At this year’s Newport Beach Film Festival, I had the opportunity to interview the cast and creators of Adult Children on the red carpet, one of the festival’s featured films. Written by Annika Marks and directed by Rich Newey, Adult Children takes a heartfelt and humorous look at what it really means to grow up.
The story follows Morgan, a sheltered 17-year-old trying to define who she is while writing her college essay. When an unexpected crisis brings her together with her much older half-siblings, she hopes they can guide her into adulthood — only to find they’re just as lost as she is.
I had the chance to speak with Betsy Brandt (Lisa), Thomas Sadoski (Josh), Mimi Rogers (Mimi), along with writer Annika Marks and director Rich Newey, who shared their insights on the film’s relatable themes and creative process.
After its world premiere at the Bentonville Film Festival on June 19, 2025, Adult Children earned the Special Jury Award for Best Ensemble — a testament to its authentic performances and strong storytelling.
Check out the full Q&A here:
Mimi Rogers
Ruchel: What was it about Adult Children that drew you to this project?
Mimi Rogers: Well, I read the script and was thoroughly entertained. I just thought it was beautifully written and so real — all the elements of the family and the things they go through. So, you know, being offered the chance to play the mother of this group of people — that was an easy yes.
Ruchel: How does this role challenge or differ from anything you’ve done before?
Mimi Rogers: I don’t think I’ve ever had four adult children, so it was kind of fun having to shepherd a brood.
Ruchel: So, the title Adult Children suggests themes of growth, responsibility, and nostalgia. How have those themes resonated with you personally?
Mimi Rogers: In so many ways. The youngest sibling, my daughter Morgan, is only 17 and just getting ready to go off to college. The experience she goes through with her three older siblings — watching her kind of have the veil lifted from her eyes and start to become an adult through the film — leads her to a greater understanding that it’s all just humanity, and nobody has all the answers.
Ruchel: How do you feel being part of the Newport Beach Film Festival?
Mimi Rogers: Very excited! I drove down from my house — I’ve been to Newport Beach before, but never to the festival. It’s such a beautiful environment, just physically so beautiful.
Thomas Sadoski
Ruchel: How do you feel about being here in Newport Beach, with your film showing at the festival? Is this your first time at the Newport Beach Film Festival?
Thomas Sadoski: It is my first time at Newport — but it definitely won’t be my last. I’m absolutely enjoying every second of it down here. It’s such a wonderful experience, and Newport’s an amazing place.
Ruchel: So, what do you hope the audience will take away from this movie?
Thomas Sadoski: You know what, I just want people to feel a little happier when they leave the movie than when they walked in. We did a really good job of that — it’s a labor of love, and you can really feel that love come through. By the end, I think people just feel a little bit better about everything than they did when they first sat down.
Betsy Brandt
Ruchel: How do you feel about being here at the Newport Beach Film Festival?
Betsy Brandt: This is my first time — not to Newport Beach, since I live in L.A. — but my first time at the festival, and it’s incredibly fun. There are a lot of familiar faces; everyone’s really happy to be here. It’s a gorgeous day in Southern California, and we’re right by the ocean. And I love this movie. It’s very personal to me, and I’m really, really excited to see it on the big screen.
Ruchel: What do you hope audiences will take away after seeing Adult Children?
Betsy Brandt: I hope they can relate to it — because it’s about a family, and we all have a family. The good, the bad, and everything in between. I hope it feels relatable, but also inspirational — like this family, they lift each other up… and sometimes not so much. It’s everything that comes with being part of a family, right? Whether you want it or not. You see each other at your best and your worst, but you love each other through it all — and they love you, too. I’ve had arguments with my siblings, and then I’m like, “Okay, I love you.” It’s just… it’s always there. It’s forever.
Annika Marks (Writer) and Rich Newey (Director)
Ruchel: How do you feel about being part of the Newport Beach Film Festival again?
Annika Marks: We feel so incredibly lucky. This festival really invests so many resources into making filmmakers feel like they’re part of something special — and in connecting us all to each other.
Rich Newey: We’ve made a lot of friends here.
Annika Marks: And we’ve met filmmakers who are so incredibly successful, along with student filmmakers who are just starting out. It’s such a wonderful thing when you can come to a festival and meet people at so many different points in their own journeys.
Ruchel: And speaking of meeting people, is there any specific filmmaker or actor you’d love to meet or collaborate with in the future?
Annika Marks: We’ve gotten to collaborate with so many of our favorite artists already — and that’s honestly the best part. There are actors here that we’ve admired for so long, and then we wrote them into our projects… and they said yes! So, I just hope things like that keep happening for us, you know?
Ruchel: How do you resonate with the characters in the movie?
Annika Marks: Well, I wrote the film and Rich directed it, so it’s very personal to both of us.
Rich Newey: For me, my way in was through Morgan — the youngest sibling — and her perspective of looking up to her older siblings and trying to figure out how to fit in. That’s exactly how I felt when I first met Annika’s family. I come from a small family, and she comes from a big one, so I was also trying to find my place. That’s really how I connected to this story.
Ruchel: What do you want the audience to feel after watching the movie?
Annika Marks: I think ultimately, we hope people walk away feeling that you can rely on family to get through anything. We have a lot of fun in this film — we go to some dark places — but at its core, it’s really about love.
Rich Newey: I’d also say that all sorts of things happen in life, and you get to choose how you frame them — just like one of our characters says in the film.
Adult Children beautifully captures the messiness and magic of family life — the laughter, the disagreements, and the unconditional love that holds it all together. Through Annika Marks’ heartfelt writing and Rich Newey’s thoughtful direction, the film delivers a relatable and deeply human story that lingers long after the credits roll. It’s a touching reminder that no matter how grown-up we become, family remains the foundation that shapes who we are.
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