Taylor Swift was one of the highlights this weekend at the Tribeca Festival for a Q&A with filmmaker Mike Mills about her short film All Too Well, based of course on the extended version of her hit “All Too Well” that was released last November on her recorded album Red: Taylor’s Version. In case you forgot, but how could you, the song is long believed to be about her relationship with Jake Gyllenhaal. And while she did not discuss its inspiration during the event, she did bring out two surprise guests – Dylan O’Brien and Sadie Sink who play Jake and Taylor (presumably) in the film. It wouldn’t be Taylor if there was no surprise, right? And, on top of that, she performed the full-length version of the song. Swifties, then, were well fed. 

 

Taylor talked about directing her own music videos and how that became the catalyst for telling this story. She addressed the difficult experience of “not [being] able to own my own work”, which we all know is a reference to the fight over her masters with Scooter Braun and Scott Borchetta, and how the pain from that has led to a creative burst. 

“It was a very hard time for me,” she said of the loss of control over her master recordings. “A lot of my hardest moments and moments of extreme grief or loss were galvanized into what my life looks like now.”

At the same time, she also acknowledged that there are so many female artists who don’t have anywhere near the same opportunities she did to bounce back and write her own reclamation: 

“I’m extremely aware of my privilege when it comes to being a female film-maker, because I was able to finance this film myself,” she noted. “I have to constantly be aware that as much as it’s an exciting challenge to do this, I also understand it’s extremely hard for women to make films and always keeping one eye on that reality, it’s how lucky I am to even get to go near a camera.”

 

I know she was speaking extemporaneously but I appreciate the way she worded this. “I have to be constantly aware” – this is something we can all take away, even though we have few things in common with someone like Taylor Swift. For those who have privilege, and there are different degrees of it obviously, it has to be constantly checked, it’s never a one-and-done situation. 

Also at the event, Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds were seen arriving to support their friend. And many have pointed out that Taylor’s outfit appears to be a nod to Blake’s style vibe in A Simple Favour. 

 

Blake’s wardrobe in ASF, and her wardrobe promoting the film too, was outstanding. It’s one of the reasons to look forward to the sequel. As for Ryan, he’s produced another viral commercial for Aviation Gin with a special guest star, Nick Cannon. 

I mean, I get the humour but at the same time, there’s a lot that’s unfunny about how Nick has gone about his procreating. And while Ryan and Nick are making Nick the butt of the joke, it’s not my favourite of his ads. It doesn’t quite leave the taste that I think he’d be hoping for?