The Sheep Detectives, Regina Hall Interview

I'm actually a big fan of Craig Mazin's writing. And and so, um, when I got the script and I read it, I thought it was so fun and so smart and also really kind of emotional and moving. So the first thing that attracted me was the script and then of course, um, the cast. I mean it had such an amazing cast, so I was excited to be a part of it.

When I read it, I thought it was so sweet and I don't know, so hopeful and magical, even though, you know, there was sadness because they did love their beloved, their their George. So I had a mix of emotions, all of them amazing and all of them really hopeful and, um, it made me smile, oh so much at the end. And throughout, because they're quite funny. I never... I think what I loved is how much personality each, each sheep had.

It's basically, um, a shepherd. He has perished. And every night, um, he would read a murder mystery to his sheep, to his flock. And unbeknownst to him and to everyone else, they actually, they can communicate. They talk with each other and they would talk afterwards about solving this, this mystery that he would read to them, George. And so when George finally meets an untimely, um, ending and he is murdered, the sheep decide because they don't have faith in the, the detective, in the police, they decide that they're going to take matters into their own wool hands and they're going to solve the murder. And so, um, Cloud is a part of the flock. And so, I don't know how much she offers, um, in terms of solving the murder, but she does offer her insight so that they can, you know, they can basically get justice for George.

He's so supportive and any questions I had about, well what's the intention of this, uh, character and what is this scene and, you know, what are... what am I trying to say? It was great because he could offer the insight, he could lead me into it by reading some of the other characters because, you know, he knew the voices in his head so well. So having him there was really... it was a, a great bonus and an asset, so I was, I was happy he was able to come out and do that.

The cast in this film is so amazing. I mean there's so many people, I, I am hesitant to name them because there's not one person in the cast, um, that I'm not a huge fan of. I mean obviously I love Emma Thompson, I love Hugh Jackman, I love, um, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who is the smartest one of us. I don't know how I feel about that, but apparently she's smarter than Cloud. But to see the sheep and to picture the voices of the actors who I love, um, I can't wait. I think it's going to be a real treat.

That's also what's so compelling is that they do speak, oh, you know, and Cloud, unfortunately, she does speak against that lamb, the Winter Lamb. Um, but when he comes into the fold and receives so much love, I think that's a lesson for all of us, you know, for how... how do we misjudge or prejudge things because they're different? And, um, not just the fact that we do it, but what could we do to change it? And when we make that change, how can we do to embrace... what can we do to embrace that which is different so that we realize, wow, we have a lot more in common than we don't. And so, um, I think the Winter Lamb is really special, but I think what it symbolizes is even bigger.

You know it's grounded, I think the tone in the film is very grounded. I mean the comedy is not incredibly broad, but it's, you know, I think that's what makes Craig such an incredible writer, is to write for the humans all around and the voice of these sheep who we come, um, to really have feelings for because they do have such real personalities and concerns that we may not have, like leaving the pasture, but that we certainly can understand. And I think because it's rooted in what we think about sheep or what we think we know about them and then the truth of what we know about people, it's grounded, and yet, you know, we kind of get to laugh at, um, things that we couldn't laugh if someone else were murdered, you know? So it's kind of like he takes this dark subject and he's able to wrap it in this, you know, smart, witty and kind of humorous way.