You did very well with that.
ARTA GEE: I think that was great.
HAWKINS: Thank you!
Image via SXSW
What was it about this story and material that said, I need to make this?
My stepdad lived there for 16 years and is actually the inspiration for the character Paz.
That was the origin of it.
Image by Photagonist
It was like, “This is a good thing that we should just go for.”
GEE: I also loved the script from the first read.
So, I felt seen.
With Travis, was it his portrayal of Johnny Ramone inVinylthat got him this role?
HAWKINS: You know, it wasnt!
I hadnt seen that portrayal yet, but it was a delight.
Image by Photagonist
I was like, Well, weve got to maximize on this talent.
I read that you were involved in the writing.
What was it actually like knowing you wouldnt have tons of money to make this?
Image by Photagonist
GG was like, That will make it so much more complicated.
Why dont we just do it as the human story that we already have?
HAWKINS: “Lets do that for the next movie.”
Image by Photagonist
LANESEY: Thats the sequeltheyre going to trade bodies.
The limitations definitely provided a focus for this story.
True or false: you took the movie purely because it was a vacation in Panama.
Image via Warner Bros.
GEE: Completely false!
YOUNG: She broke my hand as she was squeezing it deathly tightly.
And then he was like, Dont worry, I know how to fly planes.
I was like, That cant be true.
And hes like, It is.
And it is true.
Hes like, If a plane goes down, I literally know how to pilot a flight.
YOUNG: Ofthatsize plane.
Was it a propeller plane?
Yeah, thats not for me.
Kissing Their Co-Stars Was Rough for Arta Gee
“Hated every second of it.”
So, what was it actually like trying to accomplish everything in those 11 days?
HAWKINS: Its so interesting.
Every moment, every minute was scheduled out, and we had an extensive prep period.
We had one more shot we maybe needed to get, and it was a boat-to-boat shot.
Its Travis as Drew, riding in this boat, shooting from another boat.
I was like, I dont think weneedthat.
And Ryan goes, Wed be dummies not to get it.
And I was like, Youre right.
And thank God, because its iconic.
So, yeah, the production value of being there in such a beautiful place definitely shows on screen.
So you see the shooting schedule, and you know youve got 11 days.
GEE: Oh, Im going first on that one.
“Shrimp Trip” was probably my favorite.
I was like, Ive never tripped before, and I just gotta tap in.
I was like, Alright, lets be method actors.
YOUNG: [Laughing] We werent really tripping just so you know.
GEE: No, no, not actually tripping!
When you say “method and acting,” that means like you really did it.
GEE: No, we didnt didn’t really.
I was like, Thats pretty impressivetripping balls and actually filming this.
LANESEY: Not while the camera was rolling.
GEE: No, “method acting” was the wrong term, but I did tap in.
And it was believable according to the audience!
I dont know if I can actually say what part I was most worried about.
HAWKINS: You could say it in a vague way.
Was it an emotionally vulnerable scene?
GEE: No, it was physically intimate.
LANESEY: Try it in gibberish.
Youve already said things happen in this movie between characters, so I think its okay.
Hated every second of it.
Did you suggest they use mouthwash?
GEE: I said, Brush your teeth and fucking take some mouthwash.
And meet me outside.
HAWKINS: We were chasing after with the camera.
LANESEY: We had to keep retaking it because Arta would go, Ugh, gross.
GEE: I was just dry heaving.
HAWKINS: To your credit, I feel like you guys were so…
I think we got that in three shots.
Its one long shot where we really let the scene play out.
You were locked in.
You were tapped in.
GEE: Tapped in.
Ive heard this from tons of actors.
Thats it for me.
LANESEY: Yeah, Secret Island was definitely our Goliath.
We really wanted to do service to that moment and the story.
As my castmates and director know, any scene that took place on a boat was my favorite.
I love being on a boat.
If I could do the movie again, Id be on a boat in every scene.
HAWKINS:The Bocas Expressis our full boat, all shot on, next movie.
I want to call out Secret Island because, obviously, its something that had to deliver.
HAWKINS: Secret Island is where Paz clearly goes to bring special people for some special reasons.
Its something planted in the beginning.
I was like, Are we gonna be able to pull this off?
Like I said, vacation.
HAWKINS: Exactly, exactly.
Yeah, thanks for the invite.
HAWKINS: you could come next time!
No, for where everyone switches bodies.
HAWKINS: That is the boat movie, too.
LANESEY: Whose body would you want to switch with the most?
Id be watching as a reporter, so Id just let you guys do it.
LANESEY: Youre in your same role.
Yeah, I’m always the person sitting on the sidelines, ruining takes from laughing.
LANESEY: Well do that, too.
So you improvised, and I read there’s a “Chevy Chase moment?”
Lets talk about that.
For people who dont realize, whats the Chevy Chase moment of this movie?
LANESEY: I call it the Chevy Chase moment.
I guess it could probably apply for both.
Im always curious about the editing process.
Its all refined, figured out, and made or broken.
HAWKINS: I love iterating and working through notes and getting feedback a lot at different stages.
Thats when I could sense which moments were clicking and which werent working.
Actually, I do want to speak to the improv in the Chevy Chase moment.
We had the written monologue, but sometimes, you just have to let Madison do her thing.
Even my mom has a crush on him, and she doesnt even likemethat much."
That was an improvised thing.
“He took the blame for our keto bar.”
HAWKINS: After our first editing phase, we locked everything from the 25% mark to the end.
Then, we waited on the beginning.
I was like, “I need to take a break.
I need some space.
We also need to lock this in that it’s Teresas perspective.”
I think it perfectly sets up who Teresa is and whats going on.
For all four of you, what are you most excited for audiences to experience with the film?
Then, sometimes, right after, you would laugh again.
There’s a Drew, a Teresa, and a Paz.
I’ve experienced all of that.
LANESEY: I think GG crafts a really unsuspecting story that is so exciting.
I think that’s one of the most fun parts of the movie.
HAWKINS: I’m excited for audiences to get to know the talent in this movie.
I mean, what the hell?
I want to see them in more movies, so that’s what I hope everyone takes away.
I hope some casting directors are watching.
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