00:00To here, this guy, you are watching The Hollywood Reporter.
00:03Wait, so Hollywood Reporter, just Hollywood Reporter?
00:06Did I do it right then? Do it again? Let me do it again.
00:09Okay, here we go. Ready?
00:11Hi, I'm Lauren Miller-Rogan, writer, director, producer of Babies.
00:15I am with the cast of Babies, and you are watching The Hollywood Reporter.
00:22Seth has been around where I have not done well on this thing.
00:32Hi, I'm Saya Rankin with The Hollywood Reporter, and I am here with Babies.
00:38We're just a bunch of Babies.
00:40These adult Babies.
00:41I'm going to have you guys first just go through, introduce yourselves,
00:45who you play in the movie, and then Lauren as director, obviously.
00:50Hi, I'm Anna. I'm Anna Kendrick.
00:53I'm in this movie Babies, and I play Annie.
00:57Which is basically Lauren.
00:59Makes it easy.
01:00I'm Seth. Hi, I play Aaron in the movie, who's sort of based on me.
01:06And I'm Lauren Miller-Rogan, writer and director,
01:10and person who's given Anna part of the character.
01:16How do you pick, when you're playing people who are going to play you and you,
01:21how do you pick the names?
01:23Their middle names.
01:25I mean, my middle name is Ann, but I changed it a little bit.
01:27But he's Aaron, and yeah, it's all middle names of the real people.
01:31Okay, well, that's a pretty easy one.
01:32Yeah.
01:32So the movie is, you know, not to put words in your mouth,
01:35but it's basically about kind of deciding whether or not you want to have a kid.
01:38Yeah.
01:38And do you have to, are you writing this movie while you yourself are thinking about it,
01:42or you are done thinking about it, have decided, then you can write the movie?
01:47Yeah.
01:49So our friends 10 years ago got divorced,
01:52and one moved in with us with her small child for a year.
01:55And so when that happened, you know, eventually I was like,
01:59oh, that's an interesting setup for a TV show.
02:01People who don't know if they want to have kids have someone move in with a kid.
02:06And, but it didn't feel right and didn't go anywhere.
02:09And I think partly because I didn't know the ending at that point.
02:13And then I think once we had had the kajillion conversations
02:17and done all the work and sort of found our own conclusion,
02:20then I was like, oh, now it's a movie because I know the ending of it.
02:23And so I really started working on it as a movie.
02:29Not that long ago, I wrote the script pretty fast in January of 2025.
02:35And then it was done in the spring and we were shooting the next fall.
02:38How did you decide how much of your guys' conversations
02:42and inner thoughts about it were sort of fair game for the script?
02:48I mean, I think that I put a lot of our work that we did
02:53to sort of come to this conclusion in there.
02:55And, you know, and it's not just about that.
02:58It's also about people who are choosing parenthood.
03:01And, you know, we've, you know, been around our friends
03:04who have had beautiful families
03:07and we have amazing relationships with their kids.
03:09And so I think that, you know, it was about not just making it feel real
03:14and grounded to us, but also, you know, sort of honoring that
03:18that we've witnessed so many times, like, and how beautiful that relationship is.
03:22How much do you think, Seth, would you say,
03:24because I know you guys have talked about with the invite,
03:26you've talked a lot about really personal stuff
03:29and that sort of made it in.
03:30What's, is there more in the invite or more in this movie?
03:35I think this movie, I mean, for my life is much more personal
03:39and much more reflective of my actual experiences.
03:43And I think, you know, Lauren, yeah, has, like, really made, like,
03:47a very honest film in regards to, like, you know,
03:52her thought process and our thought process as a couple.
03:55And so, yeah, when I look at it, I'm, it's shocking how personal it is, honestly.
04:04It's a little scary.
04:05And about very personal things in our lives.
04:08And, but to me, it's very brave to put yourself out there like that
04:12and to write about the things that are kind of the most personal things, you know.
04:17There were scenes that we would shoot where I was like,
04:20if I were Lauren, I would be, like, having a disassociative experience.
04:26Like, I would just be, I don't know how you did it.
04:30Because some of it felt so close to reality and so intense.
04:35And I was like, I, I think I'd be, like, setting myself on fire on this.
04:39Like, I would just be too intense.
04:41But, yeah.
04:42But it's so nice when someone does that.
04:44Because, like, the opening, the inner monologue that your character has
04:47where you're, like, at the party looking at everybody.
04:49I mean, that's exactly, so, even if people don't want to admit it,
04:53that is what, like, those of us who don't have kids, like, we're, we're thinking.
04:57Yeah, no, I mean, the line where she says, like, I can't stop thinking about this.
05:00Like, that is true.
05:01There were years where it was like, this is all I'm thinking about.
05:04Do I want it? Do I not want it? Do I want it? Do I not want it?
05:06And I wanted to really, like, put that out there.
05:09Is the, um, I'm trying to think of what, oh, the one where the guy texts you about dad duty.
05:16Are, are you going to have a few friends who, like, watch this movie and are like,
05:20shit, that one's me.
05:21Uh, probably, my friends don't really do that, honestly.
05:25Yeah, yeah.
05:25Like, but it is a thing that more, I just, I think we, we hear.
05:29I don't know, two weeks ago someone was like, I can't get together because I'm a dad duty.
05:32My wife's out of town, I've got my dad duty.
05:33No, you're right, actually. No, it does happen quite a bit.
05:35And, yes, and I find it obnoxious.
05:38And I, and it does bother me, honestly.
05:41And, um, yeah, I think, you know, and a lot of these are conversations we've had with our friends in
05:47real life.
05:48Um, before the film was made, I think.
05:50Um, but, but I, we also really, you know, we hang out with our friends and their kids a lot.
05:56And I think that is also what is, like, an interesting perspective the film has is that, like, you know,
06:01you can like kids and be good with kids and be very responsible people and be in a very happy
06:05marriage.
06:05And, and, and tick every box that one would think you need to tick in order to be the perfect
06:12parent in many ways.
06:13And you could still just maybe not really want it.
06:16What kind of conversations did you guys have to have for you to play kind of the surrogate version of
06:20Lauren?
06:21Well, okay.
06:22I'll say that a thing, like, I think the, like, the biggest point of tension for me, like, if we
06:29would even call it tension,
06:30is that, like, Lauren is just a more emotionally evolved person than I am.
06:35So, like, the, the, the great thing about acting is usually you're playing a character who is, because it's, you
06:41know,
06:41that story for you, who is, like, kind of toxic and, like, has, has issues.
06:47Even if you're playing it for laughs or if you're playing it for, you know, drama or whatever.
06:51Um, and so there were times when I was, like, but that's so vulnerable.
06:56Like, that's so honest.
06:58And, like, you wouldn't just come right out and say that to your friend.
07:01And Lauren was, like, I would.
07:03Um, and so there were times where I literally had to just be, like, if Lauren said this, how would
07:08I feel about Lauren?
07:09And I would be, like, oh, I would find it so endearing.
07:11And it would be so, it would make me feel closer to her and whatever.
07:14And it was, like, hard for me to, like, get the defenses out of my system and be, like, open
07:23the way that Lauren is open.
07:25Did making this movie and, like, saying the lines make you think differently at all about, like, having kids or
07:33people who have kids?
07:34Or, like, did you come into it pretty solid in your head?
07:37I think there's a lot of things about having kids or not having kids that have been said.
07:43And I think, like, in the end, like, Lauren had this really, really interesting, thoughtful perspective on the choices that
07:51we make with what to do with our energy and where to put our, like, where to direct our resources
08:00that we have in this life.
08:01And, like, what are the hard things that I want to do?
08:06And it just, like, wraps up in this way where I was, like, how are we going to, like, land
08:09this plane?
08:10And then by the time I got to the end of the script, I was, like, this is actually great.
08:14This is, like, if this were, like, a New Yorker essay, I would be, like, I feel smarter now.
08:19Yeah, that makes sense.
08:21The Bosch references.
08:25Where is that true to life?
08:27That is very true to life.
08:28I remember those moments where, like, between takes I was having the exact same conversation as I was, like, on
08:34camera.
08:35It was, oh, yeah.
08:36But, like, the watching stuff, like, we can watch them.
08:40And it is, like, it is true.
08:42We're, like, my friends don't, can't watch Bosch because it is, and it's so silly and it could feel so
08:48trivial.
08:49But the fact that we are able to watch shows and to spend our time doing things that it isn't
08:54so precious and we can watch four seasons of a show that everyone has told us is, like, just pretty
09:00good is, like, is honestly to us, like, a real gift and is very valuable in our lives, you know,
09:08and is a lovely release to, like, not have to pressurize, like, your leisure time like that.
09:14It's, like, we're going to watch something.
09:15It better be fucking good.
09:16Like, it's, like, no, it can be Bosch, which is good, but it's not, you know, it maybe isn't, like,
09:23if you have one hour a week what you're watching, yeah.
09:27Yeah, that makes sense.
09:28And I think, too, like, going to the movies is something that, because it's, like, who's going to, like, paying
09:32for a babysitter to go see a movie?
09:35Yeah.
09:35Probably not going to happen.
09:37Yeah.
09:37No, it's things like that.
09:38Yeah.
09:39Yeah, no, the amount of times I've heard a parent be, like, oh, I don't go to the movies anymore
09:42because I have kids.
09:43And it's, like, my parents raised me in a movie theater.
09:46Yeah.
09:47They don't do that anymore.
09:48Is there anything you guys do that you would be, you wouldn't miss if you had had kids?
09:54Like, that you would be happy to get rid of?
09:57You could leave parties earlier.
09:58It's true.
09:59Yeah, it's, like, excuses.
10:00We do it because of the dog.
10:01Once you get a dog, you get a lot of those same excuses anyway.
10:04Yeah, although it's less respected.
10:06It's less respected, but we still use it.
10:08We used to say we've got to get back to our dog.
10:10Yeah, but, oh, man, people can just use those kids to get out of so much stuff.
10:13I wish I had that.
10:14It would be nice.
10:15Are you guys dog birthday party people?
10:17No.
10:18No.
10:19No.
10:20But I do market with, like, something special for them, but it's just, like, a piece of steak or something.
10:25You're not going to invite other people.
10:27No.
10:28That would be a lot.
10:30Famous cut to, like, ten years from now.
10:32Now you're in the studio.
10:33We show you a clip of you saying this.
10:35And we brought our dog here.
10:37Your Instagram post from a dog birthday party.
10:39Yeah.
10:40Okay, before we wrap, a couple questions we're asking everyone.
10:43Okay, your first job that gave you kind of your first Hollywood paycheck, and what did you buy with it?
10:51I mean, I'll start because it's easy, which, when I was in college in New York,
10:54I went to the Fashion Institute for a couple years, and I was an extra in the Samuel L. Jackson
10:59shaft.
11:02And I worked for three days, Christian Bale, and I was like, this, this is my future.
11:07And it was three days, but they really kept us along times.
11:12There were a lot of overages.
11:13So after the taxes, I was 18 at the time, and I got $800.
11:18And I must have lived off to that for a long time.
11:23That's pretty good.
11:23Yeah, I was on Freaks and Geeks, and I got, you know, compared, at the time, it was like a
11:32mind-boggling amount of money.
11:33I bought an Acura.
11:34I bought an Acura vehicle that was destroyed on our first date.
11:40And, yeah, I didn't buy my, I bought a car.
11:42That was, to me, a big, I never had a car, my own car.
11:45So that was exciting.
11:46Is that still, like, what you, is that still your treat thing to this day?
11:50A car?
11:50Yeah.
11:51I mean, a little bit.
11:54I like a car.
11:57I think I did, like, a pilot that didn't go anywhere.
12:02That was my first, like, oh, it's, I've got an actual paycheck.
12:05Um, and I think I bought, I feel like such an idiot, but I bought, like, a full face of
12:11Stila makeup.
12:13Because I was like, this is the only makeup I'll ever need.
12:17Like, it was, there was a period where, you know, they had, like, a dedicated store at the Beverly Center.
12:22Oh, yes.
12:22And I went in there and I was like, have at me, ladies.
12:26And so they, yeah, they, they got excited because a sucker walked in the door that day.
12:31Yeah.
12:31Okay, and lastly, what is a creature comfort that you, if you're on location, what do you need to bring
12:37with you from home?
12:38We, we bring our pillow everywhere.
12:39Oh, yeah, we got our, they're back in our hotel room right now.
12:42My full pillow.
12:43Full pillow.
12:44Do you carry it on the plane?
12:45Yeah, we put them in a suitcase.
12:47Okay.
12:47Yeah.
12:48Xanax?
12:48I don't know.
12:49No, I don't know.
12:50I don't know.
12:50That's more of a necessity than a comfort.
12:52Yeah, yeah, yeah.
12:53That's not a, that's not a luxury.
12:54That's not a luxury.
12:55That's just a standard.
12:57Yeah, that's true.
12:58That's true.
12:59Awesome.
12:59Well, thank you guys for.
13:01I appreciate it.
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