Pedro Pascal interviews Olivia Wilde & Penelope Cruz for “The Invite” 6/27/2026 Los Angeles

Um, okay. I'm sorry, I'm not prepared to continue. No, I hear you. I apologize. It's just that the questions, the answers, it's basically like, the questions have so much to do with the form, with the experience, with other movies I've created, it's one of those questions that, yeah, it's one of those, and even, and so I was like, oh, okay. And then, and then, okay, well, I, I, it was so good. It was so wonderful. Uh, I'm so proud of you. Um, that's, it's seamless. I have, I have comments, and I have questions, okay? It's a very seamless experience, I think, for all of us. I don't remember that, I was just bursting with laughter, so that's a very new thing for me. I want to thank you, for representing my audience, and we have made a really short, I'm so happy that you're here. To be a part of what is our experience, but also the movie, not being in it, and having the experience, is just really really special, and it's a four hander, and you heard, who's not going to get sick of it, you know what I mean? Who's not going to get sick of this? And it's, it's just, it's just the opposite, It's a problem. Jesus, **** your eyes. Are you in it? I know, I know. I'm wearing a blue outfit. Oh yeah, you're wearing a blue outfit. Thank you very much. No, it's devastating. I'm not in it. Oh, that's nice. But I'm in a place where I'm not looking for anything in the world. So, it's perfect actually. It's originally a Spanish film. So, I'd like to ask, and also, there are changes in the script. Like three months. Yeah, yeah. Which I think are insane. And I'm curious, can you talk a little bit about what the process of adaptation was? Or like, how did this happen? How did this happen? Great question. So, yes, the original film in Spanish was called Sentimental. Sentimental. Sí. And in American, it was The People Upstairs. And written and directed by a guy named Chiske. Chiske. Or Seske. And he did the play. He wrote the play, directed the play, and he adapted his own play into a film. And that film got adapted into French, German, Korean, Italian, and then Rashida and Will adapted it into an English version. And when it came to me, I thought, what story is so universally interesting that it's been made this many times? And what is it that's really good here? And sure enough, it turns out relationships are difficult in every language. They are impossible. And yet we try. And it really made up for it. This is an opportunity to gather some amazing actors and try an experience that I've always dreamt of, which is make a movie like a play, get together, go to the cinema and make a movie, have two weeks of rehearsal, and then shoot this thing in one location in order. On 35 millimeter. And in this town, very few of them come true, really. The ones that involve so many kind of unusual, specific experiences. Then, you know, it took on a life of its own because we brought together this incredible group of people and with Will and Rashida, we spent those two weeks, which we didn't even have a full two weeks, but we spent this chunk of days sitting around a table workshopping the script and really just personalizing it. Because if it's already an adaptation, you might feel adapted to the specific group. Yes, which is interesting because I know the character. I think I'm looking to play a priest and all kinds of ----. And so to make sure that this dream happens, you stepped into playing a part because other people weren't available. Other people weren't available. Also, the cast kind of encouraged you to do it. So none of you ever sat in the room twice? No. We were in place, and we all started talking, and we were very excited about how everyone was adapted to their specific interpretation. I mean, Pina was Pina, and it was nothing like that. Nothing like that. Same with Hawk, same with Joe. They are the creations of this collaboration between our writers and our cast. But we started the process, and they said, well, maybe you should just do it. And I was terrified to think I could, so I tried, and I'm really happy I did. But it was a process unlike anything I had ever experienced because every idea was welcomed. Best idea won. We took huge leaps in terms of the plot, and everyone was bringing such great, bold ideas every day. Oh. And I don't know what I'm doing today. You don't understand me, but I love you. Okay, I have to speak to you. Straight for us. So it is very different. I've seen the original Spanish movie, and I started to wonder how the process related to each individual actor because the authorship felt so unique as it relates to the person playing the part. And so, is it rehearsal, or did you discover a time around that molded this wonderful character? I am so far behind on the script that I'm smiling, and I'm smiling, and maybe a little bit crazy, but it's why I'm going to do it. So, I mean, I feel so confident that I don't have anything to think about, at least. And it's so hard to say that because it's a very, very long time that I've been doing it. It's cold. It's a hell of a place. I remember this experience from the first time we talked about it, and the crazy process of doing this character. We had a very small amount of time, but a lot, I guess. We could do it once, and then I remember rehearsing for the killing part. It's a great movie, yeah. But it's something that is a lot. But it was so intense, and I remember moments for the rest of my life. It is very different from the one that we started shooting, where we were, like, in an expanded lab from the table, screaming at it, and we were all laughing, and we were all groaning and thinking about it. But at the same point, we feel like we were, like, we opened our stomachs, everything, and we had a good time. Also, it shows all the young people. So, with that, we go a lot. And it's very hard to make it grow, but we needed to first be able to see what we were doing, and then we had concerts, and we did a lot of shooting, and it was the first time I talked about it, so thank you again. Thank you. The most incredible crew that you guys could imagine. Yeah. I couldn't even believe, and we're good, so thank you. I thought I was going to like this, too. We had the most incredible crew. The same frame, and we were just being able to somehow predict who was going to throw something in. Like, unbelievable. And then Mark operating the steadicam, which you can't film, but it's heavy, and being able to somehow feel. I mean, even the steadicam work in the scene where she's saying, H-I-A, to that, beautiful work. And then Robbie, I mean, we have two Robbies, one AC, and one in the art department. The props in that, on that set, any idea the actors had, it was there. They had so many ideas. I'm like, I want to vape. I want the condoms. Everybody had so many ideas, and the world felt real because it was created by a crew who believed in this as much as we did. I can't even describe it. Like, we would have rehearsals, and the crew, because they were seeing it all unfold in order, it was so emotionally involved that it felt like we were performing a little play for them. And I've never experienced anything like that, so I can't even imagine doing anything like this ever again. It felt so singular and special, and it was a, there was a half of me involved. There was some sort of magical thing happening, a combination of factors that were leading to a result that you can't predict. And I will say, like, this is why independent film is so important, because the studios don't allow that unpredictability. They don't allow the risk. We didn't know how to meet before it ended as we were shooting, and that kind of openness and solidity and just openness, and I remember when we were already filming the movie, when she said, what if, in that scene with Seth, you play Shia, and I speak to him, and he starts singing with me, and I get him to loosen up, and I get him to be in his body. That was, you taking a scene that was just, like, suction scene, you know, and turning it into something totally iconic and specific, and there were so many moments like that. Of course, the menopause conversation, which was entirely the brainchild of Belle, who worked with her mother, Shia, and being so passionate about wanting to say something specific and valuable, and that happened throughout the movie, so it was, like, this extraordinary lesson in the value of being really open to risk, and trusting your team. I cannot believe that, because, um, I, coming to see that, and, and seeing it, I was, like, okay, I know what's, I know what's going to happen, and I kept on, kind of, anticipating how it was all going to navigate itself, and in the beginning, I was, like, oh, let's see what they're going to do, oh, interesting, what are they going and then I just completely started to not know what was going to happen, I knew they were going to pronounce sex, I knew that, and I knew that they were going to make a, you know, and, and I, I was so fascinated by the distinct ways that were different about its original conception, and how, how organic and fluid, because, basically, here you have this thing, these four characters, that has risen into being translated into all of these, and in all of these different countries, because you have this foundation, right? So, it's almost this double, kind of, like, magic trick, to take something that is, is so foundational, and then kind of, like, make it unpredictable, and re-offer it in a way that isn't, won't have to make it different, you know? No, you have to tell the truth, and, and be true to these characters, as, as you say, and as you've been and, and be generous to these characters, and then find out how are they going to treat this invitation, you know? And we're brilliant. That's not in the movie! If you have, it was so funny, because, we, that, everything had to feel authentic, and we knew that the audience was too smart to buy anything that felt, you know, just, just inauthentic in any way, so, you know, Seth would say, if I was offered an orgy with you guys, I would assume you didn't mean me. no, If you said I was invited, I would take a long time to understand, like, this would be, this is how it would feel, so let's move it, as opposed to forcing it into some kind of frequency notion, it's like, let's just make it feel how it would feel. The whole kind of breakup, third act and all, you know, we have this challenge of going from one time Very shaggy from the ears to something much more, um, I mean, we didn't want the body to do, like, wait a minute, you switched tones on us, this is not what we would want. And so we did a rant, and Edward said, I have a story I want to tell as Hawk, about why my name is Hawk, which was a thing he had come up with, and he said, I have a story, can you just put it in the description, Hawk story, and can I do it for the first time, on film. So we're doing Seth first, and you guys will hear it for the first time, on film. So the reactions you see from me and Seth are the first time we're hearing the story, and we are having completely different reactions. And it's so true to who we were as characters, but it was like this gift of emotional ramp into a different room for me, and I can't, without that, it was such a gift to the actor to say, I had an idea that helped the audience move into this other place. And it was surprising and wonderful, and among people of tenacity, but then none of you knew, that when Seth reacted that way, how she would feel, and it turned into the most extraordinary of Hawk and Meow are not that perfect. They wanted to demonstrate rupture and repair, and she was very, she said, I don't think it was perfect, I don't think the relationship was perfect, but let's demonstrate conflict, and how that doesn't shift, and it's how you recover. It's all these things, it's just like discoveries. Yeah, yeah. Which is the one thing people say mirrors so much of what characters go through, because it's like this incremental, guarding and revelation of their vulnerabilities that create the comedy, and it's very moving. I actually, when we felt chosen for emoji, I was like, what? Yeah? And I was just like, and I was so, just so disheartened. To see them, you know, experience disarmament in this way, and also find a way to kind of take these upstairs neighbors and bring them down from this magnificent place where they're just instruments of, you know, deconstructing this, I don't know, this trap that this company's living in, but also these human beings that have storied the earth, and that if you were like, well, this is how I would react if you disrespected me, if you was undisrespectful, to Laura. She's sane? Not at all. She's sane? What? That's all, it's all real. It's very, yeah. I'm such a jerk. I'm such a dumb cunt. I'm just trying to look at one question. What would people in their 24 grow up if they asked visually, if you had such a certain, like, what were you drawing inspiration from? Did you know what it would look like when you read it? Is that also something that you discovered, this aesthetic that is just this delicious, disappeared thing from film? It was purposely nostalgic. Of course. It was this love letter to the movies that made us love this genre, many of them from the 70s, and we purposely went for that. It was our extraordinary cinematographer, Adam Corpera, who was the best. He, our production designer, was a ******* G, because that's the hardest thing that we had. He gave us, or like, this little brain trust, and he said, how do we make a movie one place interesting? How do we make this feel intentional and specific? How do we use architecture to create boundaries? And all the things that I definitely picked up on, it's just, you know, it was a true collaboration. I knew how I wanted to feel that I trusted these experts in how to achieve that, and what ideas could come about. The original script, I think, was a different apartment. It was described as like an open door, and there was an idea of a window that had to go over another window. The plot was specific to how or where it was, so Jake came up with the idea of this kind of air shaft to have this kind of choppy and voyeuristic vantage point that we could use in different moments, like the end, where you sense the end of a joke through the window. We discovered that, it kind of blabbered through the apartment. Once we decided as a team that the two houses should separate and have what we call house doors, where they go into different rooms, it really made it clear that we wanted spaces for them to be able to hide from each other, but still sort of feel the danger that they could overhear. And to be able to, of course, when they separate again, to have almost sex, we wanted them to have privacy. But it came from these endless discussions with these amazing artists. And we wanted actors to feel free, but the visual styles would feel nailed down, intact. So we knew our rules, but we never wanted to stand there because the shot would be cool in this frame, because we know how to do this set, no matter what they do, you know, where to look and where not to look. And things like using the ceiling, you know, it's all us honoring the people who do this, directors like Mike Nichols, Sidney Woodhead, Lou Allen, so many people, Rob Reiner. It was really, yes. You could achieve a comedy that felt full of heart, like he did, like those guys did, then you nailed something. But it was, yeah, visually, it was so fun. It was so, so fun. Yeah, it was really fun. How much time do we have? Esther Brown. You should take this one. Take your time. Esther Brown. Esther Brown was a consultant on this film. Yes. What was it like working with her? She's your character. We were very happy that we had a platform, so we were able to do it even if it was on our job. But we were very lucky that we were able to show all the blocks. We didn't know what we were going to do, so we were able to show people, and that was very important for me. But I think one of the most important things about that situation was that we had to serve them, which is what a good therapy is really about. So it was really important for us to get to that place in a shape that would be fine if we had done that. And I feel that if I had been here in the school, I would have learned and experienced all that. If I had been in rehab, I would have said, don't do that. Stay with me. When you leave, leave me alone. There is no way that I'm going to have a conversation after she said everything she says. Go to therapy, and I will give her a reason. There is no way that I'm going to have a conversation. She's, of course, a preeminent expert on intimacy and long-term relationships, and she studied this for over 20 years. And the concept of you can have a relationship with a person was something we put in there because we all felt that was relevant and actually very optimistic. And it gives you the choice. Sometimes a relationship is over, and it's okay to recognize that. And sometimes you are allowed to reinvent within a relationship, but you must take responsibility for your own happiness. And you cannot blame your partner for your misery. So that is something I think we all learned from the start. And to have her there to help us fit in the most authentic way was the truth. There's incredible messaging there. It never doesn't feel like you're receiving any kind of messaging. I feel like there's so many movies that really shape it into such a specific shape so you know exactly what the **** you're looking at. And in this, I'm watching a movie and I'm with these characters and I'm crying because they're being asked to have a foursome. You know what I mean? And so just never act up. You guys are gangsters. That was so...