- 24 minutes ago
"I wanted to explore what a woman who was put in that situation would feel like, what she would go through, what her emotional journey would be," Rogen told The Hollywood Reporter.
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00:03How are you? It's Kevin Kenney. Welcome to a brand new episode of In Studio. Our guest
00:07today is the writer, director, and producer of a brand new Netflix film entitled Like Father.
00:12Joining us now, Lauren Miller-Rogan.
00:13Hello.
00:14How are you?
00:15Hi, I'm doing well. How are you doing?
00:16I'm great. How do you feel with it being now out in the world? This thing that you've,
00:20I mean, it goes back about six years, this story. We'll get into it. But this has to
00:23be liberating in a sense.
00:24It feels so good. I feel like I've birthed my child and it's out there and people are
00:28getting to see it and they're enjoying it and telling me that they're seeing it. It's
00:33exciting.
00:34Now, we're going to get into the story of the film, but what I love and what made me such
00:38a fan of wanting to go out and watch the film, which I did this weekend, is your story of
00:42persistence and how passionate you were from the moment you heard the pitch. And I believe
00:46the pitch dates back to a producer, Anders?
00:48Anders Bard, who's one of the producers in the movie. Yeah, we met at this point a little
00:52over six years ago and he just had the kernel of the idea, a woman gets left at the altar
00:56and her dad, who she hasn't seen since she was a little girl, shows up and they go on
01:00her honeymoon cruise. And I was not left at the altar and I have a fantastic dad. But yeah,
01:07I was really drawn to it, I think, because I really wanted to explore what a woman who
01:13was put in that situation would feel like, what she would go through, what her emotional
01:16journey would be. Which is why I bugged him to write it, which I did, which took a little
01:21while. But then, yeah, I mean, honestly, to make anything, our journey is no different
01:25than most movies. Like, it takes a long time. Like, Hollywood is an industry where I think
01:31no is their favorite word. And sometimes they say yes, and that's great, and that's why we're
01:35here. But you hear no a lot more than you hear yes.
01:38Oh, I can imagine. And talking about the process there in Hollywood, how did this film differ
01:43from maybe a traditional film? This is a Netflix film, as opposed to a theatrical release.
01:46Did anything, is it pretty much just like the distribution's different, but everything else is the same?
01:50Well, it's pretty similar. We actually got Netflix on board two years ago in the development
01:53phase, like before we made the movie. So they were there from the very beginning. So different
01:57than like a movie that, say, premieres at like a Sundance, and then is acquired by a Netflix or a
02:01studio. So similar to a studio movie, they acquired it, they were part of casting, they were part of the
02:08whole production, and then part of the marketing, and now they're released. It's just, it's the same
02:14thing, just sort of the modern day version of it, really, right? Like, it's, it's crazy.
02:19It's crazy. It's just out and they can enjoy it. You don't have to worry about, you know, box office
02:22numbers like we were saying. I know, I know. It's nice. No, yeah. Not watching box office
02:27opening weekend is nice. Yeah. Yeah. I want to talk about how you introduce this character that
02:31Kristen Bell plays. You do it so masterfully because she's such a New York City workaholic,
02:37she can't even put her phone down on her wedding day. Now, I grew up here. I know this person.
02:41Yeah. Sometimes I feel like I am this person. Yeah, you, yeah. You probably are. I am. It's fine.
02:45What made you want to write about that person specifically? I know you've talked about,
02:49you know, seeing a female lead in that role, but the workaholic portion of it, where does that come
02:53from? You know, I'm sure a lot of it stems from my own self, my own love of my own
02:59job,
02:59and my own inability to put down my own phone or my own work because I enjoy it so much.
03:05And that's
03:05the thing with Rachel. She's not miserable at her job. She really cares about her job. She's good at her
03:10job. And to me, that's a very real human thing. Like we can love our work. It's okay. That's why
03:16I do what I do because I love it. And I'm fortunate to get to do it. However, it's important
03:22to have
03:22balance. And like, like you said, like you go out on the street or like just anywhere in restaurants,
03:27on vacations, like we're all like this. I do it. My husband does it a lot. And, um, you know,
03:34and it's, it's a thing that, that is a, is a, you know, just a product of our society at
03:39this point,
03:40our technology. And it's great, but we have to learn to, to put it down. And I think that I
03:46was
03:46really intrigued to take someone on that path, to, to go from like, I can have the balance of, I
03:54can
03:54love my job, I can do my work, but I can also be a human being who's aware of the
03:58world around me.
03:58Right. That balance that I have not found yet, but hopefully Kirsten does. No spoilers in the film.
04:04Yeah. Um, now marriage is something that just personally, uh, to be a bit self-indulgent for
04:09a moment, it, it fascinates me. And, and this is clearly a woman that Kirsten plays that is not
04:13ready for marriage. I'm curious. So you're married in real life. How did you know you were ready to
04:18take that big leap? Oh God, honestly, I don't want to sound cliche, but like,
04:24I'm really lucky in my relationship and my husband and I, we've been together now over 13 years.
04:30Um, and we met, um, one night, my friend was dating his friend and the four of us went to
04:35a party
04:35together. And literally just that night I was like, wow, I don't think I've ever talked to someone so
04:41easily before. So it was quite early on when I was like, oh, I'm ready. And took him a little
04:48bit
04:48longer. Um, cause I think guys have this whole thing in their head. Like I have to be able to
04:53take care of my family when I get married. And it's like, no, like marriage is a partnership.
04:57You don't need all your shit figured out before you enter in it because your partner is going to
05:01help you figure it out. And that's the point. And so I think that like, I know a lot of
05:06guys were
05:07like, well, I can't get married. And then they get married and they're like, well, that was stupid.
05:10Cause this is the greatest thing ever. Even my own husband is like, I have no idea. I'm so sorry
05:14that I was, I had the brakes on. Like, I don't know what I was doing. Cause like,
05:18we lived together from after a year and a half, like, what were we doing? It was six years before
05:23we got married, but I think marriage is wonderful. That's great. Well, speaking of your husband,
05:27he is in the film, stars in the film, does a tremendous job, uh, perhaps never more so than
05:31in the scene where he turns down a joint and says, I've never smoked weed a day in my life.
05:35I got a big
05:36kick out of that. It was almost like an inside joke there for longtime fans of his work. But in
05:39all
05:39seriousness, he actually does a masterful job. He's downplayed, uh, the whole aspect of working
05:45with his wife on set and, you know, in red carpet interviews that I've seen, but it had to be
05:49a
05:49little bit different than working with just any other actor. So what was it like?
05:52I mean, I don't know. I feel like he loves some of those guys just as much as he loves
05:56me that he's
05:57worked with before. So no, I mean, it was, it was amazing. Like I said, like, we're very lucky and
06:03we
06:03really like each other a lot and we respect each other. And like my first instinct when he was on
06:08set
06:09was to be like, I need your help. I'm, I'm fine. I can do it on my own myself. And
06:13then I was like,
06:14what am I doing? I'm so stupid. Like, I think he's the most talented filmmaker that I'm lucky
06:18enough to know. And like, he's so smart and he's so supportive. And like, he was really supportive
06:23of my vision. Like I really knew what I wanted going into this. And like, he just really like,
06:27was very respectful of the whole process and was there to give an opinion when I wanted one and
06:32was hands off when he knew that I was like, I'm tunnel visioned in. I know what I'm doing.
06:37Yeah. One of, some of my favorite, uh, things to watch like in high school,
06:41growing up where the, uh, the bonus features on some of his movies where he and his buddies
06:44would just ad lib. Were there any ad libbing on set?
06:46I mean, a little bit. We were in a pretty tight schedule. We shot this movie in about, uh, 28
06:51days,
06:52I think it is, which is, you know, large movies are much longer than that. Um, and so we were
06:57in a
06:57pretty tight schedule. So there wasn't a ton of time, little things here and there. Um, you know,
07:02little words here and there. I'm very like, you know, if someone, if a word doesn't sound right,
07:06change it, that's okay. As long as the general idea is there. Um, but we didn't have those,
07:11have time for those like long, funny joke runs like that. Yeah. And that's just not really the
07:15tone of the movie. No, no, not at all. Yeah. So it wasn't something we necessarily tried to do too
07:20much. Right. Kristen Bell's, uh, story arc is, the journey is just, it's so engaging and it's one
07:26that just, uh, took me along for it the whole movie. Uh, and there's all these moments throughout
07:30her journey where you think she's gonna figure it out. Okay. This is the opportunity for her to turn it
07:34all
07:34around. And then it finally happens or eventually happens when the one person,
07:39it seems that she says the one thing that she needed to hear. Right. And I don't want to give
07:45anything away, but that scene is so beautiful. And the acting of course is tremendous, but the writing
07:49is so strong that I have to imagine that came from a real place. And I'd love to ask you,
07:55who was that person for you? What was that one thing you needed to hear at some point in your
07:58life that
08:00you know, it's interesting. I think it was actually a combination of things that I wish I could hear
08:05that I haven't heard. That sort of ultimate apology of like, I was wrong. It wasn't you. Because of
08:11course I, you know, like I said, I'm fortunate to have my dad, um, in my life very much in
08:16an amazing,
08:17loving way. Um, so I couldn't put myself in that headspace, but I certainly have been rejected.
08:23I have been brushed aside and felt completely like it was my fault. And now that I'm older,
08:30I imagine that it wasn't, um, that it was all about the other person. And in this situation,
08:35it wasn't about Rachel. It was about Harry being a human being who made a mistake, who made the wrong
08:41choice and lived a life where he was living out that choice over and over again until it was the
08:45right
08:45time to remedy that situation. And, you know, for me, it was just about like putting myself in that
08:51headspace of what would I need if someone was coming to me with this big apology. And that's,
08:59that's what I came up with. Yeah. The film is about a lot of things. But one thing, a prevailing
09:04theme that I took away from it is that life does not give a you know what about our plans.
09:08No.
09:09It's filled with unexpected turns. And I thought just a fun little exercise to do is if you were to
09:13go
09:13back to 15 year old you. Oh my god. And what you thought your life was going to be like,
09:17and then what
09:18your life is like now, how would those two things compare? What's the most unexpected things about
09:22your life now compared to what you envisioned? Well, when I was 15, I wanted to be a fashion
09:26designer. Um, I had big dreams to go to FIT here in New York for fashion design, which I did
09:31for two
09:31years before going to film school. So that's a pretty big difference. I thought I'd be a fashion
09:36designer living in New York City instead of a filmmaker living in Los Angeles. So, but you know,
09:41but I definitely like was the kind of kid with big dreams and never intended to take a conventional path
09:48and luckily had parents that supported that. And um, you know, and just really, I'm, I think my
09:5515 year old self would be pretty psyched and wouldn't be too disappointed. I, you know, I wanted to
10:00sort of try to live true to what I wanted to do. And I feel like I'm, you know, I'm
10:05circling that. Yeah,
10:06I'm close to it. Yeah. I've always thought that that's as funny as it sounds like that's like the
10:10ultimate mark of success is if like tween you Oh yeah, you are like the coolest. I think you did
10:16a good job.
10:16I think if I went back and read my diary from those days, I think I would make that person
10:21happy.
10:22Absolutely. Yeah. Now I want to congratulate you on the tremendous work you and Seth do and a bunch
10:26of people do on Hilarity for Charity. Thank you. 10 plus million dollars raised so far that cannot
10:31be understated. It's just tremendous what you've done, taking something that is of course very
10:34difficult and turning into such an amazing, beautiful, positive thing. What is your eventual goal?
10:40If you can't quantify it at all, where do you want to take Hilarity for Charity?
10:43I'd like to cure Alzheimer's. You know, I don't think Hilarity for Charity will raise the kind of
10:48money that cures Alzheimer's. I think that's the job of the government. And they have stepped up in
10:53recent years. Not enough, but it's happening slowly. My goal is to make Alzheimer's a part of
11:00the conversation. I want to tear away the stigma that makes people keep it a secret because they do.
11:06My family did. My mom insisted on it for the first few years. People still do that. They're ashamed
11:11of it. I want to tear that stigma down. It's why it's part of this movie because I want to
11:16make it
11:16part of the normal conversation. You know, I want to take action on it. I want there to be treatments.
11:22I want to help people that are going through it. We have a grant program where we provide in-home
11:27care
11:27to people who can't afford it. I want to be able to grow that program so that anyone who needs
11:32help in
11:33their home can receive it because it is extraordinarily expensive. You know,
11:39no plans to stop on that side. Yeah. To close it out in somewhat of a full circle moment here
11:46during a chat, you've said in previous interviews that you hope that one of the biggest lessons
11:50people can take away from the film is the idea of forgiving and moving forward. Is that right?
11:55Yeah. Now, I understand that at the time you wrote the film, it was actually a pretty tumultuous
12:00time in your life for dealing with your mother's Alzheimer's, of course, but then there was also
12:02this pretty major falling out with a friend. So, I'm curious, just personally, if you don't want
12:06me digging a little deeper here, have you two been able to forgive and move on? Unfortunately,
12:12some relationships are not meant to last forever. Okay. And, you know, some people are in your lives
12:17for a certain reason for a certain amount of time. And that relationship existed for a lot of amazing
12:23reasons. And now we are both in different places in our lives. And it was an interesting process.
12:29You know, that time was a tough time where I had to sort of take a look at the things
12:36that were
12:37eating me away, but I was burying them and not paying attention to them. And it's why this script
12:43has some really sad moments and some really angry moments because I was feeling really angry and
12:49really sad some of the time when I was writing it. And so, yeah, the loss of that friendship was
12:54one
12:54that was hard to get over and still is. It's funny when you end a friendship. It's different
13:00than a relationship, you know, because you can't, like, sit across from someone and be like,
13:03you know what, I think we're better off as friends. Because that's, you know, and so it's a tough thing.
13:09But I really firmly believe that, like, there are people in our lives that sometimes for some reasons
13:14and then not. And I love that. And I love what it gave me. And, you know, and my mom's
13:20journey
13:20as well. Like, something beautiful has grown out of something really awful. And I'm a firm believer
13:25that even the saddest things, there can be light in there. And I learned that through going through
13:30that at the same time and pushed through to the other side. And a lot of good has come from
13:34it.
13:35Absolutely. I mean, this film came from this. And in closing here, I just have to say,
13:38I think the best thing that a film or any piece of art can do is allow us to examine
13:43something
13:44about ourselves and better ourselves. And Like Father certainly did that for me.
13:47So thank you for making the film. Thank you for watching it.
13:49And it's available now on Netflix everywhere. Thank you.
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