WEBVTT - Matthew López 0:00:01.720 --> 0:00:05.200 Hey, guys, welcome to I've never said this before with 0:00:05.360 --> 0:00:10.480 me Tommy Diderio. Today's guest is the brilliant Matthew Lopez. 0:00:10.800 --> 0:00:14.920 He's a director, a screenwriter, and a Tony Award winning playwright. 0:00:15.200 --> 0:00:18.360 And on top of that, Tony add on maybe six 0:00:18.480 --> 0:00:21.680 or seven other noteworthy awards for his play The Inheritance, 0:00:21.720 --> 0:00:23.840 which I was lucky enough to see on Broadway, and 0:00:23.920 --> 0:00:27.920 I was so incredibly moved by, and being the theater 0:00:28.000 --> 0:00:30.840 geek that I am, I also saw another show he 0:00:30.920 --> 0:00:34.000 co wrote, which was the musical adaptation for Some Like 0:00:34.040 --> 0:00:38.320 It Hot, also fantastic. But today we are diving into 0:00:38.640 --> 0:00:42.520 Red White and Royal Blue, one of the most anticipated 0:00:42.560 --> 0:00:46.080 movies of the year that Matthew co wrote and directed. Now, 0:00:46.120 --> 0:00:49.320 this film is an adaptation of the best selling novel 0:00:49.360 --> 0:00:52.760 by Casey mcquisten, and I would say it's arguably one 0:00:52.800 --> 0:00:57.280 of the most popular books ever written. So here's the story. 0:00:57.680 --> 0:01:00.400 Alex is the son of the American President, and he 0:01:00.520 --> 0:01:03.560 is in a feud with Prince Henry of Britain and 0:01:03.680 --> 0:01:06.520 at one event that they both are attending, that few 0:01:06.640 --> 0:01:09.400 becomes pretty public when it comes to a head. So 0:01:09.560 --> 0:01:11.920 to prevent a wedge from being driven into the US 0:01:12.000 --> 0:01:16.080 and British relations, Alex and Prince Henry are forced to 0:01:16.200 --> 0:01:19.720 stage a truce that well it, you know, sparks something 0:01:19.800 --> 0:01:23.720 unexpected and deeper than anyone could have imagined. And I 0:01:23.760 --> 0:01:27.080 think you can guess some love ensues. Matthew brings this 0:01:27.200 --> 0:01:29.640 queer love story from the pages to the screen in 0:01:29.760 --> 0:01:34.080 the most beautiful way. And let's just say, while watching this, yeah, 0:01:34.120 --> 0:01:36.480 I shed quite a few tears. I know, I know, 0:01:36.600 --> 0:01:38.920 I am a sucker for love. What can I say? 0:01:39.280 --> 0:01:42.120 So let's see if today we can get Matthew to 0:01:42.240 --> 0:01:48.560 say something that he's never said before. Matthew, how are you, 0:01:48.640 --> 0:01:49.120 my friend? 0:01:49.440 --> 0:01:50.520 I'm doing really well. 0:01:50.560 --> 0:01:53.000 Thanks good. I'm so happy you're here. I know you've 0:01:53.040 --> 0:01:55.000 had a crazy few days. You've been on a whirlwind 0:01:55.040 --> 0:01:57.600 tour for this movie, which but we're going to get 0:01:57.600 --> 0:02:01.560 all into I have to tell you, Ah, what can 0:02:01.640 --> 0:02:05.040 I say that will truly convey what it felt like 0:02:05.120 --> 0:02:07.800 watching this movie in that theater on Monday night at 0:02:07.800 --> 0:02:09.840 the screening, I mean, my husband and I went crazy 0:02:09.880 --> 0:02:12.600 over it. We laughed, we cried, we cheered, all the 0:02:12.680 --> 0:02:15.040 things and more. You did such a brilliant job with 0:02:15.120 --> 0:02:18.760 this movie. Congratulations, Thank you, thank you. I know it's 0:02:18.800 --> 0:02:21.200 your first film. Why did you want to make Red, White, 0:02:21.200 --> 0:02:22.519 and Royal Blue? 0:02:23.480 --> 0:02:28.240 It was about February, February twenty twenty and my agent 0:02:29.000 --> 0:02:32.320 sent me the book, and I had just opened Inheritance 0:02:32.320 --> 0:02:34.880 on Broadway, and I was looking to do something new. 0:02:35.240 --> 0:02:37.480 I wanted to start looking for a film to make, 0:02:38.240 --> 0:02:42.560 and then this book came along, and I just knew 0:02:42.960 --> 0:02:45.640 about page fifty, I kind of knew that this was 0:02:45.639 --> 0:02:47.520 the thing I wanted to do, and it was. And 0:02:47.560 --> 0:02:53.200 then the rest of the book was essentially me already 0:02:53.200 --> 0:02:55.760 starting to figure out how I might be able to 0:02:55.800 --> 0:02:59.280 make a film work out of this book. And I 0:02:59.280 --> 0:03:01.560 found out that Greg Burlanti, who was one of the 0:03:01.560 --> 0:03:06.760 producers of The Inheritance, had acquired the Riots, and I 0:03:06.880 --> 0:03:11.640 lobbied him and Sarah Schechter, his business partner, and eventually, 0:03:11.919 --> 0:03:13.919 you know, they came to me and said, yeah, let's 0:03:13.960 --> 0:03:18.480 do this. And I then that became the last two 0:03:18.560 --> 0:03:20.360 and a half years of my life. I really really 0:03:20.360 --> 0:03:25.639 responded so so much to the optimism of the book. 0:03:25.720 --> 0:03:29.239 I really loved the fact that it was this queer 0:03:29.360 --> 0:03:38.200 romance with a happy ending and with really idiosyncratic vibrant characters. 0:03:38.280 --> 0:03:44.080 I love that there was a latinae bisexual, Southern boy 0:03:44.120 --> 0:03:44.600 in the lead. 0:03:44.840 --> 0:03:48.520 You know, there's so much I could relate to in 0:03:48.560 --> 0:03:49.080 this book. 0:03:49.280 --> 0:03:54.040 And you know, when you contemplate spending two years working 0:03:54.040 --> 0:03:54.920 on something. 0:03:54.640 --> 0:03:57.960 You had better really like it, and you better really 0:03:58.000 --> 0:04:00.000 be excited about it, or you better really be excit. 0:04:00.000 --> 0:04:03.240 I did about the paycheck, I guess, But for me, 0:04:03.320 --> 0:04:05.320 I really needed my first film to be something that 0:04:05.360 --> 0:04:08.000 I was passionate about, that I was going to sacrifice 0:04:08.280 --> 0:04:08.760 sleep for. 0:04:09.400 --> 0:04:10.520 And this was it for sure. 0:04:11.080 --> 0:04:13.080 So you said you were reading it and then fifty 0:04:13.080 --> 0:04:15.120 pages in you knew you had to make this a movie. 0:04:15.160 --> 0:04:16.880 What was that defining moment for you? 0:04:18.320 --> 0:04:20.919 I probably the fans of the book will tell me 0:04:21.080 --> 0:04:23.000 how wrong I am at this, So it's probably not 0:04:23.040 --> 0:04:23.800 at page fifty. 0:04:23.839 --> 0:04:26.240 But their first kiss. 0:04:26.320 --> 0:04:28.480 I think the way the gway Casey described the first 0:04:28.560 --> 0:04:31.120 kiss was so cinematic. 0:04:31.600 --> 0:04:34.760 I could see the movie. The movie was just unschooling. 0:04:34.200 --> 0:04:38.040 In my head as I was reading it, And I 0:04:38.080 --> 0:04:39.600 love that it was this you know, a kid, a 0:04:39.680 --> 0:04:42.960 New Year's even snowy white house grounds. 0:04:43.120 --> 0:04:44.480 I thought there was something. 0:04:44.279 --> 0:04:48.360 Just inherently cinematic about about so much of the book, 0:04:49.560 --> 0:04:54.000 and I really kind of fell for the swoony, romantic 0:04:54.080 --> 0:04:55.920 quality of Casey's writing. 0:04:56.760 --> 0:05:00.800 Yeah, and the two leads bring this story to life brilliantly. 0:05:00.880 --> 0:05:04.120 I know you spent five or six months auditioning hundreds 0:05:04.120 --> 0:05:07.480 of different actors. You found Taylor, you found Nicholas. Why 0:05:07.520 --> 0:05:09.360 were they the right guys to play these roles? 0:05:09.520 --> 0:05:13.760 It's funny, after having made the film with them, it's 0:05:14.080 --> 0:05:17.120 almost becomes really difficult to explain why they're the most 0:05:17.279 --> 0:05:19.279 the perfect guys in the roles because they are just 0:05:19.320 --> 0:05:23.239 simply now the roles. You forget what the casting process 0:05:23.360 --> 0:05:23.720 was like. 0:05:23.760 --> 0:05:26.480 And I've had to really go back and actually watched 0:05:26.480 --> 0:05:31.599 some of their auditions recently, and I remember watching Nick 0:05:32.400 --> 0:05:38.080 audition and working with Nick. He really convinced me that 0:05:38.120 --> 0:05:42.920 what Henry needed was a caretaker, and what Nick was 0:05:42.960 --> 0:05:47.320 able to do as the actor playing the role was 0:05:48.720 --> 0:05:51.920 less inhabit him than care for him. 0:05:52.160 --> 0:05:55.440 He really really protected Henry. He really felt very protective 0:05:55.480 --> 0:05:56.120 of Henry. 0:05:57.760 --> 0:06:01.839 I think as an actor saw his job as being 0:06:01.880 --> 0:06:05.520 someone who had to just sort of create a roll 0:06:05.600 --> 0:06:09.280 around Henry and keep bad things from happening to him. 0:06:09.320 --> 0:06:14.599 And there was such an enormous well of compassion for. 0:06:14.440 --> 0:06:17.760 Henry, and I knew that with Nick, I was leaving. 0:06:17.440 --> 0:06:20.559 This character in very good hands, and I could I 0:06:20.640 --> 0:06:22.680 could I didn't need to worry about Henry, and I 0:06:22.680 --> 0:06:23.040 could worry. 0:06:23.080 --> 0:06:24.360 I could focus on of the things. 0:06:24.720 --> 0:06:32.880 And with Taylor, Taylor has this ability to transform himself, 0:06:32.920 --> 0:06:36.960 both his body and his energy into something else. 0:06:36.960 --> 0:06:37.599 He's a real. 0:06:37.520 --> 0:06:40.760 Chameleon and he's a shape shifter. 0:06:41.200 --> 0:06:45.440 And when I started reading him for this role, I 0:06:45.480 --> 0:06:49.440 could see Alex just sort of springing to life. And 0:06:49.440 --> 0:06:52.720 and so there's it's funny. There's this very complimentary energy 0:06:52.720 --> 0:06:54.920 that they have as actors, at least on this film, 0:06:55.320 --> 0:06:59.760 that Nick was very sort of internal and Taylor was 0:06:59.839 --> 0:07:03.119 very external. There was some sort of inward energy coming 0:07:03.160 --> 0:07:07.520 toward Nick and there was some outward energy coming from Taylor, 0:07:07.640 --> 0:07:13.280 and so that independently of each other, they were already 0:07:13.920 --> 0:07:19.880 without having met, we're creating these very complimentary performances, just 0:07:20.000 --> 0:07:21.000 even in the auditions. 0:07:21.320 --> 0:07:23.360 And then I put them in on a zoom. 0:07:23.120 --> 0:07:27.320 Together to do a chemistry read and just sort of 0:07:27.320 --> 0:07:30.440 like praying and hoping that oh my God, you know, please, 0:07:30.480 --> 0:07:31.520 please please. 0:07:31.240 --> 0:07:33.520 Just if it's not true, give me enough that I 0:07:33.560 --> 0:07:41.080 can fake it, you know, and they didn't need I 0:07:41.120 --> 0:07:42.920 didn't need to fake anything and neither today. 0:07:43.000 --> 0:07:44.840 It was just there from the beginning. It was it 0:07:44.880 --> 0:07:48.760 was I mean, it's gonna sound stupid to say it, 0:07:48.760 --> 0:07:51.000 but it just sounded like fate. It just was so perfect. 0:07:51.720 --> 0:07:55.000 They were the characters, They became the characters more and 0:07:55.000 --> 0:07:56.880 more throughout the audition process, and then when we got 0:07:56.920 --> 0:08:02.040 into this chemistry read they just clicked instantly. So the 0:08:02.080 --> 0:08:06.680 one hand, it was incredibly thorough this process, both on 0:08:06.680 --> 0:08:09.720 my part and theirs, I would say, and then it 0:08:09.840 --> 0:08:13.040 just clicked and became incredibly easy and simple and straightforward. 0:08:13.720 --> 0:08:17.040 Wow wow, Yeah, their chemistry is incredible in the film. 0:08:17.040 --> 0:08:19.960 And I know you guys spent about two weeks rehearsing 0:08:20.040 --> 0:08:23.200 and prepping prior to shooting, which I know isn't always common, 0:08:23.280 --> 0:08:24.920 and I think that's really cool you took the time 0:08:24.920 --> 0:08:27.760 to do that. Was there anything that happened in those 0:08:27.800 --> 0:08:31.680 rehearsals that maybe influenced to change then, you know, from 0:08:31.720 --> 0:08:33.480 something you originally thought that it was going to be 0:08:33.480 --> 0:08:34.160 a certain way. 0:08:35.040 --> 0:08:37.200 Yeah, well, I you know, on a film like this 0:08:37.320 --> 0:08:39.960 with these two leads, I knew that there was going 0:08:40.000 --> 0:08:43.840 to be a point in which I needed to be 0:08:43.920 --> 0:08:48.160 the boss or sometimes just sort of sort of have 0:08:48.240 --> 0:08:52.600 a firm hand on things. And I knew that these 0:08:52.640 --> 0:08:55.040 two weeks were really invaluable for us, both in terms 0:08:55.080 --> 0:08:57.560 for the two of them to really get to know 0:08:57.640 --> 0:08:59.760 each other and to really feel comfortable with one another, 0:09:00.080 --> 0:09:02.559 but then also for me to give them an opportunity 0:09:02.600 --> 0:09:07.199 to challenge anything that was in the script, anything that 0:09:07.280 --> 0:09:10.120 was part of the plan for the shooting of the film. 0:09:10.440 --> 0:09:12.839 I needed to give them a lot of agency, because 0:09:12.840 --> 0:09:15.280 I needed then to take it away from them once 0:09:15.360 --> 0:09:19.720 we started building it anyway, and this was an opportunity 0:09:19.720 --> 0:09:21.240 for us to sort of like it was almost like 0:09:21.280 --> 0:09:24.120 the whole thing was like an open source code. And 0:09:24.200 --> 0:09:28.080 for two weeks, the three of us really worked together 0:09:28.160 --> 0:09:29.760 to devise what this thing was going to be. We 0:09:29.800 --> 0:09:32.600 tried different avenues, we tried different ways of doing it. 0:09:32.600 --> 0:09:35.400 We blocked scenes, we ran scenes. There are a few 0:09:35.440 --> 0:09:40.400 scenes in the movie that are as filmed and as edited, 0:09:40.400 --> 0:09:43.319 are exactly how we rehearsed them in terms of the blocking, 0:09:43.360 --> 0:09:44.760 in terms of what this thing is about. 0:09:44.960 --> 0:09:46.439 This this lovely, tiny. 0:09:46.160 --> 0:09:50.120 Little moment in the scene where in Alex's bedroom, which 0:09:50.120 --> 0:09:53.720 is one of my favorite scenes in the movie for them, 0:09:54.160 --> 0:09:56.720 and it's in Alex's bedroom after they hook up for 0:09:56.720 --> 0:09:57.240 the first time. 0:09:58.080 --> 0:10:01.960 In the blocking in in the movie that you see 0:10:02.040 --> 0:10:03.400 is precisely what we did. 0:10:03.400 --> 0:10:05.800 It was the very last day of rehearsals and this 0:10:05.840 --> 0:10:10.760 little sort of moment where they talk over each other 0:10:10.800 --> 0:10:12.320 near the end of it and it's kind of suddenly 0:10:12.320 --> 0:10:18.079 gets awkward again. That just happened one day in rehearsal, 0:10:18.520 --> 0:10:25.000 and I remember clocking that and on set I actually was. 0:10:25.080 --> 0:10:27.200 I had a video of the rehearsal and they did it. 0:10:27.559 --> 0:10:29.080 I showed it to them before we shot the scene. 0:10:29.120 --> 0:10:31.080 I'm like, do you remember this from nine weeks ago? 0:10:31.679 --> 0:10:35.280 And so I come from theater. 0:10:35.400 --> 0:10:39.440 I you know, rehearsals are invaluable for creating, for inventing. 0:10:39.480 --> 0:10:42.000 There's some there's there are times, and especially on a 0:10:42.000 --> 0:10:45.480 film like this, where your ability to invent on set 0:10:45.600 --> 0:10:53.000 is very limited, And I needed to get their imaginations firing, 0:10:53.200 --> 0:10:55.880 and I needed that to allow my imagination to fire too. 0:10:56.040 --> 0:10:58.000 So I think it's what made that. 0:10:58.160 --> 0:11:04.040 Those two weeks are absolutely what made what is special 0:11:04.080 --> 0:11:05.520 on screen between them possible. 0:11:05.960 --> 0:11:07.720 And what I love about you is I could feel 0:11:07.720 --> 0:11:10.080 it through the screen. You have so much pride in 0:11:10.120 --> 0:11:13.120 the work that they did. Your beaming when you talk 0:11:13.160 --> 0:11:14.199 about it, which I think, I. 0:11:14.120 --> 0:11:16.600 Feel like a proud parent, I really do, because I mean, 0:11:16.840 --> 0:11:19.280 the thing is is that this movie is only as good. 0:11:19.400 --> 0:11:22.560 This movie would only ever been as good as my 0:11:22.679 --> 0:11:29.400 ability to get natural, easy performances out of them. And 0:11:29.440 --> 0:11:31.240 one of the things that I'm really really proud of 0:11:31.280 --> 0:11:35.880 in this film across the board is how relaxed everybody is. 0:11:36.600 --> 0:11:41.600 And it starts with Taylor and Nick. There is such 0:11:42.559 --> 0:11:47.959 an ease about them that really just permeates every scene 0:11:48.000 --> 0:11:52.640 of the film. And Yeah, I'm incredibly proud, I think, 0:11:52.720 --> 0:11:55.160 you know, one of the one of the great pleasures 0:11:55.160 --> 0:11:58.120 and challenges of this process was editing the film because 0:11:58.960 --> 0:12:02.320 it was a wealth of options, you know, and and 0:12:02.440 --> 0:12:04.680 there's a whole other version of this movie which I 0:12:04.679 --> 0:12:08.600 could assemble out of alternate takes, and and it would 0:12:08.640 --> 0:12:10.080 be it would be a different movie, you know. 0:12:11.840 --> 0:12:13.320 Absolutely very proud of those two. 0:12:14.120 --> 0:12:15.600 Yeah, I think a lot of people want to see 0:12:15.600 --> 0:12:16.600 those deleted scenes. 0:12:18.800 --> 0:12:21.360 Let's get the non deleted scenes out into the world first, 0:12:21.400 --> 0:12:22.559 and then we'll see what happens. 0:12:22.720 --> 0:12:35.120 Fair enough, fair enough. There was a moment in the 0:12:35.160 --> 0:12:39.200 film for me that that blew me away between between 0:12:39.280 --> 0:12:41.559 Nick and Taylor. For you, I'm sure this is such 0:12:41.559 --> 0:12:43.400 a tough question. There were many, But is there one 0:12:43.440 --> 0:12:46.080 moment that you're just so blown away by? 0:12:46.720 --> 0:12:47.560 There are so many. 0:12:48.920 --> 0:12:51.240 I did give the example of that scene in the bedroom, 0:12:51.280 --> 0:12:53.360 which is just for me in terms of their chemistry 0:12:53.440 --> 0:12:56.400 is so is so beautiful. I have to say that 0:12:56.440 --> 0:13:01.360 the confrontation scene in Henry's bedroom was I think it 0:13:01.400 --> 0:13:06.080 was something that we were all dreading at filming because 0:13:06.120 --> 0:13:08.560 we knew what it was going to cost all of us. 0:13:08.679 --> 0:13:13.800 And I knew that, I mean practically speaking the filmmaker, 0:13:13.840 --> 0:13:17.079 and as a filmmaker, I knew I had other things 0:13:17.120 --> 0:13:19.720 to do that day, so I also couldn't like indulge 0:13:19.720 --> 0:13:22.960 in too long a process on set for that scene. 0:13:23.880 --> 0:13:25.640 But I also knew I couldn't leave until I got 0:13:25.640 --> 0:13:29.760 what I needed. And we did it maybe two thirds 0:13:29.800 --> 0:13:33.040 of the way through the shoot, and it's longer than 0:13:33.080 --> 0:13:35.360 we expected it to and I actually there there's a 0:13:35.400 --> 0:13:37.800 couple of things that I didn't shoot that day because 0:13:37.800 --> 0:13:42.920 I just just cut them right out and we had 0:13:42.920 --> 0:13:46.000 to break for lunch and I was and we hadn't 0:13:46.000 --> 0:13:51.920 finished the scene and I was really really worried that 0:13:52.320 --> 0:13:56.040 we were going to come back from lunch and all 0:13:56.559 --> 0:13:58.880 I was just gonna have lost them, you know, and 0:13:59.640 --> 0:14:03.959 we would never recapture what was happening on set before lunch. 0:14:04.080 --> 0:14:06.960 And and it was the move, It. 0:14:06.880 --> 0:14:08.600 Was the pivotal part of the scene is the end 0:14:08.640 --> 0:14:11.840 when they're when the sort of when Alex Nix's ultimatum 0:14:11.880 --> 0:14:12.320 to Henry. 0:14:12.320 --> 0:14:16.200 And we got back on set and we got we. 0:14:17.720 --> 0:14:23.600 Started filming again, and instantly in the first take after lunch, 0:14:24.640 --> 0:14:29.520 Taylor started crying and Nick was facing away from him 0:14:29.520 --> 0:14:32.800 and he heard Taylor and Nick started crying, and and 0:14:33.240 --> 0:14:36.520 the back half of that scene is so beautiful because 0:14:36.520 --> 0:14:41.040 they're doing such great work. And I really had a 0:14:41.080 --> 0:14:44.160 difficult time cutting it because there was such beautiful, nuanced 0:14:44.200 --> 0:14:46.600 work from all from both of them. But what to 0:14:46.680 --> 0:14:49.000 me it was so remarkable about it is they had 0:14:49.240 --> 0:14:52.880 just had lunch, They just and they came right back 0:14:52.920 --> 0:14:55.440 into it and they were more dialed in and they 0:14:55.440 --> 0:14:58.120 were more in touch with each other than before, and 0:14:58.360 --> 0:14:59.960 it was truly it was. 0:15:00.000 --> 0:15:02.840 It was pretty remarkable. And I have to say that 0:15:02.960 --> 0:15:03.840 was the moment. 0:15:03.760 --> 0:15:07.880 I knew that whatever happened with this movie these those 0:15:07.880 --> 0:15:09.960 two actors would be fine in their career. 0:15:11.040 --> 0:15:13.320 Yeah, yeah, that was the scene I was thinking of 0:15:13.360 --> 0:15:15.520 as well. It was It was pretty remarkable. I can't 0:15:15.560 --> 0:15:17.760 wait for people to see that one. Was there a 0:15:17.760 --> 0:15:21.040 scene or two from the book that you thought, okay, man, 0:15:21.440 --> 0:15:23.280 I better get this just right. 0:15:25.240 --> 0:15:28.680 There was well, the case scene, of course, you know, 0:15:28.920 --> 0:15:33.680 I think that for many reasons. It's the opening of 0:15:33.720 --> 0:15:34.120 the film. 0:15:35.320 --> 0:15:37.760 It really establishes the characters so much. But it's also 0:15:37.960 --> 0:15:41.160 just the most iconic moment in the book, one of 0:15:41.200 --> 0:15:44.280 the most iconic moments of the book, And so there 0:15:44.280 --> 0:15:46.600 were a million reasons why I knew I needed to 0:15:46.600 --> 0:15:49.600 get it right. And it was also the most technical 0:15:49.600 --> 0:15:51.400 thing I had filmed up to that point. It was 0:15:51.520 --> 0:15:53.560 I think we shot it in our second week, and 0:15:54.000 --> 0:15:58.720 you know, the first few days of filming were pretty 0:15:58.760 --> 0:16:01.240 gentle on me and ever buddy, and then we had. 0:16:01.040 --> 0:16:06.640 This two day shoot inside the ballroom with this cake, 0:16:06.800 --> 0:16:10.920 with these extras, with all of these other scene elements 0:16:10.920 --> 0:16:14.240 that were happening, and then on day two we had 0:16:14.280 --> 0:16:17.400 to drop this cake had get them all mucky, and 0:16:17.440 --> 0:16:19.720 it had to be funny and it had to be 0:16:19.800 --> 0:16:22.440 technically accurate. That was the one that I was really 0:16:22.520 --> 0:16:27.000 really uptied about because there was. 0:16:27.560 --> 0:16:31.640 No margin for error and there were lots of opportunities 0:16:31.680 --> 0:16:35.560 for air. So, you know, that was that was the 0:16:35.600 --> 0:16:38.240 most technical filmmaking we did on it. And the funny 0:16:38.240 --> 0:16:40.800 thing is is that when it came to the actual 0:16:40.840 --> 0:16:43.720 shot of the cake going into their faces, because that 0:16:43.760 --> 0:16:48.600 whole cake was was was was not. It was foam, 0:16:48.680 --> 0:16:51.680 rubber and latex, and so for the most part, the 0:16:51.720 --> 0:16:54.000 cake is phony and it's just. 0:16:53.960 --> 0:16:57.120 It's just, you know, it's it's it's a fake cake. 0:16:57.360 --> 0:16:59.560 And so we could do a lot with it and 0:16:59.680 --> 0:17:01.800 drop it and it just bounced and then you could 0:17:01.960 --> 0:17:04.919 drop it again. But when it came to getting them dirty, 0:17:04.960 --> 0:17:10.480 we had a couple of duplicate costumes for them, and 0:17:10.600 --> 0:17:13.000 there was a plan to get them showered and hair 0:17:13.040 --> 0:17:15.439 and make up redone as fast as possible, but I 0:17:15.520 --> 0:17:17.000 just knew that I was going to lose too much 0:17:17.040 --> 0:17:19.760 time and I needed to just get it done in 0:17:19.800 --> 0:17:21.919 as few takes as possible. And it was me and 0:17:21.960 --> 0:17:25.879 my production designer off camera, and we were, you know, 0:17:25.880 --> 0:17:29.159 at the count three, we threw the cake and the 0:17:29.400 --> 0:17:32.400 icing into their faces and it was a bullseye. 0:17:32.840 --> 0:17:38.120 Wow, it was an absolute bullseye, and we watched it 0:17:38.720 --> 0:17:40.320 and we. 0:17:40.200 --> 0:17:42.600 Just decided to keep moving on and we had it, 0:17:42.680 --> 0:17:43.960 so I lecked out. 0:17:44.000 --> 0:17:46.480 That was the luckiest break on this entire. 0:17:46.280 --> 0:17:49.000 Film was getting the cake in their faces the first take, 0:17:49.359 --> 0:17:50.400 the first and only take. 0:17:51.359 --> 0:17:53.000 Yeah, that was it. And then the one that I 0:17:53.040 --> 0:17:56.600 was really excited to do was the VNA scene at 0:17:56.600 --> 0:17:58.959 the Victoria and Albert Museum. Scene at night in the museum. 0:17:59.000 --> 0:18:00.480 It just beautiful, was the scene. 0:18:00.520 --> 0:18:01.760 That's my favorite scene in the book. 0:18:01.960 --> 0:18:10.639 And when he clicked that music on, come on, come on, Yeah, yeah, that. 0:18:10.560 --> 0:18:13.239 Was that was That was That was the one I 0:18:13.240 --> 0:18:14.159 was most looking forward to. 0:18:14.280 --> 0:18:17.000 That was that was we were locked into the v 0:18:17.119 --> 0:18:18.480 N a overnight. 0:18:18.720 --> 0:18:21.040 We we we had it all to ourselves. 0:18:21.040 --> 0:18:22.760 It was pretty magical, and it was just the two 0:18:22.840 --> 0:18:25.320 of them, you know, there were no there were no extras. 0:18:25.359 --> 0:18:29.080 There was a very you know, the crew had you know, 0:18:29.240 --> 0:18:29.600 the crew. 0:18:29.640 --> 0:18:31.480 We were just all like a family at that point. 0:18:31.560 --> 0:18:33.119 And so it was a real night at the museum. 0:18:33.840 --> 0:18:35.679 And then you know, picking up music because I know 0:18:35.720 --> 0:18:40.280 in the book it's Elton John's your song, and which 0:18:41.200 --> 0:18:46.160 I knew and instinctively wasn't gonna work for us. 0:18:46.960 --> 0:18:47.480 In the film. 0:18:47.520 --> 0:18:51.000 It just wasn't the right sound, uh, And so we 0:18:51.040 --> 0:18:56.240 auditioned a lot of different songs, and on set we 0:18:56.640 --> 0:19:01.040 used that one. We used the Perfect Genius and had 0:19:02.200 --> 0:19:03.280 my Perfect. 0:19:03.000 --> 0:19:08.520 Genius was gonna do a new cover of an older. 0:19:08.240 --> 0:19:12.080 Song for us that we really were excited about. And 0:19:12.119 --> 0:19:14.600 then I cut together the assembly of the film and 0:19:14.640 --> 0:19:17.800 we watched the scene with Perfect Geniuses Can Help falling 0:19:17.840 --> 0:19:20.120 in Love, and we knew it was the right song 0:19:20.240 --> 0:19:23.200 and it was perfect. And so that was another lucky 0:19:23.240 --> 0:19:25.280 break because the song that we just decided to use 0:19:25.320 --> 0:19:27.600 on set was the song we ended up using the film. 0:19:28.080 --> 0:19:30.400 I think that song is gonna sore to number one. 0:19:31.320 --> 0:19:34.040 So it's a beautiful recording. It's an absolutely. 0:19:33.600 --> 0:19:36.160 Beautiful, absolutely beautiful. And I have to tell you when 0:19:36.160 --> 0:19:38.000 I put up a story on Monday night saying that 0:19:38.080 --> 0:19:39.320 I saw the movie and I screened it in and 0:19:39.359 --> 0:19:41.760 it was great, I had so many people message me, 0:19:41.800 --> 0:19:45.159 people I haven't even spoken to him forever, and I 0:19:45.240 --> 0:19:47.800 was shocked at how many of those people were straight. 0:19:48.320 --> 0:19:52.040 This story, this book has such a built in fandom 0:19:52.080 --> 0:19:55.600 from all areas and walks of life. I don't feel 0:19:55.600 --> 0:19:58.440 like you're the type of person that lets that pressure 0:19:59.160 --> 0:20:01.480 sneak in when you making your art, when you're making 0:20:01.520 --> 0:20:04.359 your project, when you made the movie. But how do 0:20:04.440 --> 0:20:07.679 you kind of not let that cloud your mind when 0:20:07.760 --> 0:20:09.880 you are creating this movie, knowing that there's so many 0:20:09.920 --> 0:20:11.800 people who are waiting and wanting and loving this. 0:20:13.119 --> 0:20:13.800 I learned I. 0:20:14.119 --> 0:20:17.080 Think I learned in theater that worrying about what other 0:20:17.119 --> 0:20:21.359 people think is just really a pointless exercise. You really 0:20:22.119 --> 0:20:24.320 you only have, especially on a film, you only have 0:20:24.400 --> 0:20:27.560 one chance to get it right. You're only in that 0:20:27.720 --> 0:20:29.920 you're only on that set one day. You got to 0:20:29.920 --> 0:20:33.640 move on to the next scene. You're always just moving forward. 0:20:33.680 --> 0:20:37.440 And so you really on a film set, you are 0:20:37.480 --> 0:20:40.040 living in the present. There's no past, there's no future, 0:20:40.240 --> 0:20:42.680 and that is actually incredibly helpful. 0:20:42.280 --> 0:20:48.880 For focus, you know, and I need that. I think 0:20:48.880 --> 0:20:50.720 it's just sort of the typrote thing. If you look down, 0:20:50.760 --> 0:20:51.400 you're gonna fall. 0:20:52.040 --> 0:20:57.760 I didn't think about ultimately what anybody would think of 0:20:57.800 --> 0:20:58.360 the film. 0:20:59.840 --> 0:21:03.360 I just kept following my gut and following my instincts. 0:21:03.480 --> 0:21:07.440 I knew, I knew this story. I knew and look, 0:21:07.480 --> 0:21:09.399 it's my version of red, white, and moral blue. Right, 0:21:09.440 --> 0:21:11.120 It's it's not anybody else's. 0:21:11.200 --> 0:21:14.000 It's not case It's not even Casey's, and Casey will 0:21:14.000 --> 0:21:17.480 be the first two minute Casey's. Casey's book is Casey's book, 0:21:17.640 --> 0:21:20.879 and my movie is my movie. It's my movie based 0:21:20.920 --> 0:21:25.800 on Casey's book, and it is my reaction to Casey's book. 0:21:26.000 --> 0:21:29.359