00:00It's just a character piece and somebody breaking down.
00:03It's an event, isn't it?
00:04Yes, it is.
00:06Jenna Ortega and Barry Keoghan star alongside The Weeknd,
00:09whose real name is Abel Tesfaye, in his new film Hurry Up Tomorrow,
00:13a psychological thriller about an insomniac musician on the verge of a breakdown.
00:18Keoghan, Ortega, Tesfaye, and director Trey Edward Schultz
00:21spoke to The Hollywood Reporter all about the forthcoming film.
00:24The movie, which Tesfaye co-wrote, also marks his first lead role in a feature film.
00:28He has said that both the film and his album of the same name
00:31were inspired by an incident that occurred during one of his concerts in 2022.
00:35Take me back to that night and what happened and how it inspired this project.
00:39Well, I lost my voice, which, you know, is common for performers,
00:44but I found out that it wasn't really a physical injury.
00:47It was more mental.
00:49Went to the doctors, they're like, look, you're a little inflamed,
00:51but you can sing, you're fine.
00:54And so I think it was a moment where I had to sit down and figure out what was going on up there.
00:59And the only person I can think of while I was coming up with the idea was Trey.
01:06He had gone through something, not the same, but you'd gone through an injury as well, too,
01:10and you were able to show it in waves.
01:13And the way he had done it was so emotional and so powerful, and it affected me dearly.
01:17So, yeah, that's how it came to be.
01:22Schultz co-wrote the project with Tess Faye along with directing it,
01:25but even he has said that he has a hard time describing the film.
01:28How would you describe this film and the character that you play in it?
01:31I truly think that this film is a film that starts conversations,
01:35and it's incredibly important that it's subjective and people take, you know, whatever they want from it.
01:40I like to describe it as a feeling more than anything.
01:42I feel like the tone and environment, that's supposed to resonate with you more.
01:46It's less about the story that is so psychological and, you know, woven with so many thoughtful pieces and ideas,
01:53but really it's somebody breaking down.
01:54It's an event, isn't it?
01:55Yes, it is.
01:56Keoghan plays The Weeknd's manager, while Ortega portrays Annie, which is short for Anima,
02:01which is defined as the feminine part of a man's personality.
02:04Ortega has said of her character, quote,
02:06she's kind of able in a sense.
02:08How did you know Jenna was the right actress for this movie?
02:10I mean, right away.
02:11You pitched her.
02:12Yeah.
02:12I didn't know her work as well.
02:13He knew her.
02:13I was a fan of her work.
02:15I saw the work she does.
02:17She does incredible work with genre.
02:19In all the films that she's done, whether it's X or Scream,
02:22she's always kind of stood out for me as an incredible emotional performer.
02:26And, you know, she's doing a high-wire act in this film.
02:29I mean, the third act, it's literally she's carrying the film on her back.
02:32I don't think I've ever seen her do anything like this before.
02:34No.
02:35I think people would be really impressed by her performance.
02:37I've never seen her do a role like this, and I knew she was talented.
02:42Obviously, we all do.
02:43But I didn't quite know how talented she was until we were shooting together.
02:46And, yeah, like, it was up before.
02:48I knew how talented she was.
02:49She truly blew me away.
02:51And she, you know, the third act of this film,
02:54she kind of puts on her shoulders and wouldn't work without her.
02:56And, yeah.
02:57No, we were terrified, I think, before we had to shoot the third act.
03:00We were just kind of looking at each other.
03:02And we were like, I don't know if this is going to work.
03:03Yeah, absolutely.
03:04And she just blew it out of the park.
03:06Yeah.
03:06And she has incredible, incredible ideas.
03:09Very collaborative.
03:10Both Ortega and Keoghan are in-demand stars.
03:13Among their many recent projects,
03:15Ortega is currently working on an untitled J.J. Abrams film,
03:19while Keoghan is set to play Ringo Starr in the upcoming Beatles biopics.
03:23Your schedules have to be totally full,
03:25but why was this something that you wanted to prioritize
03:27and say yes to and make time for?
03:29It was unlike anything I had read or done before,
03:32which is very fascinating to me.
03:34I think I had really inspiring conversations with Trey and Abel
03:37about what they wanted to achieve.
03:39I knew the team behind it.
03:40Obviously, I respect Barry, Trey, Abel, Chase Irvin, the DP.
03:44It just felt like a very creative and challenging and exciting space to play in,
03:51and I wanted that experience.
03:52I mean, you know, as Jenison, you know,
03:57just to be part of that event and that experience and that challenge
04:00and, you know, to bring forward his vision,
04:03and a massive fan of everyone on board,
04:05sort of a no-brainer when you see it.
04:08And I was, you know, I felt like this one was going to be a spontaneous kind of thing
04:12where it's, you know, you can prep for it and everything,
04:15but, you know, what happens on the day is going to, you know,
04:18bring the instincts forward, and that's what I love to do.
04:21You know, this is all really intense,
04:23but I'm not trying to hurt you.
04:27You've said that the two of you are like family now.
04:29After working on this, do you have more projects in the works together,
04:32or do you want to do more things together?
04:34I definitely want to do more, yeah, that's for sure, yeah.
04:36I mean, this was the best collaboration I've ever been a part of.
04:42I mean, it's, I really felt like I made a new family member.
04:47I mean, we got really personal.
04:49We got deep with the material, and it was just a smooth process.
04:53I mean, the film is heavy.
04:55He created such a safe environment for me to just, you know, be vulnerable.
04:59Hurry Up Tomorrow hits theaters on May 16th.
05:02For more on the film, go to THR.com.
05:04For The Hollywood Reporter News, I'm Tiffany Taylor.
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