'Bros' Interviews with Billy Eichner, Luke Macfarlane
"Bros” writer, producer and star Billy Eichner, and stars Luke Macfarlane, Jim Rash, TS Madison and Miss Lawrence join CinemaBlend’s Corey Chichizola to dive deep behind the scenes of their new rom-com. Watch as they discuss making sure all of their favorite jokes made the cut, LGBTQ+ representation for younger generations, cameos and more!
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00:00 I've fallen in love with a lot of really talented,
00:03 beautiful, straight women.
00:04 (laughing)
00:06 Like Billie.
00:07 - I'm the Candace Cameron of bros.
00:09 - Oh my god, do you guys remember straight people?
00:11 - Yeah, they had a nice run.
00:13 (upbeat music)
00:15 - Billie, I saw you spoke about kind of expecting
00:24 more of a pushback from the studio,
00:26 just based on the context and the screenplay.
00:29 And I was wondering if there were any moments
00:31 or jokes or dialogue that specifically you were like,
00:34 ooh, I hope this makes it.
00:37 - A lot of it, all of it at the beginning, you know.
00:40 But I said to Nick, if I'm gonna do it,
00:42 and you want me to do it with you,
00:43 'cause he brought the idea to do a rom-com
00:45 about a gay couple to me,
00:46 I said it needs to be unapologetic.
00:48 Like it needs to be as sexy and explosive
00:51 as any Judd Apatow comedy,
00:53 or any Nick Stoller comedy for that matter.
00:55 Forgetting Sarah Marshall has that classic scene
00:57 that opens where Jason Segel is completely naked
00:59 and arguing with his girlfriend and falling apart.
01:01 And that's funny and it's shocking and it's provocative
01:05 and it's sweet, it's all of those things, you know.
01:07 - And it feels very real.
01:08 - It feels very real, and that's why it's funny.
01:11 And I said, I don't wanna hold back,
01:12 it has to be unapologetic, we have to go, pardon the pun,
01:16 like balls to the wall with this,
01:18 literally and figuratively.
01:20 And that was always a priority for me.
01:22 And luckily, Universal, probably because Judd and Nick
01:26 have had so much success taking kind of outside the box
01:30 comedians like me and building movies around them,
01:32 I think Universal felt a lot of confidence.
01:34 And I think Universal also saw that the culture now
01:37 has evolved to a place where people want these stories.
01:41 To get people to the movie theater,
01:42 you need to give them something new and fresh.
01:44 It can't be just a comedy, it has to be an event,
01:47 and "Bros" is that.
01:48 - I don't want any Hollywood bullshit.
01:50 - Well, I mean, it's so much happened on set.
01:56 - Yeah, I mean, they got a lot, a lot, a lot of footage.
02:00 And we know that there is a reason
02:03 for a cutting room floor, right?
02:05 Otherwise you have a five hour long movie.
02:07 But I feel like the final cut
02:14 has a really good balance of everything.
02:16 Yes, there were a lot of super hilarious moments
02:19 that didn't make it,
02:22 but I feel like everything serves its purpose.
02:26 - Yes.
02:27 - Yeah, I mean, the cut I thought was good.
02:28 - It was good, it was good.
02:31 But there's so much that didn't make it
02:35 that we thought was very funny.
02:37 I mean, we left set and went back to our trailers and laughed.
02:40 We came back off a break and sat back down in our chairs
02:42 to do retakes of some stuff.
02:44 And we laughed and laughed and repeated some of the stuff
02:47 because we were like, "This going in here."
02:49 This has to go in here 'cause this is so freaking funny.
02:53 But I do believe that the final cut of the movie
02:57 did its justice to what we did.
03:00 - I think so.
03:01 - There's plenty that was so funny.
03:03 And then obviously, you have to cut some stuff
03:06 along the way.
03:07 I mean, I particularly, we all,
03:09 and I can't remember when they came in
03:13 to announce that Deborah Messing had shown up.
03:15 We knew we were all gonna gasp, you know, collectively.
03:20 But then everyone was improvising their reaction
03:22 to Deborah Messing.
03:24 I think T.S. Madison quite literally said,
03:26 "Who's Deborah Messing?"
03:27 Which I think Luke's character says actually in the movie.
03:31 But I remember saying, "She's my hall pass."
03:36 You know, and Dot had a funny one, I can't remember.
03:38 All those aren't in there, but I thoroughly enjoyed
03:40 that we all had a very personal reaction to Deborah Messing.
03:43 - Yeah, I mean, just to move on from that,
03:45 I'd love to talk more about that sequence.
03:47 That cameo is so hilariously bonkers.
03:50 - The best, yeah.
03:51 - I love that she was very happy to make fun of herself.
03:54 Can you speak to what that experience was like filming?
03:57 - Well, I can't speak for Deborah.
03:59 I cannot get in her body.
04:00 And as much as I would want to try to understand her,
04:03 but I imagine that was gloriously fun for her.
04:06 I don't know her well enough to answer,
04:09 other than the fact that she was hilarious
04:11 and the idea of taking what I'm sure is her experience
04:14 sometimes to be some kind of a godmother
04:16 for, you know, or a therapist.
04:20 So, that was shot at the same place where we were shooting,
04:24 so I did watch from the monitors
04:25 and they were just take after take of just perfect.
04:29 (audience cheering)
04:31 - I mean, I can't imagine how many young people
04:32 are gonna go to the movies and finally kind of see--
04:35 - I mean, that's so cool.
04:36 Like, as you said that, I just pictured it in my mind
04:39 and I got chills, you know?
04:41 Like, that's really unbelievable.
04:43 I mean, it's crazy it took so long,
04:45 but I'm so glad that we did it
04:47 in what I hope is the right way.
04:49 - I remember my older sister going to see "Dirty Dancing"
04:51 and then, like, the family discussion that happened after,
04:54 because that movie was so provocative for its time.
04:57 "Dirty Dancing."
04:58 I hope the exact same thing happens for "Bros."
05:00 - I saw it twice in the movie theater.
05:02 (laughing)
05:03 - T.S., I was so excited to see you in this cast.
05:06 I was so, I loved seeing you in "Zola" earlier.
05:08 - Thank you. - I loved seeing you
05:09 on the big screen.
05:10 Can you speak to kind of creating this character
05:13 who has all of this, you know, power to her?
05:16 - Well, usually when trans women are cast in movies
05:19 and film and television and stuff like that,
05:21 we're cast to be, you know, prostitutes.
05:24 We were murdered.
05:26 Somebody's trying to find out, you know?
05:29 And I appreciate that, because it does tell the story
05:33 that is really going on in our community.
05:36 However, I do like to see us played in a different light,
05:39 like a board director, some woman with power,
05:42 you know, making decisions in the world,
05:44 because, you know, that exists as well.
05:47 And so when I got the role,
05:49 'cause I read for everybody's part, I did.
05:52 And then when I got the part of Angela,
05:55 I was like, "Okay, well, you know,
05:56 she's a woman that knows what she wants,
06:00 and, you know, she's a boss here in the room,
06:02 you know, and her and Wanda have their little something.
06:04 I don't know what it is that her and Wanda have.
06:06 I think they did a bad line together, so."
06:08 (laughing)
06:09 But it was, I was really excited
06:12 to be a part of the movie,
06:13 especially being T.S. Madison, honey,
06:15 and all that it encompasses with T.S. Madison.
06:17 - Hello, is it on?
06:18 How many times has someone said that?
06:19 - Well, they all be that.
06:21 (laughing)
06:22 - Is this bitch recording?
06:24 - Right, precisely.
06:25 - If we don't do this,
06:26 we're letting the heterosexual terrorists win.
06:28 - There are trans terrorists too.
06:30 Caitlyn Jenner.
06:31 - Luke, if I can pivot to you.
06:33 CinemaBlend, our audience,
06:35 we're big on the Hallmark Cinematic Universe,
06:37 of which your fans are legion.
06:40 I was wondering what you were hoping
06:42 that your fans from those projects
06:44 will get out of seeing "Bros."
06:46 - Yeah.
06:47 - And if, I guess, it's any of interest
06:49 to go back and tell a queer story under that umbrella.
06:53 - Yeah, for sure.
06:54 I think that they're gonna get it.
06:57 I think people are drawn to the Hallmark movies
06:59 because there is a sort of desert of love stories
07:02 right now in major, you know, thing.
07:04 And people go to Hallmark
07:05 'cause I think they love watching people fall in love.
07:07 And I've fallen in love with a lot of really talented,
07:11 beautiful, straight women.
07:12 Like Billy.
07:15 - I'm the Candace Cameron of "Bros."
07:17 - So I think that they will take a lot from it.
07:19 I think one of the things
07:20 that straight audiences are gonna take from it,
07:22 and I know a lot of queer people watch Hallmark as well,
07:24 but it's a bit of a peek behind the curtain
07:26 at what it's like for two men to date
07:28 in New York City in 2022.
07:30 So I think anybody that's curious
07:32 about anybody else's lives,
07:33 which is frankly why we go to movies,
07:35 to learn about other people's lives,
07:36 I think they'll absolutely take something from it.
07:38 - Gay guys are my jam.
07:39 - Awesome.
07:40 - Billy, I was very taken by the fact
07:43 that obviously there's this great love story
07:45 that's being told,
07:46 but also the movie's very much kind of taking the piss
07:49 out of queer people
07:50 and showing the very unsexy parts of trying to date.
07:54 I was wondering if you could speak
07:56 to the importance of that
07:57 and bringing like the Grindr deadpan messages to life.
08:00 I thought it was a hilarious choice.
08:01 - Yeah, I mean, you know,
08:03 I made the movie with Judd Apatow and Nick Stoller.
08:05 They happened to be straight.
08:06 I happened to be gay.
08:08 But one thing that bonds us all is that those guys
08:10 have made some of the funniest movies of the past 20 years,
08:12 Bridesmaids and 40 Year Old Virgin,
08:14 Forgetting Sarah Marshall,
08:15 and the list goes on and on.
08:17 Knocked up, Trainwreck.
08:18 So what bonds us is that we love a great comedy.
08:21 Our goal was to make it as laugh out loud funny
08:24 from start to finish as possible.
08:26 We don't get a lot of comedies like that anymore.
08:29 I love going to the movie theater
08:30 and sitting with hundreds of people and laughing.
08:33 It feels like a concert.
08:34 It feels fun.
08:35 It's uplifting.
08:36 It's comforting.
08:36 It's just fun.
08:37 It's like going on a ride
08:38 and we don't get that experience anymore.
08:41 And then beyond making it funny,
08:42 I really wanted it to be honest.
08:44 You know, I think we have seen more LGBTQ characters
08:47 in the past few years popping up in different shows
08:50 and things, but sometimes I feel that we're drawn
08:52 in a very one dimensional way,
08:54 or the creators are walking on eggshells
08:56 around what gay life really is.
08:59 And I didn't wanna do that.
09:00 The first thing I said to Nick Stoller,
09:01 who I wrote it with and who directed it
09:03 and who did a wonderful job is,
09:05 you know, I don't wanna do "When Harry Met Sally,"
09:07 but we're thrown into gay guys instead.
09:09 Like, that's not how the story would go with two men.
09:13 Not in 2022, certainly.
09:15 I don't even think those old rules apply
09:16 to young straight couples anymore.
09:18 And so I wanted it to be honest and authentic.
09:21 I wanted it to be sexy and romantic and awkward
09:25 and silly and funny, and just show these two men
09:28 falling in love in a very charming,
09:30 relatable, but honest way.
09:32 - Gay sex was more fun when straight people
09:34 were uncomfortable with it.
09:35 - Billy was great.
09:37 - Billy was amazing.
09:38 Billy gave us room and space to be creative,
09:44 you know, to tell the story of our characters
09:49 the way that we saw it.
09:51 And so he was an incredible collaborator
09:54 as well as director.
09:55 And I think that is why Nick Stoller and Billy,
10:00 I think that's what makes them so genius in this project,
10:03 is that they understood that because we are made,
10:07 this cast is made up and is a representation
10:10 of so many of the letters of the LGBTQ community,
10:14 it's kind of impossible to only have one point of view
10:17 by a director.
10:18 And the fact that they collaborated and offered
10:21 and gave us space for our input,
10:24 I think that's where a lot of the magic
10:27 comes from in this movie.
10:28 - He is, well, I would say two things.
10:31 One is very collaborative in the sense that
10:34 I think he wanted all these characters
10:37 to be fleshed out even more so from everyone's take
10:40 on their own personal.
10:41 We always shot what he and Nick had on the page
10:43 'cause it was great and gold.
10:46 But I think the spirit of him was also within himself
10:49 'cause we would be sitting at that table
10:51 and then it would cut and I would watch Billy,
10:54 you know, take the actor hat off and put on the,
10:56 you know, the writer, producer, everything.
11:00 And he often was, like he was making sure
11:02 that we're hitting all the right notes,
11:04 not just with the comedy,
11:05 but with the messages here and there
11:07 and that we were making fun of ourselves,
11:10 but we loved ourselves and that's a fine line to find,
11:15 you know? - Yeah.
11:15 - So that no one watching this movie is feeling judged,
11:17 they're just being able to laugh at themselves.
11:20 But we are having fun.
11:23 - This happens to be bisexual awareness week
11:26 and no one has acknowledged it.
11:29 - I was very taken with this kind of Greek chorus
11:32 that y'all had in this, you know, board meeting environment.
11:37 Can you speak to kind of the dynamic of filming
11:40 those scenes and the chemistry the group of you had?
11:43 - Yeah, I mean, it was fun.
11:45 It was naturally fun too.
11:47 It wasn't forced at all.
11:48 I think all of us knew that we had a job to do
11:52 and that was to make sure
11:54 that we get our point of view across
11:56 because we are talking about sharing our history
11:59 as LGBTQIA people to the world.
12:03 And that was the heart and soul
12:06 and the root of that boardroom.
12:09 And when you have a group of unapologetic LGBTQ people,
12:14 you're gonna get nothing but laughter anyway, right?
12:17 And we all mean business.
12:19 I think that's kind of the fabric of who we are
12:23 as LGBTQ people in real life is that we mean business
12:27 and we demand respect and we demand to be heard.
12:31 And when you bring all of those strong personalities
12:34 and those strong points of views together at a board table,
12:39 you get magic and that's what you get in "Bros."
12:41 - Yes.
12:41 - Lesbian history month was in March.
12:44 Nobody said a goddamn thing.
12:46 - Of course lesbians get a month and we get a week.
12:50 - A lot of tension.
12:51 No, I'm just kidding.
12:52 (laughing)
12:53 It was, I've said that, well, you sit in a circle.
12:58 And so we obviously as a board, we're sitting in a circle
13:00 and that means for a pretty long day of shooting
13:02 because you have a lot of coverage.
13:04 You're gonna go all the way around that table
13:05 and say these things many times
13:06 and there's some improv and everything involved.
13:08 So the dynamic was, you can't get a better dynamic
13:12 than spending three days together in the same room.
13:15 So you get to know people very well.
13:18 - Yeah, I mean, how was just kind of the energy
13:20 of the scenes and the way you guys
13:23 are interrupting each other?
13:24 I'm sure there were bits happening.
13:26 - Oh, plenty.
13:27 Well, Billy would, I remember when we first started shooting
13:31 Billy said, "Let's just ramp up
13:33 "and be pretty much in the heat of yelling at each other."
13:36 And then eventually, 'cause he sort of had the first line,
13:39 he would overtake the whole thing and get the scene started.
13:41 So we always had energy going into it,
13:44 which is just kind of fun
13:45 because you can say whatever you want,
13:47 which they may or may not use.
13:48 But yeah, and it was a very collaborative feel.
13:51 We would just totally shoot what was on the page
13:53 and then we would improvise
13:54 or Billy would come up with something on the fly,
13:57 throw it in there.
13:58 So by the end you had, I'm sure they have some,
14:01 I mean, there's so much stuff on the floor
14:02 that will find its life somewhere else.
14:05 - Happy pride.
14:06 - Happy pride.
14:07 - Now I have to go to a pride party
14:08 and you're both too old to be in the pool.
14:11 Please leave.
14:12 (upbeat music)
14:14 (upbeat music)
14:17 [BLANK_AUDIO]