Red, White & Royal Blue director Matthew López discusses the overwhelming response to the movie, acknowledging the demand for more content from fans, including a sequel. He also shares a humorous anecdote about a prank he played on Nicholas Galitzine during filming. “Red, White & Royal Blue” is a romantic comedy that portrays an unexpected and forbidden love affair between two young men from different worlds—Alex Claremont-Diaz, the charismatic son of the first female President of the United States, and Prince Henry, the younger brother of the British monarch. Watch the full interview with Gayety and Caitlynn McDaniel here!
Category
✨
PeopleTranscript
00:00 I'm Kaitlyn McDaniel. I am here with Gayety.
00:03 It's so great to see you. How are you feeling?
00:05 I'm good. How are you?
00:07 I'm wonderful. I'm so excited.
00:09 I've seen this movie more times than I can count.
00:12 So I'm just happy to be here.
00:15 And I know that there's just been so much buzz about this movie.
00:19 I mean, the impact of it has been so phenomenal.
00:22 And I know there's so many rumors that you've been talking about.
00:25 You had to crush people when you had to say there wasn't a three-hour extended cut.
00:29 But I feel like that just speaks to the incredible response.
00:33 I mean, people actually want a longer movie, not a shorter one,
00:37 which I feel like normally it's the opposite.
00:39 So how are you feeling about that?
00:41 I feel great. I mean, it's just a wonderful problem to have
00:46 that people just want more and more and more.
00:49 And, you know, I think I know that it...
00:53 I will be honest with you, there was a little period of time when I was like,
00:57 "Oh, no, they don't think my movie is sufficient. They don't think it's enough."
01:01 And I went, like, you know, I'm an artist, I'm neurotic.
01:05 And so there was a moment I was like, "They don't like my movie!"
01:08 And then, you know, that it took, you know, friends going,
01:11 "You idiot. They love your movie and they love it so much they want more."
01:16 And so, you know, I am very aware that this is hardly ever the way it goes.
01:23 This is hardly ever the response any movie gets, any play, any novel.
01:28 And I'm just enjoying it, you know.
01:33 It's, you know, the amount of time that was spent in creating this movie,
01:40 not just by me, but by so hundreds of people,
01:43 that it's just... that it has been sort of received and met with so much love
01:51 and so much excitement that people can't get enough of it,
01:54 that they just watch it on an endless loop.
01:57 It's just... it's very gratifying and it's very, very...
02:02 It just genuinely makes us all very, very happy.
02:05 I mean, it always sounds like a silly, small thing to say,
02:08 but it's just... it feels very, very good when people like what you've made.
02:14 Absolutely. I mean, it's to the point where they're demanding a sequel,
02:18 even though the movie's been out, you know, a matter of days.
02:21 Two weeks? Yeah.
02:22 Yeah.
02:23 And then everybody's on strike.
02:25 Right. Like, this is the perfect time to discuss a sequel, obviously.
02:28 Sure, sure. You know, like, look, the path to a sequel runs through the NPTP.
02:34 Call Carol Lombarditi and tell her you want a sequel.
02:36 The way to get a sequel is to get a fair deal for the actors and the writers.
02:40 Absolutely. Amen.
02:43 And, I mean, obviously there's so much we'd love to see more of.
02:46 I loved the little montage towards the end of the movie
02:49 when Alex is talking about his love for Henry,
02:51 and you kind of see scenes that we didn't really get to see,
02:53 and people went crazy for those.
02:55 So there's just all these small moments that everyone's really latching onto.
02:59 I know. I feel like people are, like, dissecting everything now.
03:04 It's like, "Wait, you stole that shot from another scene. I know you saw."
03:07 And, yeah.
03:09 The funny thing is, of course, is that, like, you know,
03:15 there literally isn't enough footage to go around.
03:19 And so the idea--I did--I had to sort of, like, explain, you know,
03:27 that the editors' assembly is not a cot, you know,
03:31 and that it's just sort of, like, not without art, but it is without nuance.
03:36 And so it's not, you know--
03:38 But, again, it's a great problem to have.
03:41 I wish--I wish I had this problem on everything I made.
03:46 And just speaking about, you know, dissecting the film,
03:49 I know there's a lot of Easter eggs that are in Red, White, and Royal Blue
03:52 that people have been finding, like the Taylor Swift dress and, you know,
03:56 Casey's next book.
03:58 Can I tell you that Taylor Swift dress--
04:01 if it was intentional, it was not by me. I did not--
04:04 Someone's a Swiftie on the crew.
04:07 Someone must have been.
04:09 Keith Madden, our costume designer, obviously is a Swiftie.
04:12 I didn't know until I was sent this meme about it.
04:17 Someone sort of figured it out and sent it.
04:19 And I sent it--someone sent it to me, and I was like, "That's news to me."
04:23 And I sent it to Ellie Bamber, and she looked at it, and she says,
04:27 "I didn't realize it either."
04:29 So I think there's that--if there was a Swiftie in our ranks,
04:33 it had to be Keith Madden, which I wouldn't put it past him.
04:37 I hear there was also a replica of the dress that Kate Middleton wore,
04:42 so is he also a fan there?
04:44 Is that true? Which one is that? See, you're teaching me about my movie,
04:47 which is, like--I have to tell you that people sometimes have the ability
04:51 to teach you about what you've made, and so I didn't know about the Taylor Swift
04:56 dress until someone explained it to me.
04:58 What's the Kate Middleton dress?
05:00 You're breaking news here.
05:02 I just recently learned about this. I don't know.
05:06 Honestly, I'll have to go find it.
05:08 I saw people talking about it online, and I was like, "Oh, that's cool."
05:11 I love that. I love that.
05:13 There's another one, so the fans really--
05:15 You know, we had to cut--listen, we had to cut corners somewhere,
05:18 and so we just used a bunch of, like, secondhand outfits for the whole movie.
05:22 We just stole, yeah, from the major celebrities.
05:25 We just raided people's closets.
05:27 It was like--well, you know, it's true that Kate Middleton and Taylor Swift
05:30 and Lady Gaga, they all just do, like, a clothing swap, you know,
05:34 and they all get together.
05:36 Most people don't know about this.
05:37 There's a big clothing swap.
05:38 It's the Hollywood clothing swap, and costume designers go,
05:41 and they participate, and they take what they want.
05:43 This is--I'm making this up. It's not true.
05:45 Although, wouldn't it be great if it was true?
05:47 I mean, I would love that if we were just like, "You know, I saw your outfit
05:50 last week. I'd like it this week."
05:52 Who wore it better, though, Ellie Bamber or Taylor Swift?
05:56 That's the question.
05:58 I can't comment on that.
06:00 I'd like to know the answer for that.
06:02 We need Taylor Swift to respond because she obviously has opinions, I'm sure.
06:07 I mean, I was going to ask if you knew of any other Easter eggs,
06:09 but clearly we're all discovering it live.
06:12 No, we are all figuring it out ourselves.
06:14 I mean, there are some very, very intentional Easter eggs in there,
06:16 but I think those are, like, the low-hanging fruit that everybody saw
06:19 instantly and recognized, like, you know, Alex reading a Case and McQuiston
06:23 book and--what else did we put in there?
06:27 I was very shameless and I put a clip of "Some Like It Hot" into the movie.
06:32 And, you know, I wrote the musical "Some Like It Hot,"
06:34 which is currently on Broadway.
06:36 But, you know, it's funny.
06:39 We were showing the movie--we did a screening, a fan screening in London
06:44 at the BFI, the IMAC Theater.
06:47 And the audience was a bunch of fans.
06:50 And they were loving it and having so much fun.
06:53 They didn't clock Casey in the election night scene.
06:59 And I--it was hilarious.
07:01 It wasn't until later that people were actually like, "Oh, my God,
07:04 that's Casey McQuiston in that scene."
07:06 But the audience, who were, like, responding to every little thing,
07:08 when Casey shows up in the election night scene,
07:10 they didn't even clock Casey.
07:13 It was hilarious.
07:14 It took, like, a little while--a couple of viewings.
07:16 So I like--maybe there are more Easter eggs in there than anybody
07:19 actually knows.
07:21 I mean, I was stressed during that scene, so I could almost see you
07:23 missing it.
07:24 Even though I read the book, I was like, "Oh, no.
07:26 Are we going to get Texas?"
07:28 Lopez made some changes.
07:30 What if she loses the election, you know?
07:33 It could have happened.
07:35 And I do want to ask, there was this funny story that you told
07:38 about Taylor Zakara Perez asking you if he should shave or not.
07:42 And you were like, you know--
07:43 I told that story yesterday.
07:45 It was, like, everywhere.
07:46 I was, like--it's funny.
07:48 I was, like--I was doing--I've been doing a bunch of interviews today.
07:51 Like, in between, I get--I check my phone, and there's a text from Taylor.
07:55 He's, like, sending me all these things.
07:57 Yes, it's true.
07:59 Taylor--well, because he said that they made him, like, wax for minks.
08:06 And so I think it probably got, like, in his head a bit.
08:10 And so we were shooting the scene in the Paris hotel room.
08:17 That day was, like, the morning of.
08:20 And I was being taken to set.
08:23 I was driving--I was on my way to set, and I was diverted to Taylor's dressing room,
08:27 which I don't usually go--I didn't usually go over to the trailers in the morning.
08:31 And Karen, the hair and makeup person on the film, she walks me into--
08:38 and I was like, "Karen, you're coming.
08:39 I need a witness.
08:40 I'm not going in there alone to look at my star's butt."
08:43 And I was like, "That's not happening to my career or to Taylor's career.
08:47 So you're there as a witness."
08:49 And so we even left the door open to the trailer.
08:52 We were, like--we were very conscious, actually, about these actors' dignity
08:56 throughout the whole process, especially given what we were about to film that day.
09:00 But Taylor's like, "I need you to look at my butt.
09:02 Is it too hairy?"
09:03 And I'm like, "Show it to me."
09:05 And he was trying to explain it to me in person.
09:07 I'm like, "Taylor, just take your pants off and show me your butt."
09:10 And he did, and I looked, and I was like, "You're fine.
09:12 You're absolutely fine."
09:14 But it was very funny because everybody was aware that this was, like,
09:18 a potentially, like, inappropriate thing.
09:20 But we were also, like--we were also, like, close already after five weeks
09:24 of filming.
09:25 I was just like, "Yeah, just show me your butt, Taylor.
09:28 And, yeah, you're good.
09:29 You're good.
09:30 Put it back, and let's get to work."
09:32 I'm glad that it sounds like you guys are still on good terms
09:35 after you're telling this story.
09:37 Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
09:38 You didn't have time to ask.
09:39 I actually--no, because it was in the moment, and I was like,
09:42 "Oh, it's a good story.
09:43 Should I tell this story?
09:44 Yeah, let's tell the story."
09:45 So I'm actually--afterwards, I text him, and I was like,
09:49 "So I just told this story."
09:51 And he's like, "Yeah, that's a good story.
09:53 I'm glad you told it."
09:54 So I was like--
09:56 And I didn't want to get you in any more trouble, but I know that just,
09:58 like, came up in the--
09:59 Oh, I'm sure.
10:00 Let's get me into more trouble.
10:01 Well, I just wanted to ask, is there any other funny stories
10:03 that you just haven't had the moment to bring up, you know,
10:06 kind of similar to that?
10:07 You know, I've been waiting for this.
10:08 Do you want me to break a story that--it was--I was very mean.
10:13 I just--I get sometimes the devil in me a little bit,
10:18 and I just decide to, like, play tricks on people.
10:20 And I know that as the director of the film I shouldn't--I didn't do it
10:23 too often, but we had--our third day of filming was the karaoke scene,
10:28 and we spent all day doing it, and Nick either sang it live
10:33 or lip-synced to a wild track that he laid down early that day.
10:36 At least, whew, 15, 16 times through the song, like, performing.
10:41 He, like, performed his guts out on this thing.
10:44 He really just, like, he killed it.
10:47 And it was a big day for him, and it was great,
10:50 and I knew how hard he worked.
10:53 And then two days later, I don't know where it came from,
10:57 but I was like, "Nick, can I talk to you for a second?"
11:00 He's like, "Yeah, yeah. What is it?"
11:02 So the dailies from Wednesday, they came back.
11:07 They're like, "Yeah."
11:09 And the data was corrupted.
11:11 There was something wrong with the camera, and the data was bad,
11:16 and we didn't get it.
11:18 And he's like, "How much of it did we--?"
11:20 And I was like, "None of it. We didn't get any of it.
11:23 We have to shoot the whole thing again."
11:25 And his face just fell.
11:28 And I felt--I both did not feel guilty,
11:30 because I knew it was, like, a great gag,
11:33 but also, like, I was like, "Oh, I feel bad."
11:35 So I just let him sit in it for just a couple of seconds.
11:37 I'm like, "I'm kidding. It's great. It's brilliant.
11:39 I watched every take. It's wonderful."
11:41 And he vowed revenge, but he never got it.
11:45 He never got me back.
11:47 You have to be careful every day,
11:49 because you never know what is coming.
11:51 I'm looking up for anvils over my head every single day.
11:54 Out your window in case--
11:56 I don't know what came over me.
11:58 I just decided to play a trick on him, and he believed it.
12:00 And I think that was--it was good to know that I, you know--
12:04 I don't think he believed a word I said after that, though.
12:08 I mean, I love Nicholas.
12:10 He's amazing at acting, and I love that there's this trend going on--
12:13 not really a trend, a little meme--
12:15 of him comparing his monologue to Alex when he storms the castle,
12:19 and then his new scene from his Bottoms film.
12:21 I don't know if you've seen that.
12:23 I haven't, no. I haven't seen it.
12:25 Because his character, they're just polar opposites,
12:27 and everyone is putting them next to each other,
12:29 and it's just hilarious.
12:31 You'll have to see it, because he's just amazing.
12:34 Maybe we just need a character crossover film.
12:37 Maybe we need those two characters to end up with the wrong movie.
12:40 That would be perfect. I agree 100%.
12:44 Maybe that's what we need.
12:46 My last question I just wanted to ask before we have to wrap.
12:50 I mean, we talked about how everyone has been watching this movie on repeat.
12:53 How many times have you seen it?
12:56 You'll have to clarify.
12:58 How many times have I seen any version of it, or the finished version?
13:03 The finished version.
13:05 Do you watch it just for guilty pleasure?
13:07 Are you at home just popping it on?
13:09 Sure I'm not.
13:12 What I've been meaning to do, I haven't done yet.
13:14 I kind of want to watch it in a couple of scenes in French,
13:16 or in Spanish, just to see what the dubbing is like.
13:20 That's a good idea, yeah.
13:22 I think that might be fun, but only a scene or two.
13:24 I think once it was all finished, I think I may have seen it,
13:32 I would say five or six times.
13:36 And I probably saw it more than I might otherwise,
13:40 but because I'm from theatre, I was trained in theatre,
13:46 and I'm used to having a relationship with the audience,
13:50 an immediate relationship with the audience.
13:52 As terrifying as that can often be,
13:54 sitting in the back of the theatre watching your play with an audience,
13:57 you learn a lot, you know?
13:59 And even if the movie was done, we were doing these fan screenings,
14:02 and I was just curious to know how the movie played.
14:04 And so I would introduce these fan screenings,
14:07 and then I would go sit in the back and I would watch.
14:09 And so I ended up watching the movie more often than most filmmakers
14:14 probably would after the thing was done.
14:16 I knew because we were going to go onto the platform
14:20 and it wasn't going to be in theatres,
14:23 this was my only shot at actually watching people watch the movie.
14:28 So for this theatre kid in me, it was really a cool opportunity to do that.
14:33 So five, maybe six.
14:36 I have you beat. I think I'm on seven.
14:39 Yeah, but if you count every version of the movie,
14:42 like every different cut, like every time I had...
14:45 I probably have seen a version of this movie 40 times, 50 times.
14:52 Yeah.
14:54 So I do have most people beat.
14:56 I was about to say, if there is a list, a competition list,
14:59 I mean, you were there for the five weeks of filming,
15:01 so I feel like that has to equal something.
15:04 Nine weeks of filming.
15:06 Nine weeks, yeah.
15:08 So I mean, I'm properly sick of it now.
15:11 I'm not sick of the response, but, you know, it was actually funny.
15:16 It was like the final fan screening we did was here.
15:20 It was the day that we did all of them simultaneously
15:23 across the United States, and we did one in London as well.
15:27 And I was like, "Oh, it was the last shot.
15:29 I'm going to watch it one last time."
15:31 And I do remember watching it going,
15:33 "Well, I don't need to see this again" for a long, long time.
15:36 I was like, "Great. I've hit my saturation point."
15:40 But that is also--
15:42 I saw every different version of the movie, I don't know,
15:46 40 or 50 times, so I'm good. I'm really good.
15:49 I do still think I have most people beat so far.
15:53 Absolutely. I mean, and you've seen all the deleted scenes,
15:56 so everyone's going to be jealous.
15:58 They all wish they were you, you know?
16:00 There are no more deleted scenes. That's it.
16:02 We all lied. We just did-- There's nothing left.
16:04 There's nothing left. There's nothing left.
16:07 Everybody's seen everything.
16:09 We only did one take of every scene.
16:11 One take, that's it.
16:13 You know, there's nothing--
16:15 Quite literally, the movie is 118 minutes.
16:18 And all told, I think we probably got 121 minutes of footage.
16:23 It was a really efficient shooting--
16:25 You don't believe me, do you?
16:27 Not one bit, but I'll let the audience--
16:29 I'll cut this part out.
16:31 I'll send that to the fans so they can stop.
16:34 I'll be like, "He said it."
16:36 I love them. I love them. I love them.
16:38 It's so-- I mean, it's just--
16:40 I'm very aware of how deeply, deeply rare this is.
16:46 And it feels great. It feels great.
16:49 Even when people are demanding things that don't exist,
16:52 it feels great.
16:54 Well, thank you so much. That's all the time I have.
16:57 -But it was a pleasure. -Thanks, Caitlin.
16:59 -Thank you. -It was good talking to you.
17:01 You too. Bye.