Premiering on Prime Video beginning December 10th is the new romantic comedy ‘Merv’, which was directed by Jessica Swale (‘Summerland’), and stars Zooey Deschanel (‘Elf’), Charlie Cox (‘Daredevil: Born Again’), and Gus as Merv.
mm5KlTIizwrsdfclsW2O63Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Zooey Deschanel, Charlie Cox and Director Jessica Swale about their work on ‘Merv’, Deschanel’s first reaction to the screenplay, why Cox wanted to work with her, their experience acting opposite Gus, and the challenges of directing a dog on set.
You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interview.
Related Article: Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio Talk Disney+’s ‘Daredevil: Born Again’
Moviefone: To begin with, Zooey, can you talk about your fist reaction to the screenplay and what it was like for you to work with Gus and Charlie on this project?
Zooey Deschanel: Well, I first read the screenplay and I really love the concept. I thought it was so sweet. Then I got to talk to this amazing person here, Jess, and we got along so well, and I wanted to do the movie. Then working with Gus and Charlie was just an absolute dream. What incredible actors. Very different. Different styles. Gus works for sausages and Charlie works for hamburgers. Similar, but different, although I bet Gus would work for a hamburger too.
MF: Charlie, can you talk about Russ and Anna’s relationship, how they come together to help Merv, and what it was like for you working with Gus and Zooey?
Charlie Cox: I think one of the things I found charming about the script was this idea that Merv seems to intuit it early on. He knows what they don’t about each other and about their relationship. It’s really a journey of their discovery that they are perfect for each other. That life is difficult, life throws curveballs at you and that doesn’t necessarily mean that the person that is your significant other is the wrong person for you. Gus is a dream, as Zoe said. He’s a very professional. There’s a kind of a fun anecdote, which is that Gus is so well trained that he can do anything on command that he’s trained to do. But because he’s so well trained, one thing he’s not particularly good at is being very enthusiastic because that’s a trait of an untrained dog. So, when we needed Gus to be like crazy, or happy to see us or happy that we’re together or whatever it was, they would bring in Gus’s stunt double, Captain Chaos, who is untrained. Captain Chaos after a slight beard dying, would do a very good impersonation of Gus being very excited. Zoe in my estimation is the GOAT of rom-coms and this genre. So, to work with her is like an absolute treat and dream.
MF: Finally, Jessica, can you talk about the challenges of directing a dog and how you were able to get such a great performance from Gus?
Jessica Swale: Yes, all my normal techniques of persuasion, like taking an actor for dinner and chatting about the character or do some rehearsals and get to know each other. It’s a bit more difficult when he’s a four-legged dog and he doesn’t speak English. It might be my accent because I was one of the only Brits on set, but it was it was great fun. It’s funny because he’s a key part of the movie, but it is essentially a rom com that’s about two people at a very particular moment in their lives and he’s the conduit. So, whilst he’s on screen a lot, it’s really about the story and the kind of machinations of the relationship and the emotional growth of these two. The great thing about having Gus on set was that he is always a pro and he’s always ready and over the course of the weeks that we were shooting, the more you got to know him, we were able to go, “Oh, that’s how we recognize that he’s sad. He’s good at it and he drops his eye line. He puts his head down or he tilts to one side”. So, I think we had a more dramatic performance as the weeks went on.
What is the plot of ‘Merv’?
An estranged couple (Zooey Deschanel and Charlie Cox) who learns that the dog they share is suffering from depression following their break-up, awkwardly reconciling over the holidays when they take their dog on a sunny vacation to Florida to lift his spirits.
Who is in the cast of ‘Merv’?
- Charlie Cox as Russ Owens
- Zooey Deschanel as Anna Finch
- Chris Redd as Vice Principal Desmond
- Patricia Heaton as MJ Owens
- David Hunt as Jack Owens
- Ellyn Jameson as Jocelyn
- Wynn Everett as Gaia
- Jasmine Mathews as Rebekah
- Joey Slotnick as Dr. Zubrovsky
- Jessica Swale as Ice Cream Lady
List of Dog Movies:
- ‘Breaking Away‘ (1979)
- ‘Stand by Me‘ (1986)
- ‘Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey‘ (1993)
- ‘Homeward Bound II: Lost in San Francisco‘ (1996)
- ‘The 40 Year Old Virgin‘ (2005)
- ‘Superbad‘ (2007)
- ‘Marley & Me‘ (2008)
- ‘The Hangover‘ (2009)
- ‘Bridesmaids‘ (2011)
- ‘A Dog’s Purpose‘ (2017)
- ‘A Dog’s Journey‘ (2019)
- ‘Good Boys‘ (2019)
- ‘Dog‘ (2022)
- ‘DC League of Super-Pets‘ (2022)
- ‘Strays‘ (2023)
- ‘Good Boy‘ (2025)
- ‘Merv‘ (2025)
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