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Natasha Lyonne and Rian Johnson on Why ‘Poker Face’ Scared Hollywood Execs, Ignoring Internet Hate and How the Show Is a Bold ‘Act of Feminism’

'Poker Face' team Rian Johnson and Natasha Lyonne on scaring Hollywood execs, ignoring internet hate and why Charlie Cale is an 'act of feminism.'

She’s apologizing because when you get her and Johnson (whom she calls “RiRi JJ”) in the same room, they can bounce off each other for minutes on end, hopscotching between topics — from John Candy to howling wolves to fax machines. Under showrunner Tony Tost, the series managed to turn rural New York into Florida, but one idea that proved too logistically difficult was “doing shitty ‘Murder on the Orient Express,’” says Johnson, whose “Knives Out” movies pay homage to Agatha Christie. “For a female character to be led by a philosophical concept, or an ethical soul journey, is a really bold act by one of our greatest living auteurs, who happens to be a guy,” Lyonne adds, tilting her head at Johnson.

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