Margaret Qualley and Talia Ryder can’t stop gushing over each other during our call. “I’ve made some of my best friends from this experience, which is rare at this point in my life. Notably, Talia.” Qualley said from the get-go. It’s clear the bond they made while filming Ethan Coen’s whodunit dark comedy Honey Don’t! bloomed into a real friendship (and more personal creative realms). Out of that chemistry came Lace Manhattan and Dixie Normus.
It all began in late June, just ahead of the film’s release, when two mysterious Instagram accounts suddenly appeared: @lacemanhattan and @d1x1enormus. The faces were unmistakable—Qualley and Ryder—but the names? Lace Manhattan and Dixie Normus. And who were they supposed to be, exactly? The answer revealed itself soon after, when the accounts began teasing two original tracks—“ODDWADD” and “In The Sun She Lies”—co-written by Ethan Coen, produced by Qualley’s husband Jack Antonoff, and performed by Qualley’s musical alter ego, Lace Manhattan. Both songs appear on the Honey Don’t! soundtrack (in theaters August 22), with music videos directed by Ryder under the moniker Dixie Normus.
The first track, “ODDWADD”, is a pulsing burst of electro-pop built on a loop of “We are three, we are seven, we are three, we are seven” / “We all swam into the sea” / “We are odd wad wankers.” In the accompanying black-and-white music video (also co-starring Ryder), the girls dance in matching babydoll sets, mirroring each other with a precision only ex-dance competition kids could pull off. The sister track “In The Sun She Lies” is moodier, a hazy Lana Del Rey-esque daydream wrapped in the soft strum of acoustic guitars. The music video shows Lace (Qualley) in angel wings and pink joggers, wandering seemingly lost around a gloomy New York. After finding each other, they hold on tight and sway on top of a rooftop.
This musical project was born on the set of Honey Don’t!, the second chapter in Coen’s lesbian trilogy following 2024’s Drive-Away Dolls (in which Margaret also starred). The film casts Qualley as Honey O’Donahue, a small-town private investigator unraveling a string of mysterious deaths tied to a bizarre church in Bakersfield, California, presided over by an unhinged, mostly half-dressed preacher played by Chris Evans. With occasional backup from police officer MG Falcone (Aubrey Plaza), Honey navigates a series of increasingly wild turns that defy easy summary without spoiling the fun. Ryder plays Honey’s rebellious niece, while Charlie Day, Billy Eichner, and Kristen Connolly round out the ensemble.
Together, Coen, Antonoff, Ryder, and Qualley expanded the film’s offbeat, neo-noir spirit into a fully fledged musical side project that beckons a wider audience to fall to its knees.
Naturally, V wanted the full story, so we got Margaret and Talia on the line to tell us more.
V Magazine: How did you both prepare to bring your characters to life?
Talia Ryder: I thought back on my own time as an angsty teenager. It’s as simple as that. Not too hard to reach from. It was a pretty easy connection to make.
Margaret Qualley: Honey lives kind of this elevated life, like aspirational in terms of the way that she speaks, how she carries herself, how she dresses. I turned to a lot of old movies like The Long Goodbye, Fat City, and The Maltese Falcon—those classic performances from Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall—and I tried to soak up as much of their swag as I could.
TR: Actually, that made me think I didn’t just think of my own memories. I was listening to a lot of rock music and watching a lot of female rock performers. I got really obsessed with this band called Fanny—but Margaret’s songs are better anyway.
V: Honey Don’t! is the second narrative feature from Ethan Coen and Tricia Cooke, and serves as a kind of sister movie to Drive-Away Dolls (2024). Director Ethan Coen has said these films will be a trilogy. Did you always know, or did that come up later?
MQ: I actually did, but I didn’t know much about it. I knew it existed because I really, really wanted to work with Ethan. He wasn’t really sure if I was right for Drive-Away Dolls, but he had a feeling that I was going to be Honey. He had that in his back pocket from the get, and I was so excited when I finally got to read the script, because all I knew was her name was Honey, and she was the detective, and I was like, ‘I’m in!’.
V: How did working with Aubrey Plaza help shape the dynamic between your characters?
MQ: I really love Aubrey so much, and we clicked in a way that made going to work not feel like work. I really trust her. I trust her with my life. It was easy as hell.
V: At what point during filming did the idea of Lace Manhattan and Dixie Normus start to take shape?
MQ: Ethan got Jack to do the soundtrack, and then Ethan wrote a couple of original songs and had me sing them. Talia and I thought it would be fun to make music videos for Ethan’s originals. But if we were going to make music videos for them, we wanted to create characters. We also both have a similar background growing up doing dance competitions. It’s a really small world, the dance world. We know some of the same girls, have been to some of the same programs, and bonded over that. And in our real life, we do yoga together and dance around for fun. So we just thought it’d be fun to make these videos for Ethan.
V: Where did the names come from?
MQ: Lace Manhattan was a name for a character I came up with, like, five or six years ago, maybe even longer, because it rhymed with another name of someone [Laughs]. What about you, Talia?
TR: I mean, I don’t want to speak for Margaret, Lace, or Dixie, but… I feel like there’s something about the character of Dixie that I’ve been really curious about exploring for a long time. It all worked out that we had these two songs to explore them through. It was born out of a lot of conversations that Margaret and I have been having. In the video, it feels like maybe they have a maternal relationship, or maybe siblings, or maybe romantic, you don’t really know. They just exist there.
MQ: Spot on.
V: How did you approach telling the story for each song? Do you see directing as a part of your future?
TR: Definitely, I mean, when you have a performer as magical as Margaret that wants you to see them, and direct them, and make something with them, you feel like anything is possible. I’ve made a few music videos before, and I asked Margaret if she would let me make videos for the songs. We kind of formed the ideas together based conversations we’ve been having about life, dance, love, and friendship. Ethan showed me a bunch of 40s movies and introduced me to Preston Sturges when we were filming—that kind of crept into our world of influence. We’re both very inspired by dance, of course, and angels, both the mythical and the Victoria’s Secret Angels. Margaret is such an exciting performer and person. I don’t want to say muse, because boys say that, and that’s really cringe. But if there was a better word for that. Margaret’s the muse.
MQ: I will say Talia is like such a visionary. Even just the way that she lives. Her life is so utterly unique and attractive to be around. Time slows when you’re with Talia, and she makes you feel like you’re where you need to be, like you’re in the right place, which is a really unique quality. You could just get lost and stay there forever in a good way. She’s an incredibly talented director and an effortless leader. The way that she’s so in her power and able to bring out the best in everyone around her is like she’s been doing this her whole life.
V: Can we expect any more musical projects in the near future?
TR: Just expect the unexpected.
V: Keeping us on our toes!
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