The Big Picture

Christian Slater, Alia Shawkat and Simon Rex discuss working with Zoë Kravitz on her directorial debut,
Blink Twice
.
Rex recalls a specific unforgettable acting note he received from Kravitz while making the film.
Shawkat also discusses her experience working on
Severence
Season 2, and Slater teases Harry’s storyline in
Dexter: Original Sin
.

Naomi Ackie is the headliner of Blink Twice, and she’s an absolute ace in the role, but Zoë Kravitz’s feature directorial debut is also an ensemble piece that demands pitch-perfect casting across the board. In the film, Ackie’s character, Frida, gets what she thinks is a dream opportunity — to be whisked away by a tech billionaire (Channing Tatum) to his private island where she can spend limitless time relaxing by the pool and partying with his high-profile friends. What starts as a high-energy party film you can’t help but want more of takes a deft descent into disturbing chaos courtesy of Kravitz’s clear vision, the cast chemistry, and each actor’s thorough understanding of their role.

Alia Shawkat steps in as Jess, Frida’s best friend who joins her on this trip to Slater King’s private island. Christian Slater is Vic, described succinctly in the production notes as “the jerk that the rest of them put up with.” And then there’s Simon Rex’s Cody, the member of the group who incessantly shows off the food he’s cooked and has a thing for Adria Arjona’s Sarah, even though she’s busy looking in Slater King’s direction.

With Blink Twice now playing in theaters, I got the chance to sit down with the trio to revisit their experience working with Kravitz as a director and their collaboration with each other as an ensemble. On top of that, Shawkat touched on her time working with Ben Stiller on Severance Season 2, and Slater teased what to expect from Harry’s storyline in Dexter: Original Sin.

Hear about it all straight from Slater, Shawkat and Rex in the video at the top of this article, or you can read the interview in transcript form below.

PERRI NEMIROFF: With a movie like this, having the right ensemble is so important, and I think you see that big time while you’re watching the film. For each of you, do you remember the first thing that happened on set that made you stop and say to yourself, “This is the right vibe. We are the right group for this?”

SIMON REX: It was that first camera test day, if you remember. We did a camera test while we were rehearsing, and it was some pan shots where we walked up with our wardrobe and we were all kind of feeling it out. I just remember it being like, “Okay, yeah, this is something.” It just felt like something. I could just tell from that day, and that was in a rehearsal phase.

CHRISTIAN SLATER: That’s a good answer.

ALIA SHAWKAT: I’m gonna take that answer, too. That’s all our answers. [Laughs]

SLATER: I’m gonna go out on a limb — I wasn’t there that day. I can’t remember that.

REX: You came a few days later.

SHAWKAT: You didn’t need a camera test. You’re Christian Slater.

SLATER: Oh, come on! But it is true, when we were there shooting it and in the pool and having those moments, you know what I loved? When Levon [Hawke] would play the little guitar, those songs. Those were special.

REX: Zoë was cool enough and open enough to, in those moments, be like, “Oh, let’s put that in the movie!” She was an open channel as opposed to being rigid.

SLATER: Or closed off.

REX: “Best idea wins” kind of vibe. That’s what you want.

Zoë Kravitz Throws the Best Parties and That Was Important While Making ‘Blink Twice’
“A movie set, in a way, is like the ultimate party that you have to keep fun for a long time at crazy hours.”
Image via Amazon MGM

8:03 Related Zoë Kravitz Explains Why Her New Film ‘Blink Twice’ Was Actually Originally Titled Pu**y Island Kravitz’s directorial debut, ‘Blink Twice,’ hits theaters on August 23.

I’ll jump to my question about Zoë next. This is her directorial debut. I have a feeling there’s going to be many, many more in her future. What’s something about her as an actor’s director that you appreciated and are now excited for more actors out there to experience with her down the line?

SHAWKAT: Zoë just knows how to set the vibe better than anyone I know. She throws the best parties of anyone I know, and I think a movie set, in a way, is like the ultimate party that you have to keep fun for a long time at crazy hours with a lot of stress, and she’s able to keep that party going.

SLATER: She leads with love.

SHAWKAT: She does, and wants everyone to be included on the creative process. She’s also, for a first-time director, so clear about what she wants. Even when people are like, “We can’t do that. We don’t have the time, we don’t have the thing,” she was just like, “No.” She needed that. From the inserts to every little moment that no one else could see, she would fight for them to the end. We were even like, “Who needs it?” And she’s like, “We do.” And then you see the cut and you’re like, “Yeah, she knew exactly what she needed for the cut she wanted.”

The value of inserts! Nobody talks about how important they are.

SHAWKAT: It’s true, especially this movie. It’s so important.

Simon Rex Reveals the Unforgettable Acting Note He Got from Zoë Kravitz
Image via Amazon MGM Studios

How about for the two of you?

REX: Well, she gave me a really profound note, to be quite honest, that still, to this day, sits with me that was very sweet and thoughtful. I kept wanting to bring something to every scene, and I’d be like, “Well, what if I do this? What if I do that?” Because she was allowing me to improv a bit and I think I was going overboard with what I was wanting to do, and she knew to dial me back and she said, “Simon, you’re enough,” meaning, you don’t need to do all the little — she even said, “You don’t need to have two swords in every scene.” It was actually quite beautiful and sweet to say, and I’ve used that since then, two years ago, as, “I’m enough. I don’t need to do all those bells and whistles.” That’s who she is.

SHAWKAT: It’s a great note.

REX: She’s that woman. She’s a very strong, confident, sensitive, sweet person.

SLATER: But you’re a giver.

SHAWKAT: You’re a giver. We want more, honestly. It was enough on set, but right now it’s not enough. [Laughs]

SLATER: I just love her. Like I said, she led with love. I held her as a baby when she was little, tiny, so to see her grow up and become this great actress and creative person, and she’s worked with all these fantastic directors. She came in and just had a natural ability. And like he was saying, she allowed us to experiment, to have a lot of fun. So that was the experience. There wasn’t anybody there with a strong fist. It was a loose, fun, party kind of atmosphere, but when there were serious scenes that we had to do, she really took the time for everybody to sit around and talk about it and discuss, “These are important scenes to service the story, but let’s talk about how we feel about doing these scenes, and how can we make each other feel as safe as possible.”

Image via Amazon MGM

Alia, I’m gonna come your way with a big, ramble-y question. This was something I was thinking about while watching the movie. You are just so incredible at so quickly establishing real friendships on screen that feel whole and like they have history. Just to throw out examples, I think of Whip It, Animals — I can go on and on. Do those scene partners have any shared qualities that signal to you that you can create that real chemistry, but then also, can you tell me something about Naomi that makes her one-of-a-kind?

SHAWKAT: For sure. It is very specific. I definitely have played best friends in quite a few movies, and each time it’s a slightly different process based off the actor and the natural chemistry that’s there. I’ve been really lucky that the director or the casting, whoever is involved, picks a good person that they know I’m gonna have chemistry with because it’s not always up to me. But me and Zoë have been good pals for a long time, so when she got Naomi — or Naomi was already involved when I got attached — I was so excited to meet her. I’m a big fan of her work and it was just seamless. We met in London before and we were, like, screaming the minute we saw each other. It was just all of a sudden we were like, “It’s you!” We were just really excited to hang out.

She’s just a brilliant actress. She’s so giving. It was a grueling schedule for her because she’s in every shot, and so when we were all tired but got to take a night off and have a beer or something, she was like, “Oh yeah, I still have to do those pickups, and then I have to do that thing in the morning,.” She just always had an abundance of energy and is a really giving actress. She’s so fun to work with. And then she’s just such a good hang, too. And she’s British, which you kind of forget because her accent is seamless, and I’ve worked with some people whose accents are not seamless, and hers is just like, when she speaks now I still get tripped up. I’m like, “I’m sorry, wait, who are you again?”

SLATER: I know, yeah.

SHAWKAT: Right? It’s so real.

REX: [With a British accent.] It’s a lot harder than it looks.

SHAWKAT: Yeah, I mean, you’re British and you’ve been doing an American accent this whole time!

SLATER: He does an amazing accent.

SHAWKAT: He likes to do press in his American accent.

Alia Shawkat Got to Work With a Hero on ‘Severance’ Season 2
Image via Apple TV+

Related The 8 Things You Need To Know About ‘Severance’ Season 2 “Hey, kids! What’s for dinner?”

Alia, I’ll stick with you for another moment because I have to ask about one particular upcoming project. Collider readers and viewers are utterly obsessed with Severance. You join a cast like that and I imagine you go into working on a show that’s so decorated and beloved with lots of expectations. Can you tell me one thing about the experience of making that show that exceeded those expectations?

SHAWKAT: I’ve always wanted to work with Ben Stiller. I’m a huge fan. I was a little scared about the process. I was like, “Is that gonna be good?” He’s like a hero of mine and I didn’t want it to go bad, and he was great. I also got to work with Bob Balaban, which was unbelievable. Without spoiling anything, I was in the world, and I was already a fan of the show, so to be on that set was super, super trippy.

Christian Slater Promises Greater Insight Into Who Harry Is in ‘Dexter: Original Sin’
The prequel series follows a young Dexter as he “transitions from student to avenging serial killer.”
Image via Showtime/Paramount+

Christian, I’ve got an upcoming project question for you, too, because I’m very excited to see what happens in Dexter: Original Sin. Big question for you because, with your character, we know what happens to him, so it creates an interesting challenge for you. What is the key to making sure people stay in the moment in your show, but you also use the fact that we know where he ends up to this show’s benefit?

SLATER: When I read these scripts, first of all, they were just so well written, and Clyde Phillips is amazing. He did the original show, and he’s managed to throw in some things here that really did catch me by surprise. There’s also things that Dexter doesn’t know that happened with Harry as a character, so those are the things that I’m really excited about and do give, I think, a greater insight into who this guy was.

Blink Twice is now playing in theaters. You can find showtimes below:

Get Tickets