How has directing The Invite made Olivia Wilde 'more romantic'?

Olivia Wilde says that directing The Invite has made her so "much more romantic".

The 42-year-old actress and filmmaker directs and stars in the comedy drama movie - in which a couple in a rocky marriage (Wilde and Seth Rogen) see a dinner party with their neighbours (Penelope Cruz and Edward Norton) spiral into unexpected places - and explained that the story has inspired her to adopt a less cynical outlook on affairs of the heart.

Speaking at the Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland, Wilde said: "It’s melted the cynic out of me.

"I have spoken to people who have been through so much with their partners, and people have been in marriages for 40, 50, 60 years. They told me it was a very honest depiction of their own experience of really having several relationships with the same person."

Wilde explained that she is surprised at the way The Invite has captured the imagination of younger viewers.

The Don't Worry Darling director said: "I did not think we were making this movie for all ages. I thought that this would probably hit people in a very specific part of their lives that were somewhere similar to our parts of lives, and then I’ve been blown away by meeting all these young people.

"In the States, our biggest audience is under 35, and a huge chunk of them are in their twenties.

"Their questions are not based in regret. They’re based in hope, and I have just been blown away by how advanced, how mature these audience members are in terms of the way they’re thinking about who they want to be individually, who they want to be in relationship to someone else. It’s made me less cynical across the board."

She continued: "In terms of the reality of cinema today and the theatrical landscape, in terms of romance and whether or not it’s dead, in terms of young people and their appetite for adult kinds of storytelling, this whole experience has made me much more optimistic."

Wilde revealed that she had pushed hard for the movie to be released in cinemas following its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year.

She said: "It’s an ancient part of our culture as humans. We used to gather and tell stories, and laugh together – for thousands of years. But comedies have been relegated to this second tier that didn’t deserve theatres.

"I have the benefit of hearing from audiences and hearing how cathartic they have found it to laugh at some of these things and to laugh with strangers, which is why we fought for theatrical."

The House actress added: “We felt the film had that chemical reaction with the audience. I thought: 'This was magic, we have to listen to this and fight for it.'

"If you don’t fight for it, they 'bribe' you to not take theatrical. But we were really lucky that our financier gave me the opportunity to make this decision, which is something I don’t take lightly."