Frank Runyeon, Meg Ryan
When Willa and Bill are indefinitely delayed at an airport overnight, they find themselves drawn to each other and irked by one another much as they did decades prior. But as they try to unravel their mutual past and compare the trajectory of their lives to the dreams they once shared, they begin to question if their reunion is coincidental or guided by a greater force in the universe. Based on the play Shooting Star by Steven Dietz, the Bleecker Street film boasts a script by Dietz, Ryan, and Kirk Lynn. What Happens Later is Ryan's second feature film behind the camera and her first romantic comedy. She previously directed 2015's Ithaca.
"It has a relationship to movies from the '40s, like Bringing Up Baby, in terms of the banter and the rhythm of things and a lot of that era of filmmaking," Ryan adds. "Nora Ephron used to say about rom-coms that they were really a secretly incredible delivery system to comment on the times, and we do that in this movie."
Ryan first met Duchovny via Zoom in preparation for the film but quickly warmed to him as an onscreen partner. "My character, Willa, is a magical thinker and David's character, Bill, is a catastrophic thinker," Ryan explains of the film. "These rom-coms really work when the two characters are somehow opposites and yet have a rhythm of intellect and humor and dialogue and banter that sort of indicates their compatibility. So, it's just been really fun to see David embrace this guy who I don't think is anything really like David. Whereas the Willa thing I can really relate to. To see him dive into every single scene in the fullest way, he's funny, and he's smart, and he's dear, and irresistible."
What Happens Later hits theaters on Oct. 13. Check out more first-look photos below.
I still think that Joe Vs The Volcano was the zenith of her career.
So she’s finally over that Gladiator guy?
I loved Meg Ryan. She screwed up her marriage and career which was a shame. Her pics look good - hopefully the plastic surgery and botox have calmed down.
who? what?
When Harry Met Sally is one of my favorite movies. I watch it every New Years Eve.
But, I am a little doubtful her shtick is going to work well with a story about a former couple, now both in their early 60s.
For you Brits...David Tennant and Michael Sheen have a series where they Zoom with each other during Covid to prepare for a play. I enjoyed it but it might not really transfer to American humor. It got good reviews. It’s called Staged. It has a lot of cameos from people like Judi Dench, Samuel Jackson, and Brit actors you may have never heard of like Frost and Pegg. The guy from Monty Python makes an appearance and really drags them.
But it is not something you can have on in the background. You have to actually watch it since there is a visual component to it.
You’ve Got Mail is one of only two or three chick flicks that I like.Years ago my girlfriend and I even visited that “community garden” on the Upper West Side that was featured at the very end.
Frank Runyeon, Meg Ryan
Does she still have that strange beak?
Is he still a porn addict?
Meg Ryan?
She must be getting work-release time from that old folks retirement home...
“Willa, is a magical thinker and ... Bill, is a catastrophic thinker,”
Both should run from each other as quickly as possible. (Don’t ask me how I know.)
Read later.