The plot of the new Colleen Hoover adaptation “Regretting You” is a little wild. There’s romance, an affair, unrequited love, death and even a baby with questionable paternity.
Dave Franco, whose character has long pined for Allison Williams’ character but ends up having a child with her sister who is having an affair with her brother-in-law, said someone recently exclaimed to him, “What in the Maury Povich was that?”
Tabloid talk show fodder though they might be, Hoover’s novels have hit a nerve with audiences and Hollywood. “It Ends With Us” made over $350 million worldwide against a $25 million budget and “Regretting You,” in theaters Friday, is one of several big-screen adaptations in the works.
“I think Colleen Hoover is incredible when it comes to dealing with these messy family dynamics that feel relatable,” Franco said. “I think anyone who sees this film can attach themselves to at least one of the characters. It’s juicy, it’s dramatic.”
Scott Eastwood plays Franco’s best friend and Williams’ husband (the one having an affair with his sister-in-law). Mason Thames plays the high schooler who starts dating Eastwood and Williams’ teenage daughter, played by Mckenna Grace, after her dad and aunt die in a car crash. Complicated does not even scratch the surface.
The Associated Press gathered the men behind the drama, Franco, Eastwood and Thames, for freewheeling chat about the film, romantic touchstones, shirtless scenes and Eastwood’s Taylor Swift music video. Remarks have been edited for clarity and brevity.
AP: Scott seems to have the most romantic credits to his name, even a Taylor Swift music video.
FRANCO: Scott, I don’t know if you know this, did anyone tell you that we all watched the “Wildest Dreams” video on set?
EASTWOOD: No.
THAMES: I remember that! We all did.
FRANCO: Mckenna didn’t realize that you were the guy. Like this is a video dear to her heart, and she put it together in the moment: Scott’s the guy from the “Wildest Dreams” video. She immediately called her mom. She goes “Scott’s the guy.” And we hear her mom through the phone go, “No!” You have a place in a lot of people’s hearts with that video.
EASTWOOD: I’d never met Taylor Swift before. She called me out of the blue. She said, “Hey this is Taylor.” I’m, like, Taylor who?
THAMES: I told Scott this the first day I met him, that I thought, before I knew him, from years in advance: best-looking man I’ve ever seen.
FRANCO: And what was Scott’s reaction?
EASTWOOD: I’m so sorry, this is your interview.
AP: Romantic dramas, movies that make you cry, seem to be the kind of films that stick with people, like the outpouring of love for “The Way We Were” when Robert Redford died. What are those movies for you?
EASTWOOD: It’s “The Notebook.”
THAMES: “Spider-Man 2.”
EASTWOOD: Didn’t see that one coming.
FRANCO: I’ll go with “Stand By Me.” Classic, timeless, gives you a little bit of everything. You got the drama, you got the laughter, you’ve got the tears. What about “Jerry Maguire”?
EASTWOOD: That’s a tear, like not a cry.
FRANCO: I’m letting those tears fall, Scott. I think our director, Josh Boone, his guiding lights might have been Cameron Crowe: “Jerry Maguire,” “Almost Famous,” “Say Anything.” Those movies that have a little bit of everything and just feel timeless.
AP: Were there any touchstones you used for your characters? Iconic romantic leads?
THAMES: “The Notebook” was mine. Me and Mckenna watched “The Notebook” and “10 Things I Hate About You” and also “The Fault in Our Stars.”
FRANCO: In “Regretting You,” you guys have that really strong passionate pull to each other. It’s almost Romeo and Juliet.
THAMES: That’s kind of what we wanted. That’s what’s so special that we haven’t seen in so long from movies like this, is kind of the magic and the passion between two love interests.
FRANCO: Scott, who were your reference characters?
EASTWOOD: Mostly all of my romantic movies.
FRANCO: Name them! Name them!
EASTWOOD: Guys, this is a long list.
FRANCO: I used the show “Normal People,” just because those characters go through this journey over the years and they have these peaks and valleys and there’s this really strong history between them. Also those actors are just very subtle, very real, very vulnerable.
AP: Mason’s character in particular seems like a healthy role model for teenagers dating.
THAMES: At the end of the day, he’s just a dude. I think this is the character that I’ve played that most resembles me.
FRANCO: I’m going to give him a compliment. When you look back at like James Dean and Montgomery Clift, they were these actors who obviously were very strong and powerful and had a great presence, but they were super vulnerable and just not afraid to show that kind of sensitive side. I think Mason has that in spades.
THAMES: I paid him a lot to say that.
AP: There’s a bit of voyeurism involved being in something like a Colleen Hoover adaptation. What’s your comfort level with being seen as a kind of heartthrob?
FRANCO: Scott should kick this off.
EASTWOOD: It’s a two. But the scale is one to three. So it’s in the middle. I don’t pay attention to that stuff. I just think we made a cool movie. That’s all we can really do. Try to pay tribute to the books.
FRANCO: Scott is shirtless in this movie for a little bit.
EASTWOOD: That’s a lie!
FRANCO: That’s NOT a lie.
EASTWOOD: When am I shirtless in the movie?
FRANCO: On the beach!
EASTWOOD: Oh that’s right.
THAMES: That’s why you should go see “Regretting You.” I’m also shirtless. He’s also shirtless.
FRANCO: No, they cut my shirtless scene.
