Couples Weekend traps two couples in a cabin during a snowstorm, forcing them to confront their relationships and infidelity. The film, which marks Nora Kirkpatrick’s feature directorial debut, stars Alexandra Daddario, Ashley Park, Daveed Diggs, and Josh Gad. Following its world premiere at the Tribeca Festival, the comedy is finally hitting theaters and digital platforms.
We at FandomWire sat down with Kirkpatrick, Daddario, and Park to discuss the magic of their ensemble cast, the transition from massive studio projects to intimate indies, and what it takes to film a contained chamber comedy.
Couples Weekend Interview
FandomWire: Congratulations on the movie! After premiering at Tribeca last year, Couples Weekend finally hits theaters and digital this week. What is it like to finally share this with a wider audience after sitting with it for so long?
Nora Kirkpatrick: It’s a joy. It’s such a wonderful labor of love. We made it in this little bubble, and we had so much fun making it. It feels very rewarding to finally have it come out and to hope that other people can get something from it in the same way we did.
Ashley Park: Alex and I were just talking about this, but we fell in love with Nora’s vision from the very beginning. Watching it now feels like a scrapbook of this really joyful, amazing experience we got to share. We’re so excited for people to see it.
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FW: With an ensemble comedy, you really have to play to each other’s strengths. You all have distinctly different comedic rhythms, so for Alexandra and Ashley, how did you build that chemistry on set? What are the unique challenges of filming a chamber piece like this?
Alexandra Daddario: I loved it. I really like bouncing off of other people and seeing what happens. I’m very open to how other people work, so it wasn’t as much of a discussion as it was just a natural rhythm that happened. Ashley is amazing, and having Nora be so supportive really helped. She understands how we work, which allowed us to just have fun and play. The baseline was all the same for us.
Park: It’s wild to think about it now, but I can’t believe I just met everyone on this project. It really did feel like we’ve known each other for years. That’s a testament to Nora. We didn’t have any chemistry reads, but she had such a keen and thoughtful idea of who these characters were. Perhaps our specific approaches to comedy are unique, but the core of all four of us felt very similar. There’s a kind of magic in that.
Kirkpatrick: Absolutely. From a directorial standpoint, it’s incredibly rare to find actors who are so adept at both dramatic and comedic scenes. They could oscillate back and forth in the course of one scene, which is exactly how I imagined the script. Sometimes the tone changes on a dime, and they were so malleable and open to playing.
FW: Nora, you have a strong background in acting as well as writing and directing. How did your unique vision help shape that on-set chemistry?
Kirkpatrick: I met with everyone before we cast them, and you just have to trust your gut instinctively. I felt these four people could do it and completely understood the characters. They had so much to offer, and I felt they would be able to run the spectrum. They were the right people, and I truly couldn’t have imagined anybody better for any role.
Park: I will say, with this kind of character-driven project, we needed someone we trusted at the helm. There were times when we wondered whether a take was funny or honest, but as long as Nora was happy with it, we totally trusted her vision.
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FW: Alexandra, I grew up watching you in massive projects like Percy Jackson, but recently you’ve been taking on smaller, beautiful films like I Wish You All The Best. Where are you in your career right now, and what draws you to these more intimate roles?
Daddario: Thanks for saying that. My career has definitely shifted. I’ve been doing this a long time, and I really try to focus on the opportunities I have. If an experience seems interesting or I haven’t done it before, I feel drawn to it. In your twenties, you’re constantly worried about how someone is going to perceive something or what a choice means for your career. As you get older, you realize it’s all going to be okay. I just want to do stuff that I love and go with my gut, and that’s what I’ve been trying to do.
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FW: Ashley, you’ve had incredible success with massive streaming hits. How does the rhythm of a show like Emily in Paris or Beef compare to the comedic beats of an indie film? How do you balance those different skills?
Park: I love that question you just asked Alex. One of the reasons I loved working with both Alex and Nora is that they both have such a depth of life experience and really know who they are. They inspire me, and I learned a lot just being around them. Nobody ever made me feel like I was new to this.
That’s probably why I loved the script right away. There’s this beautiful dynamic that felt like a play. The intricacy and the specific webs of how everyone interacts made it feel very different from a plot-driven TV show. It felt very character-driven, and I got to use different parts of my brain to piece together a scene, which is a luxury you don’t always get in television.
Couples Weekend premieres in theaters and on digital on May 8.
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