HOLLYWOOD INSIDER

'The Prom' cast on their fun movie and working with Fil-Am cinematographer Matthew Libatique

Los Angeles — The prolific creative genius that is Ryan Murphy never ceases to amaze audiences.

Not only does he create brilliant shows, he also manages to discover new talents, and make them shine. He brings them to the arena of the award-winning veterans. And his universe gets bigger and bigger.

From “Glee” to “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story” to “Hollywood” to “Ratched” and now, the musical, “The Prom,” Ryan continues to impress us with how he juggles all these projects — and still be a husband, a father, a great writer-producer-director.

The former journalist, now 55-years-old, confessed that he did a lot of thinking and self-reflection amid the lockdown. He became a father again (his third child) and he revealed, “I'm looking at the next year ahead, and I am slowing down.”

He sees his latest project, “The Prom,” as something that the world needs right now – It has music, dance, laughter, and joy.

The star-studded musical comedy that stars no less than Meryl Streep (as Dee Dee Allen), Nicole Kidman (as Angie Dickinson), James Corden (as Barry Glickman) among others and featuring the cinematography of award-winning Filipino-American, Matthew Libatique.

The musical comedy, which was adapted from the 2018 Broadway musical of the same name, is about a group of New York City Broadway stage stars who try to save the prom of a high school girl who is trying to bring her girlfriend to the prom as her date.

We were able to interview Ryan, Meryl, Nicole and James and below are excerpts of our conversations with them:

Ryan Murphy

You almost did not do this film because of the lockdown. Why was it important for you to do this movie?

We were shooting it and it was a long shoot. This is supposed to be a Christmas movie with all the singing and dancing. It is also about tolerance and acceptance. It is a holiday movie.

But three days before the shooting came the lockdown. We thought we would never finish the movie. It was around March or April when the lockdown happened. Ted Sarandon (of Netflix) and Scott Robertson (producer) and I got together and we consulted with some epidemiologists and we created some protocols and it worked.

In July and August, we were implementing the protocols we created and is now being used all over the world.

I am shooting six shows and all of them are using what we call “The Prom” protocols. And we made the release date. “The Prom” is a story that the world needs right now. It is a story of joy and optimism. It is a big movie and it is exciting.

You admitted that you were the president of the Meryl Streep Fans Club when you were young. How is it being able to work with her now in this film?

Meryl Streep always meant a lot to me. She is the biggest icon in my life when I was a kid. I watched her movies every Friday. We smoked cigarettes and drank coffee. We were part of a society of nerds. She represents excellence and change. She takes on various kinds of characters. I learned a lot from her through the years. She is amazing.

One day, we were shooting and she was whipping around in a chair and she hit a mark. I was just staring at her in the monitor in disbelief. She suddenly asked me, “Do you want me to do something different?” And I replied, “Oh yeah, I need to direct you, not watch you.” She doesn’t disappoint. I idolize her. When Keegan-Michael Key worked with Meryl, he just gushed, “She is just a joy and a legend.”

Talk also about your cinematographer Matthew Libatique who worked on “The Prom.”

Matty Libatique just finished “A Star is Born” and I asked him to have lunch with me. When I told him, I am doing a musical, “The Prom,” and it stars Meryl Streep, he just couldn’t believe it. He loved what it is about which is about tolerance and acceptance.

And Matty is a crazy, rock and roll genius. He loved the challenge of doing an old-fashioned Hollywood film. I loved working with him.

Since we weren’t able to talk to you for “Ratched,” can you please also talk about working with Jon Jon Briones as Dr. Richard Hanover?

Well, Jon Jon was somebody that I loved the moment I met him.  And Darren Criss introduced me to him.  And then I went to see him, Jon Jon, in Broadway in “Miss Saigon,” and I was just so taken by him and loved him.  He was our abusive father in “The Assassination of Gianni Versace.”

And this role of Dr. Richard Hanover in “Ratched” was not written for a Filipino actor.  But when I read it, when it was a Pilot, I was like oh this is a great part for Jon Jon. He will kill it.  And he was so thrilled to be the male lead of a show. 

And I want to keep working with him, I just think he’s a great talent and I mean, that scene where Jon Jon gets to do the Charleston (with Judy Davis), which I put in there just because I wanted to see him dance, (laughs) I’m just so thrilled that people get to see what he can do. That’s part of the great gift of my life, that I can be like you, you are talented, come here, I am going to put you in this. I’m going to keep working with him because I think he’s wonderful. We love Jon Jon so much and we call him the Marlon Brando of our cast. I love him and I love working with him.

With so many projects, are you feeling a lot of pressure having to bring more and more?

It's funny you say that because I've been thinking about that recently and here's the truth about my career and my life. People always ask, 'why are you doing so much?' And the reason I do so much is, I still to this day cannot believe that they still say yes to me, right?

Every time I get a yes, I'm like, I'm going to take the Yes, I'm going to make it, I'm going to move. I'm going to make as many things as I can about as many things as I believe in.

I have had an incredibly crazy year. I went from “The Politician,” to “Ratched,” to “The Prom.” It's been a really productive, great season. I did them back-to-back.

But I just had a baby. I had my third child, who's two months old. I'm looking at the next year ahead, and I am slowing down. I'm finishing a thing, and I'm going to do one thing I'm working on. I really loved the process of “The Prom.”

So, I'm going to be doing more movies and less television. I have really great people who work with me who keep a lot of these shows going great number two's and great staffs. But it's funny you say that, because I think with the quarantining and the world slowing down, I myself have had more time for reflection. I think I do want to do less for a while.

We know you as a great writer, producer, and director. Are you also a great teacher to your kids? Are they doing school from home right now?

Yeah, we're doing schooling from home. And it’s not so fun. The one most affected is my oldest son who is seven. He'll be eight on Christmas Eve. And he does not like it when daddy is the teacher. He just does not like it. And he tries to bribe me and I'm such a softy for him that many times, I'll let him leave the room and go get a snack or something. I'm not the most disciplined person. But I'm excited about the news of the vaccine. And it's heartbreaking having kids do home schooling. I think they're losing so much, a tether to the world, and I'm looking forward to all of that coming back.

Meryl Streep

Your character reminded me of the great divas like Patti LuPone, Bernadette Peters, and Liza Minnelli. Talk about channeling this inner diva in you and being inspired by these divas.

I’ve always been inspired by the great ladies of the stage. When you mentioned Liza Minnelli, when I was a student at Yale in the last year — I think it was the last year — I got on the train and it was very hard to leave school because they load on the work.

But I left, and went down to see ‘Liza with a Z’ at the Winter Garden. And my education at Yale was very serious and very intellectual, and… but there was something. I sat in the cheapest seats, way, way up in the back of the theater - but Liza delivered a performance to me. In that back, back, back row.

And it taught me something about theater, and about acting, and about performance that you can’t…just replicating life isn’t enough. There has to be an element of generosity and just propulsion of what it is you’re giving out to the audience. And that was so valuable to me. I got to meet her later in life and I told her that. I don’t know if she realized how important she was to me, but she, that performance was seminal.

You finally got to work with Ryan Murphy and he is being called the most powerful man in TV and lately, he has earned the title of “Streaming King.” What makes him extraordinary?

He has an enormous amount of power right now. He finds himself at the place in his career where he can pretty much do what he wants. I think that even given that, he’s really only doing things that are meaningful to him.

So, this piece was something that was very personal because it was based — I mean it was something that happened to him as a young boy. He was growing up in Indiana, and he was not able to go to the prom with the person that he wanted to go with. And so, this was a story close to his heart. And I just love that he wants to deliver this story full of hope, and possibility, and joy out of a thing that caused him so much pain as a young boy.

One of the things that’s extraordinary about him is his, capacity. He just seems to have limitless energy, and invention, and he’s so prolific, and he remembers everything that you’ve ever said to him. Ever! That’s a very unusual thing in a director. (Laughs) He’s really extraordinary, and I’m so glad that I got to be in this.

Are you optimistic of what’s going to come?

Yes, I'm optimistic. The voice of reason has prevailed in the United States. And we will go back to a fact-based, science-based in time, and we will be respectful of expertise, and all the things that have been missing.

But I think, in terms of this film, the message of tolerance and acceptance delivered with joy and music and dancing is just exactly what we need right now. The great movie musicals were born during the Depression, and people gravitated towards them because they had such a hunger for happiness and escape. But this is happiness. You're not going to escape the meaning of this. It's not just froth. It has intent. And that's a great thing.

Christmas is probably going to look a little bit different because of the pandemic this year. Can you talk about what it’s going to look like in your household?

I don’t know what it’s going to look like. I believe I am going to be spending it in a hotel in Boston where I will be quarantining because I am shooting a film.  And I might be able to drive to my home which is in the countryside near there, not too far. 

And two of my daughters are in shows in New York, so they are tested every day or every other day.  So, the three of us can get together because we are so well-monitored for the virus.  The rest of the family is in California so that’s the way it will be.  If we are lucky, we will get to do that.

Nicole Kidman

You are not new to singing onscreen with "Moulin Rouge." What makes being part of “The Prom” special for you?

Working with Ryan Murphy, Meryl Streep, Kerry Washington, James Corden. It was a troop that I loved to be included. I want to be in this group and play with them like a crazy band of silly dancing actors who are having a blast. So, I hope that comes across.

How is it being part of the Ryan Murphy universe?

It is amazing. He has a dedicated crew and people. And he takes care of his crew in the most extraordinary way. I have always wanted to work with him.

He told me, “I have a part for you and she dances and she has long legs. You get to sing and laugh and play with Meryl Streep.” So, I told him, “I am in!” He said, “But you have to see the show in Broadway first!” I said, “No, I am in.” Then I saw the show in Broadway. And I really loved it.

Talk about working with Filipino cinematographer Matthew Libatique for this film.

He is one of the greatest cinematographers. I love watching him construct a scene and just like that (snaps her fingers). He is really lovely and calm. I wonder when I get to work with him again but he is so in demand that he gets offered everything. He is wonderful.

You and Meryl Streep are probably two of the most prolific actresses we have in Hollywood. You worked together in ‘Big Little Lies’ and now in a musical. Talk about working with her this time in a musical.

I am stunned watching her because when you watch her, she just comes in and does her character. She starts singing and dancing and it was just a rehearsal and you can actually do her rehearsal performance already. One day, I started cheering for her. I saw her first number and I screamed, “Bravo! Bravo!” like that already because it was so good. She is a worker and a total professional who does not take anything for granted. I love that and I love her.

Your girls are growing up pretty fast. Do you and Keith Urban stop them from joining the business or do you encourage them?

My eldest daughter wants to be a director and she already directs and writes her own films. She is always casting them and she doesn’t cast her younger sister and she doesn’t cast me. We are always like, 'will you put us in the film?' She is like, 'no mom.' I love that she says no, because it means she’s so confident. So, I just love that both of them at least are passionate and supportive of what I do. That is an incredible thing because as any parent knows, when your child is supportive of what you do, it makes it so much easier.

The hardest thing actually during this pandemic has been not being able to have them on the set because you can’t bring them, with the protocols and everything. They are not allowed to come to the set.  And usually, I have them on the set a lot and they watch the filming and they are in the show.  And right now, there are such strict rules that they are not allowed.  So, that’s actually been the most painful part of the work right now, is that.

James Corden

How is it being part of the Ryan Murphy universe?

It is thrilling. It really is. I have deep affection for him. As a director, producer, writer, I find him extraordinary especially his ability to be so prolific. I love every second that I am in his orbit. I don’t know what I would do without him. He was instrumental in guiding me every second of it. I love it.

How much fun was it working with Meryl Streep in this project?

I was lucky enough to be working with her. Everything they said about her as a performer is true. What she brings as a person and as a human being is so inspiring. I just love being in her company. She is extraordinary and she sets the tone for everyone. She takes the work seriously. I will do anything to be around her. It is extraordinarily lovely to be with her.

You are a great comedian, a great singer, a great dancer. And I'm really impressed by your dramatic prowess in the film. Talk about channeling your dramatic actor here.

Thank you, that's very nice of you to say. There were so many reasons to be attracted to a project like this but it's not every day that a film comes along where you get to sing and dance, have huge comedy, get the opportunity to improvise at points in comedy with this phenomenal cast, where you'll have big numbers on your own and then also that it would have such depth. I'm very proud of those scenes.

It's funny, you know, these days like today this is the first time that you really get any feedback on anything and I know how much those scenes moved me and they still do when I think about them. But it's incredibly touching to know that I'm not alone in that; that other people are moved by those moments and, look, it's so much of it comes down to Ryan.  His guidance through the whole project for me.  He guided me through it in the most glorious way and I felt free to try things and free to go to those places safe in the knowledge that I was wearing this parachute, if you like, where he would catch me if it wasn't even right.

But I do find myself getting incredibly moved by those moments that, in particular, the scene in the hotel room with Meryl which really in the construct of the scene if you go back and read it in the script it starts, it's actually very funny, you know.  They're wearing this sort of infrared masks and he's saying if you keep it on too long it'll blow your eyebrows off and by the end, you know, four pages later he's confronted with the very thing from his past that he doesn't want to be confronted with that he spent almost his entire life since he left that town trying to run away from and that's the message of the film really that it's about acceptance. It's about love, to be free to love and to be accepting of that and to know that certainly in Barry's case that one, certain things with his parents and his family that he once at one point in his life thought were unforgivable, that forgiveness is possible. And I'll always be proud that I got to play a part like this that has such a sort of beginning, middle and end really.

I am from the Philippines. Can you talk about working with Filipino-American cinematographer Matthew Libatique here in “The Prom”?

Matty is a credit to his country. He really is. I heard so much about him throughout pre-production and to be around him is great. Unlike other cinematographers of Matty’s stature, you can see the bravado in them like “I know what I am doing. Let me put the camera here.” They have the kind of “I am a rock star” attitude. With Matty, he is in it for the joy of it. He loves to tell stories and capture moments. It is inspiring to be around him.

Did he bring some adobo on the set? He is also a good cook, you know.

No, he didn’t. The catering service was also good on the set.

— LA, GMA News