Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Religious Music and Entertainment
Sean Anders Brings Own Adoption Experiences to ‘Instant Family’

Sean Anders Brings Own Adoption Experiences to ‘Instant Family’

Last updated on: November 17, 2018 at 2:22 pm by DeWayne Hamby

Sean Anders Brings Own Adoption Experiences to ‘Instant Family’ 2018-11-17T14:22:24-04:00 DeWayne Hamby

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

In the new comedy Instant Family starring Mark Wahlberg, Rose Byrne, Octavia Spencer, Tig Notaro, and Isabela Moner, a young couple encounters the world of foster care-adoption in hopes of starting a new family. Director Sean Anders (Daddy’s Home, Horrible Bosses 2), who wrote the screenplay with John Morris, drew upon his and his wife’s own experiences of adopting children. In this interview, he explains the real-world inspiration, whether or not the film is a “message movie” and the comedic timing of frequent collaborator Wahlberg.

Director Sean Anders and Mark Wahlberg on the set of Instant Family from Paramount Pictures.

I thought all the casting was just spot on. Everybody plays their role so perfectly. I really want a spin-off movie with Octavia and Tig, too.

Yeah, I kind of want to make a buddy cop movie with the two of them.

I know this film had to come from somewhere personal, because it just feels like it.

Well, my wife and I adopted three siblings out of foster care about seven years ago, and that obviously was the kind of defining decision of my lifetime. One thing that surprised me was that as we moved through the process, I didn’t know anything about it, how it worked and would tell friends and family about it, and it was all news to them as well. So I really wanted to tell that story because there’ve been a lot of adoptions in movies, but usually it’s kind of an afterthought. There’s rarely is there a social worker or a support group or any of the real things that you deal with. So I really wanted to tell a real kind of insider story about that.

Instant Family starring Mark Wahlberg and Rose Byrne releases Nov. 16 from Paramount Pictures.

What parts of the movie are kind of lifted from your own story? Are there characters, are there people that you encountered that were similar to the characters in the movie?

Yeah, many. There’s the family, which is not based on any real family members of ours, but are definitely inspired by different people. The social workers. We had social workers that were real odd couple in the way that Tig and Optavia are. We had so many of those experiences. In fact, the way that the movie begins with Pete (Wahlberg) making a joke and just saying, ‘I feel like I’m going to be an old dad. Why don’t we just adopt a five year-old and that will be like we got started five years ago?’ That’s how my family started. I just made that joke one day and my wife kind of ran with the idea that led us to an orientation and eventually adopting three kids.

The one piece that is different in our life, a very big part of the movie is that my wife and I did go to an adoption fair like they do in the movie and the teenagers were all kind of off by themselves like they are. My wife and I were really did not want to adopt the teenager; that was too scary for us and we didn’t feel prepared for that. We wound up meeting a teen girl just like they do in the film. We were very taken with and she had a younger brother and sister and we wound up matching with them. We were really terrified about that and kind of get ourselves prepared for that idea. Then a couple weeks later, our social worker called and said that it wasn’t gonna work out. It turned out that these kids had been in foster care for four years, and the teen girl really was holding out hope that her birth mom was still coming for her. So she chose not to accept the placement. That was where the Lizzie (Moner) character began, inspired by the adoption fair. We have no idea what really happened with her. So it started there and I really wanted to have a teenager involved in the story because there’s such a need for understanding there. What I did is I met with a lot of other families that adopted teenagers and I met with a lot of young women that had been adopted as teenagers. And their stories kind of coalesced into the Lizzie story.

Are you involved in adoption causes? Or was this something that just kind of centered around the movie?

It started around the movie because first I had my own real experience. Then we just kind of became a normal regular family. Later when the idea to make the movie came up, I started working with a social worker named Allison who was our consultant on the movie and started talking to her quite a bit. I was learning so many things that I didn’t know even being having been a part of the system. Meeting with all of these families and all of these girls who had been adopted, I just learned more and more and along the way. I was also meeting people who have different nonprofits or organizations. Now with the movie being finished, since we’ve started screening it for so many different places, I became much more ingrained in the whole community of it than I ever was before. And that’s actually been really wonderful.

I noticed also in the end credits where you have, you know, a website for people to get more information. Even though it’s an entertaining movie, it seems like it’s a pretty direct message to try to help solve this problem.

Well, you know, the idea behind it was to make a legitimately funny, entertaining movie comedy that people can just go to the multiplex on a Friday night and have a good time. But I really think any movie you go see, you know, whether it’s a Marvel movie or a, you know, or a Pixar movie or whatever, you’re going to take something home with you. Unless its a bad movie, then you’re going to maybe just take some anger with you (laughs).

Or lose a little money, too . . .

You’re going to leave some things behind as well (laughs). Yeah. What I hope that people take away from this movie is a little bit more of an understanding of how these families are made and how this and how this process works. More important than anything, I hope that people come away with a different attitude about how some of these kids are because of the fear about kids in the system of foster care in general, it brings to mind thoughts of fear and trepidation and pity and that kind of thing. I would love it if people come see the movie and it takes them on a more complete journey into the laughter and the love and the joy, that when they walk away from it, they just have a more positive attitude towards these kids are. At the end of the day, these kids are just kids, they need love. They need parents and they have love to give.

Did you have like an adjustment period when you, when you adopted?

We had a very difficult adjustment period. Yes. Really everyone does, because you know, you, you have to, you have to see it you’re inviting these people into your home who you don’t know and they don’t know you and you’re supposed to be their parents and they’re supposed to be your kids and you’re supposed to behave like this little family. And nobody really loves each other yet, so it creates all of this chaos and frustration and awkwardness. A lot of it creates a lot of really genuinely funny situation, which we sort of played off of the movie. But it also really is a difficult transition for. You have to just kind of weather your way through that. What is nice or at least in my experience—which was really wonderful—is that you get this opportunity that a lot of people don’t get, to fall in love with your kids. And when that happens, it’s a very special thing.

This is the latest in several projects you’ve done with Mark Wahlberg. You have a pretty good relationship with him. How has that developed over the years?

It’s been great. I mean, Mark is such a no-nonsense guy. He’s always hustling. He’s always working. He and I both like to work through our days quickly and keep the energy up on set. We both like to work with kids. I think we have a lot in common in that way. I know with Mark, whatever I throw at him, he’s going to be able to handle and do something great, whether it’s some kind of drama, something really heavy, or something really funny or something kind of screwy. Whatever it is, he’s got ears for all of it. Having Mark executing your dialogue, it’s sort of like driving a Ferrari. You just know that he could handle whatever you throw at him.

Is there anything else you’d like to mention about the film?

I think the main thing that I really want to get across to people is what I was saying before that this movie is not medicine, it’s not a public service announcement. It’s a comedy and it’s a funny movie and I think it’s be a good time at the movies, but you might walk away with it with a little bit better understanding that you had when you walked in.

Instant Family, directed by Sean Anders, releases Nov. 16 from Paramount Pictures.

Previous Post

November 2, 2018

TRAILER: First Look at Kendrick Brothers' 'Overcomer'

Next Post

November 15, 2018 REVIEW: 'Instant Family' is a Hilarious, Endearing, Feel-Good Comedy

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Comics Movies Music Plays and Musicals Podcasts Television Uncategorized

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 September 2015 July 2015 March 2015 November 2014 September 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 May 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 February 2012 December 2011 November 2011 August 2011 July 2011 March 2011 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 April 2006 February 2006 December 2005 October 2005 September 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 February 2005

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What did John see coming down from heaven in Revelation 21?

Select your answer to see how you score.

The New Jerusalem The four horsemen The Ark of the Covenant A chariot of fire