Actress Judy Greer joined "Salon Talks" to discuss her directorial debut, "A Happening of Monumental Proportions," a comedy-drama hitting theaters September 21. Greer, who is known for acting roles in "Arrested Development," "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," "Jurassic World," and soon the new "Halloween" says she chose the script as her maiden directing effort because it was relatable and funny.

"I thought the story was really beautiful: it made me laugh, but it also made me feel something," Greer told Salon's Alli Joseph. "I loved the idea that these two men have experienced such intense loss, but they don't know it until the end of the movie… the things we have in common that we never really know."

"A Happening of Monumental Proportions" has multiple, simultaneous plotlines reminiscent of past hits like "Magnolia" and "Crash" and stars Common, Jennifer Garner and Allison Janney. Greer said she has always liked this sort of storytelling as an audience member. "It speaks to me because we all live our own separate lives in our own bubbles, and we sometimes don't stop and take a look back and see how we all interact."

Greer continued, "As we go about our day, all the people who you interact with, that you run into, that you talk to, even in passing, even at Starbucks or a coffee shop...that are also having their own day, their own problems, their own successes. I like the idea that we are all a little closer together than we think."

Watch the video above to learn about Greer's early years growing up in Michigan with parents, who still worry about her success as an actress, how she sees acting versus directing as a woman in today's Hollywood, and who in the cast of "A Happening of Monumental Proportions" crashed an ambulance on set.


Photography by Jill Greenberg. Watch Jill's TedxTalk on the Female Lens and the problem with only seeing the world from a man's perspective. And find out more about Jill's initiative Alreadymade., a mission to hire more female photographers and content creators.