The premise ofEvan Twohys debut feature isnt too far off from reality.
In Twohys deadpan comedy, cabbage is no ordinary, lackluster produceit is contraband.
The fictional world ofBubble & Squeakis one that strictly prohibits the consumption of this leafy vegetable.
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Any case of illegal cabbage smuggling will not be taken lightly.
COLLIDER: When you were making this, was this something that you envisioned would premiere at Sundance?
EVAN TWOHY: I think, to some degree, absolutely.
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There are not many paths for a movie that’s this weird, especially in the current marketplace.
This is not a studio movie.
How have you been describing it to friends and family?
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HIMESH PATEL: I think it was just how original it is.
Obviously, I’d never read anything like this.
It just felt so confident and so singular in the vision.
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Especially when I spoke to Evan, I was just like, I’m definitely on board.
This is going to be great.
SARAH GOLDBERG: It was completely unique in its tone and really special.
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It had this kind of wild humor and surreal feel but was really grounded.
I thought that would be a good time and definitely a warm time.
PATEL: And you nailed it.
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Evan, I have to ask.
These are silly questions, so just bear with me for a second.
Was it Sarah’s work as Analyst Number #1 inDark Knight Risesthat helped her get this role?
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I’ll answer a silly question with an earnest answer.
This started as a short play so many years ago.
GOLDBERG: I had one line in voice-over and one profile.
FRANCO: Whats the line?
TWOHY: I knew it was just such an obvious fit for this.
I just knew it would be a surprise for people to see how much she’s capable of.
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She’s the best.
GOLDBERG: That’s so nice.
It’s such a gift for us.
Do you think it was Dave’s performance as Benjamin Bainsworth in7th Heaventhat helped him land this role?
FRANCO: The one where I only have six cumulative minutes of screen time.
TWOHY: But what a six minutes they are.
TWOHY: His work preceded him.
I was looking forward to it.
I was like, “What’s he gonna pick?”
I can add this right now.
Which episode was it ofEastEnders?
I believe he was onthis is memoryI want to say, 586 episodes, or something like that.
PATEL: It was a long time.
So which episode number specifically was it?
TWOHY: Sure, yeah, Episode 586.
PATEL: “Oh, he’s leaving.
You don’t have that early7th Heaven, you know what I mean.
PATEL: That’s my version of it.
So, there are always obstacles to making any movie.
You guys are on location in Estonia.
How are we overcoming this obstacle?
Can you talk about some of the challenges, or maybe one big challenge?
TWOHY: The weather was unexpectedly unpredictable.
That was a huge challenge.
You take a break, and then it’s sunny two minutes later.
That was very, very hard.
That was a challenge there.
They were lovely hosts to us.
TWOHY: Thank you.
It looks beautiful as a result.
I think that’s true of almost anywhere.
If we shot in London or if we shot…
There’s always gonna be weather.
In the movie, you have stuff in your pants.
As I’m watching the film, I was curious what that was like.
What was actually in your pants?
Because you have a lot of walking.
What was that like for you?
GOLDBERG: It was pretty wild.
Things that had the right weights, the right shape, and the right size.
You just nailed something that a lot of people don’t think about, which is the sound.
If it’s making too much of a noise, everything has to be ADR and that sucks.
GOLDBERG: We started with Styrofoam, and sound was going to kill us.
We would have made the whole movie in ADR.
They were very layered.
But I have to say, I got the performance for free.
Once you’re in those pants, there’s only one way it’s possible for you to walk.
They were a gift.
You two have great chemistry together.
When did you both realize, Oh, we’re good together?
When did you realize, This is gonna work?
PATEL: We didn’t meet until we got to Estonia.
I would say, from my point of view, it was pretty immediate.
We got on the first time we met.
The first time we met we read through the whole thing, the three of us.
Evan gave a wonderful performance as all the other characters.
It just felt like we were on the same page.
We were making each other laugh at the same points.
It just felt so easy, so immediately.
I felt pretty comfortable straight away.
GOLDBERG: We had friends in common, but we’d never met.
We exchanged a few emails before.
It’s always a gamble.
I’m so happy that we did this together.
We became almost one double-act character.
Even though they’re so different, they need to have this symbiotic relationship.
We had to do some pretty intense dance rehearsals on the first day we met.
That was a good icebreaker.
I have two left feet, and we had to be quite vulnerable, quite quickly.
PATEL: I was so self-conscious about it.
You’ve acted in a lot of things.
You’ve done a lot of different stuff.
How nervous were you to actually do that dance when you’re being judged by everyone standing there?
He was there for us on the day as well as a couple of rehearsals beforehand.
GOLDBERG: And we practiced.
PATEL: We did a little bit, yeah.
GOLDBERG: It happened to be the hottest day of the whole shoot.
I somehow got wildly dehydrated from the combination of the pants, and I think breastfeeding at lunchtime.
I felt like I was gonna pass out, so we couldn’t be nervous.
It was mostly just keeping me conscious, and then, yeah, we got through it.
[Evan], when did you realize, Oh, this is gonna work?
TWOHY: From early on, I was like, This really isn’t a comedy.”
The trick is to hire the best actors that I’ve seen working.
Thats what we were able to do because I was very lucky.
I never worried once.
It’s hard to have chemistry, but it’s also hard for this particular one.
It takes a special skill because they almost have like an anti-chemistry with each other.
That’s a whole other level, which is why we needed the best dramatic actors.
Independent and arthouse cinema thrived last year.
I love the kid who plays Timothy.
Talk a little bit about filming opposite this kid with those eyes and casting that kid.
That kid needs to deliver.
TWOHY: He’s a little boy who has an amazing nose for smelling cabbages.
He was the youngest of all of them.
He was only 8 years old when we shot it.
But something about his eyes was very clear.
A lot of this is just, you don’t have a lot of time to make decisions.
You have to operate on a gut instinct.
TWOHY: Thank you.
We met a lot of other lovely young Estonians, but we knew immediately.
A lot of this movie has just been a weird fever dream where the first thought is what works.
I was immediately drawn to them.
PATEL: I thought he was incredible.
He was so sweet.
GOLDBERG: He was such a sweet boy.
We had such a nice time with him, and he loved being on set.
It was very hard to keep a straight face through the whole scene.
He was such a sweet boy.
It would go on like that.
It did take us quite a few takes to get there.
PATEL: When he nailed it, he just nailed it.
He was so sad when he wrapped.
GOLDBERG: It was tough.
PATEL: He was loving it just being around us, being on set.
He got really upset when he picture wrapped.
It’s a different character.
FRANCO: Like we were saying, Evan’s dialogue is so wonderfully specific and unique.
I wanted it to come off very casually.
You killed the bear and skinned the bear?
GOLDBERG: So method.
I’d been living with this script for, like, four and a half years.
With good writing, honestly, it’s like she’s there or she’s not there.
I read it, and I went, Oh, that’s Delores.
So, I just have to walk toward Delores.
The whole movie was such a collaborative group effort and loving environment.
Being present was the key for me.
The dialogue thing was a big thing for me because the rhythm of it is so brilliant and specific.
I don’t want to wobble around these words.
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