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Heated Rivalry - Ss1 - Ep 2 - Sub EspañOl Hot
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00:03Hudson Williams
00:09and Connor Story
00:18Congratulations
00:19Thank you
00:22Thank you
00:22I was listening, watching the audience reactions
00:27they were squealing
00:29panting, laughing
00:32at all the right times
00:33If you're panting at the wrong time
00:36see a doctor
00:37and if you're laughing at the wrong
00:40times, ouch
00:43Jacob
00:43I'm going to start with you
00:45so you listened to
00:47Rachel Reid's
00:49Game Changers series on audiobook
00:51then you reached
00:54out to acquire the rights
00:56I did
00:56I followed her on Instagram
00:58I slid into her DMs
01:00I followed her on Instagram
01:01she followed me back
01:02and then we started
01:03we started chatting
01:04So from then to now
01:06Yeah
01:07You wanting to adapt
01:08the book
01:09to now
01:10How does it feel?
01:12How are you?
01:12You good?
01:13Great, I'm good. Are you good?
01:14Yes, I feel good
01:15It's great
01:16Yeah, it's crazy
01:19It's
01:20This show
01:21that was three summers ago
01:24How does math work?
01:25That was
01:27the first season of the Traders
01:29that's how I can remember it
01:31I was on set on the
01:32season one of the Traders Canada
01:33so it was two summers ago
01:34and that's when I
01:36I followed Rachel on Instagram
01:38so in TV language that is
01:41like lightning speed
01:42it's very very very fast
01:46and I am very happy
01:49I'm very tired
01:50and I'm very overwhelmed
01:53So what was it about Shane and Ilya's story
01:56Holonoff that made you want to start here?
01:59I mean
02:01it's
02:02it's the I
02:03I mean
02:03I love the books
02:05I love them all
02:06Rachel you know I do
02:07and
02:08Heated Rivalry
02:09it's the
02:10iconic one
02:11and I think it's the iconic one for a reason
02:14it doesn't follow
02:16a lot of the normal tropes of a romance novel
02:20and
02:21they're
02:22I mean Rachel's writing is so good in general
02:25but these
02:25these characters are so well written
02:27they're so alive
02:28they're funny
02:29their dynamic is interesting
02:31you care about them
02:32and then fundamentally there's something incredibly sweet about the fact that they meet
02:37when they're rookies
02:38and
02:39the whole show
02:40spoilers takes place over eight years
02:42and it's like
02:43it's this long
02:45smutty
02:46love story
02:46but ultimately they're each other's first love
02:49which is
02:49ultimately really
02:50sweet
02:51and
02:52very conservative
02:53and very romantic
02:54and I
02:55and I like that
02:56Let me come back to the smutty in a minute
02:59Hudson
02:59let's talk about Shane
03:00he is between the two characters
03:02more reserved
03:03and in the book
03:04you know
03:06we learn about him through the inner monologue
03:08right?
03:09the expectations placed on him
03:10his worries
03:12his frustration
03:13so how did you
03:14bring all that emotion to life
03:16from the page?
03:18a good director
03:19a good writer
03:21I think it came down to
03:25I think letting the fans in
03:27it started with Jacob's scripts
03:28and that was a lot
03:30clearly he was
03:31he was always going through something
03:32and then reading the book
03:35he means
03:36he means shade
03:36not me
03:37yeah
03:38clearly Jacob was always going through something
03:40it was always a new thing
03:41on sad new neuroses
03:42and he just
03:43take us
03:43take it out on us
03:44hate it here
03:46no, no
03:47but then
03:48Rachel also
03:50her book
03:51like
03:52gave so much more inner monologue
03:53that I wasn't thinking
03:54when I read those scenes
03:55in the script
03:57and then
03:58I made the great choice
03:59to go on twitter
04:00and reddit
04:01and everywhere
04:01just to get everyone's opinion
04:03on Shane
04:04because I wanted to bring it all in
04:07and then they had so many opinions
04:10and so many ideas
04:11of what he was going through
04:13in these moments
04:13and what he was thinking
04:14and how he must have felt
04:16and so
04:17at first I was like
04:18fuck
04:18sorry, do I choose one of these?
04:20um
04:21and then I never did
04:22and it was always
04:23so many things rattling around
04:25in my brain
04:25and I never made a choice
04:28and hopefully
04:29it just worked
04:31and if it didn't
04:33I'm so sorry
04:35yeah
04:36that's my answer
04:39Connor
04:40Ilya's
04:42charismatic
04:45he has a more
04:46he's charismatic
04:47and like assertive exterior
04:49kind of conceals a vulnerability
04:51so what was it
04:53that clicked for you
04:54in understanding
04:55who he is?
04:56understanding who he is
04:57underneath the
04:58the sort of exterior
04:59however you want to
05:01interpret that question
05:02and whether or not
05:02you went on reddit too
05:03I don't know
05:04yeah
05:04um I did not
05:07um
05:08no I mean honestly
05:09it was very
05:10his character is pretty
05:11straightforward for me
05:12actually
05:13um
05:13if you look at his circumstances
05:15based on
05:16not only heated rivalry
05:17but also long game
05:19but we'll stick to heated rivalry
05:20um
05:20his background is so specific
05:22that you kind of
05:24can't help but
05:25have a really distinct idea
05:26of what that person looks like
05:28you know
05:28coming from Russia
05:29um
05:30being secretly bisexual
05:32or
05:33you know
05:33and and having already
05:35come to terms with that
05:36having
05:38you know
05:39a
05:39shitty brother
05:40having a
05:42you know
05:42dead mom
05:43having an Alzheimer's
05:44ridden father
05:45being a professional hockey player
05:47like it's also
05:47so specific
05:48that you kind of
05:49can't help but
05:50um
05:51I don't know
05:52have an idea of what that must feel like
05:53and what that must be like
05:54so I think the pressure is just on
05:56and he kind of
05:56runs from it
05:58with that exterior
05:59you both do such a great job
06:02playing
06:02your respective characters
06:04but then of course
06:05it's the chemistry between Shane and Ilya
06:08I mean
06:09I believed
06:11every finger touch
06:13every kiss
06:18I told you only when we're paying you
06:22you don't get it for free
06:23you don't get it for free
06:24you don't get it for free
06:25I'm sure everyone else here did too
06:28every charged gaze
06:31all of that
06:32so
06:33how did you build this relationship
06:36off screen
06:37to
06:37to bring it
06:39on screen
06:40to this point
06:41we've
06:42gotten this question
06:43a lot
06:44I know
06:44and I want to hear it again
06:46yeah
06:46and I think that
06:48every time I answer it
06:49I'm just
06:49it's the same thing
06:50and it just
06:51makes me realize it even more
06:53I mean
06:54I think we just have
06:55very compatible energies
06:56and I think we're both
06:57very bold
06:59and kind of
07:00we're game to get
07:01like intimate
07:02and vulnerable
07:03and get two inches from each other's face
07:05and we're both comfortable with that
07:07and when you have someone who matches that energy
07:09it just becomes
07:09you know
07:10even more kinetic
07:12yeah
07:12match our freak
07:13match our freak
07:14match our freak
07:15and I also think
07:16we just have
07:17an ability to look like fools
07:19and try a bunch of things
07:20that Jacob hates
07:23and I think a lot of that is like
07:24just given options
07:25you know
07:26just try this
07:27try that
07:28you know
07:28give like Shane a nervous tick
07:30and then
07:30he's like we'll leave that
07:31on the editing room floor
07:32and then just all shaped up
07:34nice and dandy
07:35but we have that ability
07:37thank you
07:37to
07:38thank you for hearing
07:40to just try stuff
07:40he loves it
07:43I know you know
07:44the fans of this book
07:46are very intense
07:47about this book
07:49and this
07:51relationship
07:52um
07:52and they're
07:54they care very much
07:55about signature scenes
07:57tuna melt
07:59Russian phone call
08:01confession scene
08:03all of that
08:04it's all gonna be there
08:04so
08:06was there a scene in particular
08:08Jacob
08:09that you were most excited to tackle
08:11or more nervous
08:13or
08:14whatever
08:16I haven't answered this version of this yet
08:18you know what was exciting for me to write
08:21was
08:22uh
08:22the scene on the phone from Russia
08:24because
08:25it's not
08:26kind of
08:27it's
08:27I mean obviously it's in the book
08:29but it's not written what he's actually saying
08:30so I wrote him a whole
08:33fucking very long
08:35uh
08:35monologue
08:36and um
08:37and that was fun
08:38it was really fun to do that
08:39it was fun to
08:41uh
08:42add more Svetlana
08:43it was kind of fun to help build a bit more of the world out
08:46um
08:48I took great pleasure in that
08:49while I hope and think honoring the like
08:52the spirit of the
08:53the story
08:53uh
08:54I was very aware of the tuna melt
08:56I was very aware of the cottage
09:00uh
09:01I was
09:02there's a lot that I
09:03I mean yeah
09:03like they're big moments for me too
09:05I'm a fan
09:05like I wanted to do them
09:07to do them all
09:08I mean a lot of them are in that
09:09like
09:09that
09:10the Vegas rooftop is like
09:12huge
09:13um
09:14and so is that shower
09:16so I mean there's so much that is like
09:18so
09:18I mean that's what's so great about this book
09:21is that it kind of hops from these incredibly memorable scenes to another incredibly memorable scene
09:27Hudson and Connor
09:28Hudson and Connor is there a scene that you predict fans will lose it over once it airs
09:35I'm very bad at gauging that now
09:37because
09:37like recently the the gym scene was released
09:40I was like oh that's pretty tame
09:42people might just be like oh that's cute
09:44but they just were feral
09:46and frothy
09:46and
09:46so I am just a horrible
09:50horrible gauge for everything
09:52clearly
09:52um
09:54but hopefully all of it
09:55I hope they just you know
09:56I'm trying to think of other iconic moments from the book
09:59that
09:59um
10:00will become
10:01that'll come to life like that
10:03like highlight points
10:04oh
10:05I hope the
10:05a scene
10:06can I spoil
10:07um
10:07the scene
10:10does it spoil anything?
10:13there is a whole book out there
10:15no it's fine
10:15I like
10:16but there are things that
10:17yeah yeah
10:18I think you're talking about the scene
10:20uh
10:21before
10:22this Vegas hotel room
10:24in the bathroom
10:25yep
10:25that's the one
10:26do you mean?
10:27yes it is
10:27uh yeah that's a great scene
10:30that's an episode
10:30that's an episode too
10:31and I hope it
10:32makes them
10:33wait wait wait
10:34I don't know what we're talking about
10:36after
10:36after you guys present
10:37most uh
10:38oh yeah
10:39yes
10:40there's a
10:41there's a
10:42like a hard to find vodka involved
10:44yes
10:45that's later
10:45no I mean
10:46that seems great
10:46that seems great
10:47that's in Vegas right?
10:49very long
10:49the scene before though
10:51that that's like
10:52when they're discussed
10:53when they have a
10:54they kind of have a fight
10:54post awards
10:55a fight
10:56so it's not that hot and heavy
10:58but it's um
10:59it's hot and heavy
11:00yeah
11:04you are the stars of the show
11:07but of course
11:08it wouldn't be complete
11:10without your colleagues
11:11without your co-stars
11:12a few of them are here tonight right?
11:15Dylan Walsh
11:16Dylan Walsh
11:17Tina Chong
11:17oh my god
11:19Senya Daniella
11:20we have so many other
11:21one
11:22Callan Potters here
11:23uh with Hayden
11:24whoo
11:25whoo
11:25whoo
11:26I know he matters a lot to you
11:28uh
11:29and we have
11:30not with us
11:31Sophie Nellis
11:31who plays Rose
11:32and Francois Arnault
11:33obviously plays Scott Hunter
11:35and all kinds of other
11:37brilliant talented actors
11:38all over the place
11:39and yeah
11:40it's a great cast
11:42we were very lucky
11:45oh
11:46was there
11:47no I don't want you to
11:48wait
11:48what were you supposed to say that?
11:50was there a question in there?
11:51I wanted you to talk about your co-stars
11:53and working with the ensemble cast
11:55and what that meant to you
11:56oh
11:56it was fantastic
11:58I
12:00it was
12:01um
12:01and I think
12:03just you know
12:04you haven't met these people
12:05they're
12:06they're playing
12:06people you need to have chemistry with
12:08they already come in with this kind of expectation of
12:11a relationship
12:12and
12:13I think us sort of
12:15overwhelmed
12:16by just everyone having the best attitude
12:18um
12:19and just being so friendly
12:21and
12:22really
12:23careful
12:24with
12:25with the
12:25their characters and the text
12:27and they really cared
12:28none of it felt like they were just kind of showing up
12:30to do a
12:31a paycheck
12:32or something
12:33they were
12:33they were in it
12:34to win it
12:35and we were both in
12:36we were both in very new circumstances
12:39I mean me not speaking Russian
12:40and not playing hockey
12:42Hudson also not playing hockey
12:43it was really great because
12:45we can
12:45also can't speak Russian
12:46fun fun
12:47but can speak Russian
12:48I can do Russian
12:50come on
12:50thank you
12:51that's
12:52no
12:53that's my thing
12:54um
12:56um
12:57but I mean we were in a lot of scenarios where
12:59you know
13:00we're kind of
13:01out there and we really need some help and assistance
13:02and it was great
13:03I mean
13:04um
13:04Alexey my brother is here
13:06um
13:07also
13:09um
13:09Dania
13:10who plays Svetlana
13:11like I mean
13:12it was just great to have people who actually know
13:14and they were so incredibly supportive and that was so nerve-wracking
13:17everyone who helped us do um
13:20all things hockey were so supportive
13:22like
13:23it's so scary to show up
13:25and like
13:25not look like an idiot
13:27and then look like an idiot
13:29and someone be like
13:30you don't look that bad
13:31it's like
13:32is
13:33is a really great experience
13:34on and editing around you looking like an idiot
13:37hearing your directors say that you had to edit around you
13:41you know
13:42there's a lot of hurtful possibilities here
13:44they did a really
13:44they did a very good job with the hockey
13:45I think we should also
13:46uh
13:47I don't know even if she made it tonight
13:48but our
13:49intimacy coordinator
13:50Chayla Hunter
13:51she is here
13:51I saw her
13:52where is she
13:54that's nice to hear
13:57a hero
13:58uh
13:59a hero
13:59this show would not have been what it was without her
14:01and uh
14:02just made it an enormous
14:04there's obviously
14:06I mean this was essentially a full-time job for Chayla
14:08as you can imagine
14:09she was there almost every day
14:10um
14:11and
14:12we
14:14the
14:14the way that that
14:15you know that was something
14:17uh
14:18frankly I'm just
14:18inventing my own questions now Eleni sorry
14:20I
14:21my next question was about getting smutty and horny
14:23let's get dirty
14:24like tell me about the horny and the smutty
14:26I've never shot a lot
14:27I've shot sex scenes before
14:29as a director
14:30and as an actor
14:31but
14:31to this extent
14:32and this elaborate
14:33and this volume
14:34where it was such a part of the language of the show
14:36and we
14:37we rehearsed them
14:38uh at the very beginning of the
14:40but
14:40with Chayla
14:41but then
14:42having her there and her input
14:44it was
14:45it was
14:46uh
14:47it just
14:48she helped us all have a language where we could just become so comfortable with it
14:52and
14:53obviously as you can imagine by the end
14:55it was like oh my god
14:56put on a robe
14:57like they're so
14:58they're too comfortable
14:59we had to remind like the nudity stuff is also for the crew like you have to put on clothes
15:03um
15:05and uh
15:06but like
15:06the level of facilitation
15:09and
15:10what it gave us
15:13we have to do so much with the sex in the show because the sex is about character
15:17right you
15:17their connection changes
15:19they start off so young
15:20they get to be 25
15:21they realize they're in love like that
15:23that the sex can't be static
15:24and it's boring
15:26we all love smut
15:27but like
15:28it's boring if it's the same thing over and over again
15:30you don't want to see that
15:31you want to see something different
15:32you want it to feel different
15:33to have a different level of engagement
15:35you really are learning about this relationship through it
15:37so to have chayla as an ally
15:39as a
15:40as a
15:41as a guide
15:42throughout this was just amazing
15:43and i know that
15:44uh the boys loved her too
15:45thank you for your work
15:47thank you for your work
15:48thank you for your work
15:50thank you for your work
15:51my husband thanks you for your work
15:54um
15:58is he wait is he also watching the show and he's like
16:01so
16:04listen it's not about me
16:05he introduced you to eat the driver
16:06it's not about me
16:07but here's how i'll sell the show to people
16:09he dropped me off at the train station this morning
16:12and i was like i am so excited tonight
16:14fucking going to moderate this gay hot romance show
16:18and i'm so horny about it
16:21and he was like show me a scene
16:24i showed him a scene and he was like
16:26all right
16:28he was like i'm coming on the train with you
16:30he was like
16:31he was like can't wait for you to get home
16:34and i'm like you better wait up
16:37um
16:37anyway
16:38all right
16:39so uh
16:40thank you for
16:41that's the right answer
16:42that's the right answer
16:44everybody
16:44um
16:45jacob
16:47switching gears a little bit
16:49no
16:50please
16:52um
16:53you said in a recent interview
16:55that it was really
16:56that you wanted to maintain
16:58shane hollander's cultural identity
17:00yeah of course
17:01that you did not want to whitewash this character in this sport
17:04can you talk about why that was important to you
17:08um
17:08yeah i mean i for i guess kind of for me for the obvious reasons
17:12there are not a lot of
17:15there are not a lot of people who are not white in the nhl
17:18and there are not a lot of people who are not white as leads in romances either
17:25and so that was a huge part of it and i think it's a lot about i i think it
17:31it's it's a lot about shane's personality um is that he is this kind of outsider and i think there's
17:38something very interesting that happens when you read a book and your character's name is shane hollander that your brain
17:44can whitewash him in a really easy way and uh there was never a question to me like this character
17:49had to be uh asian and i think it just brings something much more interesting to me and i think
17:55it just brings a lot of
17:55interesting to the story besides just honoring what's in the book i mean like it was never a question because
17:59in the book like i wouldn't question that period but then i also wanted to and we talked about this
18:05i wanted to address it like i wanted him to talk about it a little bit because there aren't
18:10besides and this show is not nick suzuki fan fiction uh rachel reed will tell you that though it because
18:18and it's not it was published before he was the captain of the habs but like the fact that there
18:22is a half asian captain of the montreal hockey team right now aside there are not that many asian characters
18:28there are many asian players in hockey and so i thought like that is it just makes the whole thing
18:34more interesting and yeah it would be monstrous just to make
18:38him white well as you said yeah a confession i'll tell you something admit it to you okay i was
18:45just chatting now right no when i was reading the book even though i am of east asian background yeah
18:51shane hollander in my mind right was not asian yeah even as an east asian person yeah so i really
18:59appreciate this effort and so to you hudson what does it mean to you coming from your background to be
19:06able to play this character in this story
19:07that so many people are going to see it means a lot um my mom told me at one point
19:14that uh when i wanted i told her i was going to be an actor she said it it scared
19:19her because um she thought her being an asian lady that it would kind of limit my possibilities for roles
19:26i could get because she hadn't really seen um people uh like her um on the screen and then when
19:34i booked a role due to
19:35the fact there was a prerequisite that i am half asian um i think it just kind of
19:44made her see that things are changing and there are new possibilities so that really felt amazing
19:51it's not very important
19:57the majority of the fans of this book are women and queer and this show serves that audience prioritizes that
20:09audience
20:10as a part of this team
20:13how do you feel to be part of a show that prioritizes an audience that is often neglected
20:21underserved how do i how do i feel you personally yeah yeah i mean i i i've said this before
20:29i feel
20:30like getting into niche specific human experiences whether it's um shane being you know half asian
20:41or ilia being a foreigner both of them being queer i think getting into these really niche specific
20:48human experiences actually really give you a chance to open up and let people connect you know
20:54if it was super generic then it's kind of like it's so vanilla that there's kind of nothing to
20:59stick you know i was really surprised when i found out that most of the demographics of people who
21:04um love rachel's books um are predominantly women um because i think on the surface you would think
21:11you know mm romance and you would think men um i think i think those two communities just really
21:18relate to the feeling of being i'm in a box that box says i can be a b or c
21:25and i feel capable of
21:27more than that and i think these two characters feel that way you know living in the gray on some
21:32level feeling like what's expected of me what the world wants for me and what i am or not
21:36always cohesive so and i definitely relate to that too you know so it feels very good to
21:42to be in that conversation it's also just way more interesting to i think appeal to that than
21:48you know middle middle middle america or something you know this ain't the taylor sheridan universe
21:56thank you um i guess that i do have a show called land man
22:04it's gonna be land man oil man truck man it's so filthy um you mentioned mm fiction right huge on
22:12tiktok a book talk sorry um bl boys love is exploding in popularity in the eastern markets
22:20in broadcast but we haven't seen shows the books yes but the shows in the western market really take
22:30off you are leading a movement you are i think i agree no i think uh i think that what
22:37we've seen
22:38is a lot of it skewing ya in the west right and i think i've said this a bunch of
22:42times but like
22:43i would love to be a gay 14 year old or 15 year old now like to have to have
22:48grown up with heart
22:48stopper and young royals and all these like they're wonderful they're also for young people
22:54so they're sexually neutered and i think that this is that for grown-ups um because we get to have
23:01our fun too and as cool as it is to wait six episodes for people to hold hands it's also
23:06fun to watch
23:06them bang so yeah so that's what this show but i think that like i think that that's the that's
23:20the part that besides uh uh happy endings uh that's what gay people really don't get i didn't mean it
23:27that way i get it i hear it uh but like yeah we don't get happy endings and we don't
23:33get to see
23:34ourselves have satisfying sex we get like kind of like dirty secret trysts and then we get it's like
23:41you know that's that was the joy of this show to me and of rachel's books and getting to explore
23:46this
23:46world was just that these is this is a just a complete love story about two people who uh yeah
23:53who are obsessed with each other and can't stop fucking and then realize they're in love
23:58fucking is great yeah agreed amen um all right we have three minutes left so we're gonna do a
24:04lightning round ready just one pop song okay ready who breaks character first who i have what was the
24:11question who breaks character first hudson hudson i'm always you don't get to say that
24:16who's most like their character sophie sophie sophie yes yeah
24:26not francois
24:31okay so
24:34lightning round yes lightning
24:36chain and ilia's couple name is holonov no it's shalia it's a holonov
24:40oh shalia or holonov i won i lost i won shalia is no shalia no no okay okay um
24:55shalia sounds like a thing you have
24:59um so how do we combine connor story and hudson williams
25:11that's the front of both of them that doesn't make any sense
25:15well y'all decide i'm not gonna shit myself
25:24this is your idea this is a thing i'm asking okay okay what was it hudcon is the
25:32hudcon we didn't agree to that okay we're at hudcon five
25:38what is shane and ilia's theme song
25:41um i really want um i really want um ilia at some point to sing um that tattoo song remember
25:58it's a russian it's like a lesbian russian group they're super sick tattoo t-a-t-u
26:04i think i think we'll do that
26:07just collectively for both of us you get a say yeah it's up literally it's my say it's up to
26:12me
26:12they don't get a say right well say i think when you have seen the show
26:18you'll see there are some featured songs and i would guess that it is between
26:22my moon my man by feist and i'll believe in anything by wolf parade
26:29okay that's cute i'll take this one um i'm thinking the rocky theme song maybe
26:33i'm gonna fly now you know i think it could score everything
26:37i would do anything for love but i won't do that me love
26:44which castmate would be the worst in an actual hockey fight
26:49france or no
26:52worst meaning do the most damage or lose the hardest
26:56whatever you want to answer hudson hudson used to do mma right yeah so hudson used to do mma so
27:02he would win
27:03yeah i would cry yeah francois would would run also cry yeah and then francois and i would cry together
27:12and have a competition over that you can cry harder
27:15okay before i let you go final question you heard what justin stockman said earlier
27:19there are more books yeah so have you been thinking about oh yeah how far along are you on the
27:27more
27:28you've shot every single one
27:30i'll tell you what i'm not i'm not as far as i'm not as far as justin would like me
27:35to be
27:35so uh but listen if if literally justin wants more seasons that's up to yeah yeah fuck yeah let's do
27:45it
27:46we yes i do have a plan
27:49okay help us make that happen remember heated rivalry premieres on crave on friday tell everyone
27:57i know you've seen it but watch it again on social media all of that there's two episodes on friday
28:03and then episode as of next tell everyone who will like i did with my husband
28:09tell lady's husband remind him where she is
28:14thank you all of you thank you congratulations
28:17congratulations
28:20thank you remember to tell everyone on crave heated rivalry friday thank you goodnight
28:34and say it everybody
28:36thank you
28:57oh and rachel
29:14um
29:16well yeah rachel i want to start with you
29:29so how did this start with you
29:36it started with me at my dining room table just getting struck with um i don't know just these two
29:41characters just appeared in my head and i just immediately sat down and wrote what became the
29:46prologue of the book
29:46you could one sitting so and then it just went from there
29:51and are you a hockey fan
29:53yes
29:54okay it starts there
29:56very very very young yeah and um the relationship between the two guys was that just
30:05something that popped into your head
30:07yeah i just thought it would be funny
30:14okay so
30:14that's when i as a comedy writer
30:18read it and was like oh fuck this is a sitcom
30:22it's a rock
30:24but i i really
30:25so i was sitting over there and that group of girls
30:31i really do want to know though what is it because watching this
30:36you guys it's it's better than 50 shades of gray for you guys this is this is huge and i
30:43actually i'm not going to ask any questions of the audience but i do need to know
30:47will one person here tell me what it is about this that really makes
30:55just human connection is really important especially like for queer people
30:59yeah
31:00that connection is so important
31:09um
31:10um
31:13what i'm interested in though too is because it's hot and it's two guys
31:17and it's just it is so hot for you guys you were embarrassed you were like
31:25i was like slapping myself because i haven't
31:28shoved myself up
31:33no i couldn't i couldn't i was somewhere there
31:36okay but i want to ask you um so when did this come into your life
31:41so yeah so during the pandemic i started listening to audible and this was one of the first books
31:47i mean that's true i'm a big reader and i never listen to audible and i have friends be like
31:51you listen to podcasts like and i couldn't read nobody else remembers this i could not finish a book
31:56i was like why is my attention span so short so i started listening the first thing i did was
32:00listen
32:00to these books and i loved them and then i did a pretty big deep dive
32:05into the genre
32:07which i discovered that i was writing some of these are
32:11rachel's a real writer and her books are funny and smart and genuine and the connection between
32:18the characters are real i agree with you like there's something and not you know romance is a
32:23largely uncritically
32:27reviewed genre and so to learn what's good at it you just have to kind of listen or read you
32:31have to
32:32participate in it and i i listen to a lot and i can never shake the books um i love
32:36them and then
32:37as i kind of saw them get a bit more into the mainstream it was really i said i feel
32:43like this
32:44washington post article and i was just like oh my god if somebody else options these i think i'll feel
32:49crazy and so i was like brendan brady sitting there who deserves a lot of credit for this
33:02what we like to say now is we were trying to be like a low budget comedy company
33:07and then we turned into a premium smut company
33:13i like our origin story i like i'm assuming it's a villain arc
33:17i'm really excited
33:19well so i would think
33:21and gay sex would be like snakes on a plane to sell like people would want this
33:27wasn't that easy for you guys to get this made
33:30legendary hits
33:37we used to be roommates
33:40um yes no i you know what i had no idea we had no idea like here's the thing that
33:45happened
33:46i knew these books were popular i loved them i had no idea prior to that washington post article
33:52i was not sure it was adaptable there's you've noticed not a lot of sex and but i did it
34:00but like i did but what happened was we didn't pitch i knew i was like i'm going to write
34:05the
34:05first one in that way i'm going to use this as a proven concept because i don't i don't know
34:09if
34:09people are going to make i'm going to get execs to read this book and as soon as we started
34:12talking
34:13about it though brend and i talked we would tell people we were like oh we're not ready for this
34:17this isn't ready yet but we have we optioned this series gay hockey romances the level of like
34:23sorry what'd you say the level of like leaning in was pretty extraordinary and then uh it didn't it
34:29did not take long it was way easier than i thought it would be that being said it was quite
34:35difficult
34:36initially we had we had another we had an adventure with another company and it was the but the question
34:45that i was you know that i was kind of nervous with with crave too was just like you say
34:49you want this
34:50but do you like do you want this in theory and then when you see the scripts you start seeing
34:56the
34:56footage you're like oh that's more than we thought we were getting for this uh and craig did right
35:02have been amazing the entire way through but uh so once it was once it happened and craig was the
35:08place where i've done other tv shows that i've been learning with and so i knew all these people
35:12and uh but it was a departure and it was a big swing for them because they don't yeah because
35:17they
35:17they also just don't they're only recently starting to do one hour dramas at all and so this was a
35:24big
35:24swing in a lot of ways i think it worked yeah um so i want to know about how you
35:33found
35:35your boys um because i feel like that chemistry was okay so i want to you know what i'm looking
35:43at you've
35:43talked enough um i do want to know what the casting process was like for both of you um did
35:50you maybe
35:51it was too long too long and it was drawn out there was like but and uh it was very
35:58straightforward
36:00when you read the script was that straightforward like just you're a wednesday yeah i think immediately
36:07as soon as i read the script i kind of just fell in love with it or at least the
36:11size it got sent
36:12immediately it sort of made sense to me in a way um and i just wanted to do it and
36:18get my hands dirty and
36:20just jump all the way in there and never stop and i think for me is this working yeah i
36:28always had like
36:28an adjustment period where i'm like how loud um yeah i remember i remember the original uh breakdown it was
36:38like
36:38six three russian bisexual hockey player and i was like i'm not six three
36:47i don't speak russian um and uh yeah so i was like i'm never gonna get this this isn't gonna
36:55happen
36:55i did it heard back a month later and did like three three reads and
37:02yeah yeah because when i first saw this i really did not believe you were not russian there we go
37:09i love that the first the first iteration of it that i did was a little bit more like
37:15this is how
37:18that's not that's not true
37:20i was just in the mail
37:24jake was like i love it
37:28last change a fun story about connor's audition a friend of ours a bunch of ours up here sarah gatton
37:35a wonderful actress who did the voiceover for the uh rookie of the year award uh she watched a bunch
37:41of
37:41the tapes and she loved connor so much this was before hudson had even auditioned and she said to
37:47me she was like we have to cast for russian love that one's not russian
37:53so you fooled her and the blue beginning
37:59well but the chemistry between them is palpable and like so much though that you saw before i can't not
38:06think of you guys as shane and ilia like i refuse to know your names properly
38:13that was a choice um but how did you because this feels like a tall order to be able to
38:18find
38:18these guys so how what was that search like for you
38:23when they did the chemistry reading it was very obvious and full disclosure the chemistry was stacked
38:28for them and it worked um and then the network was concerned that they were too young
38:35and we had another i think they did another like take together where i was like i was like i
38:42don't
38:42even know what this note imagine getting this note i was like i don't know what this note means but
38:45play it like you're 30.
38:48all the stupid fucking things to say
38:51um i was like play it like you're a bit more tired and you don't feel like
38:55i think it sounds like a chore 80 seconds
39:00do this or a bit more of that energy and it worked and it worked but yeah your chemistry
39:07read was amazing from the from the like and yeah it was just very it became very clear at least
39:14to me very
39:14cool um francois yeah francois who i believe is one of the greatest actors we have in this country
39:29what i love so much is that so i've seen all of this and you don't know what's coming it's
39:35amazing
39:35you might actually because you've got the books
39:37um but what i love is when your little like little thumbnail up there showed those girls were
39:44like please so um how did you become involved in this
39:50uh thank you emily um well i've known jacob for we were counting earlier 17 years now
40:08um and when he gave me the call for this i was unaware of the rachel reed game universe
40:16um and uh i know that scott hunter now is a beloved character
40:26but there was something to the writing and i know you only have just like a tiny little tease
40:31of it but there's something in the writing of this um like alpha strong captain america male
40:40uh that is just profoundly good uh and there's something that really moved me and there's um the words
40:50that jacob found to express that range so true uh that i was i just felt like i i had
40:58to save him at one
40:59point and um i'm just so glad to be in such good company i'm so proud of you
41:06i did hear from a source that you wanted to dye your hair bleach blonde for this and was that
41:13just a character choice or the character is blonde with blue eyes in the books and i knew i was
41:18gonna
41:18get a ship from the fandom and i was also i had just no one thing is i had dyed
41:24my hair blonde for
41:25another movie and i was like let me just use this man i was kind of tired uh and jacob
41:31was like no
41:32so i'm a little auburn um rachel when just so having something of yours adapted um what was that
41:43process like on a kind of day-to-day basis like seeing somebody interpret what you've done yeah
41:55jacob this is not i don't do this every day
42:00it was an absolute dream from the very first moment that i i spoke to jacob the first time
42:06i like because you laid out exactly everything that was important about the books and the characters
42:12that you just got them right away so i never worried again after that because you know not everybody gets
42:18um a dream adaptation and gets to be this included and gets to be this respected
42:26affecting their source material and respected this much and i don't know just thank you
42:46i know that brandon is there and not here but if he was here would we talk about the sale
42:53to hbo
42:54yeah yeah can you say it in french oh yeah
43:00um i wouldn't forget it
43:02jacob i love it
43:29And I'm just saying in French, they were super happy, the HBO bought the show.
43:35For all the reasons I think it's just as exciting for us, it's fucking crazy, and we're so excited that
43:42it's happening at the same time as in Canada, and of course our Australian friends, and...
43:47I knew it as soon as I read it, that it would sell worldwide, and it would use the same
43:50code.
43:51It was the first time.
43:55And if you don't trust an actor...
44:02No, the whole thing has been, you know, overwhelming, and I know there's a lot of fans here, and really,
44:07we owe so much of this to you.
44:11You know, we, Brendan and I, sold this show, we were like, oh, there's fans.
44:17They're gonna show up, and we were like, I don't know, there's no obvious road map, and I certainly never
44:27felt anything like what it's like to be supported by you guys.
44:31Rachel tried to warn me, and...
44:34But it's, yeah, it's just been absolutely crazy, and we, I don't, I have, you know, people have asked me,
44:39they're like, did the fans make this up?
44:41I don't know, is the answer, I don't know, but I, I know, it did not hurt.
44:46That was amazing, and it was amazing for everybody to see online, but like, wow, there's a vocal and active
44:52group of people that want to see the show,
44:54and so that's, it's, that's crazy, and it's amazing, and it's very gratifying.
44:59Speaking to the fact that, I, I, I, what I want to wrap this up with one, one small question.
45:06So the sex scenes, um, yes.
45:12So they were really fucking hot, like, really hot, and how was that, I don't want to ask you, how
45:21was that on set?
45:24Uh, to, to, kind of, you're gonna get asked this a lot later on, so I'm just prepping you just
45:31to practice.
45:32Um, maybe just speak, like, I love standard, you standard, you know, no, okay.
45:39To be honest, like, I don't think Hudson and I are very squeamish or weird about any of that, so,
45:46I mean, it's one of those things where, you know, someone else is uncomfortable,
45:49or, you know, has a different way to think about things, or has certain boundaries that need to be respected,
45:55you know, it's no boundaries.
45:56Yeah.
45:57Then it becomes, then it becomes a dance, right? Like, you know, you're always kind of being like, is this
46:01okay, is this okay?
46:03We kind of, from the jump, with Jacob and Shayla, our intimacy coordinator, were like, I was like, you can
46:09do whatever you want to me, however you want to me.
46:13And it was kind of vice versa, and so, yeah.
46:17If that makes any sense.
46:19I was like, I don't do anything.
46:21I was like, oh, let's get in there.
46:34What I'll say is, cause, that was fascinating.
46:37Record, we, together, we, they are both very comfortable.
46:42This show would not be what it is without these two, and without the particular chemistry that they have, and
46:47their comfort level with each other, which was amazing.
46:51Um, and also a great reminder that some of the on-set nudity stuff is actually about the crew, so
46:56when you say things like, Hudson, you have to wear a robe.
46:59You can't just walk around like that, walking around, because it's hot in the hotel room, or whatever.
47:05Uh, it was a lovely experience for all of us, in, in some ways.
47:09Right? You remember that?
47:10It was so much fun to be in my little ballerina slipper.
47:13I know.
47:14It walked his little pouch.
47:15It was like, uh, I kept so many of them.
47:20Yeah.
47:21Yeah.
47:22But we did, we did have a wonderful intimacy coordinator named Shayla Lava Hunter, who really, I mean, she was
47:29really good at everything.
47:31And we just part very seriously.
47:34We were trying to choreograph these sex scenes like dances, so that we were just going through beats and emotions,
47:38so that we could allow for, much like a dance, for like the connect-
47:41You don't have to think about the next movement, you can just think about the connection, and do that.
47:45Because that was always, you know, the language of this show, what the fans love, what I love too, is
47:50that like, this is a sexual relationship, and so we can't shy away from that.
47:54But we also have to make sure that these sex scenes are not just gratuitous sex scenes, we're learning about
47:58these guys, and we're learning about their relationship.
48:01And so it's quite important that they be very specific.
48:03And without specificity, it's not interesting.
48:05It's just like a mess of bodies.
48:07And you can see that anywhere, you know?
48:09It's not sexy either.
48:10It's not sexy without that.
48:12And it is so...
48:13Intimacy.
48:14Intimacy.
48:15I know I'm not good at intimacy, but this is inspiring.
48:22So...
48:22And...
48:23Thank you, all, for making this.
48:26Thank you, guys.
48:34Thank you to everyone here at Imaginacion.
48:38Thank you to Emily for coming into doing this and being amazing at it.
48:45And...
48:46And...
48:47And thank you to everyone that's here at Prave, Mexin, and this whole team.
48:50We really appreciate everything from Prave Quebec.
48:53Thank you so much.
48:54And thank you, you guys, for coming tonight.
48:56We appreciate you.
48:57Ha!
48:58Have a good night.
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