The first gay romantic comedy produced by a major studio with an LGBTQIA cast, “Bros” is a success that director Nicholas Stoller and his cast are telling us about. including Billy Eichner and Luke Macfarlane.
After Nothing Goes Sans Sarah and 5 years of reflection, Nicholas Stoller returns to romantic comedy. Without her boyfriend Jason Segel, but with Billy Eichner, the lead actor and co-writer of this love story between two very busy men, with a cast made up exclusively of LGBTQIA comedians.
Very funny, tender and human, Bros also stands as a historical film as it is the first time a major studio (in this case Universal) produced such a feature film. A topic we particularly discussed with Nicholas Stoller, Billy Eichner and his partner Luke MacFarlane, as well as supporting actors: TS Madison, Miss Lawrence, Jim Rash, Dot-Marie Jones and Eve Lindley.
AlloCiné: “Bros” is an R-rated gay romantic comedy (not suitable for under 17s) in the United States with an exclusively LGBTQIA cast. How difficult was it to finance the film in Hollywood?
Billy Eichner : I’m happy to say that when we approached Bros at Universal, the studio that produced it, they were looking for something similar. As they say, it took Hollywood a long time to get there: the big studios have been around for over a century and never made a movie like this! But Universal realized it was time to do something fun and authentic, realistic.
It wasn’t about walking on eggshells to show the lives of gay people, but about telling a story that was as funny as it was honest. A story that LGBTQIA and heterosexuals could identify with because it would be authentic.
Nicholas Stoller : However, production took longer than expected, especially due to the pandemic. It usually takes me two and a half years to make a film, it took me five for Bros. Because we were supposed to start shooting in March 2020, but the pandemic intervened and we had to postpone the shooting. But we didn’t have much time to do it and it was the shortest shoot for my film.
Obviously I learned as a director to go faster and faster. And because we’d been working on it for a couple of years, Billy was ready and well-prepared to shoot. Filmmaking is always difficult because there are always new issues, but it was still fun because every day was special. One day we could shoot a love scene between him and Luke, and my cinematographer Brandon Trost and I would point out that we’ve never seen a scene like that before. And it’s nice to be a part of such a project.
The big studios have been around for over a century and never made a movie like this
How does it feel to be a part of this film, which is already historic? Did you realize this while doing it?
TS Madison : Yes. When we first walked through the production door, we knew Bros was going to be historic. Especially when we later found out that Universal was producing it. And look: the film is released in France! It’s everywhere!
Miss Lawrence : Let me tell you that this is the first time I have been interviewed by someone in France. And that alone is… Wow!
TS Madison: We are delighted that it has reached such an international audience. LGBTQIA people exist all over the world and this film represents all types of people in this community. I find it incredible that France is absorbing all of this as well.
Miss Lawrence: Yes! And France will know my name when I come!
Jim Rush : I didn’t immediately know what we were getting into. By this I mean that I was invited to a reading in which Dot also took part. It was one of the first drafts of the script, from which the words still had to be worked out. We were not married then. We were just actors listening to these words, focused on doing justice to the text. That’s when we found out we were going to play in it, and Bill’s intention was to only tackle LGBTQ comedians. This is where the project took on a whole new meaning for me.
Dot Marie Jones : I think this is something fantastic! I didn’t expect this to happen in my career.
Eva Lindley : We are not necessarily trying to make the film historical or revolutionary. But if it happens in the process, one feels lucky. And being part of this project was very stimulating.
Luke Macfarlane and Billy Eichner
This is your third romantic comedy, Nicholas. Why do you like this genre so much?
Nicholas Stoller: I love romantic comedies. It is the most human genre for me. There is nothing more beautiful than seeing two people in love, looking for what will please the other or ways to overcome their insecurities or insecurities. I find these movies fascinating and there is a reason why people watch them over and over again. I don’t know how many times I’ve seen Harry meet Sally, but I knew I was going to watch it a million more times.
It’s so… human – I don’t know how else to say it. That’s not true in many movies, but it is true in romantic comedies. Even the ones that are artificial and cheesy. They are warm movies.
How important is it to you to write a screenplay with a leading actor, be it Jason Segel back in the day or Billy Eichner today?
Nicholas Stoller: I love working with actors and their talent. As someone who directs and writes but doesn’t act, I think first and foremost about the story, the characters, the themes, the plot… and the actors wonder if a person would do such and such a thing. Sometimes I think about it, of course, in the same way that an actor can think about a plot. But this association can be magical.
In the case of Bros, Billy had never written a film before, unlike me. So I brought to him my experience in this matter and my knowledge of how events can lead to each other. But that says more about his life than mine because I’m straight and he’s gay. This is his story, but I was able to share my feelings and my theories about love. I also listened to his stories about himself and his friends.
I would also like to say that I am straight married with three daughters and Bill is gay and single. But that we’re both big 40-something Jews with the same comedic credentials (laughs) We speak the same comedy language and I think that’s why the result works.
If there’s one thing I hope Bros will be eye-opening. And doors for all of us
How did you go about making the secondary characters have more substance than what we’re used to seeing in these types of comedies? Have you put a lot on yourself?
Dot Marie Jones: There’s a little bit of each of our characters, yes. There’s both what you bring to them and a desire to offer something authentic and new. It doesn’t matter if it’s close to what you are in real life. About me, there is a lot of myself in Cheri, but other things I have added.
Eva Lindley: For my part, I feel very different from my character because I’m not that smart (laughs) I was lucky that my character didn’t need any substance, but I trusted the others that Tamara wouldn’t be a joke.
Jim Rush: Me, I like to think I’m less nervous than Robert. (laughs) But the people present at this interview may not agree (she bursts out laughing)
Miss Lawrence: We still remained faithful to the script and the director’s wishes. He then left us free range to combine what we see of the characters with how we thought they would react to the situations. And where the correlation between the actors and the characters is that Wanda is a gender non-conforming person, just like me. Angela is a trans black woman, just like TS Madison. We are actors and it was nice to be able to play someone who is like me.
Next to you, Luke, you star in a movie that pokes fun at Christmas TV movies that air on Hallmark and their opportunistic progressiveness… though you’ve been in a lot of them.
Luke Macfarlane : (laughs) What’s even funnier is that it was already in the script before I signed on to play Aaron. But one of Bill’s greatest talents is knowing how to look at the world’s cultural moments in order to laugh at them. And it’s also a testament to how Hallmark has touched people. The channel exists and is successful because there is a wasteland of romantic comedies out there: people want to see other people fall in love with them.
So Bros also pays homage to Hallmark, and I hope the channel appreciates it. They say that the greatest form of flattery is imitation. So, in a way, we emulate them. with our jokes (laughs)
Eva Lindley (in green), Jim Rush, TS Madison, Dot-Marie Jones and Miss Lawrence
Can a film like this change things in Hollywood in terms of roles and stories?
Dot Marie Jones: If there’s one thing I hope Bros will be eye-opening. And doors for all of us. Each of us is different in the LGBTQI community, as you can see in the film and especially in the meeting room scenes. There are different levels because we are all human and we all have hearts.
Eva Lindley: We have all proven that we are not second-rate people. Today, the ball is in Hollywood’s hands as to what they will do with the film.
Jim Rush: Also let’s not forget what happened before Bros and unfortunately I find there are always steps back and forth. We definitely want it to be just progress and in that spirit, which means that a movie like this is not a specific event. Just a short event. reality. That’s the hope I’ve always had, and I think we’ll move forward if they recognize that Bros is a well-made, funny, well-written romantic comedy, and that’s what makes it stand out.
Interview by Maximilien Pierret in Paris, September 20, 2022
Source: allocine
Emily Jhon is a product and service reviewer at Gossipify, known for her honest evaluations and thorough analysis. With a background in marketing and consumer research, she offers valuable insights to readers. She has been writing for Gossipify for several years and has a degree in Marketing and Consumer Research from the University of Oxford.
