At the premiere on January 24th, the cast “spilled the beans” on this juicy romantic drama.Check out our interviews with the cast of Permission at a screening hosted by The New York Film Critics Series (NYFCS) at Symphony Space.
Film Synopsis: Anna (Rebecca Hall) and Will (Dan Stevens), were each other’s first every-things: first kiss, first love, first and only relationship. Now, 10 years in, at Anna’s 30th birthday party, as Will is about to propose, the couple’s best friend makes a drunken toast, suggesting that they should sleep around before their inevitable marriage. The joke lands like a lead balloon, but the thought lingers until Anna proposes that they try opening their relationship – as a sexual experiment. Together, they venture out of the purely monogamous boundaries of their relationship and, along the way, evolve. It will be theaters and on demand February 9, 2018.
François Arnaud
How was it getting into chemistry with Rebecca? Did you guys have any rehearsal or did you just jump right in?
François Arnaud: We sort of just jumped right in. We met, that was my audition. I had lunch with Rebecca. You know how that goes, and it went well enough that I’m here tonight.
Awesome, and then was music something you already did?
Arnaud: It’s something I did as a kid, I had to get back into it, it was a very last minute thing for me (this role). I read the script months prior and I loved it, and when I was told that I was doing it, I was off to Thailand for a month. So I bought this tiny keyboard that I just traveled with while all my friends were out in Thailand.
You just stayed home.
Arnaud: I just stayed and practiced chords.
Gina Gershon
What was the best part of playing this character for you?
Gina Gershon: I think hanging out with Rebecca.
Yeah, you guys have that amazing scene.
Gershon: Yeah, we kinda just fell in love with each other and with Morgan and Dan. I mean the whole cast is great.
The scene where you are in the bathtub.
Gershon: Yeah, those were really fun scenes. It was such a nice cast and a nice crew, and I really liked the movie. So the whole experience was really pleasant.
How does it feel shooting a movie in New York that’s not really your typical love story?
Gershon: Well, maybe not your typical love story, but it felt very familiar to me. You know, I love shooting in New York, it’s tricky because there is always so much going on. Just to focus on what you’re doing and discipline and not go out when all your friends are saying, “let’s go out, lets go out!” but other than that it’s fantastic.
David Joseph Craig
How was working with Jason and that adorable baby?
Craig: Oh my god, first of all, those babies were one of our producer’s sister’s twins, so we got to work with twins! But one of them was unresponsive in terms of crying the whole time.
Right, lots going on.
Craig: Lot going on, a freezing cold day, but honestly wanting a baby myself, it was beautiful to act with one. And then working with Jason was unbelievable. And I do Upright Citizen’s Brigade so doing comedy and being a performer there to getting to actually perform with someone who has literally been one of my role models from my youth was amazing. Getting to work one on one with him, and getting to have a day with him was an unbelievable experience.
Was it intimidating trying to build this chemistry with your partner? You guys in the movie have been in a relationship for years. Was that intimidating or exciting?
Craig: I mean it was extremely exciting. Morgan and Rebecca have been some of Brian and I’s best friends for a long long time.
So you know each other.
Craig: We know each other and the ins and outs of each other’s relationships. It was actually a very very beautiful thing to allow us to interact in different ways with each other. The more intimate moments were definitely a little trepidatious, because I literally had my husband ten feet from me (watching me on monitor) have intercourse with somebody else. But it was an incredible experience, and actually getting to have a very real relationship with someone who’s not my husband actually allowed me to understand my husband differently. Also because he wrote the role to understand something that he needed from me.
Photo Credit: Olivia Blue
