Carey Mulligan and Margot Robbie know each other, having worked together on Emerald Fennell’s “Promising Young Woman,” which Mulligan starred in and Robbie produced through her company, LuckyChap Entertainment. So when they sit down to discuss their recent projects — Mulligan’s turn in “She Said” as Megan Twohey, the New York Times reporter whose investigative work with Jodi Kantor helped bring down Harvey Weinstein, and Robbie’s portrayal in “Babylon” of Nellie LaRoy, a self-destructive silent film star — it’s like watching two old friends chatting. During the conversation, Mulligan talks about getting to know Twohey, and Robbie gives insight into working with Damien Chazelle on the wild provocation that is “Babylon.” Naturally, Robbie’s upcoming summer film, “Barbie,” by way of Greta Gerwig, also comes up.
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Carey Mulligan: I have lots of questions about “Babylon.” Actually, on “Maestro,” which I just finished, I was talking to Steve Morrow, the sound guy, and he was like, “I worked on ‘Babylon.’ It’s incredible.”
Margot Robbie: It’s mad! I mean, when I read the script, I was like, this is like “La Dolce Vita” and “Wolf of Wall Street” had a baby — and I love it. But I was like, are we allowed to show that? Are we allowed to show that? I mean, there were so many scenes where I was like, a) I have no idea how I’m going to do that, and b) are we going to get away with this?
Mulligan: How close is the finished film to when you first read the script?
Robbie: Pretty close. As is the case with a lot of writer-directors, Damien’s not finding it in the edit; he has a vision. And because he’s so musically gifted, I think even the rhythm of it felt evident on the page, and then totally translated.
Mulligan: The music is so amazing. I watched it with my mum, and she was …
Robbie: What’d she think? Oh, my God.
Mulligan: It’s a fun one to see with your mum.
Robbie: Everyone should see “Babylon” with their parents. It won’t be awkward at all.
Mulligan: I sent my mum, years ago, with my boyfriend of probably two months, now husband, to go see “Shame” together. It was, yeah, rough.
Robbie: That’s an icebreaker.
Mulligan: But, no, she loved “Babylon.” So the whole first sequence is a giant party — with an elephant. How much of the elephant was real? Don’t ruin cinema for me.
Robbie: The elephant wasn’t real.
Robbie: She seems like a badᴀss. What she’s done is insane.
Mulligan: It’s amazing. And the work that they did in developing these relationships with the survivors who ultimately came forward — whether they went on the record or not — it did seem like, gosh, there’s this group of women who did this really heroic thing. I’ve been describing it to my kids because they’re seeing billboards. And they’re like, “What’s ‘She Said’?” 
“We can watch it when you’re 40, but it’s about these women who were being bullied by a man. And they were being bullied for a long time. And it was really unfair, and they decided they were going to do something about it. So they all came together, and they stood up to him. He was held accountable.”
Robbie: That is a great way to explain it.
Mulligan: And I just thought, “That’s it.” More examples of that, please. More examples in the world of how women can come together and be really strong.
Robbie: And did you get to spend time with Megan?