Paul Feig, Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively in 2018.Photo:Dave J Hogan/Dave J Hogan/Gett
Dave J Hogan/Dave J Hogan/Gett
DirectorPaul Feigsays that he was all about creative collaboration withBlake LivelyandAnna Kendrickon the set ofAnother Simple Favor.
Speaking exclusively to PEOPLE while on the red carpet for the world premiere of the sequel toA Simple Favorat SXSW in Austin, Texas, on Friday, March 7, the filmmaker explained that he prefers to let his performers provide creative input when working on projects together.
“I mean that’s what I always do,” says Feig, 62, adding that he was once an actor and feels there’s often untapped creative potential on sets.
“When I work with actors, I give them a lot of leeway. I want them to figure out what they want to wear, etc., because I was an actor, I know. Like if I’m just saying, ‘Say this. Say this the way I wrote it,’ I’m cutting off this huge bit of talent,” he explains. “So every movie, every show I’ve ever done, I collaborate with them and go, ‘Here’s the stuff,’ and they’ll come [back with], ‘Oh what about this? What about this?’ And that’s how we work. That’s how I’ve worked with every movie star ever.”
Feig also shared that getting to work with Lively, 37, and Kendrick, 39, again onAnother Simple Favorwas “a dream come true.”
Henry Golding, Anna Kendrick, Paul Feig, Blake Lively and Michele Morrone at SXSW on March 7, 2025.Hubert Vestil/SXSW Conference & Festivals via Getty
Hubert Vestil/SXSW Conference & Festivals via Getty
“It was too much fun. Too much fun,” Feig says. “I mean, I had such a great experience on the first one. It always kind of stuck with me, like, ‘God, I love working with the two of them’ — as well as the rest of the cast.”
“So, you know, coming up with this [sequel] just like, ‘We gotta get something that gives them both something great and new to do that can include the old cast but bring in a bunch of new characters,’ ” he continues. “And I always wanted to shoot something in Capri, so it was a dream come true to get to figure that one out.”
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Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively in a ’s ‘A Simple Favor’ scene.Peter Iovino/Lionsgate
Peter Iovino/Lionsgate
Another Simple Favoris slated for release on Prime Video on May 1.
source: people.com
