(L to R) Dakota Johnson and Adria Arjona star in ‘Splitsville’.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of sitting down in person with Dakota Johnson and Adria Arjona to talk about their work on ‘Splitsville’, their first reactions to the screenplay, their characters, and working with actors and filmmakers Michael Angelo Covino and Kyle Marvin.
You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Johnson, Arjona, Michael Angelo Covino and Kyle Marvin.
Moviefone: To begin with, Dakota, the movie is very funny. Can you talk about your first reaction to the screenplay, and did it read funny on the page?
Dakota Johnson: I mean, yes, especially because I had the tone of in my head because I had seen ‘The Climb’ and I feel like when you know their voices and you know their candor, you implement that into reading the script. So, it’s a very specific tone of comedy, you know.
MF: Just to follow up, do you think you found a lot of the humor in the movie organically on set?
DJ: Yeah, there was a lot of improvisation and a lot of moments like that. I feel like the funniest moments in the movie are the devastating ones where it’s like humans not getting it right with each other and feeling so uncomfortable, rather than like a set-up and joke.
Adria Arjona in ‘Splitsville’. Photo: Neon.
MF: Adria, can you talk about your first reaction to the screenplay and what were some of the characteristics of Ashley that you were excited to explore on screen?
Adria Arjona: When I read it was like, “What in the world am I reading?” Especially the opening of this film, it’s probably one of the craziest openings of any movie I’ve ever read. In the first 10 minutes, the movie kind of just slaps you in the face in the best way possible. So, it was funny, and I had also watched ‘The Climb’, so it was one of those things that it was an undeniable, yes for me. Then, you know, Ashley, she just goes through so much in this film. She starts off having everything she ever wanted and taking it for granted in ways and then jumping through hoops to realize that maybe she was wrong or maybe she was right. She dives into the definition of what an open relationship is, and she’s excited about it. She’s a woman in her 30s that’s trying to discover who she is and feels like she’s letting herself go, she doesn’t have this exploration, which is something that I bet a lot of women who get married kind of feel, and then she teaches you this beautiful lesson. So, I was interested in kind of exploring that.
(L to R) Michael Angelo Covino, Kyle Marvin, Adria Arjona and Dakota Johnson in ‘Splitsville’. Photo: Neon.
MF: Finally, Dakota, as a producer and an actor, what was it like working with Kyle Marvin and Michael Angelo Covino as both actors and filmmakers on this project?
DJ: Contentious. I think it’s kind of what I love so much about this movie is the contention that you see between the characters on screen, it also was happening behind the scenes with producers and the filmmakers and the DP. Everyone was heightened creativity, and it just was a very collaborative experience, but fiery. Everyone was quite into their own opinions. I mean, I think we made a good movie, so ultimately in a good way.
(L to R) Michael Angelo Covino, Simon Webster and Dakota Johnson in ‘Splitsville’. Photo: Neon.
What is the plot of ‘’Splitsville’?
When his wife Ashley (Adria Arjona) asks for a divorce, Carey (Kyle Marvin) runs to his friends (Michael Angelo Covino and Dakota Johnson) for support, only to learn that the secret to their happiness is an open marriage; that is, until Carey crosses the line and throws all their relationships into chaos.
Who is in the cast of ‘Splitsville’?
Kyle Marvin as Carey
Michael Angelo Covino as Paul
Dakota Johnson as Julie
Adria Arjona as Ashley
Nicholas Braun as Matt the Mentalist
David Castañeda as Fede
O-T Fagbenle as Brent
Charlie Gillespie as Jackson
(L to R) Dakota Johnson and Adria Arjona on the set of ‘Splitsville’. Photo: Neon.
(Left) Monica Barbaro attends Searchlight Pictures’ ‘A Complete Unknown’ World Premiere on Dec 10, 2024 in Los Angeles. (Right) Callum Turner in ‘Masters of the Air,’ premiering January 26, 2024 on Apple TV+.
Preview:
Monica Barbaro and Callum Turner have joined ‘One Night Only’.
Will Gluck re-wrote the script and will direct.
Universal is backing the rom-com.
If anyone can be credited with helping boost the fortunes of the romantic comedy genre –– on the big screen, at least –– in recent years, it’s filmmaker Will Gluck, who combined the rising star power of Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell for ‘Anyone But You’.
He’s looking to pull off a similar trick with new high-concept comedy ‘One Night Only’.
The story for ‘One Night Only’ began life with Travis Braun’s script, which topped the 2024 Blacklist for unproduced work that scored the most attention from the industry.
It’s set in a world where premarital sex is outlawed, except for one particular night of the year (think ‘The Purge’ but with more raunchiness).
Two strangers must scramble to find someone to sleep with on that one night.
Universal snapped it up and now Gluck has come aboard, re-written the script and will direct. Whether that means he’s played around with the basic concept is anyone’s guess.
Where else can we see Monica Barbaro and Callum Turner?
Callum Turner in ‘Masters of the Air,’ now showing on Apple TV+.
‘Cut Off’, which Hill wrote alongside regular collaborator Ezra Woods, will see Wiig and Hill playing wealthy siblings whose parents turn off the money faucet and force their adult kids to support themselves.
The movie hit news sites earlier this year as one of those set to receive $10 million in California production tax credits, against a budget that nears $50 million.
Where else can we see Kristen Wiig and Jonah Hill?
Kristen Wiig in ‘Palm Royale’, now streaming on Apple TV+.
Wiig, who most recently reprised the voice role of Lucy in Illumination’s ‘Despicable Me 4’, will be back on screens in the second season of Apple TV+ series ‘Palm Royale’, which returns next year.
Before that, she’ll be seen as a quirky cat lady in the movie based on popular kids’ series ‘Gabby’s Dollhouse’. That lands in theaters on September 26th.
She’s also attached to a variety of movie projects, including romantic comedy ‘Epiphany’, which will find her as broke fashionista heiress who races against time to marry rich and save herself from financial ruin.
Hill was last seen in Netflix comedy ‘You People’ and has been busy behind the cameras. He’s directed ‘Outcome’, which follows Hollywood star Reef (Keanu Reeves) as he is forced to confront his problems and atone for his past after being threatened by bizarre video footage that resurfaces.
That movie, which Hill also wrote with Ezra Woods, co-stars Cameron Diaz and Matt Bomer. It has yet to lock down a release date.
When will ‘Cut Off’ be on screens?
‘Cut Off’ doesn’t seem to share the money worries of its protagonists –– Warner Bros. is providing the backing and has already secured a July 17th, 2026 release date for the movie, signaling that studios are really hoping big summer comedies can make a comeback.
Charlize Theron and Channing Tatum are starring in ‘Dance Parents’.
Jonathan Levine will direct the movie.
Universal won a bidding war for the rights.
Is comedy ready to make a big comeback to theaters? With ‘The Naked Gun’ doing decent business and Disney bringing legacy sequel ‘Freakier Friday’ this weekend, it would seem other studios are dipping their toes in too.
Universal, which has seen success with comedies in the past, nabbed the project after winning a bidding battle with several other companies for the rights.
With the project still in early development –– besides Levine and the stars, the only other person attached right now is writer Meghan Malloy (‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’) –– the exact plot details are being kept quiet for now.
But we can at least speculate from that title the idea that it’ll be set in the heady world of competitive kids dancing, and the obsessive parents who manage their every step.
Tatum, of course, has extensive dance experience, not least in the ‘Step Up’ franchise. And he and Theron shared a number on stage at the 2013 Oscars.
What else are Charlize Theron and Channing Tatum working on?
Channing Tatum as Gambit in ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’. Photo: Marvel Studios.
Theron will next be seen amongst the packed cast of Christopher Nolan’s latest, ‘The Odyssey’, which will be in theaters on July 17th next year. She’s also the lead in new wilderness thriller ‘Apex’.
On top of those, she has a raft of other projects on her list, much of which she is producing, including a limited series adaptation of horror novel ‘The Quiet Tenant’ with Blumhouse, ‘Jane’, a psychological thriller feature loosely based on the life of prolific science fiction writer Philip K. Dick, and ‘Two for the Money’, a love letter to the heist genre directed by Justin Lin.
Tatum’s next movie to see theaters will be true crime comedy drama ‘Roofman’, due on October 10th.
He’s recently worked on a new thriller called ‘Josephine’ and is filming ‘Alpha Gang’, a sci-fi comedy about aliens who arrive on Earth plotting invasion but succumb to human emotions when they disguise themselves as a biker gang.
Oh, and there is also the small matter of his reprising the role of Gambit for ‘Avengers: Doomsday’, which is also in production now for a December 18th, 2026 release.
When will ‘Dance Parents’ waltz into theaters?
With everything still coming together on the comedy, Universal has yet to specify a release date for it.
Ryan Gosling in ‘Project Hail Mary’. Photo: Amazon MGM Studios.
Preview:
‘Project Hail Mary’ touched down at Comic-Con.
The panel included Ryan Gosling, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller.
The movie adapts Andy Weir’s book.
‘Project Hail Mary’ represents the collaboration between some fairly stellar names in filmmaking. Take directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, who have brought acclaimed comedies and Oscar-winning animated superhero movies to screens while having fun with genre.
Add in Ryan Gosling, who has proved his chops in both the dramatic and laugh-grabbing departments. And blend them with the invention of Andy Weir, whose book ‘The Martian’ became a wildly successful movie in its own right.
The result is a space-set adventure that appears to offer plenty of laughs and humanity to go with the big ideas.
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So the movie was naturally one that Amazon MGM Studios knew could play well at Comic-Con, with the team showing up for a panel in Hall H.
Ryan Gosling in ‘Project Hail Mary’. Photo: Amazon MGM Studios.
‘Project Hail Mary’ is set in the near future. Our hero is Ryland Grace (Gosling), a school teacher-turned-astronaut who wakes up from a coma, alone, on a space station with no memory of who he is or his mission.
His memory returns in bursts and he pieces together that he was sent to the Tau Ceti solar system, 12 light-years from Earth, to reverse the impact of a space event that had already hurled our planet into the early stages of an Ice Age.
As details of the mission unravel, he must call on all of his scientific training and sheer ingenuity, but he might not have to do it alone…
What happened at the ‘Project Hail Mary’ panel?
Ryan Gosling in ‘Project Hail Mary’. Photo: Amazon MGM Studios.
Much as with big movies such as ‘TRON: Ares’, the ‘Project Hail Mary’ team made good use of the giant screens that stretch down the sides of Hall H, projecting logos and the galactic map seen in the trailer.
Those on stage included directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, author Andy Weir and screenwriter Drew Goddard (who also adapted ‘The Martian’).
Gosling talked about why he wanted to join the projecting, citing Weir as the greatest science fiction writer (and not just because he was sitting next to him on the panel). He knew it would be great, but not how great.
Here’s what else he said:
“It’s about a scared guy who doesn’t know what he’s doing and I was a scared guy who didn’t know what I was doing, trying to turn it into a movie.”
He called Lord and Miller, which seems like a smart move…
For their part, the directors also used a movie metaphor to describe working with Gosling, in that it’s about collaboration and they had a great time working with the actor.
The filmmakers shared new concept art from the movie, including spaceship designs and more.
Biggest news of the panel? Daniel Pemberton, who has experience working with Lord and Miller on the ‘Spider-Verse’ movies, is the composer for this.
But the best part of the panel? The first five minutes of the movie were shown, including Gosling waking up from an induced coma, befuddled and unsure of where he is. He struggles with a robot that is trying to help him and discovers that the crew in the chamber with him are all dead.
Other clips were shown, but from later in the movie, so we’ll avoid discussing those to stay away from spoilers.
When will ‘Project Hail Mary’ be on screens?
Unlike some of the other projects touted at this year’s convention, we still have a wait for ‘Project Hail Mary’.
Amazon MGM Studios will release the movie in theaters on March 20th, 2026.
Ryan Gosling in ‘Project Hail Mary’. Photo: Amazon MGM Studios.
In director Wes Anderson’s 11th full-length feature film, ‘The Phoenician Scheme,’Benicio del Toro stars as Anatole ‘Zsa-zsa’ Korda, a wealthy 1950s industrialist who somehow keeps just barely avoiding death as he pursues his greatest venture yet, rebuilding the infrastructure of the obscure region of Phoenicia. To make sure his affairs are in order, Zsa-zsa reaches out to his estranged daughter, a nun named Liesl (Mia Threapleton), to join him on his quest and take over if necessary.
Accompanied by administrative assistant Bjørn (Michael Cera), pursued by assassins, and challenged by a business consortium that hopes to foil his plans, Zsa-zsa and Liesl hit the road to meet with Zsa-zsa’s own network of investors and raise the money necessary to cover the shortfall (‘The Gap’) in his funding. Along the way, Zsa-zsa (sort of) rediscovers his own humanity and begins to repair his relationship with Liesl.
As with all Anderson movies, ‘The Phoenician Scheme’ is a mix of whimsy, deadpan comedy, and emotional truth, set in Anderson’s distinctive, colorful, and surreal world, and stacked with a cast of both Anderson regulars and new players that this time includes Scarlett Johansson, Bryan Cranston, Tom Hanks, Riz Ahmed, Jeffrey Wright, Willem Dafoe, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Bill Murray (as God, of course). Anderson, del Toro, Threapleton, Johansson, Cera, and Cranston were on hand recently for a press conference about the film, and Moviefone was there to get the details.
Wes Anderson says that the movie’s protagonist, business tycoon Anatole ‘Zsa-zsa’ Korda, was based partially on his father-in-law, a Lebanese businessman named Fouad Malouf to whom the movie is dedicated.
Wes Anderson: I had a sort of idea of a tycoon, a Euro-tycoon, like somebody who would’ve been in an Antonioni movie or something. I did have this idea that he was probably hurting, that he was going to be in physical distress. Somehow, that was the image, of this guy who you sort of can’t kill, and he has a very expensive watch, something like that. But in the course of time, it started mixing with my father-in-law, my wife’s father, Fouad, who was an engineer and a businessman and he had all these different projects in different places. He was a kind, warm person, but very intimidating, and he had all his business in these shoeboxes. He walked [my wife] through his work at a certain point, because he thought if he is not able to see everything through, she needs to know what he’s got. And her reaction was what [Mia’s character says] in the movie: “This is just crazy.” So it was a mixture of those two things.
2) The Opening Credits Sequence Was Shot In Slow Motion
For the sequence that plays under the opening credits – a single take filmed from overhead in which an injured Zsa-zsa recovers from his wounds in a bath as a fleet of nurses tend to him – Benicio del Toro says that Wes Anderson proposed a strange way to shoot it.
Benicio del Toro: I sat in the bathtub and Wes walked up to me and he said, “We’re gonna shoot this in slow motion.” And I said, “Oh, cool”…And then he said, “But I need everyone to act really fast.” And now I went, “Wait a second, if we’re gonna act fast and you’re gonna be doing it in slow motion, doesn’t that cancel the slow motion? Let’s do it in normal speed.” And he said, “No, no, no, no, it’s gonna be different.” And then I got to see it after he put it together. We were there for a long time ’cause it was all done in one take. We did it, I don’t know, like, 30 times? It was a lot of moving pieces. There’s a lot of nurses, I think six or seven, they’re doing different things…But basically, I think that when you see it, it’s unique.
3) Mia Threapleton Did A Lot Of Research To Play A Nun
To prepare for her role as Liesl, Zsa-zsa’s estranged daughter who has become a nun, Mia Threapleton dove into studying Catholicism before heading to the shoot at Studio Babelsberg in Berlin.
Mia Threapleton: I had, I think, three months from the time of finding out that I had been offered the job to when I landed in Berlin. So that felt like a good amount of time to just get claws-deep into this as much as I can. Which included, but was not limited to, talking to a deacon of a Catholic church, going to Rome — because I had to go there for a fitting — absorbing as much Catholicism that was there, and reading the Bible, chatting with Wes about portions of the Bible…I did send [Wes] my little to-do list of things that I was doing and he said, “Yes, this all looks very, very good.”
4) This Was Michael Cera’s First Wes Anderson Filmmaking Experience
A new member to the Wes Anderson stable of players is ‘Scott Pilgrim vs. the World’ star Michael Cera, who recalled his initial rehearsals with Benicio del Toro, Mia Threapleton, and the director.
Michael Cera: It was really the first time we’d all met, and it was just like developing a sense of our little team, our little unit. We did rehearse and we read the scenes, but I mostly remember our lunches together, and just getting our little rhythm going together. For me, it was sort of the first time saying the lines out loud and trying the accent — kind of like lightly getting in, dipping into it slowly. But it didn’t kind of get up to speed until we started, I feel like. And then we just picked our lane.
5) Mia Threapleton’s Veil Originated With Tableware
While doing costume tests for her role as Liesl, who is a nun, Mia Threapleton says she came upon a very unusual inspiration for her veil.
Mia Threapleton: There was some sort of mock nun habit, and some polite little plimsoll shoes, and it was very nice. But the one thing that was missing was a proper veil. I think all we had were nurse’s caps or something like that and [Wes] just was like, nah, it’s not quite right. It was reaching the end of the day, and we were trying to figure out how to make this work. I looked over to the coffee table and there was a napkin from lunch that was not stained with anything, so I said, “Does anybody have any hair pins?” I quickly pinned this thing to my head, and Wes came over and [he adjusted it], and took a photo of it, and that’s apparently where the veil came from.
6) Wes Anderson Creates Characters With Actors In Mind
Over the years, Wes Anderson has assembled a top-shelf troupe of actors who regularly appear in his movies, from Bill Murray to Owen Wilson to Scarlett Johansson (now on her third Anderson outing) to Jeff Goldblum. Anderson says that he (and frequent co-writer Roman Coppola) wrote several parts in ‘The Phoenician Scheme’ with specific performers in mind.
Wes Anderson: The part for Scarlett we did think, okay, if Scarlett will do this, then we had her in mind for that. Bryan and Tom Hanks together, I think the characters partly came out of imagining them as much as it was the other way around. And Benicio too. So, yeah, many of the roles we sort of cast ’em as we go, and I tend to also, as soon as we have the idea, I tend to send the email and say, “this could be like maybe October” or something like that and try to get on the books if they’ll have me.
7) A Wes Anderson Script Requires Time and Concentration To Read
Bryan Cranston says that Anderson’s screenplays are so packed with details and information that a quick read is not only not possible, but not recommended.
Bryan Cranston: Until you see the cartoon, as Wes puts it, the animatic — the full animatic film that he voices all the characters on — until you actually see that, it’s not always clear where he’s going, because the scripts are very dense in detail. There is no skimming in a Wes Anderson-Roman Coppola script. And oftentimes, I go, wait, what was that? If you miss one little bit, it’s not going to track, so you have to really read them carefully to understand. That’s probably why you read it three or four times.
8) Benicio del Toro Wanted To Cut Dialogue – But Couldn’t Figure Out What To Cut
Benicio del Toro is in just about every scene in ‘The Phoenician Scheme’ and delivers reams of dialogue as Zsa-zsa Korda. But when he tried to reduce the amount of lines he had to say, he couldn’t make it work.
Benicio del Toro: There were a couple moments where I went up to Wes and I said, “Well, maybe we can take this dialogue out.” And then I went back to it, and it wasn’t as good. So I had to go up to him and go like, “I think you need to put it back, ’cause we’re passing information that I think you need.” But that’s why I couldn’t join these people every day for dinner. I had to go up into my room and talk to myself, you know?
9) Wes Anderson’s Films Are Not As ‘Calculated’ As They Look
Even though Wes Anderson’s movies all share a look and stylization that makes them easily recognizable as his work, Scarlett Johansson says that within Anderson’s carefully composed framing and designs there is still lots of room for the actors to experiment.
Scarlett Johansson: The blocking may be specific, and the camera moves are specifically what they need to be, and there’s sometimes a timing element to it, which is a little bit more, I don’t want to say restrictive, but it’s just particular, I guess. But then the performances, I think [Wes is] very playful within that, because he’s just enjoying it and encouraging variety. I’ve gotten some questions when we’ve done press for Wes’s films, and it seems that it comes across that everything is so calculated. But I think the actual process of it doesn’t feel that way at all. Maybe, again, because the camera moves are very calculated, and sometimes there’s specific props and all of that stuff, and the edit is very sharp, it gives it a feeling that it’s so calculated, but I don’t think the performances are. If it becomes so calculated it doesn’t work, because then it feels like a schtick or something.
Wes Anderson says that he doesn’t always know what he’s trying to say with his movies, and that it sometimes takes seeing the completed film for him to understand what it’s about.
Wes Anderson: After making the movie and seeing it when we have it all put together, then I think sometimes you realize what you had in mind, but you’re not totally conscious of it. I told my agent my theory, and he was like, “That’s obvious — of course that’s what the movie is. I don’t understand, how could you not know that?” But I didn’t realize it was obvious. I think the whole story of the movie, this whole mission that [Zsa-Zsa] goes on in our movie, he’s being confronted with the possibility of his death again and again. And what he thinks he has is a business plan that he wants to make sure goes through. But I think maybe from the beginning, in a way, his whole business plan is really a mechanism for him to get back together with [his daughter]. He’s acting like he’s making her his successor, and really, it’s more about what’s going to happen between the two of them right now. The business plan almost becomes like a ritual for him to be reunited with his daughter, and in that sense, his plan goes great.
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What is the plot of ‘The Phoenician Scheme’?
Wealthy businessman Zsa-zsa Korda (Benicio del Toro) appoints his only daughter, a nun (Mia Threapleton), as sole heir to his estate. As Korda embarks on a new enterprise, they soon become the target of scheming tycoons, foreign terrorists and determined assassins.
Tim Robinson in ‘Friendship’. Credit: Courtesy of A24.
There may be no better combination of actor and director this year than that of Tim Robinson and Andrew DeYoung. The former, who stars in and created the cringe comedy sketch show ‘I Think You Should Leave,’ is the perfect embodiment of Craig Waterman, the disagreeable, terminally awkward, and uncomfortable-in-his-own-skin main character in DeYoung’s feature directorial and writing debut, ‘Friendship.’
Also starring Paul Rudd in a typically charismatic yet slightly sour take on the kind of suave, in-control “guy’s guy” that he’s parodied in films like ‘Anchorman’ (which gets a nod here as Rudd’s character also works on a local news broadcast), ‘Friendship’ riotously focuses on the often-strained nature of male relationships in a culture that downplays the value of real human connection and emphasizes the paranoia and one-upmanship that underlies neighborly bonhomie.
Story and Direction
Tim Robinson in ‘Friendship’. Credit: Courtesy of A24.
“There’s a new Marvel out…it’s supposed to be nuts,” says Craig Waterman (Tim Robinson) to his disaffected son Steven (Jack Dylan Grazer) as Craig slumps in his usual chair in the Waterman family living room. For Craig, seeing a “new Marvel” together is the only means he can bond with his boy, who’s already seen the movie and is increasingly disinterested in any kind of shared activity with his dad at all. Meanwhile, Craig’s wife Tami (Kate Mara) has a perfect way to get Craig out of his sedentary routine: a package has accidentally been delivered to their house that’s meant for their new neighbor down the street, and she sees sending Craig over there with the package as a means to get him out of the house and perhaps make a new friend.
And that’s exactly what happens – for a brief time, anyway. Schlubby, dyspeptic Craig trundles down his icy suburban street – located in “Clovis, USA,” wherever that is, and peppered with houses seemingly trapped in the ‘70s – with the package and finds out that the new neighbor is Austin Carmichael (Paul Rudd – is Ant-Man in that “new Marvel”?), a slick weatherman on the local news program. Austin seems like everything Craig is not: quick-witted, fit, stylish (to a point), philosophical, yet fun – the kind of guy everyone wants to hang out with. So imagine Craig’s delight when he does just that – a whirlwind courtship, as it were — and is even invited to a get-together at Austin’s house with some other male friends.
But it’s not very long before Craig – whose own boring day job entails making phone apps more addictive for users – makes a buffoon of himself, his own lack of social skills, etiquette, and composure alienating Austin and his friends even though Craig has pretty much fallen in love with his new buddy. Their short-lived bromance turns so sour so fast that Craig begins swirling down a deep drain of his own paranoia, lack of self-confidence, and humiliation, which threatens to drag down the rest of his family and whatever rickety sense of normalcy his life still has.
If this sounds grim, well, it is – kind of. There’s an underlying darkness to this material that could quite possibly be twisted into a horror tale. That impression is buttressed by the general wintry chill of the neighborhood and the dated, drab look of the homes there, inside and out. But DeYoung isn’t after dread – at least not dread alone. He wants to dissect the strange nature of male relationships, perhaps the hardest to cultivate and maintain in a society where honest connection is ever so fleeting. Austin and his friend gather in Austin’s mancave for an evening that segues from support group emotional catharsis to low-key, safe space fight club antics, but Craig is not equipped to pivot and adjust. He’s either going to blow or collapse, hilariously doing a little of both in a sequence that’s deeply uproarious, disorienting, and surreal at the same time.
That’s pretty much the tone that DeYoung and his nimble cast establish throughout ‘Friendship’ – a mixture of behavior both disturbing and hysterically funny. There is heart and real pain in the movie as well – embodied by Tami and even in some instances by Craig – but Craig’s escalating fury and hurt toward Austin, which wrecks everything around him, veer squarely in the direction of black comedy. One could argue that Tim Robinson’s style might work better in small doses – there are moments when one becomes exhausted with Craig’s conduct – but DeYoung keeps the individual gags funny enough and the narrative unpredictable enough to sustain a feature film.
Cast and Performances
(L to R) Kate Mara and Tim Robinson in ‘Friendship’. Credit: Courtesy of A24.
Tim Robinson is perhaps the very definition of an acquired taste as an actor, but there’s no question that he was born to play Craig Waterman. Self-centered, irritating, passive-aggressive, at times almost dangerously unbalanced, and yet oddly vulnerable, Craig is a difficult character to like but one who – through Robinson’s perfectly calibrated performance – you can’t take your eyes off (even as he makes you squirm). Craig’s almost complete lack of self-awareness and increasingly volatile emotional state mask his desperate need for connection, which makes the character as human as he is unhinged.
While Robinson’s Craig is fascinating to watch in a car-crash kind of way, Paul Rudd’s seemingly bottomless well of charisma and comic timing make his Austin Carmichael almost comforting. But there’s a subtle streak of meanness in him that belies his own surface cool and reveals his personal insecurity. While this initially seems like the kind of performance that Rudd could give in his sleep at this point, there is more complexity to it than first meets the eye.
Although this is in many ways a two-hander for Robinson and Rudd, kudos must also go to Kate Mara for also delivering one of the more intricate performances of her career. Mara hasn’t always had the chance to shine, but she does here as Tami, her seemingly endless patience for her husband and general kind-heartedness also hiding deep disappointment, embarrassment, and ultimately anger. Not only does Andrew DeYoung get fantastic work from his three leads, but every character is written to be memorable in their own way, right down to the mobile phone store clerk who runs a drug business in the back.
Final Thoughts
Tim Robinson in ‘Friendship’. Credit: Courtesy of A24.
‘Friendship’ is not for everyone. It’s a genuinely weird movie and some viewers may find themselves wondering why they are investing 100 minutes of their time into a protagonist as frequently anxiety-inducing as Craig Waterman. But that’s the point: we all know someone like that – and we may be that person for somebody else. The movie is about the very real struggle all of us face to forge true, lasting bonds with others through the walls of our own fears, prejudices, and self-doubts.
‘Friendship’ is primarily about men in that regard, but it’s a universal theme as well. And it’s also laugh-out-loud funny, with healthy bouts of cringe-inducing comedy throughout. Andrew DeYoung and Tim Robinson have created one of the more original comedies we’ve seen in a while, and we wouldn’t mind seeing this creative, er, friendship continue from here.
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What is the plot of ‘Friendship’?
A suburban dad named Craig (Tim Robinson) attempts to become friends with his new neighbor, Austin (Paul Rudd), but the relationship quickly goes awry and sends Craig’s life spiraling into chaos and disruption.
Available for the first time on 4K Ultra HD in a 4K/Blu-ray Combo or in a Limited-Edition SteelBook on March 25th is ‘Tommy Boy’, which marks the 30th anniversary of the classic comedy.
(L to R) David Spade and Chris Farley in ‘Tommy Boy’. Photo: Paramount Pictures.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with director Peter Segal about his work on ‘Tommy Boy’, how he came to direct the project, improvising on set, Farley and Spade’s chemistry, Spade’s comedic abilities, Farley’s genius and legacy, and why Rob Lowe did not take a credit in the film.
You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interview.
‘Tommy Boy’ director Peter Segal.
Moviefone: To begin with, from your unique perspective can you talk about how this project came together and you were hired to direct?
Peter Segal: I had worked with Farley a couple times before this movie, once on an HBO special and then on a sitcom called ‘The Jackie Thomas Show’. At that point I had not done ‘Naked Gun 33+1/3’ yet. But I knew that if I had an opportunity to ever do a movie that I absolutely wanted to work with Farley in a starring role. So, about a year after ‘The Jackie Thomas Show’, the script from the Bonnie and Terry Turner came to me, ‘Billy the Third: a Midwestern’. It was a first draft and I had a lot of ideas. I actually wanted to take the story, if I did it, in a different direction, adding a little bit more of a relationship with Tommy’s father and himself, in addition to Richard and Tommy working together to save the factory. By doing that I was unraveling the very thing that was greenlit. It put us in a precarious place because suddenly we had no script and we were heading towards the ‘SNL’ season, which meant we were going to be splitting time. That was the good and the bad news. The bad news, it was hard for Dave and Chris to go back and forth from Toronto to New York. But it allowed me a couple of extra days a week to work on the script with Fred Wolf as we were filming. So that’s how we survived.
(L to R) Chris Farley and David Spade in ‘Tommy Boy’. Photo: Paramount Pictures.
MF: Famously, the “Fat guy in a little coat” and “Housekeeping” scenes were improvised on set and were bits that Farley and Spade would do off screen. Can you talk about those scenes and how much of the film was improvised?
PS: Well, once, like I said, we changed direction on the script and started with not much we were desperate for any bits or stories about what they did together at ‘SNL’. “Fat Guy in a Little Coat” was definitely one of those things. But it was spoken, not sung. That was Chris’s thing at ‘SNL’. Well, both Chris and Dave were a little bored of the moviemaking process of multiple takes, multiple angles, they’re used to one take with live cameras. So, when we were shooting “Fat Guy in a Little Coat” from the office scene, I shot Chris and then I turned the camera around on Dave. I wasn’t paying attention to Chris but he was getting so bored that he started to improv and sing just to try to get Dave to break and laugh. I wasn’t really paying attention, I was just focusing on Dave, until my editor that night after dailies said, “Oh my God, you’ve got to go back and reshoot him this time singing.” That’s the type of thing. There were so many little things like that that I would just jot down. One example was Dave looked at Chris coming out of a wardrobe test, and Chris was wearing the now iconic brown tweed jacket, and he said, “Hey, Dave, does this suit make me look fat?” Dave said, “No, your face does.” I went “Okay, that’s going in.”
(L to R) David Spade, Chris Farley, producer Lorne Michaels and Bo Derek on the set of ‘Tommy Boy’. Photo: Paramount Pictures.
MF: ‘Tommy Boy’ is very much a chemistry movie. Can you talk about Farley and Spade’s relationship and onscreen chemistry, and how you were able to capture that with this film?
PS: What I have heard is that Spade and Farley were goofing off during a writing session at SNL and Lorne (Michaels) said, “We’ve got to do something with you two, so Turner’s see if you can come up with something,” and they did because he saw the chemistry between them. You can’t teach chemistry it sort of is what it is, you have it or you don’t. Dave and Chris were best of friends but they were also an old married couple. They’d get into fights, and then kiss and make up and everything was fine, and then fight again. It was just sort of like watching two young boys. I mean, we were all young at the time. It was a little juvenile. But it was also where the inspiration and the fun came from because they loved to pick on one another. Dave could say stuff to Chris that I would never have imagined anyone saying like the thing about the coat but it would make Chris laugh, and that stuff was just priceless.
David Spade in ‘Tommy Boy’. Photo: Paramount Pictures.
MF: Can you talk about how important David Spade’s role as the “straight man” is to the film and his ability to work off of Farley?
PS: Well, he’s really sort of the engine of a lot of the improv. I would not say that a lot of improvisation happened while the cameras are rolling but the improv happened off camera where they would just interact. If Dave served up the beginning of a joke, Chris would knock it out of the park and they loved that. It’s like watching in basketball someone make a great assist. Dave was an assist leader. That helped with the writing process. His idea for the Carpenter‘s song (“Superstar”) and many other things. Like I said, we were just so desperate for anything that when these guys, as much as they were exhausted, would come up with ideas, we’d try to find a way to put it in the movie.
(L to R) Chris Farley and Brian Dennehy in ‘Tommy Boy’. Photo: Paramount Pictures.
MF: In addition to being a comedic genius, Chris Farley was also a strong dramatic actor, and you can see that in the scene where he says goodbye to his late father on the boat. Can you talk about Farley’s legacy and were you aware of how talented he was when you were making the movie?
PS: Well, I sort of discovered that. Even though I’d worked with him a couple of times before, those were definitely comedies. This story I knew was going to touch on something that was very important to him and that was his relationship with his father in real life. The fact that we knew that the character of Big Tom was going to die, I knew that there was an opportunity here to show a different side of Chris Farley because there are going to be more serious moments, it wasn’t just about the jokes. It was delightful to see how good he was at that. That’s what makes me, and still does to this day, so very sad that he didn’t get to really explore that part of his personality. The original writers for ‘Shrek’ actually told me that they patterned the characters of Donkey and Ogre after Spade and Farley in ‘Tommy Boy”. Then Chris, of course, was hired to play the Ogre but didn’t complete it before he passed.
(L to R) Chris Farley and Rob Lowe in ‘Tommy Boy’. Photo: Paramount Pictures.
MF: Finally, why did Rob Lowe take no credit in the film?
PS: It’s a little bit of a mystery to this day. I think possibly because he thought the movie might’ve sucked and wanted to protect himself. I mean, that’s sort of just a joke. I really don’t know. I’ve never really asked him but it seems to be on a lot of people’s minds.
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What is the plot of ‘Tommy Boy’?
To save the family business, two ne’er-do-well traveling salesmen (Chris Farley and David Spade) hit the road with disastrously funny consequences.
Who is in the cast of ‘Tommy Boy’?
Chris Farley as Thomas R. “Tommy” Callahan III
David Spade as Richard Hayden
Bo Derek as Beverly Burns-Barrish
Julie Warner as Michelle Brock
Dan Aykroyd as Ray Zalinsky
Brian Dennehy as Thomas “Big Tom” Callahan Jr.
Rob Lowe as Paul Barrish
‘Tommy Boy’ will be available for the first time on 4K Ultra HD in a 4K/Blu-ray Combo or in a Limited-Edition SteelBook on March 25th.
Jennifer Coolidge stars in ‘Riff Raff’. Photo: Courtesy of Roadside Attractions.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Jennifer Coolidge about her work on ‘Riff Raff’, her first reaction to the screenplay, working with the cast, and how Bill Murray made her laugh.
You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Coolidge and Gabrielle Union.
Jennifer Coolidge in ‘Riff Raff’. Photo: Courtesy of Roadside Attractions.
Moviefone: To begin with, what was your first reaction to the screenplay and why did you want to be part of this project?
Jennifer Coolidge: You know, you get a call and people are like, “I’m sending a script over. I want you in this and you I think you’d be great for this character.” Then you get it, open it up and you read it and you’re like, “I don’t see it.” Occasionally, I’ll have doubts about something and I’m able to overcome the doubts and I’ll go do it. The minute I read it; I knew that John Pollono wrote an incredible script. I have to say, it was such a good script that even if I wasn’t right for Ruth, I might have just taken the job. It was so satisfying when I went to the Toronto Film Festival and got to see it. There was a huge screening of it in this beautiful movie theater I couldn’t have been happier with the results of that. You know, just how they took John Pollono’s writing and then did Ditto’s direction, I felt like it was just an A plus. Everyone did such a good job and especially, Ditto did such a good job of telling that story. I have a feeling John Pollono is going to be employed for the next 50 years straight. He must just be booked solid. I thought that was just a brilliant script.
(L to R) Jennifer Coolidge and Lewis Pullman in ‘Riff Raff’. Photo: Courtesy of Roadside Attractions.
MF: Finally, there is one scene in the movie that features the entire cast together including yourself, Ed Harris, Lewis Pullman, Gabrielle Union, Pete Davidson, and Bill Murray. What was it like shooting that sequence and having the whole cast together in one scene?
JC: Well, it took a long time to shoot that that night and it was freezing out. We were all there and I think there was maybe some technical things they had to overcome so it was an extra-long night. But a weird thing happened. I get some really bad news in that scene and there is something about Bill Murray. I don’t know if he was trying to mess me up, but I could not keep it together. I mean, I’m getting some very serious news and Bill would just do something and I would lose it and it was very unprofessional of me, but I couldn’t help it. I mean, he has that thing that makes you laugh. I could tell that people were losing respect for me. Like why couldn’t I keep it together? But that’s the hardest I’ve ever laughed on a job. It was a serious scene and Bill would just look at me like you know like, “You loser,” and it was even funnier to me. He’s a great bad guy.
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What is the plot of ‘Riff Raff’?
The life of a former criminal (Ed Harris) is thrown into turmoil when his old family (Jennifer Coolidge and Lewis Pullman) appear for a long-awaited reckoning.
(L to R) Lisa Kudrow and Mira Sorvino in ‘Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion’. Photo: Touchstone Pictures.
Preview:
Lisa Kudrow says that the ‘Romy & Michele’s High School Reunion’ script is in good shape.
She thinks it’ll happen.
The new movie would serve as a follow-up to the 1997 comedy.
Among the list of movies that people have been waiting for a sequel for, ‘Romy & Michele’s High School Reunion’ ranks fairly highly for fans of the comedy starring Lisa Kudrow and Mira Sorvino as two women who concoct a fake business success story to impress their former classmates.
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There has been talk of a potential sequel in the past, but now, according to Kudrow, we could be closer than ever before.
Kudrow stopped by Drew Barrymore’s eponymous talk show while doing press for her Netflix comedy thriller real estate series ‘No Good Deed’ and had a positive update for the process of getting more ‘Romy’ in our future.
Here’s what Kudrow had to say as per Deadline:
“We’re as close as we’ve ever been. There’s a script that’s really good, by Robin Schiff.”
Kudrow seemed to think it has a good chance of happening, though she did qualify her comments with “I mean, we’ll see.”
Right now, the film only really has Kudrow and Sorvino attached to reprise their roles as Romy White and Michele Weinberger, with Schiff at work on the script.
No director is involved, and the movie has had no studio or even a greenlight attached.
Still, given that it boasts a recognizable title, still-popular stars and the potential for a compelling follow-up story (where are Romy and Michele now?), there’s every reason why this one might eventually make it to our screens.
What’s the story of ‘Romy & Michele’s High School Reunion’?
(L to R) Lisa Kudrow and Mira Sorvino in ‘Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion’. Photo: Touchstone Pictures.
The original movie stars Kudrow and Sorvino as the title characters, two dim-bulb, inseparable friends who hit the road for their ten-year high school reunion and concoct an elaborate lie about their “successful” lives in order to impress their classmates, hoping to change their fortunes after spending their school days as targets of the popular crowd.
‘Romy & Michele’ was a cult success on its original release, earning $29.2 million worldwide from a $7 million budget. It was directed by David Mirkin, and written by Schiff, who adapted his play ‘The Ladies Room’ for the film.
Schiff would go on to create a TV pilot for a prequel series called ‘Romy and Michele: In the Beginning,’ which spun the clock back to when the central duo graduated high school.
It starred Katherine Heigl as Romy and Alexandra Breckenridge as Michele, and while it was originally shot in 2002, it failed to become a series, and eventually aired as a 2005 TV movie on ABC Family.
‘Romy & Michele’: The Play
(L to R) Lisa Kudrow and Mira Sorvino in ‘Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion’. Photo: Touchstone Pictures.
In her interview with Barrymore, Kudrow also mentioned that she appeared in the play as the characters, who were later fleshed out for the movie.
Here’s what she said:
“They had to do a backers audition for the play to see if they could even mount the play. And they went to all the [acting] teachers, ‘Who do you recommend to audition?’, so you know, I went. That was my first audition, ever, for ‘Airhead No. 2,’ Michele. We were these minor characters. We were on stage a total of seven minutes, in and out, for the whole play.”
What has Mira Sorvino said about the sequel?
(L to R) Lisa Kudrow and Mira Sorvino in ‘Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion’. Photo: Touchstone Pictures.
Sorvino’s comments last year echoed Kudrow’s about the development.
She told People:
“[Schiff has] written multiple drafts of an amazing funny script, which checks all the boxes for all the fans. Almost every single character from the original that was important is coming back… This is all pending, them making deals, them saying yes, but they’re all in there.”
Sorvino also said that the aim was to have the sequel shooting in the second quarter of this year.
What else is Lisa Kudrow working on?
Lisa Kudrow in ‘Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion’. Photo: Touchstone Pictures.
Kudrow, one of the veteran stars as ‘Friends,’ has a few projects on the go.
In addition to ‘No Good Deed,’ she’s in the cast of comedy horror movie ‘The Parenting,’ TV series ‘Q Talks’ and TV Movie ‘Bright Futures.’
She also starred in Apple TV+ series ‘Time Bandits,’ though that has not been renewed for a second season.
When would the ‘Romy & Michele’ sequel be in theaters?
With the script still in development, there is really no information as to when the eventual movie might be released. Our best guess would be 2026 at the earliest.
(L to R) Lisa Kudrow and Mira Sorvino in ‘Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion’. Photo: Touchstone Pictures.
