The Big Picture

Collider’s Steve Weintraub sits down with the cast and creatives behind Kyle Mooney’s directorial debut, A24’s
Y2K,
while at SXSW 2024.
Rachel Zegler, Jaeden Martell, Julian Dennison, Mason Gooding, Lachlan Watson, Daniel Zolghadri, and screenwriter Evan Winter stop by our studio to talk behind-the-scenes and what audiences will never expect.
We also get excting updates on future projects like the live-action
How to Train Your Dragon
and why Zegler had to drop out of
Paddington in Peru
.

Like a true Y2K party, Collider’s media studio at SXSW 2024 was thrilled to invite most of the cast to sit and chat about the making of Kyle Mooney’s directorial debut. We got to chat with Rachel Zegler, Jaeden Martell, Julian Dennison, Mason Gooding, Lachlan Watson, Daniel Zolghadri, and writer Evan Winter about their time spent on set. Mooney talks about how the idea came to be, and the cast share how they got involved, Wētā’s involvement in the shenanigans, and tons more. For Zelger, who previously worked with Steven Spielberg and recently starred in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, this was an entirely new adventure. She shared why she had to join this epic cast:

“It was so fun to read because I like when things go a little differently than you expect. It’s so fun to read stuff like that on the page and then see it come to life on a screen, both while you’re filming it and then when you see the finished product. You really think it’s a very coming-of-age, these two kids are gonna own New Years, [then] midnight strikes and things go a little differently than you think they’re gonna go. It was really fun to read. It was so different than anything I had read before, and certainly different than anything I had ever done before, so it was just an immediate yes.”

As all good ideas do, the inspiration behind Y2K was born of a New Year’s Eve party and texts between two friends. In the movie, Martell leads as the shy Eli who, with his best friend Danny (Dennison), are two “loser dudes” determined to change their high school fate by attending the cool kids’ New Year’s Eve party. Just as Eli is making headway in the romance department, all hell breaks loose at midnight, and the party-goers must band together if they want to survive the new millennium. Y2K also stars Alicia Silverstone, Eduardo Franco, Tim Heidecker, and more.They also talk about Mooney’s plans to direct in the future, Dennison gives an update on filming for the live-action How to Train Your Dragon, and Zegler reveals why she’s no longer in Paddington 3, and more.

Check out what they had to say in the player above, or you can read the conversation below.

Image via SXSW

COLLIDER: How have you been describing [Y2K] to friends and family?

KYLE MOONEY: It’s about two loser dudes in high school, and they go to the big party on New Year’s Eve 1999, and at midnight, things go a little differently than you might expect.

Have you been saying more about what actually happens after midnight during interviews, or keeping that more private?

MOONEY: We try to avoid it.

So things “just go wrong.”

EVAN WINTER: Well not necessarily. Things go… in a different direction.

Rachel Zegler, Julian Dennison, and Jaeden Martell Discuss Their Initial Reactions to the Screenplay
Image via Nicole Rivelli

I’m gonna ask the three of you guys, without spoilers, what was it like reading the script, because (without getting into things), “stuff happens,” once midnight hits. I’m curious about what it was like reading on the page and what excited you about being part of this?

RACHEL ZEGLER: Oh, gosh. I don’t like being first. That being said, it was so fun to read because things… go a little differently than what you’d expect. It’s so fun to read stuff like that on the page and then see it kind of come to life on a screen both while you’re filming it and then you see the finished product that you think it’s like this “coming-of-age,” these two kids are going to own New Years, and then midnight strikes and things go a little differently than you think they’re going to go.

MOONEY: You coined a phrase.

ZEGLER: I think we’re going to make t-shirts, but it was a lot of fun to read and was so different than anything I had ever read before and certainly different from anything I had ever done before so it was an immediate yes. Your turn!

JAEDEN MARTELL: Man, I was a little upset that my character was such a damn nerd… such a loser who has no confidence, and apparently, I’m the right guy for the job! That’s cool, but you know, he learns a thing or two, due to the end of the world. And um… makes some friends along the way. It’s got a lot of heart, and a lot of fun. I thought the characters were brilliant, I thought that it’s hard to– you know in a lot of high school movies, there are often the cliques, the nerds, the jocks, but this was hyper-specific for the time and each group was so damn interesting and very fleshed out, and yeah, I was drawn to the characters.

JULIAN DENNISON: I just wanted to say, Kyle and Evan, it’s beautiful. I actually loved playing my character and stuff. I didn’t have any feelings towards you guys or the script, I loved it and wanted to let you know that I appreciate you guys. No, it was fun. I don’t know, I liked the script and the character I’m playing. I loved the friendship between Danny and Eli in the film and you’re kind of not– it’s like you’re introduced to them, but it’s like, you get in the movie and it’s like in the first few minutes of the movie you’re like “okay, now I’m just watching friends who have been friends for a long time,” and it’s almost like you’re in the room with them and they’re talking about like girls boobs and they’re playing video games and then you kind of like go on this journey with them, and well, shit happens after twelve o’clock. And yeah, I just want to say that I appreciate you guys (Mooney and Winter) and what you guys did.

I just want to point out that we can’t talk too much but Wētā Workshop worked on this movie, that should give you an indication of things that happen.

MOONEY: Yeah, there’s so much, uh… there are some practical effects in there and practical builds and Wētā had a large part to do with that, and um.. So yeah. For all you Wētā folks… get ready for what you’re about to see.

Kyle Mooney and Evan Winter Discuss the Process of Making ‘Y2K’
Image from Saturday Night Live via NBC

This is your first time directing. Who do you show it to for honest feedback and what was the best note you got from someone that made you look at the film in a completely different way and say “Oh, maybe I need to fix or adjust this?”

MOONEY: That’s a loaded question. I mean, Evan and I saw this through from moment one, when I texted him essentially the premise of the movie, and we wrote it together and produced it, and saw the edit through together. I’m trying to think… I don’t know if anyone jumps to your mind, but I do trust my wife is always somebody that I show. Um, Kate Lyn Shiel, a very talented artist in her own right, but so anything I’m working on, once it gets to a certain point where I’m proud enough of it, and I feel like this is pretty close to what it’s going to be, I’ll look to her, and she’ll always have some pretty wonderful advice. I don’t know what specifically she said, but whatever it was, it changed the movie and I really love you, baby.

WINTER: Uh, yeah. I also think Kate is great. She’s a wonderful person. I think in this process it was really nice that Kyle and I just did this together the whole way, like we always did have each other to kind of lean on and check certain things, like there were things that we were always in full agreement on, things that one of us was very passionate about, and we could trust the other to be like… “if you know that this is the move, let’s do it.” And then there were like rare instances where we didn’t agree and we both had like different ideas of what it should be and figuring that out was so instrumental in getting to the finished product because we were able to like really talk about why we felt the way that we did. It was nice to have a really in-house–

MOONEY: I’ll also say that there were… this thing got noted hard, I feel like, like we were constantly getting notes. So the movie was shifting.

WINTER: And those notes made us have to like, justify and figure out why we felt so strongly about certain things.

MOONEY: But it all came together, it comes together, that’s truly the awesome thing about the experience. I think that the movie we have, I do genuinely believe it’s the perfect version of it so anyone who had a piece of advice or a thought was meaningful and helpful.

‘Y2K’ Cast and Filmmakers on THeir Favorite TV Shows
Image via FX

If you could only watch one TV show for the rest of your lives, what TV show would you watch, and why?

DENNISON: There’s this spinoff show in New Zealand, of What We Do In the Shadows, and it’s called Wellington Paranormal, and it’s based in the city that I grew up in. And if you know What We Do in the Shadows and you’ve seen the original film, with the two cops in it. It’s basically like a cop show about them. They’re going around and like… investigating things. So yeah, that show, Wellington Paranormal, watch that one.

ZEGLER: I’ve seen Gilmore Girls an embarrassing amount of times, that I don’t get sick of it, but I think that my real answer would be Arrested Development. I find something new to giggle at by David Cross every single time I watch that show.

MARTELL: It’s so tough… It seems like comedies should be the right answer. I feel like it’s got endless seasons and whatnot, I would say It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia, but I think I’ll say Atlanta is probably I think the best show that’s ever been made. And you got both the comedy and inspiration… and drama.

And great filmmaking!

MARTELL: And f*cking great filmmaking.

WINTER: I’ll go with The Deep show. I think it’s the funniest show I’ve ever seen. Had a lot of seasons.

MARTELL: Kyle’s gonna go with How It’s Made. [Laughter] Cash Cab?

MOONEY: Keep going, man. I do really like How It’s Made, and uh, it’s just interesting to find out how things are made.

I like how they knew you were going to say that! Is this something that came up on set a lot?

MOONEY: No, I was gonna say uh, the TV show I was gonna say which I sort of challenge anyone who sees this, if they’ve seen it or can seek it out because I’ve not been able to find it since, but I would love to watch it over and over again, was a show called Most Talented Kids that was on ABC Family, maybe, circa 2006? At one point Daryl Sabara was a judge um, but Bobb’e J. Thompson was one of the judges, do you guys know who Bobb’e J. Thompson is? Very funny young man, who, at the time was probably like 8-years-old, but kind of spoke like a full-grown… like he’d say things like “I wish you pulled Tyra Banks out of that hat, to a kid magician. Yeah, that show, I would want to watch it again.

‘How to Train Your Dragon’ Live-Action Update
Image by Zanda Rice

I am so looking forward to the live-action How to Train Your Dragon,and I know you’ve been filming, so what has it been like and what can you tease people about it?

DENNISON: Um, can’t tell you anything or I’ll die, so… Um no, it’s great. There’s a lot of… uh, we’re making something that people love. Like, really love. I loved them growing up as a kid, and already, there’s been a lot of stuff when the casting comes out and they use different opinions, different people, like, people love the show and they want to make sure it’s great. Or they love the film, so it’s really great. Dean [DeBlois], who’s the director from all the films– they’re doing a good job. They’re making sure it’s done well. There’s a lot of heart, there’s a lot of feeling, and there’s been a lot of conversations on set where they’re like “Do we do this?” and people have said “No, because the audience won’t like it,” and they’ve changed it and they’ve done it. So they’re really staying true to what it is. I’m excited to see it. Yeah. It’s great.

When do you actually wrap filming?

DENNISON: I wrap in about two months, I think we wrap in like May. So we’ve been going for quite a long time, so I think that they’re taking their time to make sure it’s done well, so yeah, it’s exciting. A lot of practical sets, so it’s not like we’re standing in front of a blue screen like we’re there in these big buildings, they’ve built the arena, like the actual size. They’ve done their job properly.

What Are The Next Moves for Kyle Mooney and Evan Winter?
Image from Saturday Night Live via NBC

I have a funny feeling I’m really going to like this movie. Are you guys developing other scripts? Are you thinking about directing again? How much did you enjoy the process?

MOONEY: I mean the process was wonderful, largely in part by these people and truly having an awesome set where we have everything that we envisioned came to fruition, so we’d certainly do a version of it again. And yeah, definitely working on stuff, it’s always sort of, I don’t know, being…

WINTER: You want to keep them guessing.

MOONEY: Yeah, I guess I was, uh… something about the process of ideas like… Yeah. I’m working on some stuff.

One final question [for Rachel], I could be wrong, but were you a part of Paddington 3?

ZEGLER: I was a part of Paddington 3, but I’m not anymore because of the SAG strike. They were able to continue filming, but I was the only SAG actor, and another talented actress is doing it and I’m very excited to see because it was a wonderful script and I think Paddington fans are going to be very thrilled.

Y2K was given the 10 pm time slot on Saturday night for its SXSW premiere, to which Collider’s Steve Weintraub mentions is a highly coveted position and a good indicator of the coordinators’ expectations for the film.

Whatever they book at 7 o’clock and 10 o’clock, the festival knows what they have and they know about what they should schedule, and you’re the 10 o’clock movie on a Saturday night, which means they think your movie is awesome. That’s how I know the movie is so good, because they gave you that time slot.

MOONEY: That’s very sweet. Well we’re psyched for you to see it, we’re psyched for everyone to see it. We really are proud of it.

There’s no official release date for Y2K yet, but for more on the film, check out our interview with Y2K’s Mason Gooding, Lachlan Watson, and Daniel Zolghadri below!