Kaitlyn Dever, one of literature’s most overlooked characters, “Rosalyn,” may join the campy 20th-century studio and modernization of William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” from the point of view of the forgotten Capulet, but Amy -Nominated actress is nothing.
Earning his first executive producer credit on a Hulu film (based on Rebecca Cearle’s book “When You Were Mine”), the “Dopesic” star continued his ascent in Tinseltown, setting his sights on the next directorial debut and rom-com. Told about being painted opposite. “Ticket to Paradise” greats Julia Roberts and George Clooney, who will debut next week in a recent interview with The Wrap.
“When I approached Roslyn, the way I developed the character and the process behind bringing this character to life was really pushing any limits I was previously afraid of,” Dever told TheWrap. Told, “Because there’s intensity to Rosalyn and she has that intensity of drive throughout the story of the movie, and I feel like it’s not something I’ve really done before. It’s not something I’m necessarily used to. ”
However, this may be something that eases over time.
Dever, who first debuted with 2019’s wildly funny “Booksmart,” first read the script for “Rosalyn” at age 15, at an audition — for Juliette — shortly after. The 25-year-old then played the waiting game, always wondering what happened with the project until he got a call about it in 2020.
“All I remember is that I loved it so much, and it was unlike anything I’d ever read before, and it’s such a great idea,” she said. “And then nothing happened to it and I always thought – I always wanted that film to be made and I was so excited to make it, even to see it as an audience member because I loved the story. And then I was shooting something about two years ago and I got a call and they were asking if I wanted to play Roslyn: the story I was always thinking about and I believed in. It was not happening that they were even considering me to play him and to play that kind of role.”
It was after his initial audition for “Rosalyn” that he met his writers, longtime writing partners Scott Neistater and Michael H. Weber (“(500) Days of Summer”) on the set of the heartbreaking 2013 indie “The Spectacular”. Now,” in which she played Crystal. Then, “Yeah, God, yeah” assistant Karen Main was brought in to direct.
“I love both of them and their collaboration and how they write and their style and everything,” Dewar said of the pair, “and then the filmmaker, Karen, is someone who immediately describes Roslyn so well. understands, and we agreed on so many things and it was just an instant connection that Karen and I had. I think she really understands the comedy and the subtle comedy, and deals with the emotional parts of this film.”
In many ways, “Rosaline” offered Dever a blank canvas; While the character is mentioned in Shakespeare’s seminal play, ink dries on its essence and inspiration. As an executive producer, with the likes of Sean Levy (“Free Guy”), the actress and Maine coined the eponymous character to carry on from the film’s cheeky tagline, “Meet Romeo’s East” and create an overall, forward-looking character. Incarnated the person who thinks. ,
“I wanted to represent all parts of her: She’s a total feminist and ahead of her time and she has a lot of drive and dedication,” Dewar said. “She is someone who is completely defying all the gender restrictions placed on women at that time. So I really wanted to represent all these parts of him, focusing on the comic moments and the comic timing. ,
As Dever and Maine shaped the character out of canon and using the script as a guide, Roslyn’s grit and free-spirited energy naturally stemmed from Starr’s own personality.
The actress recalled, “Making this role with Karen was by far my favorite thing to do on a daily basis on set, and it really allowed me to feel free in it and try different things.” ” “The more I thought about it on set every day, the more I thought that Roslyn was probably just a very advanced version of myself.”
Being involved behind the camera for the first time and being involved in the filmmaking process on Ground Floor also helped guide Dever to the film’s story beyond Roslyn, as well as guide her to the next steps in her career.
“The fact that this story is told from a female point of view, I was so honored that they allowed me to get on board like this,” she said. “Directing is something that’s been on my mind a lot lately and I think it’s been a really cool experience to learn. Obviously, I learn a lot as an actor – being on set and Collaborating with producers, directors and writers – but I think getting involved in the early stages of a project is really very informative. I love being a part of the process; the casting process, and the early stages of making a film are great I am forever grateful that he allowed me to be an executive producer.”
While “Roseline” comes from an age-old tradition of retelling the playwright’s works of the Elizabethan era—from “Rosenkrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead” to Baz Luhrmann’s “Romeo + Juliet” and ’90s teen classics like “Clueless” With a sliding scale adaptation of reinforcement from. and “10 Things I Hate About You”—Deaver said that the “unique feel” of the script enables it to feel like a “standalone” film.
“What we were trying to do with ‘Rosaline’ was something fresh and innovative because that’s what the script asked for,” he said. “It essentially calls for a new, exciting step into a world like this. I was also thinking about comedy and romantic comedies in general, the way I grew up, like ‘The Princess Bride’ and even [laughs] I mention “Ella Enchanted” simply because it was one of my favorite childhood movies, and because Minnie Driver is in that movie — when she was attached to play the nurse in this movie, I absolutely Was excited. (The driver gives several excellent line readings as the above nurse, where he is forced to explain his medical merits in abundance—something that is particularly evident when re-creating the “Romeo and Juliet” death scene.) Comes in handy.)
Dever recalled the climactic scene—which turned into a hilarious ending and took two days to film—as one of his favorite on-set experiences: “That whole scene, there’s just so many actors to cover. And so many dialogues. I find it so funny sometimes when there’s a bunch of actors in that kind of costume, [we] get together and [we’re] Being so dramatic. It was one of those days when I wasn’t laughing, someone else was laughing. Bradley Whitford and Christopher McDonald were always under fire with their comebacks and their advertising,” she said, adding that she “really appreciated” how “everyone really put 100% of their effort”.
Next, Dever will appear in “Ticket to Paradise” as the daughter of the divorced couple of Clooney and Roberts, who travel to Bali in an attempt to sabotage her upcoming marriage. Just a week after the release of “Rosalyn,” it would be the first major theatrical rom-com release for any star in more than a decade.
Dewar said of the films, “They both have the same fun, feel good that I think everyone is looking for in films.” “So it’s really exciting to be able to talk about these two projects which I love so much, and it’s not bad to be in a movie with George Clooney and Julia Roberts either. [laughs], I love them both so much and look up to them for so many years and I am very grateful that I got to be in scenes with them and act with them and learn from them. ,
“Roslyn” is now streaming on Hulu.
