“Blockers” director Kay Cannon admitted Tuesday night at the Universal film’s premiere that she’s enjoying the increased attention being paid in Hollywood to the female point of view.
“Luckily for me in a way, it’s been very beneficial,” she said on the red carpet at the Regency Village in Los Angeles. “Hopefully, if the movie does well, it’ll shine a light to say women can direct all sorts of things.”
#Blockers director Kay Cannon on the timeliness of the film: "If the movie does well, it'll shine a light to say women can direct all sorts of things" pic.twitter.com/Cu6UWNq1T2
— Variety (@Variety) April 4, 2018
Cannon said she’s pleased to hear comparisons of “Blockers” to landmark raunchy teen comedies.
“This story was so under-served for women,” she said. “So now that we have one, it’s being compared to ‘Superbad’ and ‘American Pie,’ which are comedy classics so I love being compared to them. I love being in that neighborhood.”
For Leslie Mann, who plays the single parent of a high school senior on the verge of heading off to UCLA, the story was particularly resonant given that she’s the mother of two teenage girls–one who left for college just as the film started shooting.
“I really wanted to tell this story — otherwise I would be in the bed for a month and a half with the drapes closed,” she mused. “It’s a good representation of what it’s like to be a young woman these days. It’s nice to have that instead of just the boys’ perspective.”
Producer Jon Hurwitz admitted that his 7-year-old daughter had presented him with a custom-made poster prior to the premiere, complete with a rooster on it.
“She asked me, ‘Daddy, why is there a chicken on the posters?,” he recalled. “I told her that’s a joke for adults, but one day down the road she’ll understand.”
Geraldine Viswanathan, who plays the quick-witted Kayla in the movie, said the evening carried a surreal touch for her — given that it comes seven years after Universal’s “Bridesmaids” premiered at the same theater.
“We were standing at the barricades over there, and I was 15,” she recalled. “It was the best night of my life. I was obsessed with Kristen Wiig.”
#Blockers star Geraldine Viswanathan expains how "surreal" it is to be at the premiere of her own film after seeing the premiere of #Bridesmaids at the same theater pic.twitter.com/Qt9p0Lfom6
— Variety (@Variety) April 4, 2018
Cannon directed from a script by brothers Brian and Jim Kehoe. Producers are Hurwitz, Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, James Weaver, Hayden Schlossberg and Chris Fenton.
“Blockers” opens nationwide on April 6.
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