What happens when fate brings reunites two former college sweethearts while they’re snowed-in at a regional airport? A lot of talking — and rising emotions. It’s the perfect recipe for a heartwarming comedy, we say, and who better to helm the project than rom-com queen Meg Ryan (When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle)? Welcome to What Happens Later, the new comedy Ryan directed and stars in opposite David Duchovny (The X-Files, Californication). The outing marks the three-time Golden Globe nominee’s return to the big screen after an eight-year hiatus in a film that’s been dubbed, “a bewitching rom-com fable.”
Ryan and Duchovny co-star as Willa and Bill, two star-crossed lovers who are suddenly forced to revisit their shaky past. The film, which was written Steven Dietz, Kirk Lynn, and Ryan, was shot during the pandemic. It was a labor of love for Ryan, who delivers a charming 21st-century romance filled with sweet nostalgia and a few dashes of magical realism. In an exclusive MovieWeb interview filled with camaraderie, Meg Ryan and David Duchovny opened up about the bittersweet, modern love story. Dive into our interview below, and check out the video of it above.
What Happened Before
Love is easy. Relationships are hard. That’s one good takeaway from What Happens Later, which is bound to delight audiences. “The characters made me laugh,” Meg Ryan said of the story. “And I love a magical reality. I love that in a film.”
Like the movie, the genesis of What Happens Later holds bits of serendipity. Producer Jonathan Duffy (Sorry to Bother You) and his producing partner Kelly Williams were exploring their upcoming projects during the pandemic when they realized that many of the films featured larger ensemble boasting a variety of different locations. The producing duo felt those “bigger” films didn’t quite fit the times. They had a friend who instructed theater at the University of Texas, inquiring if he was aware of any small cast, limited location plays that could be adapted for the screen.
They came upon Shooting Star, written by Steven Dietz. The story revolved around two former lovers, who happen to reunite while snowed-in at a regional airport. They immediately knew they’d found their next great project. The combination of Willa, an offbeat New Ager who carries around a rainstick, and Bill, an unhappily married and grumpy businessman, had the makings of a classic big-screen comedy. More importantly, it would be relatable to audiences.
When the project came to Meg Ryan during the pandemic, she felt it was a “hidden opportunity” in the collective pause taking place globally; the idea of ex-lovers, snowed in with nowhere to go, and forced to ponder who they once were, and what they can still be — to themselves, to one another.
On Dedicating the Film to Nora Ephron
Meg Ryan famously worked with screenwriter/director and Oscar-nominee Nora Ephron on the films When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle, You’ve Got Mail, and Hanging Up. She was so passionate about What Happens Later that she dedicated the film to Ephron, noting her profound influence on her life and career.
“It’s a ‘thank you’ to her,” Ryan said of the film, which was shot entirely in remote Bentonville, Arkansas, in the Crystal Bridges Art Museum and the Fayetteville Airport. “I’m so grateful for all of my experiences with her.” Culling from Ephron’s unique take on relationships, Ryan realized early on that the characters of Bill and Willa were somehow re-routed by magical forces. To that end, the airport in which the entire movie plays out, becomes like a mystical snow globe, a timeless place for the characters to reflect upon their lives and their choice.
“I’s a unique story, you know?” Ryan added. “I mean, it’s actually not a dystopian story. It’s something that imagines past that. And I love that we can put that out, however simply, into the world, especially right now.”
When David Met Meg
As the two main characters in What Happens Later tip toe around their surreal surroundings, the film ultimately becomes a heartwarming story about the reconciliation of opposites. Bill has hardened, Willa remains optimistic. If it’s fun experiencing these two characters on screen, it’s even more fun enjoying them in person. Their rapport is evident.
When asked what it was like working alongside Ryan in the film, David Duchovny cracked a smile and said, “She was awful,” obviously teasing Ryan, who quickly shot back with, “Is that why you’re drinking red wine?” Yes. This duo has great chemistry both on and off-screen. Duchovny went on to say it was, “wonderful,” to work alongside Ryan. “I’ve been a fan of Meg’s work, but to be on the other side of it, and to work with her, to just be the recipient of her generosity of spirit and her humor and her ability to be present both as an actor and as a director, you know, it’s joyful for an actor to have that.”
And so goes their breezy conversation. As the exclusive MovieWeb clip reveals, Ryan notes Duchovny’s efficient work ethic, among other things. Ultimately, the two are jazzed to bring What Happens Later to audiences. “One thing Meg has told me… she’s done more screenings than I’ve been at, and she said that there’s a feeling of love and empathy that happens in the audience,” Duchovny said. “I guess that’s what it is. There’s no great ‘lesson,’ maybe Meg has a different view of it, but there’s a feeling I’ve experienced watching this movie with people that’s really sweet and really reflective.”
“There’s a sort of aggregation of feeling, and it just keeps building,” Ryan added. “We haven’t been able to have audience test screenings or anything like that, but we’ve been able to show it to some friends and some groups of people. And almost across the board, there’s this feeling of like, ‘Wait! What just happened? Why do I want to cry?’ And it’s a pure feeling. Movies are there for us to feel things through.”
“But it’s not even like a sad cry,” Duchovny went on to say before Ryan noted the experience of What Happens Later evokes an, “open-hearted cry… it’s sort of like, ‘Oh, this just feels rare.’”
That it does. Catch What Happens Later in theaters November 3 from Bleecker Street.
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
