We speak with Prime Video’s “Roleplay” Director, Thomas Vincent about this action-packed romantic comedy and working with actress Kaley Cuoco @PrimeVideo @AmazonStudios @CultureRated @Rmediavilla #RolePlayMovie #PrimeVideo
Emma (Kaley Cuoco) and Dave (David Oyelowo) spice up their wedding anniversary with a night of role-play in New York City. But things turn perilous when Emma’s secret life as an international assassin, unknown to Dave, is exposed by Bob (Bill Nighy), jeopardizing her family. Emma must rely on her lethal skills and determination to protect her family at all costs.
Available in Prime Video January 12, 2024
Criticólogos:
This is a movie that couples should all watch on a weekend with popcorn and candy at home because of how the dynamic between the relationship and Dave and Emma works I think that narrative but also the action is there to take it to another level and obviously to develop Emma’s story. So, I want to ask you, how important was for you to balance these two elements to make sure that these two elements work and get an equal amount of time on screen.
Thomas Vincent:
Yeah, that’s a very clever question. Uh, it’s and it’s been on our minds all through the work of the film, like, really balancing the thriller and the comedy has been something like, we’ve been working on this, on the script, and during this, and we knew that it was going to be key to the success of the film. And, and at some point, some at some moments, I was not even sure where this should, you know, on which side it should, uh, it should veer and, and in many instances, we did two versions of the same.
Uh, a more serious one more thriller. One or more comedies. One, for instance, is the scene in the bar in Berlin where, uh, David, uh, is reunited with Kayla. Uh, we, uh, we shot two very different versions of it. Uh, and then still in the edit, we’ve been working a lot, uh, to, uh, find the sweet spot there, which is very it’s a very subtle work. I mean, like, we’ve been, uh, editing, like two, three, four parts of the film before we name that before. At some point, the balance was there, and the film was singing, but it’s it was very difficult. But when you that was going to be the challenge. So, we were ready for that.
Criticólogos:
I got to talk about working with Kaley Cuoco. She has done everything did she bring something to the table that she brought to you, or did she follow your lead all the time, what was the dynamic working with her?
Thomas Vincent:
Uh, Kate is an actress who knows herself and knows her, uh, qualities and strengths, uh, incredibly well. And she, she was very, very clever in deciding what was right, what was not right for her. She has that she says she has that sparkle, and she needs to she needs to be able to express it. And she’s very good at managing that. She’s extremely professional and she was very clever in, in making that choice of that film, in deciding to play that character, which is not only comedy, but also partly serious, and because the balance in the film is that David is the funny clown and she’s more the serious clown.
Uh, and she was, I think it was very clever and very brave of her to make that choice because the audience knows her as the funny clown. And, uh, and in fact, she I think she’s, uh, she wants to, uh, take us, you know, like, broaden her. Uh, her performances are choices and show that she can do much more than what we know of her.
Criticólogos:
This is an action-packed movie. She had heavy action-packed scenes. And I wonder, how much she wanted to be hands-on on those specific physical scenes, how was it with her working in those specific action scenes?
Thomas Vincent:
I think having action scenes was one of the reasons why she loved the project. So, she was very keen on being, uh, part of it. And she trained for all of it. Uh, she kept doing prep. She kept telling me and sending me videos of her shooting in the shooting range and showing me how good she was with the gun. And the only thing is that she was pregnant. She had a baby since the film. And she was pregnant during the shoot. So, there are moments when she had to let the double do part of the stunts, but, uh, but she was, uh, she was very happy to be part of it, and she was very willful in it.
Criticólogos:
The writing I think it’s clever. We were speaking at the beginning of the interview, about how we balance both the romance behind the story and the action scene. Did the screenwriter give you full control of being able to modify where, and how the narratives go? Or did you just follow his lead?
Thomas Vincent:
It was very much a group effort. Team effort, we worked with the producers, and Seth, the writer. And we’re sharing our love for that project, and, and, and it was very clear from the beginning that the first half was also pretty much what it is. The second half still needed some work. And we’ve been working a lot to, uh, make that thriller part to achieve that part of the film.
Criticólogos:
I think specifically couples are going to watch this, and are going to enjoy it and maybe, you know, roleplay themselves with the idea, or daydream of putting themselves in this situation. What would you expect them to take away from the story?
Thomas Vincent:
I think, quite subtle in the film. It doesn’t we don’t say it upfront, but it’s there that it’s a very modern couple. It’s a way to tell a story of a very contemporary couple, with this guy being David’s character, probably the less macho husband, you can imagine, and her being pretty much a wife. And then there is a balance between the two of them, and they’re very loving. Couples can work in many ways, and we’re at a time when lots of couples are questioning themselves and reinventing the way it works between men and women. And I think it’s a very hopeful, you know, um, uh, version of it. And I’d love to share it with the audience.
Criticólogos:
I pride myself on being an advocate for women in leading roles and this is something that stood out to me in this one. How important was it for this story to be told this way with women leading in a strong position in this modern world?
Thomas Vincent:
Well, the assassin having a double life is a classic trope of film. I mean, there’s been, uh, Mr. and Mrs. Smith and so and on and on and on. Making the female version of it was a very pointed version to share with the audience today. Uh, it does make sense because it echoes with the world we’re living in and the questions that we’re asking ourselves and we’re sharing with our loved ones.
So, it’s true for me, and I think it’s true for lots of people. And I think the film and this story and the way we tell it is a way to be part of that conversation with the audience in a very fun and entertaining way, because it’s not, you know, there’s nothing it’s not a, you know, it’s not an essay. It’s, uh, it’s a fun film. It’s a, you know, it’s a popcorn and but it’s clever popcorn.
See the interview below:
Trailer:
