At one point in Materialists, Celine Song’s new film about a matchmaker torn between the perfect guy and her struggling ex, Lucy (Dakota Johnson) goes to see a play with her new boyfriend (Pedro Pascal). The idea for the movie sparked during Song’s six-month stint as a matchmaker, in 2016. “I needed a day job because I couldn’t pay my rent,” she says. Her writing wasn’t bringing in enough, yet without any experience, she couldn’t get a job in retail or hospitality. Then, at a party, someone encouraged her to apply for matchmaking, and Song got hooked. “I’m obsessed with people and intimacy and connections.” —Nadine Zylberberg