WHEN Alana Haim opened an email from film director Paul Thomas Anderson a few years ago, she had no idea it would contain a script for a unique new film, Licorice Pizza, – written by Anderson with Haim in mind for the lead character.
"There was this untitled Word document that I opened, and it was the first script I had ever read in my life," recalls LA native Haim (30), the youngest of three sisters who make up the American pop/rock band Haim.
"I mean, me and my sisters don't get sent scripts – we're musicians. I read it and all the scenes really just jumped off the page, and I couldn't put it down, and it was so exciting even just written; I was excited to see the film just be made."
Directed by Anderson (Boogie Nights, Magnolia, Phantom Thread) who has also directed music videos for Haim and become a close family friend, some scenes are based on real-life from stories the star had told him. Yet she confides that she still didn't expect to actually be in the film.
"Paul thinks that I'm crazy, like, 'Your name was on the script, a lot of the stories that you've told me in your life was in the movie, but you didn't think that I was gonna ask you?'
"But I would never just assume anything. I had hoped that maybe he would ask me to play Alana; I was just such a fan of it. And I called him very jet-lagged in London after I had read it, and we talked about maybe could I ever think about playing Alana and I was like, 'Of course! Are you kidding me?'
"Then I read it three more times after I hung up the phone with him because I was just so excited."
Set in LA's San Fernando Valley in 1973, Licorice Pizza follows listless 20-something photography assistant Alana Kane (Haim) and high schooler/wannabe actor Gary Valentine (Cooper Hoffman, son of the late Philip Seymour Hoffman).
Gary tries to impress this alluring older woman with stories of him being a working actor, and a friendship begins. As Gary tries his hand at being a budding entrepreneur, Alana – who seems lost and unsure about her future – starts working alongside him, and they become closer.
A coming-of-age tale about self-discovery and first loves, Licorice Pizza is an amusing, vibrant and romantic watch, featuring appearances from Hollywood stars Sean Penn and Bradley Cooper.
The film is also a bit of a family affair: Alana's sisters Este and Danielle and their parents Donna and Mordechai, known as Moti, also star in the film as Alana's on-screen family.
The Haims are Jewish and one comedic scene in the film is based on true events from the Haim household.
"I remember telling Paul that story a long time ago," explains the actor.
"Then he was like, 'Can you send me a voice note of that story that you told me about Shabbat dinner?'. Getting the script and seeing, almost word for word, my depiction of the night was in it – it's so funny seeing it now."
And while all the cast is great to watch, it has to be said that Moti, in particular, is quite the scene-stealer.
"Oh, I know!" exclaims Haim.
"He's incredible. And that's my favourite part of the movie, is having people watch my dad because he had no idea what he was doing – that was just fully improv.
"We knew the scenario, but there wasn't a script that was like, 'And now your dad will say this'; it was really just Paul talking to my dad and saying, 'Just see what comes out'.
"And my dad is so funny without even knowing that he's funny, which is the best part about it."
:: Licorice Pizza is in cinemas from January 1.
