The Big Picture

Welcome to a new episode of Collider Ladies Night with
Música
star and executive producer, Camila Mendes.
During her conversation with Collider’s Perri Nemiroff, Mendes discusses the paths she hopes to pursue in film and television post-
Riverdale
.

Música
is now available to watch on Prime Video.

After a hugely successful seven-season run, Riverdale came to an end in August 2023 with its 137th episode. Yes, being part of such a show is a blessing, but there’s a significant amount of pressure that comes with answering the question, “What’s next?” Camila Mendes is powering through that pressure right now in a big way — as a multi-hyphenate.

Mendes stars in and executive produced her latest feature, Música. Director Rudy Mancuso also stars in the film as a young street performer from Newark’s Ironbound neighborhood. He’s in a relationship with Francesca Reale’s Haley, but is coming to learn that they might not be on the same page about how and when to find success and stability as a young adult in this world. Could Mendes’ Isabella be the solution? Soon after meeting her, he becomes convinced she understands him better than anyone. But, is it ever that simple?

With Música celebrating its big debut on Prime Video this week, Mendes carved out some time to join me for a Collider Ladies Night conversation to discuss her experience finding her way after Riverdale, and coming to realize that producing is of great interest.

Mendes first added producing credits to her filmography in 2024 with Música and the Prime Video hit, Upgraded. But, the producing seeds were planted long ago.

While she wasn’t initially thrilled with the Tisch drama training studio she was sorted into, she soon came to realize that Playwrights Horizons did in fact make her a well-rounded artist, one well prepared to soar as both an actor and as a producer. She explained:

“The acting department at NYU has seven different acting studios that they place you in like Hogwarts, so you get chosen into one or the other. I got put into Playwrights Horizons, which was all about creating the well-rounded artist, so they did not just [do] acting, but directing, design, playwriting, creating original work, everything.
At first I was really annoyed by that because I was like, ‘I just want to perform. Can I just be in Meisner or Adler, Strasberg like the other kids? I just want to act!’ And ultimately, I’m very grateful for that experience because I think the reason I’m a producer today is because of that.
I think the reason I find myself leaning towards being behind the camera is because I learned the value of all these other roles. First of all, I learned that I’m not good at all of them. I shouldn’t be in design. I’m an okay writer. I can polish a script and write good dialog, but in terms of creating a structure of a great script, I don’t think I’d be able to do that. And also, the dedication that that requires, I think it would be a huge task for me. And directing, that decisiveness and leadership that you need to have to be a director is also very specific. But, producing is one thing because it’s like the full picture and bringing everybody together and problem solving, which I really love doing.”

After studying at New York University, Mendes made her professional screen acting debut in Riverdale playing Veronica Lodge. While Mendes did have high hopes the show would catch on, she didn’t anticipate it turning into such a colossal hit that’d instantly send her star soaring in Hollywood.

Camila Mendes on Her Pursuit to Fight Her Way Out of the ‘Riverdale’ Box
Image via The CW

While many may have viewed Mendes as a successful actor exuding confidence in the midst of a monumental industry breakout, Mendes insisted that wasn’t quite the reality of the situation:

“Nothing can prepare you for it. I just think there’s a common misconception about the glamor of Hollywood in general and how
everything seemed so great on the outside, but on the inside you’re like, ‘I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing.’
I was winging it, you know what I mean? I didn’t think the show was going to be that level of a success. I mean, I thought it had the potential to be, but you’re kind of thrust into the industry not knowing anything.”

Another common misconception about breaking out in Hollywood? That it’s smooth sailing from there, and that the opportunities just start to pour in. She explained:

“I think there’s this expectation that, ‘Well, you have this big show, now the world’s your oyster,’ and it wasn’t like that at all. And not that I really expected it to be, but it felt so strange, everyone being like, ‘Well, you can get anything you wanted. Bet you’re getting offers left and right,’ and it’s like, ‘Actually, no, because I’ve literally never been in anything else. I’ve never been in a movie and even though I’m in this very successful show, I have to pay my dues. I have to still prove to people that I’m worthy of other things and that I can do other types of roles.’ It’s like this endless process of having to prove yourself.
Maybe it’s because I was on a teen show that isn’t necessarily taken seriously by media, and maybe it’s because we were also a network show, I don’t know. I’m sure if my breakout was Euphoria then maybe the trajectory would have been a bit, I’m not going to say easier, but just different.
But I think with Riverdale it was a big challenge to fight my way outside of that box. I still feel like I’m fighting my way out of that box.”

While it may feel like she’s still fighting her way out of the Riverdale box to Mendes, from my perspective, she’s barreled right out of it in a big way. In the middle of Riverdale’s run she appeared in one of my favorite films of 2020, Palm Springs, and then in 2022 she starred opposite Maya Hawke in the Netflix comedy Do Revenge. With Upgraded and Música, not only does she continue to prove she’s got boundless potential in front of the lens, but she’s also affirming she can produce high quality winners. If that’s not breaking out of the box in a big way, and using one’s star power to help make the projects they believe in happen, I don’t know what is.

And Mendes isn’t the only Riverdale cast member forging forward with their career while wearing multiple hats and influencing projects for the better. Madelaine Petsch is an executive producer on the upcoming The Strangers films, with Chapter 1 due out in theaters on May 17th. Meanwhile, Cole Sprouse is using his platform to support first-time feature filmmakers. Not only did he star in Zelda Williams’ feature directorial debut, Lisa Frankenstein, but he was also just in Austin for SXSW celebrating a new movie, I Wish You All the Best, which marks Tommy Dorfman’s first feature as a director.

After saying as much to Mendes, she was quick to point out why it makes all the sense in the world that Riverdale actors are stepping up in such a way now:

“It’s not a surprise to me that all of us are entering into the producing space because, when you’re on a show for seven years and every episode there’s a new director and you see these variables changing constantly in front of you, you really get to understand the industry in a different way. You get to see how each episode turns out based on the director and the choices that were made, and the DP that episode.
We became little producers in our way because we were always there.
It’s other people that came in and out, and so we were driving the ship in many ways.
We were the ones making a lot of creative choices for our characters. I just think that show taught us a lot about about creating.”

The ‘Riverdale’ Unsung Hero You Need to Know About
Image via The CW

Yet another thing that teed Mendes up for success behind the lens? Hugely positive influences on the set of Riverdale, beginning with showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa.

“I adore Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa. He was the dream showrunner for a million reasons because he cared so much and he wanted everyone to be happy, he wanted everyone to feel good, and I think that’s a very beautiful quality. I could always call him and talk to him about something if there was an issue. He was very present.”

After that came the gold star answer. Mendes took a moment to shoutout one of the most invaluable members of a film and television crew — the AD, the assistant director. In fact, Riverdale had one particular AD who was so good, he went on to direct 19 episodes of the show. Mendes continued:

“I feel like the ADs of the world are also the unsung heroes.
On Riverdale we had one, Gabriel Correa, who is also Brazilian, so I had a very special connection with him in that way, felt like an uncle to me.
But he was such a great, strong leader because our showrunner was in the writers room in LA, so he couldn’t be on set all the time, so we needed a presence of somebody who could really be the glue that holds everyone together. Like I said, constant directors changing, coming in and out, and
if we had a bad director that episode or somebody who was really slacking or taking forever to finish the day, whatever, he would always come in and problem solve
. And sometimes he would just have to step in and help direct and get the show back on track. He was just such a hero on so many dark days, and I really admired him. And everyone in the cast did. So much to the point that they ended up promoting him and he became a director on many episodes, and he was the supervising producer, so he ended up climbing his way up and was killing it.”

Mendes wasn’t done there. Just recently she collaborated with someone who’d serve as a hugely motivating career mentor — Do Revenge director Jennifer Kaytin Robinson.

“She’s been such a mentor to me in my career. For so much career advice, I go to her because she’s like a friend, but she also feels like an older sister. She said something to me when I was in my head about my career and worried about the age old, like, ‘Will anyone ever take me seriously? Will I always this, this and this?’ And
she said something really sweet that I try to remind myself [of]. She was like, ‘Cami, at the end of the day, you’re gonna be fine because you have talent, and that is what is gonna get you far.
That is the ticket. That’s all you need. You’re talented. You’re gonna be okay.’ It’s such a simple, sweet way of reminding myself that that’s what speaks most. It’s not about your brand or your image or how people perceive you. It’s like, let your work speak for itself. Talent will always shine through.”

Mendes insisted on pausing there for a brief disclaimer; “I just want to flag, I wasn’t trying to be like, ‘I’m just like, really talented and everyone should know that.’ I’m not trying to — I just played that back in my head. [Laughs]” Little did she know, she just walked herself right into one of my favorite questions.

“I’m Very Proud of What I Accomplished with the Female Roles in the Movie”

In Hollywood, artists give each other awards and that’s wonderful, but I find that very few stop to say “good job” to themselves, so I asked Mendes to pinpoint something she did in Música that she knows she’ll be able to look back on and say to herself, “I’m so proud of what I did there.”

“Oh my god, what a question. I actually think I have an answer to this, which is, I think I’m very proud of what I accomplished with the female roles in the movie. The script was already great when it arrived in my inbox, but
I knew I could add so much more nuance to the female roles and complete them in a way that I don’t think any man ever could
. I worked very intimately with Rudy on Zoom for weeks leading up to the film. We would zoom for hours going through every single scene, and I was like, ‘Look, this movie doesn’t work if Haley is just this rich white girl who’s cold and a bitch,’ right? This doesn’t work because then you’re just like, ‘Okay, well, obviously we hate her,’ you know? It can’t be that easy. What’s gonna make the film more interesting is, even if you know that Haley’s not necessarily the right choice for Rudy and you can see that from the beginning that there’s a disconnect there between those two characters, but at least you understand where
she’s
coming from. You understand her frustration with him because, ultimately, it’s not Rudy deciding between two women. It’s Rudy not knowing what he wants and being so lost.
He’s
the problem, you know? It’s not Haley, it’s not Isabella.
Isabella isn’t the solution either, right? Rudy wants to think Isabella’s the solution, but she’s not. And so it also was important for me to make Isabella feel like she had her own personal traumas and she had reasons why Rudy was kind of triggering her insecurities. Every time she starts to talk about her personal life, he kind of gets distracted and then she feels a little hurt by that. These are micro things that maybe not every audience member will catch, but it just adds a little humanity and flaws to her so that, again, she’s not the Brazilian American version of a manic pixie dream girl.
She’s not this perfect, cool, chill girl that’s the obvious solution to his problem
.”

Looking for even more from Mendes on her journey to Música and her experience collaborating with Rudy Mancuso on the film? You can watch our full interview in the video at the top of this article, or you can listen to the conversation in podcast form below:

Música (2024) Release Date April 4, 2024 Director Rudy Mancuso Runtime 91 Minutes

Música is available to stream on Prime Video.

Watch on Prime Video