Seth Rogen and his co-stars "got very personal very fast" as they discussed their experiences of marriage and relationships before filming The Invite.
The 44-year-old actor and Olivia Wilde - who also directed the film - play a struggling married couple who are forced to face their problems when they invite a free-spirited set of neighbours, Penelope Cruz and Edward Norton, for dinner in the movie, and The Studio star thinks their intimate bonding exercise helped to make The Invite a "much better" picture because they had grown so close.
He told Variety: “We all just kind of sat in a room and sort of read through the script, but mostly talked about kind of what we all thought made a good marriage and maybe made a bad marriage and made a healthy sexual dynamic and an unhealthy [sexual dynamic].
"It got very personal very fast with a lot of the actors because that’s what the movie is about. I think in order to make it feel as real and reflective of the filmmakers and the team’s lives as possible, we all really got very honest with one another and I think it made the film much better and a lot of it worked its way into the film in various ways.”
Meanwhile, Olivia thinks The Invite will spark conversations amongst audiences and reassure them that everyone is just "doing [their best]".
She told the outlet: “Conversations that stem from a comedy are really about people recognizing themselves and laughing at even difficult things, and there’s this sense of catharsis and relief of ‘Oh man, life is tough and we’re all just doing our best.’ The movie is meant to make you feel that and to have a good time.
“And that energy has really permeated the whole experience and even the press experience.
"I just feel kind of more relaxed and confident than ever.”
The Don't Worry Darling filmmaker had a great time working on The Invite and hopes to make more comedies in the future.
Discussing her next projects as a director, she said: “I don’t want to jinx it, but I really hope to be able to put more comedies in the world. I think that if my purpose in this business was to bring fun people together and be silly and allow everyone to laugh, then I will have done something valuable.”
