Star Interview

Co-Directors Jon Lucas Talk ABOUT 21 AND OVER,

Question:  How much alcohol were you drinking when you wrote this?

 

Jon Lucas:  When we write it?  There’s a little involved.  We try to stay sober.  I will say writing with a couple of 

drinks in you is awesome because you think all it does is boost your confidence, and so you’re like, “Oh my God, I’m 

firing.  This is awesome.  I’m crushing it.”  It’s like all drinking, the next day you read what you wrote and you’re 

like, “Ugh, that’s a total waste.  It’s all garbage.”  But we wrote it relatively sober and I think we were pretty sober 

on set.  I’m not entirely sure.  Sometimes I feel like the stories the guys tell us and the stories they tell you guys 

are probably a little different.

 

 

No, based on the stories they’ve been telling us, we have a consensus as to what was going on, on set

 

Lucas:  I think they had fun.  Look, it’s a comedy.  You want them having fun.  You don’t want to run an uptight set and 

we definitely did not do that. 

 

 

 

How do the two of you divide up the jobs when you’re co-directing?  What’s your style?

 

Lucas:  Seamless movement would not be terms anyone would use to describe our directing style.  Fumbling to avoid failure 

is probably pretty much our ethos.  This is our first time directing anything ever so it was all about both of us 

learning

 

 

During the process, did you find any particular areas that you gravitated towards or were more adept at?

 

Lucas:  Sure.  We both liked doing all of it.  I will say personally, I loved working with the actors.  I get a real kick.  

You’ve met them.  I don’t know why you wouldn’t want to hang out with those guys.  They’re so fun.  It’s like hanging out 

with your friends and trying to make good jokes.  You’re trying to top your jokes and have a good time with it.  To me, 

I love that part of it. 

 

 

 

You go pretty far in this film but you manage to keep the humor in it.  How did you guys find the balance?

 

Lucas:  I’m so glad you thought we found the balance.  That’s awesome.  Truthfully, we show the movie to a lot of people.  

That’s actually the best thing about comedy is laughter is verbal, so you can sit in the theater and say, “Okay, no one’s 

laughing.  This isn’t [working].  We’ve been out of the comedy too long.”  Or, we’ve never had a problem with our movies 

being too emotional, but I can imagine a world in which you’re like, “Okay, I‘m getting too stuck in the emotional stories.  

Let’s get the jokes going again

 

 

What scenes or sequences did you find the most challenging to direct?

 

Lucas:  Without a question, the hardest was the pep rally.  This is again an example of two idiots directing a movie for 

the first time, which is to say, “Oh let’s write a scene at night,” which is always harder, with a live buffalo running 

through crowds with 500 extras, and with a fire effect which has to be turned on and off between every take which is also 

your only light source, and we’re shooting in Seattle outside so the probability of rain is really high. 

 

 

The buffalo did really well

 

Lucas:  The buffalo is one of the stars of the movie.  He’s actually coming later.  CAA has picked him up.He’s really good.

 

 

 

Who takes credit for using live buffalo and who takes credit for the bear on the penis?

 

Lucas:  I wouldn’t judge it until you’ve tried it.  It’s surprisingly comfortable.  It’s a great afternoon and evening 

look.  Did you talk to Justin about it?

 

 

How did you go about putting your minds around being 21 again and nailing that lingo?

 

Lucas:  We’re both 21 years old

 

 

What do you think your kids will say about this film when they’re old enough to see it?

 

Lucas:  I will say, just to cut you off, we have gone on a few press things.  We do an open mic where you talk to people 

about the movie and there will be kids that are nine years old.  I’m pretty cool however you want to raise your kids, 

but every now and then, I’m like, “Who let you watch this thing?”  I don’t totally believe in “R” ratings, but there’s 

a reason you should probably wait a few years.

 

 

 

Does that come up in the audition process?  What kind of conversations do you have to have with the actors to make sure 

they’re comfortable with it?

 

Lucas:  One thing you want is it has to be in the script.  You can’t show up on Day 20 of shooting and be like, “Okay, 

we rewrote the scene last night.  The scene where you talk to your dad, that’s out.  We’re now putting a cock sock on you 

and you have to walk through a public place.”  That’s going to be a long, hard morning for the actor.  I feel like the 

script is a contract between me and the actor.  If they sign on to do the movie, everything in that script is fair game, 

and if you’re not comfortable with it, you have to tell me now.  You can’t decide on the day of shooting that you’re not 

comfortable with, for example, getting paddled in a church and then making out with your best friend

 

 

Going from writing to directing, when you got on set, what was the biggest challenge that you had to adapt to?

 

Lucas:  Everyone actually listens to you.  When you’re a writer on set, you’re just mostly eating.  You sit there and 

don’t really do anything.  It’s crazy.  Being in charge is fun, but you have to have answers for everything all the time.  

It’s weird.  I don’t know on TV, but on a movie set, the writer is not doing anything almost ever.  You might write a 

few jokes, but you’re almost the least [important].  No one really notices you.  You’re just in the way like a dog on set.  

You’re a pet.  But in directing, you go from that to being the most important person on set, and so if not literally, 

but in terms of you’re the last, you’re the person answering all the questions. 

 

 

How did you get Francois Chau who plays the father?

 

Lucas:  Francois Chau was awesome.  We loved him from Lost.  There’s a few moments where you can tell he’s like, 

“I’m not sure what I’m doing in this movie.”  He’s so intimidating and he’s like the nicest guy.  It’s a shame he’s not 

here.  When we met him, we were all like [in awe].  “Okay.  It’s nice to meet you.”  But that’s what you want.  You want 

the scary dad.  You’re not going to cast the nice jolly dad.  If you want an intimidating dad, you’ve got to get someone 

who’s like part of the Dharma Initiative or whatever he does.  He was great and I think he had a lot of fun, too.  He had 

a fun time with the guys.  Their rapport was [good].  In between takes, when he wasn’t totally terrifying them, they had 

a lot of fun.  (to Scott) Didn’t they call him Shredder because he was like Shredder from [Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]?  

They called him Shredder on set and we were like, “Is he going to be cool with being called Shredder?  Are we cool?” 

But he liked it.

 

 

What are the next movies of you?

 

Lucas:  We sold a pilot that we’re shooting in a few weeks for ABC.  It’s going to be less rated “R” than this.  We’ve 

never done television before but we had this idea that we’re really passionate about.  It’s a half-hour comedy called 

Mixology and we got Larry Charles to direct it who’s like a hero to us.  Every day with Larry Charles is a trip.  It’s 

going great so far.  We’re casting it right now and we love casting because it’s frustrating.  Actually casting is 

horrible until the second you find that person, like when we found our guys, Miles and all those guys.  When someone 

walks in and finally does it the way you imagined or better than you imagined, it’s incredible.  We’re in the thick of 

it on the pilot right now.