'The Menu' Virtual Press Conference: Everyone Had A Deliciously Great Time
The cast and director Mark Mylod sat down for a virtual press conference for The Menu, a darkly comedic thriller that is sure to shock and entertain audiences in equal measure.
Hitting theaters this Friday is The Menu, a deliciously dark treat from director Mark Mylod. The film follows a couple that travel to a remote island to indulge their appetites with food prepared by a master chef, played by Ralph Fiennes, at his exclusive restaurant where there are some truly shocking surprises. FilmSpeak had the wonderful opportunity to attend a virtual press conference for the film, which included stars Anya Taylor-Joy, Nicholas Hoult, John Leguizamo, Aimee Carrero, Hong Chau, Judith Light, and director Mylod.
When asked by the moderator how Mylod and his cast balanced the myriad of different tones in the film, Mylod kicked things off by saying, “One of the things that drew us all to the project was the lovely mashup of tones…we were all attracted to how specific that was.” The film was also shot chronologically, which helped aid the performances from the immensely talented cast. Taylor-Joy commented on this by saying, “I think it helped us immensely because there’s a very specific turning point in the film where things do start to get dramatically darker.”
The cast also commented on how enticing and intriguing the script was from writers Seth Reiss and Will Tracy. Chou expressed, “I signed not really being able to picture what the final product would look like and that was exciting to me because I was curious to see how it turned out.” Though Fiennes wasn’t in attendance, Taylor-Joy was asked about her scenes with the acclaimed actor. She lovingly expressed, “What can I say about Ralph? He’s just a phenomenal actor. The thing is he’s so talented that whatever he wants to transmute on screen will happen.” She more specifically commented on her scenes with the actor by saying, “All of our scenes together felt so warm and intimate even when we were being quite rude to each other when the stakes were pretty high.”
The cast also had different methods of preparation for their respective roles. Hoult took a deep dive into cooking shows and fine dining. He jokingly stated, “It was very difficult because I had to eat at nice restaurants and watch lots of food shows.” As for Leguizamo, who plays a washed up movie star in the film, revealed he based his character on a particular action star. He commented, “ I worked with a lot of action stars that became washed up. I modeled it after one person in particular who was a bit of an a-hole and a bully.” After a slight pause, he revealed, “Okay, Steven Seagal. I did a movie with him and in rehearsals he knocked me out.”
The virtual conference made it abundantly clear that the cast of The Menu not only had a truly fantastic time making the film, but had a warm affinity for the script and Mylod as well. Audiences are in for dark, tasty treat when the film opens in theaters nationwide this Friday. They should be prepared to immediately want seconds.