(L to R) Alison Brie and Dave Franco star in ‘Together’.
Opening in theaters on July 30th is the new “body horror” movie ‘Together’, which was written and directed by Michael Shanks (‘Parked‘), and stars real-life married couple Alison Brie (‘Promising Young Woman’) and Dave Franco (‘Now You See Me’).
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of sitting down in person with Alison Brie and Dave Franco to talk about their work on ‘Together’, their first reactions to the screenplay, Brie’s performance, adjusting Franco’s character, the married couple’s working relationship, and the pressure of shooting the film in only 21 days.
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Dave Franco in ‘Together’. Photo: Neon.
Moviefone: To begin with, Dave, can you talk about your first meeting with director Michael Shanks, his pitch for this movie, and why you thought it would be a good project for you and Alison to do together?
Dave Franco: So, I met Michael Shanks, because we were discussing another film that he wrote, during that meeting, that film kind of got pushed to the side, and we just started bonding over horror movies. He was like, “I’ve had this script sitting around for a long time. I think you might really like it,” and so he sent me the script for ‘Together’. I read it, and I was just like, “This is one of the most innovative scripts I’ve ever read. These set pieces are unbelievable.” I turned to Alison, and I was like, “I think we should do this together, because our real relationship could help inform these characters in the movie, who have been together for over a decade, and hopefully we could add some real kind of history and weight to that relationship.”
(L to R) Alison Brie and Dave Franco in ‘Together’. Photo: Neon.
MF: Alison, can you talk about the raw places you have to go to emotionally with this performance, and the benefit of acting opposite your real-life husband? Do you think you could have given the same level of performance with another actor, or could you only have done this project with Dave?
Alison Brie: I do feel like there were so many advantages to doing this together, and to your point, emotionally, yes, but physically, there was stuff we were doing every day that we truly finished every day of filming, going, “We couldn’t do this with anyone else.” It was all new levels of intimacy, even for us, but the best part of working with Dave is just that trust. We trust each other so much. We have worked together before. We respect each other. We work in the same way. I think that I am at my best as a performer when I’m acting opposite Dave or in front of Dave when he’s directing me, just because I can’t be false. He knows me better than anyone. I do think it brings out some of my truest work. Our non-verbal communication is high.
(L to R) Alison Brie and Dave Franco in ‘Together’. Photo: Neon.
MF: Dave, what do you enjoy about working with Alison on set?
DF: In the two times that I’ve directed her, in the rare moments when I would come up to give her a note, I’d be walking towards her, and often, she’d be like, “I know. I got it. Go back to the monitors.” Then I’d go back to the monitors, and she’d do exactly what I was going to tell her.
(L to R) Director Michael Shanks, Dave Franco and Alison Brie on the set of ‘Together’. Photo: Neon.
MF: Dave, I understand that you and Michael made some adjustments to your character before filming to make Tim more likable. Can you talk about what aspects of the character you wanted to change before shooting?
DF: So, Michael Shanks very loosely based the relationship in the movie on his own, sixteen-year relationship, and he kind of made my character, which is a version of him, the worst version of him. He was like, “This is how I fear people are looking at me. This is just all my darkest places in my head.” I was like, “I get that, but on the page, this guy is an a**hole, and no one will be rooting for this guy.” So, it was truly minor character adjustments, just making sure that his a**hole-ness was kind of coming from a relatable place of just being a tortured guy.
Alison Brie in ‘Together’. Photo: Neon.
MF: Finally, Alison, you and Dave are also producers on the film. From a producer’s point of view, did you feel the pressure of a 21-day shoot?
AB: A little bit. I mean, we had great support. We had a lot of great producers on this, but there certainly were days where you’re wearing both hats. We’re doing the craziest contorting on set, and then turning to figure out if we’re losing a location or what’s happening. That can always be stressful. Again, it’s wonderful to have my husband there, and truly, we were such a great team with Shanks. It really felt like the three of us are in this together collaborating, making this movie, problem solving together, so we just had a good thing going.
“Join us.”
With a move to the countryside already testing the limits of a couple’s relationship, a supernatural encounter begins an extreme transformation of their love, their… Read the Plot
What is the plot of ‘Together’?
Years into their relationship, a couple (Alison Brie and Dave Franco) find themselves at a crossroads as they move to the country, abandoning all that is familiar in their lives except each other. With tensions already flaring, a nightmarish encounter with a mysterious, unnatural force threatens to corrupt their lives, their love, and their flesh.
Who is in the cast of ‘Together’?
(L to R) Alison Brie and Dave Franco in ‘Together’. Photo: Neon.
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