Another great trip with my best friend Stephanie Pienaar to the The CrossFit Games in the books!!! Inspired & Humbled!! Blessed & Grateful!! Met some great people in the fittest industry helping shape CrossFit and the community!! #crossfitgames2021 #iamnobull #iamrogue #crossfitageless #fitaid #strongcoffeecompany #sugarwod (at The 2021 Nobull CrossFit Games) https://www.instagram.com/p/CSDS7A-M_12/?utm_medium=tumblr
Yes, I AM A ROGUE THROUGH and THROUGH!! #roguefitness #rurogue #iamrogue (at Chelsea, Michigan) https://www.instagram.com/p/CIwcgDyBywf/?igshid=1e9o06kegclj3
Popular actors Emmy Rossum and Justin Long work together on screen for the first time in the new romantic comedy Comet, which premiered last week at the 2014 Los Angeles Film Festival.
Rossum has appeared in several successful films such as Mystic River,The Day After Tomorrow, The Phantom of the Opera, and Beautiful Creatures, as well as on Showtime’s hit series Shameless. While Longhas made a name for himself in comedies like Galaxy Quest, DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story, The Break-Up, and Idiocracy, but is probably best known for starring opposite Bruce Willis in Live Free or Die Hard.
Comet, which was written and directed by first time feature filmmaker Sam Esmail, cuts back and forth over a six-year relationship between Dell (Long) and Kimberly (Rossum). We see the couple at several different stages in their relationship including meeting, breaking-up, getting back together, and ultimately parting once again.
I recently had the pleasure of speaking with Emmy Rossum and Justin Long about their work on Comet. The two talented actors discussed their new movie, what they liked about the concept, playing the same characters at different points in their lives, why Rossum recommended Long for the project, working with writer/director Sam Esmail, making an independent film vs. a studio movie, and if they believe in true love.
Here is what Emmy Rossum and Justin Long had to say about Comet:
IAR: To begin with, Comet is an unusual romantic comedy and the type of movie that studios used to make in the ‘70s and ‘80s but don’t really make anymore. When you both first read this script did you feel like it was an opportunity to be in a different kind of film and that you just couldn't pass it up?
Emmy Rossum: Yeah, I got the script first and I loved it. I loved the complexity of the characters. I loved that they weren't one-dimensional. I liked that they weren't always likeable. I thought they were two unlikely characters for a romantic comedy I suppose. It was also very funny, but kind of real in a weird way. It was a whole mish mosh of things that I thought were really interesting. I immediately thought of Justin because Dell isn't always a likeable character, but Justin is that kind of person who is annoyingly likeable all the time no matter what he does. Justin is charming, good looking and fun to play off of. I had seen actually Justin do this weird improvisation show at the Upright Citizen's Brigade. We became friends after that so I emailed him the script and I think we were both initially terrified and then decided, why not.
Justin Long: I really love that answer. I would've said the same thing. That's so nice of you to say. For me it was less about the script and how good it was, because I came to it when Emmy was already attached. It is about two people really, so that's of the utmost importance, the other person. For me it was more of an actor challenge getting to play that intimately with somebody who I really respected. She was so good that she would elevate whatever I brought to it and it was terrifying too. I remember talking to you about how scared we both were about it and you answered a lot of my fears.
Rossum: I guess it's very distinct that even though there are some special effects and a surrealistic view, it's almost like a play. There's pretty much only two people holding it up. If they're not interesting and if they fall flat that's not going to be interesting to watch. It's going to be a snooze fest going too and it's going to make all of us look terrible. That part of our fears definitely came up. But I just told Justin that he's likeable, talented and that it was going to be great.
So Emmy it sounds to me like you pretty much cast Justin in this role. I understand that you two knew of each other, but you had never actually worked together before, correct?
Long: Yes, we hadn’t worked together.
Rossum: In fact, I think we had only met once.
Long: Yeah, we only met once.
Rossum: Yeah, once or twice. We met at an awards show, right? Like maybe Critics Choice or something last year? Then we saw each other at the Upright Citizen's Brigade and we grabbed beers afterwards. Then we were texting buddies and we would send each other funny memes that we saw. Then I got this script and thought, oh, this guy's really funny let's do this together.
Long: I was a big fan of Shameless. I would watch Shameless pretty religiously so it was an exciting chance to work together. So I knew her from that show.
In the film, we get to see your characters at different stages in their relationship. As actors, was it sort of like getting to play several different characters in one film even though they're all the same role?
Long: Yeah, that's a good question. It felt that way. They were in such different places in their lives and this might sound really superficial, but I gaged mine with like where my hair was. I have a slightly different look every time. I know that sounds really strange. It was just a good way to gage a barometer and as Emmy said, it was like doing a play. She's incredible at memorizing lines. Most of our rehearsals we were just trying to run lines and get the lines down. We shot in different locations too so it felt like a totally different film.
Rossum: But within those chunks we did them chronologically. We actually shot the cemetery scene last. But when we shot the cemetery that week we started from us meeting to the final kiss. When we shot the stuff in the train we started outside the train and then we finished at the end of the train. So each segment was filmed chronologically so it felt more like a play in that way.
It seems like writer and director Sam Esmail had a very clear vision for what he wanted this film to be. What was it like working with him on the project?
Rossum: He basically is Dell.
Long: Yeah, I had a well of knowledge for my character to go to. I would ask him some questions that had nothing to do with the scene just to watch how he talked. Sam is very neurotic and he has similar hang-ups as Dell. I think he had a similar journey with a person in his life. It was great to have that much at my disposal. He knew my character inside and out. He was just very reassuring to work with.
Rossum: I was playing some amorphous version of an ex-girlfriend of his so I always felt like I was slightly vilified.
Long: I think you were.
Emmy, was it a challenge for you to play this role since, as you said, you felt like your character was based on Sam’s ex-girlfriend and was somewhat vilified. Was it hard to bring out the best qualities of your character?
Rossum: Yeah, she's definitely obnoxious and annoying at times, but I think there's also a sweetness and naiveté. But there is a real love, care and empathy about her that does come out as well. So I think it's fun to play characters that aren't always likeable. It's definitely scary as an actor. You have to put your vanity completely aside and the thing that comes with being an actor is generally wanting to be liked and wanting to be loved and wanting to get the applause. You have to put that at the back of your mind and kind of jump head on in. Justin and I both kind of did that.
Long: I had a really hard time with that actually because the first 10 or 20 pages of the script I was just being a dick to people. It was almost like my character had no filter. He couldn't help but just work these things out that were off putting and made people uncomfortable.
Rossum: You know how some people can read a room and know what's appropriate when it's appropriate? And also know what might be inappropriate? Dell does not have that.
Long: Dell can't do that.
Rossum: Dell is not that person. He will say what everyone is thinking and be incredibly rude even though he's just trying to be honest. I think for Kimberly she's never met a guy like this so it's intriguing and fascinating. She's a little bit nerdy. She's into the fact that he's a scientist and he's hyper intelligent but he has all this anxiety. It's kind of interesting.
Long: There was something fun about embracing that character. I never got to play a guy like that before.
Rossum: Also the arguing between the two characters while falling in love kind of reminded me a little bit of Bringing Up Baby with Katherine Hepburn. It was a slightly caustic, but also an intriguing kind of a character. They're not the girls next door. That's not the point of them. They're the anti-girls. They're kind of in your face.
You both have done a lot of independent films, but of course also a lot of studio films. Can you talk about the benefits of making an independent film vs. a studio film?
Rossum: In a studio they kind of try to sometimes homogenize the characters to be more likeable or attractive to as many people as possible. So you could never get away with characters that are like this. Also they get very involved with your hair and makeup and what you look like. I don't think they ever would've let me be in that hotel room scene with no makeup on in a studio film. It would've all been much more glossy. Not as raw or edgy.
Long: You get paid more money on a studio film.
Rossum: Maybe. But you have a constricted shooting schedule on an independent. We only had three or four weeks to make this movie.
Long: Which sometimes lends itself to actually a better final product. You end up pushing yourself that much harder when you know you have a finite amount of time. We were pretty sharp with the lines and tried to come a little bit more prepared than you would on a studio movie, not to say I would slack off. If any studio people are reading this I hope you don't misinterpret that.
Rossum: Justin is a slacker who never memorizes his lines. No, Justin would memorize 30 pages at a time and then we would run them. He was pretty much spot on.
Finally, there's a point in the movie where Dell says to Kimberly, "I feel like in a parallel universe we would end up together." What do you both think the film ultimately says about true love? Is there such a thing as true love, or is it possible that two people are destined to be together, but only for a finite amount of time?
Long: I think it's both of those things. I think the movie is about that kind of singular all encompassing love that you dwell on for years after it's “over” and does it exist. Dell didn't believe that in the beginning of the movie. I think it also says that there are people who if you don't touch it, if you don't recognize it, and embrace it and hold onto it, then there are people who will kind of labor under the idea of it coming back. It depends how you read into it. You could read into in a hopeful or in a hopeless, nihilistic way. I like to think it's hopeful. I like to think that this guy is now encouraged knowing that he's capable of loving somebody. So there is the hope that he'll meet somebody that he can make it work out with, as he should've done with Kimberly.
Rossum: Gosh, I feel like this is a three-hour conversation. I don't really believe in fate and I don't believe that there's only one person, like a soul mate that you could be with. I think that people can be happy with a lot of different people. I think your life looks different with each person. You have to decide which life you want for yourself. I think maybe that Dell and Kimberly push each other and challenge each other to become the people they would become. Maybe they would keep falling back into the same problems by virtue of their personalities and maybe it would never work with them. I would like to think that they do end up together in some kind of weird relationship, and that's okay.
Long: My dad used to tell me that marriage is less about one true love out there and what they tell you when you're a kid. It's more about making a choice. I've always found that to be a little cynical, but I think I've recently discovered the romance in that determination to make a choice. That's a huge fucking choice and you can’t diminish how difficult and how singular it is. I think there are aspects of that in the movie, just making that choice instead of holding out for that one true love whatever it is.
Rossum: I think it also shows that you might believe different things about love at different times. Like at the beginning Dell did not believe in this at all. Kimberly believes in true love. Her parents have been together and by the end it's almost reversed. Kimberly is settling for someone else and Dell really believes in true love with her. We all go through things in our lives and at 16 years old, I definitely believed in fate and one soul mate. I thought that there was one guy out there for me, even if he was in Antarctica and spoke a different language, I was going to find him. That was my one person. Now I realize having been in a bunch of different relationships that you could be with a lot of people and your life just looks different, but you could be happy living in Paris with a different guy or moving to so and so with a different girl. Your life could be different, but equally happy.
Comet recently premiered at the 2014 Los Angeles Film Festival.
Jami Philbrick (at @iamROGUE on twitter) talks to Clark Gregg and Saxon Sharbino about their new film Trust Me (and tangentially, Agents of SH.I.E.L.D. and the Marvel Cinematic Universe)
