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The Duchess of Sussex ensured that every trade paper got an interview around her appearance in Sundance to premiere Cookie Queens. Cookie Queens is the documentary directed by Alysa Nahmias and executive produced by Meghan and Prince Harry. Meghan came on-board two years ago after being approached by Nahmias, who knew that Meghan had been a Girl Scout when she was younger. Meghan wanted to produce the doc because she loved the message behind it, that girls are learning about economics and commerce, goal-setting and how to make sales. She also just believes in the product (cookies). Well, Meghan and Nahmias sat down with Variety for a great interview. Some highlights:

Meghan’s favorite Girl Scout cookie: “Isn’t everyone’s Thin Mints? I prefer them crumbled on top of vanilla ice cream.”

Nahmias on the sleeper-hit cookie: “You know what the sleeper hit was? The Lemonade are amazing. It’s an iced lemon cookie, and it’s a really large cookie. You get your money’s worth with that one.”

Meghan on the message of Cookie Queens: “What’s so fantastic about the experience of being a Girl Scout — and my mom was my troop leader as well — is I don’t think you understand just how impactful all of those tools that you’re learning are going to carry through in your life later on outside of the community building. What I love about what Alysa did in bringing this film to life is it gives such an objective point of view about girlhood, humanity, but also how they’re leveraging technology, how they’re learning micro-finance, financial independence. All of these elements that are baked in — dare I say — to the tradition of the Girl Scouts’ cookie season.”

Nahmias on reaching out to Meghan: “We looked at who in the world has been a Girl Scout — women we admire, who are doing interesting things and that we respect. Meghan was on that short list early. When we first got to show her footage, the connection was really clear and meaningful. She got that this is about Girl Scout cookies, and it’s about so much more. An observational documentary is not something that everyone is willing to take a risk on — you don’t know how it’s going to end — and I really appreciated that.”

Meghan on seeing the footage two years ago: “We first saw that footage almost two years ago, and I couldn’t stop thinking about it. And in really wanting to support independent filmmakers through Archewell Productions, it felt like something where I knew where the hook was.”

Meghan’s sales method: “In many ways, the cookies can sell themselves, because they’re so good. But back then wasn’t the same. There was no social media to try to sell cookies. So, it was just smiling and being kind and knowing that you had entrepreneurial goals. I think targets and goals and learning metrics like that at a young age are really helpful for young girls who are oftentimes scared to talk about finance, math and economics in that way. The empowerment that happens early on is really key.

How Cookie Queens fits in with Archewell’s vision for the future: “It’s been key to focus on stories that resonate with people; things that are not necessarily the most topical and end up becoming something that is more topical. It’s not dissimilar to saying “Hide the vegetables.” When you see this film, you might not know what you’re going in to find, but, ultimately, you come out of it with so much more to talk about, to dissect and to really better understand each other. Everything, for us, is intertwined with community. So, when I saw the first few cuts of what Alyssa put together, I knew that really hit the nail on the head. This is such a prime example of the direction and the types of projects we want to support on the nonfiction side.

Meghan on what she learned doing ‘With Love, Meghan’: “Suits” was seven years for me, and then doing “With Love, Meghan” was 17 episodes of television in a year, with pre- and post-production. It is such an undertaking, and it makes me have even more respect for creatives who are throwing themselves into this every single day. From my standpoint, it’s an industry that I grew up in and that I know really well. And at the same time, it is such an exciting opportunity as an adult to find something that piques curiosity at every turn, and to continue to remind each other how we can be creative, how we can work as a team, how dedicated a crew is, building trust with the subjects of the film and their families. It’s multifaceted, but I’m just excited to continue to explore and play and have fun.

Returning to acting on “Close Personal Friends”: “It was great! It was a lot of fun. But that’s just the point, right? We continue to explore different ways to uplift and celebrate the entertainment industry and all the incredible pieces of work that are out there that people work so hard on — “Cookie Queens” being one of them. This is such an important piece of cinema to be able to share with people and I just know people are going to love it the same way you and I do.

[From Variety]

I haven’t tried the Lemonade cookie but now I’m curious. Honestly, since I’ve been writing about this doc, I’ve been craving some Tagalongs and I have no idea where the Girl Scouts in my area are selling cookies anymore!! As for everything else… this fits in perfectly with Archewell Productions’ general vibe – educational, inspirational, uplifting. Meghan and Harry aren’t going to end up producing some dark, dystopian, bummer projects, you know? What she says about WLM is so interesting because all of her haters have been screaming for days/weeks/months that WLM was a flop and that Netflix “canceled” it, when really, it’s always sounded like Meghan wanted to do something cute around entertaining and cooking, tried it out and then she was like “you know what, that’s a lot of work and I would rather spend that time building my business.”

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Photos courtesy of Getty.