Kate Winslet is one of Hollywood's most accalimed actors, and now she's testing her skills as a director with the new Christmas film "Goodbye June." She sat down with "CBS Saturday Morning" to discuss the challenges of the new role after so many years in front of the camera.

Hollywood

Kate Winslet, known for her acclaimed acting career, has made her directorial debut with the film Goodbye June. In an interview, Winslet discussed the challenges she faced stepping into the director's role, including managing a cast of seasoned actors and children, and adapting her directing style to suit each performer. 

The film, shot in London and featuring actors such as Helen Mirren and Toni Collette, was completed on time and on budget. Winslet credited her years in the film industry for preparing her for the demands of directing and emphasized her desire to encourage more women to take on leadership roles in filmmaking.

Kate Winslet on the challenges of making her directorial debut

She made her breakthrough screen debut at the age of 19 in the acclaimed true crime tale, Heavenly Creatures. Since then, she's built a stellar career, becoming one of Hollywood's biggest stars. And now Oscar and Emmy winning actor, Kate Winslet, has directed her first film. She showed our Elizabeth Palmer the location for her latest movie, Goodbye June, and sat down to talk about the challenges of the new role. I love watching the snow fall. Maybe if I'm lucky, I'll come back as snow. It's just before Christmas, and June is dying. So her family has gathered to say goodbye. You don't mind if I die, do you, darling? Kate Winslet is one of the stars of this movie, but the real thrill for her was directing. Mom, no, no, Mom. Mom, of course I don't mind. I just thought what an idiot I would be if I didn't actually do that thing that I'm trying to encourage so many other women to do, step into these leadership positions and work towards changing the culture around female filmmakers. I thought, my God, if I only ever do it this once in my life, at least I can say that I've done it. And I did it. And I never wanted it to finish. I loved it. At the premiere in London earlier this month, we met the movie's screenwriter, 21-year-old Joe Andrews. When I wrote the script, I actually never, I never wrote it with the intention of it being made into anything, or I never thought it would be made into anything. But the director, his mother, had other ideas and pulled together a galaxy of top acting talent to do it, including the great Helen Mirren, whose participation at first was a long shot. She said, I do have two personal rules. I will never play someone with dementia, and I won't play someone who has cancer. And I said, okay, I absolutely understand. Don't worry. She said, send me the script anyway. Just please do send it. And then a week later, she sent me an email saying, I'll break my rule. I'd love to support you. I think it's a wonderful story. And I couldn't believe it. Goodbye June was shot in London, partly in the abandoned Ravenscourt Park Hospital, where we met Winslet. It was here in this hallway that one of the movie's pivotal scenes played out. Yeah, we were a little bit further down. So we started, Andrea starts the scene just shy of that heater on the wall. Always helpful having Gerry around. The point is, you've got a choice. I wish I could stay at home with my kids. I've never died before. I wanna look nice when it happens. The experience of Winslet the performer shaped Winslet the director's style. At times she stepped right back and left the actors alone on set with only the camera. Great actors who each posed a different challenge. They all needed something really different from me. Very, very markedly different from me. You know, Toni Collette, for example, sometimes I could just say to her, this entire floor space is all yours. And she'd go. And she would just do it. The magic would happen. Whereas the way that I would have to be with Helen was very different to how it would be with Andrea, for example. How did you have to be with Helen? Practical and Andrea, Andrea is just quite private. The character Winslet plays is Julia, a busy working woman and mother burdened with guilt. Helen's therapy. It's a key scene. So how did she know when she got it right? I do it all. If the director is acting, do you then finish the scene, go check it out? If the director is acting, the director then turns to everyone else in the room and says, was that any good? I would just literally ask, I would ask anyone. I mean, I'd be like, just tell me, seriously. Fisayo Akinare plays June's wise, kind nurse. Best to keep things simple. One day he says he saw Winslet acting and directing at the same time. She was in tears during, in the scene and she was directing me at the same time as acting. So she was in tears going, can you just come here and say this line while still crying and staying in it? And I was like, this is the greatest thing I've ever seen. It was amazing. Winslet made her directorial debut with a cast of pros. And action. But also plenty of kids and a tight shooting schedule. She says her years in the film industry prepared her for the challenge. I think having grown up largely in the public eye and moving into this industry from a young age, I had to develop a resilience and a resourcefulness just to be able to cope with how strange the business can be, how unkind the media sometimes was to me. I had to grow a backbone really early on. Kate Winslet finished Goodbye June on time and on budget. But asked what she'd do for an encore, she wouldn't commit. Why are you sounding so uncertain that you may do this again? I mean, you loved it. You've produced a wonderful film. I'll tell you why it is. I think it is because I've really learned to live for today. And it's not because I fear anything or fear death. It's nothing to do with that, nothing morbid. But tomorrow only happens if you really live for today. For CBS Saturday Morning, I'm Elizabeth Palmer in London. Gotta see that movie. It looks so powerful. And to hear about how Kate Winslet was acting and directing at the same time, telling the other actor what to do while still staying in the moment, crying as an actor, incredible. And then being able to step back and let those legendary actors and actresses just do their thing. Yeah, and finished on time and on budget. Yes, way to go.

The Justice Department released more documents related to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein on Saturday after failing to meet Friday's deadline to release all the documents, as required by the law signed by President Trump last month. The Justice Department said the delay was, in part, to ensure that victims' information was protected.

Washington

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Caracas

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Damascus

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Ukraine Invasion

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Taipei City

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Providence

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Washington County

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Moscow

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Salem

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Council of the City of Sydney

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Beijing

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Brussels

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Los Angeles

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Breakdown