Heller shared her concerns with McCarthy — also a mother — who told her about French hours, named so because it’s the schedule most commonly used by French film productions. (Think of it as how to make a movie like a cool French girl.) On regular sets, production shuts down for lunch, which means that momentum is lost and one has to account for delays to start it all back up again. If everyone on set agrees, French hours eliminate that lunch break in favour of offering food throughout the day, with everyone grabbing something when they can. It compresses a 14-hour work day into roughly 10 hours, which, for Heller, meant that she could get home in time to see her kid.
Dining and Cooking