Speaking with Director Claire Scanlon, I was able to get an in-depth look into the magic of her craft.
While speaking on the phone with Claire Scanlon, I was immersed in her thoughts and guided through her mind. Having an inviting and friendly demeanor made the conversation with her so enjoyable. In our time spent, we were able to cover a variety of topics, most importantly relating to her upcoming film, Set it Up, which is set to premiere on June 15.
In the hilarious and subversive romantic comedy Set It Up, Harper who is played by Zoey Deutch and Charlie played by Glen Powell are two overworked, underpaid executive assistants beaten down by Manhattan’s rat race. Barely aware of their own deferred dreams, these twentysomethings live to serve a pair of tough bosses (Lucy Liu and Taye Diggs) who whip them into a daily frenzy. Teaming up out of sheer desperation, Harper and Charlie hatch a plan to become secret matchmakers, getting their bosses off their back by luring them into a fake romance. But what starts out as a brilliant maneuver, quickly spirals out of their control as they realize that being the puppet masters isn’t as simple as it seems.
The Knockturnal: You direct the film, ‘Set it Up,” so upon reading the script, what attracted you to this film originally?
Claire Scanlon: I would say that the script was filled with not only very three dimensional grounded characters but it was incredibly witty, it made me laugh out loud. And, by the way, I work in comedy all the time and I rarely laugh out loud, I feel like people that work in comedy never laugh, *laughs* we’re like the worst, and the fact that I was even remotely chuckling, was an excellent time. And it actually reminded me of just like a throwback to 30s and 40s films like It Happened One Night, Bringing Up Baby, The Philadelphia Story, and I was like no one else can direct this. I can do this movie better than anyone else because I’m such a huge fan of all those films from the 30s and 40s.
The Knockturnal: ‘Set it Up’ is described as a modern take on those classic romantic comedies of the 1940s and pays homage to a lot of those films. Growing up, what were some of your favorite romantic comedies?
Claire Scanlon: You know, I really love John Hughes. And, I know that if you think about a John Hughes film, it always has romance in it. Like, think of Sixteen Candles, it’s heavy on comedy, it leans very heavily on comedy, and so those were my favorite. I adored them. And, I think that comedy has played such a strong role in those rom-coms. And, I feel like Set it Up if you want to reverse it, is a com-rom because it’s so heavy on comedy and then you just kind of sneak in the romance, and it kind of hits you from out of nowhere and some of the guys in the audience were like “I welled up!” at our premiere yesterday, and they were like “I can’t believe I welled up!”. Nonetheless, I would say pretty much you know a John Hughes film and that definitely shaped my whole—you know, I remember when The Breakfast Club came out, I must have seen it like a hundred times, I loved that movie so much and I’m from Chicago! He always shot in the suburbs of Chicago, I grew up in the city, but I still felt like some kind of ownership, especially with Ferris Bueller’s Day Off which is probably- that is not a rom-com, but I loved it. Comedy I feel like is the great unifier, you can take anyone from any background, any socio-economic background, and it’s the great equalizer.
The Knockturnal: You mentioned that the characters in Set it Up whether minor or major are three dimensional and have depth. And, when reading the script were able to find each character’s internal struggle, so what it the process like of dissecting each character?
Claire Scanlon: Well, I think it was just kind of trying to think of them as like real people. And, for me, of the four, and have emphasis for each character. Let’s start with Kirsten, that’s the character I related to the most because I too may have ___ and prioritized work over personal life. I was like nine months pregnant shooting this film, and clearly cramming in my personal life at the last second. Just trying to get some of those things in that I may have missed out on previously because I did work so hard, and so I completely related to that character. You know as women in particular, you’re like “well I can’t have it all”, because you don’t have that time to dedicate to a family, and concurrently work as hard, especially in the field of film and television, doing what you need to do in order to move forward. And then, you can realize, that’s a bunch of bullsh*t, you may not be able to do it all definitely with what it looks like, but everyone deserves to strive for what they want. You don’t have to presume you can’t do something then never go for it, so I say just go for it and I would say that came into play heavily. Also, so everyone was an assistant, everyone can relate to what it’s like to be Harper, everyone can relate to the fear of failure. I mean everyone is afraid of failing, it’s like push onto it and take the risk anyway, but it’s still scary, it doesn’t make it any less scary, so I think Harper is a super relatable character. And then Charlie I feel like he’s living the life that he thinks he’s supposed to live, like the unexamined American person who’s like “oh big bank account and a hot girlfriend, and that’s the life the life that’s gonna bring me up”, but low and behold, it doesn’t, it’s just like he’s scrambling at every turn and never quite catching his breath. And, he never looks inward and says, “Do I really want to do this? Do I really want to be a venture capitalist? Is this something that tricks my trigger and something I’m really passionate about?” and, he’s not. It’s not something that he’s passionate about, it’s not something that I think he even likes. And, then finally, Rick. Rick is somebody who I think when you’re a venture capitalist you have to have a certain kind of confidence and bravado to sell people and what you’re buying, it’s just capital, it’s this thing that you’re trying to get capital for, and I think that you do that for decades and you just kind of forget that you don’t always know everything because you had to have this false sense of confidence in products that don’t necessarily even exist yet. And, as a result that carries over and he was probably a real jerk to his wife, presumptuous, and cocky, and she probably kicked him out well deserved because he wasn’t behaving well. You get glimpses that he might have been a nice guy, once upon a time. I think there’s something relatable in all of the characters, even the smaller ones, like the waiter and the ring saleswoman, and as long as you see them as fully realized people, and treat all those characters with the weight that they deserve, you get real people in a real movie. You know you just don’t get caricatures, and quickly broad strokes, and one dimensional characters. That was my goal anyway.
The Knockturnal: What was the biggest risk you think you took creatively in creating this film?
Claire Scanlon: You know, I would say I was concerned about shooting at the Yankee Stadium, and this was where you’re like “What! That’s amazing! That’s a huge get! That’s an awesome piece and it’s so New York!” But, I was worried that it would go so big that it wouldn’t feel like the rest of the film because it is such a set piece and it is such an icon, we also were looking into shooting on Coney Island, there’s a triple-A team that plays there, and it just felt a little more romantic and provisional and charming, if you will. And part of me was like, I don’t want the tone of the film to be so different, and so it was a risk shooting it at the Yankee Stadium, and the risk paid off because I really do feel like that’s the first scene where everyone’s like ok we’re on board with this movie. Like that’s the scene where you get kind of like swept up into the whole kiss kiss kiss! The whole stadium is shouting at them, and it’s just kind of wonderful. And, as an audience member, you’re kind of like the audience in the Yankee Stadium rooting for them to kiss and it just feels like a nice communal experience that kind of melds you to the movie. And, as a result, I think after that everybody is on board with the film. Once people are in that scene, I’m like “Ok, we got them.”
The Knockturnal: With being a romantic comedy, the film holds a lot of underlying themes and messages, so what do you hope audiences also get out of this film besides the romantic and comedic aspects?
Claire Scanlon: I don’t know if I’m going to directly answer the question, but I would say for me, what I like about this is that there’s consequences to actions. What Charlie and Harper do, ultimately, that’s not a nice thing what they did. Initially, it was all about them, it was selfish choice for them not to have to confront their fears, confront Harper’s fears, and not Charlie not be introspective and deal with the sh*t storm that’s his life, like trying to keep up with a supermodel and his boss. And so, rather than deal with it like grownups, and say, “what am I really doing here?” they’re like let’s create a ____ where we try to set up two people so we can have more of a personal life. And, that’s not being an adult, that’s not really where their energies are best spent. And so, I like that they have consequences for their actions. And that when Harper is truly confronted in black and white, with what they’ve done, she takes a step back and she owns it. I feel like, especially right now, we’re in this weird vortex of not having consequences to actions, like the President comes to mind, and that’s not ok. And so, I think, even if on a very small level, this film shows that when you do deal with the consequences of your actions and the repercussions that follows suit, it kind of sucks at first, but you grow as human being and that growth is what helps you mature and leads to more happiness.
The Knockturnal: While directing this film, what was the vibe or environment you wanted to cultivate on set?
Claire Scanlon: I always say, you can’t be funny when you’re afraid. And, our set was very funny. So, I’d like to think that we had a very family-friendly, again I was very pregnant and Lucy would bring Rockwell to set and my daughter was in town with my husband and they would come to set sometimes. It was just a very family-friendly, inviting set. And, I think that the comedy worked so well because those are the best sets to have when you want people to be at their best, at the top of their game, and you know, putting yourself out on the line to be goofy and funny, you have to have some trust there; you have to be able to—it’s almost like doing a trust fall, and we had them, like if you wanted to play and do a fun run, goof off, and get silly, improv a little, we had your back. You know, no one was going to laugh and say, “What are they doing? That’s terrible.” Like, that’s not what the environment was at all, it was very inclusive. Everyone was a collaborator. It was just like a really collaborative set. There was no ownership on like, “you can’t do that, that’s not your job, you’re an actor, you’re not the writer”, you know? And, the writer, which is atypical in a film, was there every single day. Everyday. Any why wouldn’t you want that? And, I think that everyone would say that our set was very warm and friendly.
The Knockturnal: Are there any other upcoming projects of yours that you would like to highlight or share?
Claire Scanlon: I just started working on a new show called American Princess. Jenji Kohan, she created Orange is the New Black, Weeds, and Glow, and she’s the executive producer on it. She’s really good at immersing you in a world. Jamie Denbo is the showrunner and creator of the story, and it’s kind of just like Private Benjamin but instead of joining the army, the character joins the renaissance fair, it’s really weird, but I really liked it and I learned a lot more about the renaissance fair. That’s a whole sub-culture I was not familiar with. It’s an hour-long show and I’ve never done one of those before, I usually do half-hour comedies, so it was different medium and that was exciting. And, it’s like kind of a comedy, I would call it like a drama-edy. Everyone is just super inclusive and accepting. And, I think if there was any commanilty in the work that I’ve done, starting from The Office and moving forward, you can see that is a show—like, The Office is inclusive. There’s this group of people that don’t seem to have anything in common, yet their humanity shines through, and they’re good people. And, when put in a conflicting situation, they behave maybe a little ridicoulsy at first, but in the long run, they’re good people. And, I think I’m drawn to projects that encourage empathy, consideration, and sympathy in society. And, also really funny and make you laugh. That’s what I’m drawn to as a human being and that’s the stories I gravitate towards. And, I think that this one, American Princess, has that too.
Be sure to check out Set it Up which premieres on Netflix globally on June, 15! Below you can check out the trailer for the upcoming Netflix film!
