Interview with Adam Elliot about Mary and Max

Editorial

Mary and Max tells the story of the lifelong friendship of unlikely pen-pals Mary Dinkle (voiced by Bethany Whitmore and Toni Collette), a lonely, eight year-old living in the suburbs of Melbourne, and Max Horovitz (Philip Seymour Hoffman), a 44 year-old obese Jewish man with Asperger's Syndrome, living in New York City.

It's a story of friendship - of love and acceptance 'warts and all' and a celebration of the things that make us different as well as the special qualities that make us the same. Narrated by Barry Humphries, the movie is set in the suburbs of Glen Waverly - home to Mary, and the chaos of New York City, where Max lives.

As you watch the movie it becomes clear why it took so long to make and what a labour of love it was for its creator Adam Elliot who wrote and directed it, and Melanie Coombs, who produced it. Citysearch caught up with the pair to discuss their long and slow burning collaborative partnership (two movies together over ten years and one Oscar later) and some of the challenges of almost a year's shooting in the making of Mary and Max.

You can watch our interview here!