will work with a, with, a beautiful artistic director that I can share a vision with. I would say, like, kind of the films that I like are g… a little bit more in the maybe art house

28:33Herdís Stefánsdóttir... Field.

28:35Jawad MirReal stories.

28:37Herdís StefánsdóttirYeah. Or I mean, it can be sci-fi, but I also b… believe that, like, aliens are probably real and all that. So it doesn't have to be in a certain thing, but as long as the, as long as I find the story, like, interesting and moving and…

28:52Jawad MirI think…

28:53Herdís StefánsdóttirI don't know

28:53Jawad Mir... I think the key, the key word is what M. Night does so well is that, you know, you look at, I don't know if you've ever seen Independence Day, which came out, like, 30 years ago almost. It's about alien invasion.

29:06Herdís StefánsdóttirI have seen it. I think I watched it for the first time just in COVID or something.

29:10Jawad MirRight.

29:11Herdís StefánsdóttirYeah, actually.

29:11Jawad MirSo when it f… came out, like, I was, I was in my early 20s. I loved it, right? I thought it was great. I loved all these different stories. But you know, as you get older and older and you start realizing, and then being in the films myself, like, stories that I wanna tell, I like to tell stories that are very tight and grounded, like, with as less characters as possible so you have more time to explore them. And that's what M. Night does so really well. You know, it's like he just creates this world. Even with Trap, you know, I may have my disagreements with it, but it's just this world that he creates that you feel like this is the world and that's it. Like, nothing else exists, which is so incredible, talent to have, and I get it. So that's, that's what you are into too, so that's awesome. Tell me about your, if you don't mind sharing, you said your dad is a philosopher and your mom is a political activist. I would love to hear about that if you're comfortable.

30:11Herdís StefánsdóttirNo, political s… Yeah, she studied, like, political science and

30:15Jawad MirPolitical science

30:15Herdís Stefánsdóttir... Worked as a writer. Yeah, I think, like... Sorry, what was the question?

30:20Jawad MirWhat do they do? Like, what does a philosopher do?

30:25Herdís StefánsdóttirThey mostly teach and work on writing and, working on thesis and that kind of stuff. But I think, you know… I think it was pretty cool because my dad would from a young age, you know, always, you know, he would v… very much like teach me about the moment and being bored and the importance of boredom, which I think is a very valuable lesson for, lesson for children.

30:51Jawad MirYeah.

30:51Herdís StefánsdóttirYou know, because I think, especially in modern times, we're being bombarded with information, with our telephones and everything, and it's kind of the killer of creative thought. And just thinking in general and just pondering and going inward. So I've kind of practiced that and taken it with me that whatever I'm doing, if I'm like waiting in a line at the bank or, waiting for the bus or whatnot, just to be. Just to stare, just to observe and just... And I'm not saying I'm perfect at it. Obviously, I open my phone sometimes and get sucked into doom scrolling, you know, on social media. But I really appreciated that, even though I hated him for it. You know, he lived in the countryside and I was there for like days on end, and he would be like, "Figure it out." And it ended up with me being a 9 or 10-year-old, and I started my own business and I was walking between towns in the countryside, like selling, ribbons to support cancer. I just like figured out ways to entertain myself and not be bored. And I taught myself how to like do the walking skis a… and whatever.

32:03Herdís StefánsdóttirSo I think it's a, it's a beautiful experience and I'm trying to…

32:07Jawad MirI'm…

32:08Herdís StefánsdóttirYou know?

32:08Jawad MirYeah. I'm so glad you said that because boredom is the beginning of creativity. And I absolutely... I actually try now, I mean, it was before it was more like a random thing, but now I try to, like if I'm at the airport waiting for a flight, right? Like I'm, I'm gonna try, I'm obviously not perfect, not to be on the phone just so I can just look around and just observe people and just take... As boring as that is, it just brings in some of the... It hits some of the subconscious thoughts and comes up with all these ideas.

32:45Herdís StefánsdóttirYeah. 100%. I think we sometimes like forget just to be in the moment and experiencing life and, you know, you never know like how it affects you. It's like the phones are just such a like, ah. I mean, obviously we're all addicted to it and it's, it's a whole thing, but I think it can suck you into, you know... I think that's why time is going so, by so fast for everybody because we're just constantly getting information like, and for what? What's, what's the point?

33:13Jawad MirYeah. There's nothing you can do about it. I mean, maybe some cases, but not all the time.

33:17Herdís StefánsdóttirYeah.

33:18Jawad MirRight. But listen, this has been h… h… is it Her… Herd… Herdis that you pronounce your name as?

33:25Herdís StefánsdóttirHerdis.

33:25Jawad MirSorry?

33:26Herdís StefánsdóttirHerdis.

33:26Jawad MirHerdis.

33:27Herdís StefánsdóttirHerdis.

33:27Jawad MirHerdis. Herdis. I would love to... When is this, series, about the female prime minister coming out or president coming out?

33:36Herdís StefánsdóttirIt's coming in, December.

33:39Jawad MirI would love to chat with you again about that.

33:41Herdís StefánsdóttirYeah, absolutely. It's a, it's actually a very inspiring and beautiful story.

33:46Jawad MirWhat is it called? Is it, does it have a title yet?

33:49Herdís StefánsdóttirVigdis. Just her name.

33:50Jawad MirHow…

33:50Herdís StefánsdóttirVigdis

33:51Jawad Mir... How, spell that for me.

33:53Herdís StefánsdóttirV-I-G-D-I-S.

33:56Jawad MirV-I-G-T-I-S. Means…

33:58Herdís StefánsdóttirD-I-S. Like D like David.

34:01Jawad MirOkay. Is this gonna be on Netflix or is it gonna be just for local, like domestic ... Channel?

34:10Herdís StefánsdóttirI think it'll probably start out, premiering in Iceland, but, I don't know. I think it's a lot with like Icelandic film projects that sometimes they get picked up and sometimes not. Just depends on

34:25Jawad MirAnd the director of that is Baldvin? Is it Baldvin?

34:29Herdís StefánsdóttirNo. It's this, group called Vesturport. Which I worked with before, like really amazing, collective of artists. So there's a couple of directors on the series.

34:42Jawad MirYeah, no, the reason I a… said that name is I'm on Variety right now from January 2021, and it says, "Iceland's Baldvin Z turns to first female president in the world with Vigdis." I don't know if it's the same series or not. Probably not.

34:59Herdís StefánsdóttirOh, maybe he's producing or I'm, I'm not sure, but, he's definitely not directing it.

35:04Jawad MirOkay. So maybe it is the one four-part series, right?

35:07Herdís StefánsdóttirYeah.

35:08Jawad MirYeah, it's probably the one. So this, I mean, makes sense. It was announced back then and has probably like gone through production and post-production now, so.

35:16Herdís StefánsdóttirYeah.

35:16Jawad MirOkay. Yeah, I would love to chat with you on that. Let's, let's do that.

35:18Herdís StefánsdóttirYeah. Absolutely.

35:20Jawad MirWe will stay in touch and maybe we can do a episode on that in December when it comes out.

35:25Herdís StefánsdóttirGreat. Sounds good.