Julianne Moore Calls Jesse Eisenberg's 'The Debut' One of the Best Scripts She's Read

Julianne Moore told a packed Royal Festival Hall on Sunday night that Jesse Eisenberg's "The Debut" is "one of the best scripts I've ever read in my entire life." The film closed the London Film Festival hours before it confirmed a Dec. 11 theatrical release via A24.

Eisenberg wrote and directed the musical comedy and appeared onstage with Moore to introduce it. "I mean, this movie stars my favorite person, Julianne Moore," he said. "But ironically, strangely, it's the story of my life."

Moore plays Mona Friedman, a shy New Jersey housewife who auditions for her local theater's production of a fictional musical, "Nosy Neighbors." Cast in the supporting role of Miss Danielle, Friedman watches her life unravel as the part consumes her and she falls under the spell of director Jerry Blankenbuehler, played by Paul Giamatti.

How personal is the story?

Eisenberg said he started doing community theater at age 7, when he was "7 years old and miserable," and that it changed his life. "I wanted to write about that experience in my life, but I could only picture Julianne, to the point where I was writing it and she was inspiring me," he said. "It's the most thrilling experience to watch her and edit her for two years."

Moore called the film an "incredible gift." "It was such an honor to receive it and such a thrill to go to work every day and to get to do this incredible part with these tremendous actors," she said, adding that Eisenberg is "a beautiful writer, exemplary director and just a great talent."

Eisenberg's reply: "I just want to note that the only time I'm called beautiful, it's about writing."

Who else is in it?

The cast includes:

• Paul Giamatti as director Jerry Blankenbuehler
• Eisenberg himself, alongside Halle Bailey, Colton Ryan and Bonnie Milligan as actors in the musical
• Bernadette Peters, Lilli Cooper, Maulik Pancholy and Havana Rose Liu in supporting roles

Giamatti did not attend; Eisenberg said he has COVID-19. "I wish he could be here. He is the greatest guy and you would love to hear him talk," Eisenberg said. "Paul's been my favorite actor since I'm young, Julianne's been my favorite actress since I'm young."

Acting with his childhood heroes was "the thrill of a lifetime" and also "very strange," Eisenberg said. He compared it to Michael Jordan handing him the ball. "I hope to never act alongside them again," he joked. "I was my worst self."

What does the festival close mean for the film's prospects?

The premiere leaned fully into its theatrical premise: each guest found a fake Playbill for "Nosy Neighbors" on their seat, and the screening drew audible laughter and several rounds of applause for Moore's campy performance. That reception tracks with the film's earlier launch. "The Debut" premiered at Telluride Film Festival last month, earning rave reviews and Oscar buzz for Moore.

Variety's chief film critic Owen Gleiberman wrote: "'The Debut,' a small-town-theater comedy rooted in big ideas, is a funny and dizzying mind-bender. It's like 'Waiting for Guffman' made by the Coen brothers at their most rivetingly unhinged."

Whether the buzz survives to December is the open question. What is certain: A24 gives the film a wide test with audiences on Dec. 11.