- Hey I'm Laura Marano, and I'm in studio
with the Hollywood Reporter.
(groovy intro music)
- Before we jump in, I have
the utmost important question for you.
- Give it to me.
- Are you ready?
- I'm really excited, anticipation...
- So your favorite flavor of ice cream
is not vanilla like Celia's, correct?
Or is it?
- Well, like actually yeah
- [Brian] Is it?
Oh my gosh!
- So chocolate and vanilla are my two favorites
- [Brian] Okay...
- And typically like, this is really random...
- [Brian] Is that why it was in the...
- No, no I know it was super... and I remember
watching it with my sister,
and my sister just started laughing during that part
because she's like, "That really is you!"
And I'm like, "I know, I do like it!"
So my favorite Haagen Daz flavor is vanilla.
- Okay.
- It's really special, if you haven't had it
I recommend it.
- I don't know if you can plug brands here but
Ben and Jerry's mint oreo - I'm not!
Is the way to go.
- I'm not connecting with them at all!
(laughter)
- Sponsored.
- (laughs) totally.
- Well speaking of that then, what kind
of other ways are you like Celia
and what stood out to you most about her?
- It's so funny because every character I play
I always bring a little bit of myself to the character.
Celia, I was so attracted to her because she's, you know,
just this unlikely female heroine for a Rom-Com.
She's sarcastic and bitter and kind of dark
and really fun to play and embody
and not something that you see in most Rom-Coms.
You know, I think she definitely has a bit more darkness
and bitterness than I have, but I definitely
have a sarcastic sense of humor that I feel like
probably more my family gets to see
than people who know me in different ways
or know me through my work.
So that was really fun to kind of bring out in Celia
because I never get to do that.
- She's super cool.
- She's super cool, yeah, she's just awesome
and I like to think that I'm like her
but I got to say, some people on my team saw the movie
and they were like, "Wow I don't know how you played her,
you're so different."
And I'm like "Whoa, that's offensive!"
(Brian laughs)
- 'Cause she's awesome!
- Yeah, no she's great.
Now obviously you're being reunited with Noah Centineo
- Yeah.
- who you worked with on Austin and Ally.
What were some of your favorite memories
from working with him then and kind of
your favorite memories this time around?
- You know, we had such a good time both on Austin and Ally
and this movie, and it was different.
Like we did Austin and Ally when I was sixteen,
he was fifteen, versus twenty-one and twenty-two, right?
So you mature, you grow, and I think the biggest difference
probably this time around is that we were able
to have some pretty deep, mature conversations.
- [Brian] Off set?
- Mhm, and yeah, which has kind of just brought us closer
and I think helped with our chemistry and helped
with, you know, just the bond overall in the movie.
We also like loved to rehearse, like the whole cast.
- Yeah.
- We were constantly kind of working as hard as we can
to make this as awesome as possible, but I think overall
the biggest difference was, not just Noah and I, but
Odysseus and Cami, Camilla Mendes, as well.
We were able to really get close
on a really pretty, like, deep level right away.
And, you know, the movie obviously
is like a pretty light movie, but I think having that trust
with your cast and having that trust
with any sort of partner in art, like, does make the process
a little bit easier acting with them, you know?
- Now are you more similar to Celia would you say or Shelby?
I mean you don't really see that much of Shelby...
- Yeah, it's funny, Cami and I actually had
such a long, great conversation about it
because, you know, the movie's a little bit
from Brooks' eyes, right, Brooks' perspective
and so with that, it's... of course Shelby,
who isn't like this but seems more kind of two-dimensional
because that's how Brooks
sees that world - Sees her, yeah.
- And she's not really...
- And how he's attracted to the idea of her
and the idea of that world is so two-dimensional
so there's a lot of things that I feel like were
in the script that you don't necessarily get
on screen that Cami and I talked about that.
Shelby's actually pretty awesome.
- She's great, yeah!
- She's also kind of not your typical "the other girl"
or "the popular girl" either.
- And she tells him about that and she says,
"I don't like you 'cause you're not rich,
I don't like you because you're a liar."
- Yeah totally, where you're just like,
"Damn girl yes!"
- She shuts him down.
- And she's ambitious and, you know, I obviously feel
more connected and more similar to Celia
- [Brian] Yeah.
- Because I lived within her, so I feel those similarities.
- And Celia obviously slaps Noah's character, Brooks.
- Yes!
- And in that moment you feel really bad for her
after what he was saying to her.
- Totally, and I felt really bad for Noah when I slapped him
- How many takes did those take?
- Ooh, it took a few takes, and I was giving it,
like I think I was a little less in the first few takes
and then Noah was like, "No, just lay it on,
give it to me."
And I like, really did and Noah was a little bit like,
"Okay, so when are we done?"
- [Brian] Did you get it?
- Like I gave him a mark!
- [Brian] Oh My Gosh!
- Like it was pretty intense, I felt really bad, yeah.
Like it was... I don't enjoy hitting people.
- But it was deserved, in terms of the character.
- It totally... Brooks totally deserved it,
Noah didn't really.
- Now in the app that Brooks creates,
they make it very clear that this is a legal app,
what were those conversations like
to kind of get that point across?
- Totally!
- This was a stand in, this wasn't a prostitute,
this was a legal thing.
- Yeah totally, sex wasn't happening.
Um yeah that was in like...
- 'cause they make is clear.
- They make it very clear.
- Which I think is important.
- For sure, there's like been a few drafts of the script
and every draft, it was pretty clear,
but I think every new draft it was like even more clear.
Like, I think we all wanted to put out...
And by we, I, you know, I include myself
but it's really the writers and producers
and the director, right?
We wanted to make sure that it was very clear
that it's not any sort of prostitution
or even, I mean, we don't go into it but it doesn't
seem like any physical - No, yeah, it's like a fun...
Situation is part of the app, it's just more about
lying to yourself for the night
and having your perfect date.
- Was there any of the characters that he kind of played
or had to like be that stood out to you the most?
- Um, and they're all so good,
I think I kind of love the weird, like,
New York Italian Gangster he does.
- Oh the douchebag one, yeah.
- Yeah, 'cause when I read it in the script I didn't see it
as the way he portrayed it, and how he portrayed it
is so much funnier and so much better
than I could have imagined.
Um, I don't know how I viewed it, but like,
that's one of my favorite parts is when you read a script
and then you see it come to life and hopefully
its even better than you imagine it,
but that part in particular is so good.
- Now if you could create an app, what would that look like?
- Aw man, um, yeah I don't know I think there's so many...
In some ways there's so many different options,
like depending on how crazy your imagination is
but in other ways I feel like everything,
quite literally, has been created.
Um, like you look at something and you're kind of like,
"Oh that would make a cool app!"
And then you're like, "Oh that already exists"
- It exists...
- I love the, like, emoji apps.
- Okay.
- Any ones that are like, include new emojis
I think are so fun.
- Do you do like the Bitmoji and..
- Oh I love it!
- ...the talking animal head.
- Aw I love every... oh my god I'm like so obnoxious
and I love every minute of it.
- Netflix has obviously brought back
kind of the Rom-Com genre lately,
what do you think they're getting right with these films
and what do you think is standing out about them?
- I think everyone loves Rom-Coms
and it's funny because I don't think the Rom-Com
ever went away, I just think...
- [Brian] It's branded to a newer audience
I guess in a way.
- Yeah and I think the act of consuming it has changed,
right so it's not really kind of a go to the theater,
release sort of thing anymore,
I mean maybe it still could be,
but the idea of, I mean it's my dream,
of just being in my house and consuming all the Rom-Coms
that I would like to consume,
it's kind of what we all want to do.
There's something about Rom-Coms,
they just make you feel good, and I think nowadays
we like to have films that make us feel good.
- Yeah.
Going off that, "Never Been Kissed"
celebrated it's twentieth anniversary this year,
what are some of your favorite Rom-Coms?
- Um, (sighs) love any one with Drew Barrymore.
Um, "Ten Things I Hate About You" is such a good one.
- [Brian] They also actually had an anniversary.
- Really?
- [Brian] Last month I think.
- I think I saw that too, I watched it
like literally a few nights ago and I was just like,
"Ugh, this is so good."
Um, "She's all That," "Miss Congeniality,"
I mean, "Clueless," like I'm actually
kind of the biggest Rom-Com fan, so this is so great.
- Do you have any favorite quote that you can share
from your favorite Rom-Com or...?
- Okay, what's the one from "Ten Things I Hate About You"
that, it's not like necessarily that Rom-Com-y, but...
(laughs) That Bianca is saying
to Gabrielle Union's character
where Gabrielle Union's like, "You know I know
you can be overwhelmed and underwhelmed,
but can you just be 'whelmed'?"
(Brian laughs)
And then Bianca's like, "I think you can in Europe."
Or something like that, that is (laughs) so good.
- Um, Brooks actually quotes "Seinfeld" in the movie.
- Yes!
- I think that might go over some peoples' heads?
- Oh for sure.
- Like the younger audience, do you see that happening?
- Oh, 100%, but that's, again, what's kind of fun
about this age of consuming television and film
is like, people will watch it again and again
and when, I'm sure, some of the younger people
get into "Seinfeld," as it is bound to happen,
they'll rewatch and be like, "Aw that's hilarious!"
- [Brian] So you're a "Seinfeld" fan?
- Yes, I'm like, I love multi-cam stuff,
so like "Seinfeld," "Friends," "Cheers,"
I actually, "Three's Company" and "Cheers"
are actually kind of like my top two.
- Yeah, and one thing I was thinking too
in watching the film, I feel like it could have been done
as a T.V. series because there is so much
you could do with it.
- Totally.
- Especially with the stand-in thing,
like they're relationship...
- Well, the app in general I think is so funny
and like, I...
- [Brian] Ridiculous.
- Ridiculous, but I kind of love
that our film feels so 2019 in that way
- [Brian] Yeah, no, of course, yeah, definitely.
- Because it's like the whole synopsis is around an app.
- Yeah, your music is in the film,
you have your EP out.
- Yes!
- [Brian] What excited you most
about this body of work?
- Aw man, um, it's the first time I've ever put out
a body of work for my music which was so exciting to me,
it's something I've always wanted to do.
You know, we're in such an interesting time
with film and television and with music
when it come to consuming and obviously in music,
it's a little bit more like a singles-based economy almost,
but there's still something so special about
having a body of work that's cohesive
and there's a story there, and so this,
you know, bit of music has been music I've been working on
for a little bit, and my whole point,
there's a lot of points with it,
but my main point is really, hopefully showing
that every side of yourself and every side of me
and every side of all of us is as significant as the other
(dramatic piano music)
(singing) "I'll stand on my feet but not today,
All he told me, threw it all away..."
- With the ending of the film,
it's kind of very happily ever after, would you say?
- Well yeah I mean...
- What do you think happens after their little dance?
(laughs)
Do they go off and dance together at college or...?
- Yeah I mean I think it's going to be interesting
because we'll see how they do long distance, 'cause...
- [Brian] Yeah 'cause Michigan and Yukon."
- Yeah, and Yukon are quite, they're not that far
but they're kind of far.
Um, yeah I think they both kind of are okay with being
in the moment a little bit and not stressing too much
about what each are expecting of each other,
what's expected of them, and what the future holds
which is kind of nice.
- Do you think it's kind of a closed-ended ending though
or would you want to... what would that kind of look like
if there was a sequel?
- Aw man it's so funny..."
- 'cause you know everyone is going to be asking,
- No I know!
- Everyone's all, "Oh my gosh...!"
- I don't know.
I'm so a person that loves, like, beginning, middle, ends
and like that's it...
- And watching those things over and over,
I like watching the same movie over and over.
- Yeah, totally same yeah.
When, there's some of my favorite Rom-Coms
that have like different sequels, I'm always kind of like,
"Well maybe," but I mean,
I think everyone's story doesn't just end at high school.
Obviously college is a whole other situation,
so I definitely imagine there's more to their story
but I like how it ends (laughs).
- Well thank you so much for being here,
this was so much fun.
- Thank you!
- Make sure to have the perfect date night
by watching "The Perfect Date."
- Yes!
- Now on Netflix!
- Yes!
- Bye guys.
- Bye.