Skip to playerSkip to main contentSkip to footer
Parade
  • 6/20/2025
Transcript
00:00We're really tight, so, you know, I was in London doing a show, Silo, which he and I are both on, which is crazy.
00:09We did it again. Now we can never not work together.
00:16Rick and Steve, I was stalking your Instagrams, and it looks like you guys have been friends for quite a while.
00:23How did you guys meet initially?
00:25We did a show called The Crossing Wednesday night at 1130. It was kind of one of those shows.
00:36Yeah.
00:37It wasn't on, like, Thursday night.
00:39No.
00:41But anyway, so I was the sheriff, and he was my deputy.
00:45Great deputy.
00:45And we just, we thought, you know, we, you know, grew up as young actors in New York, and we just...
00:52We never met each other.
00:53Never met.
00:54I was almost his understudy in suburbia at Lincoln Center. You almost did Band of Brothers, but you didn't do Band of Brothers.
01:00Right, so there's all these, like, things.
01:01We crossed over.
01:02And we know the same people, so when we met on the show, we was like, oh, thank God you're on this.
01:08Yeah, we were instant friends.
01:10That's all we had was each other.
01:12Anyway, there you go.
01:14And so you guys just hit it off instantly.
01:15Yeah, we really kind of felt like we were like-minded in the way we told stories and what we laughed at.
01:20Yeah, and then we wanted to make stuff.
01:22And then, like, our families are all kind of intertwined and know each other.
01:26Yeah.
01:27And, yeah, so we're really best buddies, but also write and work together.
01:33Yeah, so then for this movie, you guys co-wrote the script together.
01:37This is your directorial feature debut, I believe.
01:40And then it's your first big movie as well.
01:43Lots of firsts for everybody.
01:44How did the project all come together?
01:46Like, what was the sort of brainchild, I guess, of it?
01:49The original thing came together because you guys, these two, were in a national dance competition together.
01:55And so I took her there, and I was sending back videos and calling Rick and Kobe, and we were like, look at this, look at that.
02:02And we're like, oh, my God, there's such a-
02:04There's a movie here.
02:04There's a movie.
02:05The competitive dance world is, like, just something else.
02:08Seriously.
02:09Like, if you haven't been a part of it, you just can't even imagine what it's like.
02:14Totally.
02:15And we're telling Rick about it so much, and then they're like, dude, we should make something about it.
02:18Because you don't really see a lot of movies or shows specifically about dance competition.
02:24There's a lot of stuff about, like, dance in general, but I don't know.
02:28Yeah.
02:28That was cool.
02:29It's intense, yeah.
02:30Yeah.
02:31So then we did, so we looked at, so we talked about that story, your story of the kind of dance competition,
02:36and Steve and I just were, it was kind of right in the throes of COVID, and there's a lot going on in everybody's life,
02:42and there's a lot of, people were going through a lot of stuff, and then we kind of just built a story around some stuff that was in our life and around our life,
02:48and Jason Reed, who's a producer, friend of ours, called us up and said, what do you have?
02:52And we kind of just outlined a basic kind of what it could be, and he said, you guys should write it.
02:57And really, that was the first shot.
02:59We wanted to make a cinematic American independent film for families.
03:04Yeah.
03:04Yeah.
03:05That was the whole goal.
03:06And then did you guys know that Audrey was going to be in it from the start?
03:10Immediately.
03:10Yeah.
03:10And we had, I worked with Audrey on a short film where she was a dancer, and when Audrey danced-
03:14I was 16.
03:15When she was 16.
03:16So sweet.
03:16And when Audrey danced, I was like, there's, I knew that that was the kind of fabric of the whole thing, was being around her dancing.
03:24I was like, oh man, she's so good.
03:26And then when Kenzie came on board, that was a-
03:29Done.
03:29And then we saw Kenzie, we deep-dived Kenzie-
03:32These guys didn't know each other, and they were just like, boom!
03:34I saw Kenzie do her thing, and I'm like, she's perfect.
03:37We wrote this thing, and then Kenzie came in and was like, the thing we wrote.
03:42And so it was just, and then these guys just hit it off, and it feels like they've been friends since they were three years old in the movie.
03:48Seriously.
03:48I mean, it's one of the, it's really remarkable.
03:50Yeah, I mean, the second we met, I was like, I know she's going to be my friend forever.
03:55Like, she's, we clicked instantly, and we obviously were such goofballs on set, all of us.
04:00I mean, we had such a blast, and we created such an amazing family.
04:04So I was so happy to be a part of it.
04:06Yeah, yeah, I could definitely tell that chemistry right away.
04:08I was like, did they know each other beforehand?
04:10Like, it just seems like you're connected.
04:13What was it like filming the, or putting together, I guess, the dance sequences, since you guys are both dancers?
04:18Did you choreograph those yourself?
04:19No.
04:19Did you have another choreographer?
04:20How did that all come together?
04:22Jamie Harpner, the best guy ever.
04:24He's been my dance teacher for years.
04:26Like, he was the guy that choreographed all my solos from middle school onward.
04:31He basically created my dance style, and he's such a talented choreographer.
04:37He made it for both of us, the duet and the two solos that I do in the film.
04:44And it was really fun.
04:45I mean, he's such a good teacher.
04:46Yeah, it was really interesting, because obviously they choreographed it before I got there, because you guys live in the same place.
04:54Right.
04:54And so they were just sending me videos of a bunch of things, and I just saw how fun you guys were having.
05:00And he's such a talented choreographer.
05:02It was so easy to learn from him, and made me feel so comfortable.
05:06And I think because I haven't danced in so long, I was really nervous, kind of stepping into an environment where people are, you guys dance all the time.
05:15And so I was a little intimidated, but it really worked out, and I think we dance really well together.
05:21Yeah, you do.
05:22Yeah, that's the other thing.
05:23It's because it's hard to find a dance partner that, like, really matches you well, but it was really natural for us.
05:28Yeah.
05:29I saw on Instagram that you've done a lot of theater.
05:32Yeah.
05:32What was it like, or how does that sort of compare, I guess, to starring in a movie?
05:38You know, that's an interesting question.
05:40I will say theater, there's just so much more adrenaline that goes into it, and a lot of, like, energy.
05:47It kind of feels like you're running a marathon, like, 12 times a week, which is so fun, and, like, it's on the spot, and whatever happens on stage happens, and there's beauty in that on its own.
06:00But I kind of really fell in love with the intimacy in film, and how you get to do it over and over again, try new things.
06:08Like, it just felt very artistic for me, and I really enjoy it, so, yeah.
06:14And then, Steve, you've obviously played the dad in a number of different films and TV shows.
06:19Yeah.
06:19How was it like playing the dad to your actual daughter versus, you know, someone else?
06:26It was beautiful.
06:27I mean, look, the best compliment I can give her and the film is that it was like every other movie.
06:39We're really tight.
06:40So, you know, I was in London doing a show, Silo, which he and I are both on.
06:47Which is crazy.
06:49We're both on the same show.
06:50Now we can never not work together.
06:52No.
06:52It just took a crossing.
06:54Right.
06:55But Audrey came out for like three weeks.
06:57We read it every day.
06:59And then these guys got together.
07:00I was still shooting.
07:02They came.
07:03Rick had them in Kentucky.
07:04That's the other thing we did with this film.
07:05It was so great.
07:06We had rehearsals.
07:07There's some intense scenes we have.
07:10We did those once.
07:12We did, we not only did them once, we did, we did, we rehearsed them once when we, when we started.
07:19So we, I had these guys for three weeks and people were coming in and out.
07:22And rehearsal is a huge part of just the way I came up.
07:25And I, and I think it's the thing that's cut out of films first, because when you're making a budget, you just go, that doesn't, isn't necessary.
07:31Sometimes you don't even rehearse on the day.
07:33Yeah, you don't even rehearse on the day.
07:34And, and so I had them for a while.
07:36We had each other for a while and we were able to work through it.
07:39But these guys did it, the, our big scene one time I looked up and there was a puddle of water underneath my face.
07:47And I was like, we don't do it anymore and we'll just go shoot it.
07:49And then we did it a few times when we shot it, but they're so locked in.
07:53They're so, they so knew the stuff, the work and then each other that it's just magic, man.
07:58It's just magic.
07:58And you see it.
07:59There's really, it's, it's not like anything else.
08:01It's such a great, it's, this is it for me.
08:08That's so special.
08:11Yeah, no, I was crying watching it.
08:13Yeah, yeah, yeah.
08:14Yeah, sweet.
08:14No, yeah, what was it like, I guess, filming those, um, yeah, the, like the big final dance, uh, scene at the end where you have that moment where you're like, you're, the, the home video flashes on screen and you just like feel all of that.
08:27I have, I have, I have, I, I've had that, that, every time I watch her, since she was young.
08:37Yeah.
08:37It's, I, I, I see something totally different than somebody else sees.
08:41And in that moment, it was beautiful for everybody.
08:43But as a dad, that wasn't hard to tap into.
08:47I, it was so layered.
08:49Here I am playing a character, but I'm also reacting to my daughter, who's playing a character.
08:55I'm reacting to home, home videos.
08:58I mean, you watch a home video from the past of your kids.
09:02You, you get all, I get all worked up, um, I, I, I, I'm such a sap.
09:09So, so it was layered watching that stuff and seeing my son and my daughter at three and five, like swimming.
09:16And I, it's so universal too, man.
09:19It's like, it's, it's, it's their family, but it's all of our family.
09:23And when you watch it, you feel that same thing that you feel when you watch your, because they're exactly the same as all the movies we have of each other.
09:29And all the, so it became this really beautiful place to be in because we all just know that as, as people, we know what that thing feels like.
09:38But what's remarkable about it is what, and people, I think it's a compliment to the film.
09:42It's like, people don't go, that's crazy.
09:45You're using home movies with you and Audrey and you guys are, wow, that's, I've never seen that before in a film.
09:52It's really cool.
09:54What was it like going through your home videos and picking out which ones you were going to use?
09:57I didn't know, it was a surprise.
10:01Scott, Scott Hall.
10:03Scott did some selection and we, I gave him a bunch of like DVR tapes and, and I said, dude, I don't even know what these are.
10:10It was a box in the attic.
10:11And he, he was like, hey man, I'll, I'll, you know, I'll digit, we'll get it on digital.
10:15And then he called me, he was like, dude, do you know what's on this stuff?
10:18I'm like, no, I have no idea.
10:19I didn't even write like.
10:21At the circus.
10:22Or whatever, right?
10:23And it was like, he goes, dude, dude, dude, sit down and watch.
10:26And I watched some of the stuff and I was like, oh my gosh, it's behind the scenes and like movies and stuff, right?
10:32Just walked around with a camera.
10:33It was all this stuff at home.
10:36And then Rick saw it.
10:37And it started to build on itself about where it was going to go in the movie.
10:41I'm going to use this.
10:42Yeah, and there's a great, there's a great Easter egg at the very, very, very end of the movie.
10:46If you don't watch it to the very, very, very end of the movie, there is his high school footage on VHS that really, I shot a bunch of VHS in the movie.
10:55That's actual VHS footage.
10:57It's not, it's not manipulated in post.
11:00We shot on a VHS camera.
11:01And I was inspired to shoot on a VHS camera because I found his Oklahoma story that he tells her.
11:07Who's in Oklahoma?
11:08That we wrote.
11:09I found that thing.
11:10And it's Steve Zahn as Will Parker at the very, very, very end of the movie.
11:14If you watch the very end.
11:15Wait, is that after the credits?
11:16Yes.
11:17At the very end of the credits.
11:17Okay, now I need to go back and watch it.
11:18Yeah, you need to go watch it.
11:19Yeah, I like it.
11:20The final little thing, yeah.
11:21And it's me as a junior in high school.
11:23Basically the age of her character in the movie.
11:26Wait, okay.
11:26Crazy, it's layered.
11:27Yeah, yeah, yeah.
11:28So this is the Young Miss Southeast Regional Dance Finals.
11:34Is that a real thing or did you guys make that up?
11:36We took a little bit.
11:37We took a little liberty with it.
11:39I mean, it sounds like.
11:40It's like, seriously, everything at dance competitions is so like unheard of and like extravagant.
11:47And so it makes sense.
11:48Yeah, yeah, yeah.
11:49The triple crown platinum twist.
11:53The triple diamond.
11:54Yeah, yeah, yeah.
11:55Diamond, right.
11:56The turn and turn and turn again, countrywide dance best.
11:59Like literally.
12:00And it would make sense.
12:01Yeah, yeah, yeah.
12:02Yeah, no, it's not a real thing.
12:04What was it like building that out and getting all of those extras and the dance costumes and the ballrooms?
12:10And like, did you guys have input in that from having gone to so many of those yourself?
12:14We didn't necessarily have input, but I think it was really interesting for us to be in that environment again.
12:22You know, like when we were on the stage and all the dancers are stretching and everyone's and I was like, whoa, this is like a fever dream.
12:29I feel like I'm back when I was like 10 and like at a dance competition.
12:33It felt so real.
12:34Yeah.
12:35Well, it was.
12:35Well, it was.
12:36Well, it was.
12:36We got real guys.
12:37It's my old studio.
12:39The dancers in the background and the other dancers you see on stage.
12:43We had hero dancers that were.
12:45People I used to dance with.
12:46We had extras that were, I mean, this is a tiny movie.
12:50Yeah.
12:50And we were so lucky.
12:52This is all homegrown.
12:53There's a lot of just Kentucky kind of local.
12:58Yeah.
12:59You know, Haley, who plays the nemesis.
13:02Everybody showed up when we play.
13:04Haley is a local who lives in New York and is on Broadway a lot.
13:08And she's remarkable.
13:10But she grew up dancing with Jamie, who choreographed it.
13:13So there's all these.
13:14There's bits and pieces that come together.
13:17Yeah.
13:17And Jamie choreographed her solo as well.
13:19Yeah.
13:21Yeah.
13:21Jamie choreographed everything and did an amazing job.
13:26Yeah.
13:26It was really.
13:27It was really cool because I shot a like a behind the scenes sizzle experiment shoot.
13:36Like a like a let's see what a dance competition has never been to a dance competition.
13:39New York, West Coast, never, never spent a bunch of time in the middle of the country either.
13:44And so I had a whole idea in my head about what I was about to go watch.
13:48And my favorite story is there's a little girl who came out.
13:50She danced her butt off.
13:52And I don't know what she did wrong.
13:53But she felt like she did something wrong.
13:55And she held it the whole dance.
13:58And danced and smiled and bowed like a warrior.
14:01Came off the stage.
14:03And once she hit the curtain on the side of the stage burst into tears and ran to her coach.
14:08And was like.
14:09And I was like oh my god.
14:11These are warriors.
14:12These little girls are like these warriors.
14:15And that's the way we decided to shoot it.
14:17That's the way we wanted to hold the whole space.
14:19I never realized how much care and competition.
14:24Real competition.
14:25And quality of dance.
14:28And yeah man.
14:30It really blew my mind.
14:33And so we tried our best to put that into the.
14:36And in fact there's some of that footage in the film.
14:38That's the real footage from the dance competition we shot at.
14:42But yeah man.
14:44It was really cool.
14:45That's why I think it felt that way.
14:46Because a lot of those same kids were there again.
14:48In some of those same costumes again.
14:49Totally.
14:50In the same theater we shot it in.
14:52Sorry.
14:53It's exciting.
14:53No one was just fighting each other back there.
14:57McKinsey did you have like Dance Moms flashbacks while you were sort of on her shirt?
15:03Oh for sure.
15:03I definitely felt very at home.
15:05But I think for me it felt obviously better.
15:09Because it was you know.
15:10We were dancing together.
15:11It was so fun.
15:13And I think now I found a love for dance.
15:17Doing it kind of separate than actual dance competitions.
15:20Because like we were talking about.
15:22Dance competitions can be very toxic.
15:25And so yeah.
15:27It felt like really nice to dance again.
15:29And I definitely think it helped me find my love for it.
15:34So there's a scene where you guys are all in the car.
15:36And you're doing Jennifer Coolidge impersonations.
15:38And you were in White Lotus with Jennifer Coolidge.
15:43Did you pick up the impression from her?
15:46Like how did this all come to be?
15:47You know what?
15:48I don't know where it came from.
15:51I just figured out one day that I could do it.
15:53And dad thought I was really good at it.
15:57Like so much so that I filmed the video and sent it to him.
16:02He showed Jennifer Coolidge.
16:03She sent a video back to me.
16:05Impersonating me.
16:08She was like I have to send her a video.
16:10I have to send her.
16:10I can't do it.
16:11I have to send her a video.
16:12What do I do?
16:13And then she was like.
16:14She's like okay I'm ready.
16:15I'm ready.
16:16And then she started the video saying.
16:19Hi Jennifer.
16:21It's Audrey.
16:22I have a sore throat.
16:23So I'm going to do your invitation.
16:26But I hope it works.
16:27You know whatever.
16:27And then she was like.
16:29Hi Audrey.
16:31Hi Jennifer.
16:32It's Audrey.
16:33I have a sore throat.
16:35She just mimicked the video.
16:36I know.
16:37So insane.
16:38But we picked it up on set.
16:40And we just were doing it.
16:40She has a great one too.
16:42You and she has a great one.
16:43And so we were going over lines for the scene.
16:46Because we were about to go shoot that scene.
16:48And I always like messing around with stuff.
16:51We're like just do it in whatever voice.
16:53Just do the words in whatever voice there is.
16:54And then Audrey is like oh yeah great.
16:57And then you kicked in.
16:59And then the both of them are doing it.
17:00I'm like I think I'm not going to shoot it any other way.
17:02We didn't.
17:02We didn't shoot it any other way.
17:04I think we were great.
17:04There was no alternative for that scene.
17:06Yeah.
17:07Like seriously most of the time we interacted was in Jennifer Coolidge's voice.
17:11But we didn't.
17:12But Rick didn't do.
17:13Okay just do one.
17:14For safety.
17:15There was no safety.
17:15That was either going to be in the movie or wasn't going to be.
17:17And it had to be in the movie.
17:18It's so punk talk.
17:19That's the right way to do it.
17:21I'm glad it's in the movie.
17:22Did you meet Jennifer Coolidge at any point?
17:24Oh I wish.
17:25I wish.
17:25I'd be so upset.
17:26Someday.
17:28Someday you will.
17:29Someday.
17:29Do you watch a lot of your dad's movies?
17:32Do you have favorites?
17:34Ooh.
17:35Okay.
17:35I love that thing you do.
17:37I will say.
17:38That is one of my favorites.
17:39Some of them like if he brutally dies in something I'm like no not for me.
17:44But he's pretty good.
17:47He's pretty good.
17:49Thanks kid.
17:49And then I guess sort of what was there like what was the most fun scene to shoot for both
17:57of you or I guess for all of you.
18:00I think mine was the tire scene.
18:02Oh you're right.
18:04I thought that was the most fun.
18:06The tire scene was fun.
18:07It's that or the Jennifer Coolidge in the car.
18:10I really like I love the stories.
18:13I mean that was.
18:13We just kept eating though.
18:15That's why it was hard.
18:16Yeah.
18:16We were our tummies were hurting.
18:18Yeah.
18:19That was fun.
18:21Yeah.
18:21I liked I liked shooting the one where we just locked the camera off and let the whole
18:26night go by and you guys just did stuff for like 45 minutes.
18:29You know what was also a great one?
18:31It was the brushing teeth.
18:33Brushing teeth.
18:33Just a wanderer in the mirror.
18:35It's a great scene.
18:35That's a really good scene.
18:36It's really cool.
18:38And that was.
18:38That was stressful though.
18:39We were calling.
18:40Ro.
18:40Ro had to call in.
18:41Roseberry DeWitt plays.
18:43So we did it you know.
18:44Also the scene at the pool with you guys.
18:47Oh that was a great scene.
18:48And the camera picking.
18:48That was stressful though.
18:49Every scene.
18:50Every scene was great.
18:51Every scene was hard.
18:52That was fun to watch.
18:53Yeah.