Although Sophie Brooks’ sophomore function “Oh, Hello!” serves a collective movie made between principally mates, the precise manufacturing took a very long time to return collectively. Talking with IndieWire’s Ryan Lattanzio at Sundance‘s IndieWire Studio, offered by Dropbox, Brooks opened up about how the distinctive romantic comedy got here out of a tough time in her life and was first originated whereas she was in lockdown throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Throughout that point, I used to be having a basic existential disaster about my profession and life generally, and referred to as my agent for steering,” mentioned Brooks, “and he or she challenged me to give you an concept for a film that would shoot throughout COVID, which meant restricted areas and restricted actors, and about 5 minutes after that decision, I got here up with the premise of the movie.”
On the time, Brooks’ household was in the identical pod as Molly Gordon’s, with Gordon’s mom, filmmaker Jessie Nelson, serving as a mentor to Brooks. Bringing the thought to Gordon, the 2 put collectively a narrative over a weekend, then Brooks scripted the movie in a matter of weeks.
“I believe it actually got here out of Sophie and I bonding over our shared heartbreak and Soph is a real romantic and like a hopeful particular person, and I believe has impressed me a lot to not grow to be a bit of brat,” Gordon advised IndieWire. “And I believe this film is type of a love letter to the hopeless romantic and actually helped me by my heartbreak on the time and it’s all the time been like a light-weight to maintain the hope in life.”
Although the movie took 4 and a half years to lastly come collectively, Brooks and Gordon had been working laborious in that point to carry mates and friends into the fold. Starring reverse Gordon as her new husband, Isaac, Logan Lerman was confronted with a tough problem for his position, as most of his display screen time consists of being strapped to a mattress.
Regardless of being certain by these circumstances, Lerman mentioned, “I used to be by no means uncomfortable on set or feeling bizarre with the issues that I had to do this had been notably weak. My character was thrilling for me as a result of it was somebody I don’t actually relate to personally. He felt like a mix of folks that I’ve identified in my life, and I used to be excited to discover one thing new and a brand new character and tone and particular person for me.”
Co-star Geraldine Viswanathan equally felt at full ease working with this group and was concerned with the challenge just about from the very starting.
“I learn the script like 5 years in the past and I used to be simply obsessive about it and was like, I wanna be part of this in any means,” she mentioned. “After which it type of all got here collectively actually shortly and it was like we’re going to upstate. So we simply jumped in.”
“Search Get together” star John Reynolds was additionally one of many first folks to be despatched the script, with Brooks even acknowledging that she wrote the half for him regardless of not likely understanding one another. Even so, Reynolds felt a connection and curiosity within the position that wouldn’t subside over the lengthy growth interval.
“We met within the park and I actually appreciated Sophie and her vibe, which has not modified. It’s nonetheless good,” mentioned Reynolds. “And yeah, I simply thought the half was actually humorous and I simply appreciated that the half was so go-with-the-flow. And appreciated what was happening with the group and he was a part of the group.”
Extra than simply being a collaboration between mates, Brooks and Gordon hope their story revitalizes an curiosity in romantic comedy with a bit of chew to it.
“I believe that there’s such an urge for food for love and connection on display screen,” Gordon shared with IndieWire, “like we are able to’t dwell in a society the place we’re simply sexless and we don’t need any form of connection and we’re simply in such a fucked up place.”
Watch the total video interview with the “Oh, Hello!” group above.
“Oh, Hello!” premiered on the 2025 Sundance Movie Competition. It’s presently looking for U.S. distribution.
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