Meg Ryan is back where she belongs: starring in a romantic comedy.
Meg shares the screen with David Duchovny in “What Happens Later.” Deco sat down with the pair, who play ex-lovers given the chance by Mother Nature to revisit their relationship.
David Duchovny (as Bill): “How’ve you been?”
Meg Ryan (as Willa): “Oh, for the last 20 years?”
David Duchovny (as Bill): “Twenty-five, maybe.”
You never know who you’ll bump into in an airport. In “What Happens Later,” former couple Meg Ryan and David Duchovny run into each other and are stranded when a massive storm grounds their flights.
Airport employee on intercom: “Attention, Boston and Austin passengers. Those flights have been delayed until further notice.”
Meg Ryan (as Willa): “Just those two flights?”
David Duchovny (as Bill): “Just us.”
Airport employee on intercom: “Yes.”
Meg Ryan (as Willa): “That’s…”
Meg Ryan (as Willa) and David Duchovny (as Bill): “Unbelievable.”
The film marks Meg’s return to acting after an eight-year break, and it was this story that pulled her back in.
Meg Ryan: “I feel like maybe there’s maybe some kind of universal fantasy about it — someone from long ago, you have some unresolved stuff with, you’re stuck with them. Will you resolve those things or not?”
Meg Ryan (as Willa): “When people break up, there’s the thing that they tell each other, and then there’s the truth, which you never told me.”
David Duchovny (as Bill): “I was in love with you, and I couldn’t turn that on and off like a switch.”
Meg Ryan (as Willa): “I know.”
Meg was originally brought in to direct the movie, which she did. She was searching for the perfect actress for the role of Willa. Then she looked in the mirror.
Meg Ryan: “I tried not to cast myself like crazy, but then I had to. But thankfully I did, because then I was, ‘Who would I be good with?’ And I thought of David.”
Meg Ryan (as Willa): “Relax. You’re already living out your worst-case scenario.”
David Duchovny (as Bill): “What, being stuck here with you?”
Meg Ryan (as Willa): “Yeah.”
David Duchovny (as Bill): “You make a good point.”
“What Happens Later” is basically a dialogue between Meg and David, who plays Bill.
David told Deco he knew it would be a challenge to make this work.
David Duchovny: “I said yes to Meg, you know. I said yes to the script, it was all good, and then I realized, ‘Holy hell, it really is just us two having a conversation for the whole movie. That’s gonna be a ballsy thing to try to pull off.'”
But pull it off they did … and David gives Meg a ton of credit for always keeping the conversation moving.
David Duchovny: “And I think that Meg as a director, doing the pace of it, creating the pace, was able to do that.”
Meg Ryan (as Willa): “I’ve been 49 forever and ever and ever.”
David Duchovny (as Bill): “Wow, lucky you. I feel like I’ve been in my 50s since my 20s.”
Meg Ryan (as Willa): “That’s so true.”
David Duchovny (as Bill): “You don’t have to agree with me.”
We had to ask Meg and David one question: who would you most like to be stuck with in an airport?
David Duchovny: “Overnight? A pilot.”
Meg Ryan (laughing): “David Duchovny.”
“What Happens Later” flies into theaters this weekend.
Meg Ryan (as Willa): “If we could see our memories in advance, would we do anything different?”
David Duchovny (as Bill): “Please don’t ruin this.”
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