[Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for Together]
For writer-directorMichael Shanks' feature debut,Together, Hollywood power coupleAlison BrieandDave Francobring a certain meta quality to their lead characters, Millie and Tim. In this interview with Collider’sPerri Nemiroff, the duo go in-depth on some of this body horror’s most gruesome and grueling sequences and share how their off-screen relationship brought a deeper history to the star-crossed on-screen pair.
InTogether,codependency takes a fleshy formwhen Millie and Tim uproot their lives and move to a secluded country home. Far from everything they’ve ever known, all they have is each other, and tensions are high. Add to that a disturbing and unnatural force that brings them closer than ever, andyou’ve got a recipe for disaster.
Check out the full conversation in the video above, or you can read the transcript below to find out how Brie and Franco used their marriage to bolster their on-screen dynamics. They share their favorite sequences to film and discuss how physical comedy compares to the demanding physical performance of body horrors. Franco also shares which scenes fromSeth Rogen’sThe StudiogivesTogethera run for its money, and Brie teases how the internet hasMasters of the Universeall wrong.
Alison Brie and Dave Franco’s Real-Life Relationship Is Crucial for ‘Together’
“We are not at all like Tim and Millie.”
PERRI NEMIROFF: This first question is going to be a little bit of a mouthful, because it’s something about the movie that really fascinates me, and I can’t quite articulate why it works so well. I love the fact that I can feel the meta quality of seeing two people who are actually married playing these characters, but you never break the reality of their world in the process. Did you talk about that with Michael, and if so, what is the key to being able to do both?
ALISON BRIE: Well, I mean, I think it’s something that drew us to the project in the first place. You read the script and sent it to me to say, “It would make a lot of sense for a real-life couple to star in this movie together. I think it will bring out some components.”
DAVE FRANCO:Our history will actually lend itself to these characterswho have been together for over a decade, and hopefully you feel that weight, and you feel that history between them.
BRIE: It is interesting because, as a couple, we are not at all like Tim and Millie.
FRANCO: Exactly. [Laughs]
BRIE: And for a lot of the movie, their relationship is in such a depressing place. I think that what was helpful was truly just our history, our shared history, andour love for one another, and knowing that that would be the baseline for everything. Even when they’re not getting along, you would sense that they’ve been together a long time. Theydohave a love for one another.
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The couple also shares updates on ‘Now You See Me 3’ and ‘Masters of the Universe,’ and tons on their slates.
‘Together’s Body Horror Took a Real Physical Toll on Its Stars
Brie and Franco break down their favorite and most challenging sequences to film.
Here’s where we’re going to get into some potential spoilers. I want to talk about every single set piece in this movie, but because we don’t have that kind of time, here’s how I’m going to get at it. Going into filming, which single set piece did youthinkwas going to be the most difficult for you to pull off, and ultimately, was it or did a different one catch you by surprise?
BRIE: The one that I thought was going to be the most difficult is the final transformation scene.
FRANCO: Oh! That was difficult emotionally for me, just because we were standing naked together for anentireday.
BRIE: It definitely felt like the riskiest day. We trust Michael Shanks so much, but that was the only day where we were on set, smashed together for hours naked…
FRANCO: It wasveryvulnerable.
BRIE: And kind of making weird faces at each other, looking at each other, being like, “If this goes awry…”
FRANCO: “If this doesn’t work, our careers are over.”
BRIE: [Laughs] “We’re taking a big swing here.”
FRANCO: The hallway sequence. This was likethesequence in the script we knew that we were going to shoot for multiple days.This is just, like, contorting our bodies in the most unnatural ways, being sore in places I’ve never been sore before. My body was just full hamburger meat by the end of this shoot.
BRIE: I still feel like the bathroom scene was my favorite scene in the script, and I think it’s my favorite scene in the movie. That was a weirdly difficult day. There were certain time constraints, and it was warm in the bathroom, and Dave’s covered in sweat.
FRANCO: I was sweating all over her.
BRIE: The claustrophobia of the scene. The tension that we had to hold the whole time. We were shooting around a child, and to not have the child in there during certain… He wasn’t in there duringanyof the scenes. I can’t even fully pinpoint it, but I know that that day surprised me the most in terms of leaving, and being like, “That was a tougher scene than I thought it was going to be.”
I was wondering what, physically, is more difficult for you, something like the hallway scene where you can swing for the fences, or a really tight space like that, where every little micro movement you make serves the tension.
FRANCO: I mean, the driveway sequence at the end, when we’re being pulled together, that was really difficult because not only are we being dragged along gravel…
BRIE: Truly, bywires.
I stopped and thought about that. I’m not gonna lie!
FRANCO:Butthen we had to kind of turn on a dime and be very emotional with each other. And so those were the sequences where it’s very physical but very emotional, and we have very little amount of time.
BRIE: It’s the fun of acting in this movie that was a real physical challenge, when you talk about the minutia, is that the monster in this movie is within our own bodies. So, we’re not just running from an ax murderer. We’re, like, fighting. It was a different kind of tension. We’ve both done a lot of physical work on screen, and this was so different.
FRANCO: But, I mean, you’re thinking in the hallway, you have these shots where you get close-ups of my hands kind of dragging me, and my feet start to drag me.
BRIE: You’d get cramps in your foot.
FRANCO: My calf had a cramp for, like, a week!
BRIE: And we’re all just staring at the foot.
Dave Franco Compares ‘The Studio’s Physical Comedy to Body Horror
“What’s the difference?”
What do you two find more difficult, physical comedy or the kind of physical performance that a body horror movie demands?
BRIE: What’s the difference? [Laughs]
That’s a very good point!
FRANCO: They kind of blend together in this one, but I think body horror physicality.
BRIE: Because of the tension and the high stakes of it all. In the physical comedy that I can think of doing, I don’t know, it’s all in good fun.The stakes here are truly life or death, so the physicality is matched by the emotionality and it’s a different type of exhaustion.
FRANCO: That said, inThe Studio, I’m playing myself on alcohol, weed, cocaine, and mushrooms, and so my energy is at 1,000.
BRIE: “I’monweed.”
FRANCO: [Laughs] “I’monweed!”
That’s another thing where I don’t know how you do it!
BRIE: That actually looked more exhausting.
FRANCO: The nature of that show is every scene is a oner, and so what Seth [Rogen] and Evan [Goldberg] said is that the sweet spot is usually take 16 to 18. That’s how many takes it gets to get the perfect take.
BRIE: So you’re doing a play!
FRANCO: I’m doing 16 to 18 takes of just full energy, just throwing my body around, screaming. But again, it’s like the physicality of that is like, “Ride the wave, baby!” [Laughs]
I was just talking to Chase [Sui Wonders], and she was telling me what she admired about Seth wearing multiple hats - how he’s one of the absolute best with managing energy in that kind of situation.
FRANCO: Totally. And because of that, because I have so much trust with Seth, I know I can go so big and he will reel me back if need be.
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BRIE: Not to bring it back to this movie, but I do feel like that was a helpful thing about us being on set together for this is that we could check in with one another, as well, and also know that we were always on the same page in the same movie.
FRANCO: I’m going to go back to a scene in the movie, and I know we don’t want to waste your time, Perri, but we’re going to have you here longer because we love you.
I’m fine with that!
FRANCO: So, the shower sequence.
BRIE: Oh, god.
FRANCO: I’m fully nude, I’m unconscious, and I am flinging my body against very hard surfaces, and I can’t brace myself because I’m out of it. So, not only is it the vulnerability of being nude, but now I’m justslammingmy face into porcelain walls. But because there was no way to shoot around it, you almost couldn’t put my stunt double in there. It had to be me.
BRIE: It’s true. But it was nice, even on days like that, I’m right there in the window of the shower, “You need a sip of water, babe?” Just us on set together every day is so nice.
You’re Wrong About ‘Masters of the Universe’
Shockingly, the internet may have lied to you.
It breaks my heart to do this, but I have to ask about one unrelated project before they kick me out of here. I’ve got to ask aboutMasters of the Universe. One of the things that, personally, I am most curious about with that movie is its tone, because I keep hearing that it’s leaning a little more serious. I’m wondering, are you doing that, but embracing the camp at the same time?
BRIE: Who said it’s leaning a little more serious?
You know, the internet, which is always right.
BRIE: I don’t think they know as much as they think they know. That’s all I’m gonna say.
I will happily take that tease. I’m going to say huge congratulations onTogether. I’m utterly obsessed with it. You two are fantastic!
