Filmmakers Behind ‘Red, White & Royal Blue’ On Pressure of Adapting This Beloved Book, ‘I Couldn’t Sleep Until I Got to Make the Film’
variety.comJack Dunn Five months passed between the audition and callback for “Red, White & Royal Blue” star Taylor Zakhar Perez, but it only took a few days to secure his role as Alex Claremont-Diaz once he spoke to producer Sarah Schechter and co-writer, director, and executive producer Matthew Lopez. “I’m at my cousin’s wedding and David Rapaport calls me and said, ‘Hey, Sarah Schechter wants to chat with you about this project.’ And I said, ‘Oh, I auditioned for that so long ago.’ He said, ‘Yeah, they’re trying to find their Alex.
They want to talk to you,'” Perez recalled. “I had a great chat with Sarah. I had a great chat with Matthew. Then I flew back two days later and had the camera read with Nick [Galitzine] on Zoom.. .they said the next day, ‘Can you get to London in four days?'” As part of the Variety Streaming Room presented by Prime Video, Perez, Schechter and Lopez joined senior TV features editor Emily Longeretta to discuss how they adapted Casey McQuiston’s 2019 novel for the big screen. “Red, White & Royal Blue” follows the first son of the United States (Perez) and the Duke of Cambridge (Galitzine), who are forced to pose as friends after an argument between them makes international headlines.
Resentful at first, the pair builds a genuine connection, which eventually evolves into romance. Director Lopez first discovered the novel after his agent recommended he adapt it into a musical.
But after reading it, Lopez knew it had to be made into a feature film and proceeded to aggressively pursue the job as director. “I basically made a nuisance of myself with Sarah Schechter, which really set the tone of our entire relationship, I think.
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