The Big Picture

Collider’s Perri Nemiroff sits down with
Prom Dates
director Kim O. Nguyen, writer D.J. Mausner, and stars Julia Lester and Terry Hu for an exclusive Q&A.

Prom Dates
is a raunchy and heartwarming buddy comedy about best friends, Hannah and Jess, who make a childhood blood pact to have the best prom ever.
The cast members and creatives discuss their off-screen bonds, their shared “f*cked up humor,” celebrating first-time feature milestones, and how American High Productions continues to support the visions of filmmakers.

Teen comedies are oftentimes at their best with the perfect blend of raunchy humor and heart. Since its release, Hulu’s Prom Dates has been drawing comparisons to last year’s Bottoms and 2019’s Booksmart, both of which are regarded for their unapologetic jokes and dynamic best friend duos. The streamer’s latest team-up with American High Productions sees that one-two punch knocking it out again in Prom Dates, a buddy comedy starring Julia Lester (High School Musical: The Musical: The Series) and Antonia Gentry (Ginny & Georgia) in a sharp coming-of-age story about two best friends who make a blood pact to have the best prom night ever.

Collider was fortunate to have the opportunity to host an advanced screening, where our own Perri Nemiroff sat down with first-time feature writer D.J. Mausner and director Kim O. Nguyen, who orchestrated the behind-the-scenes success of Prom Dates, as well as Lester and co-star, Terry Hu, who reunited with Nguyen after working together on Netflix’s Never Have I Ever. During the interview, the cast and creatives were quick to pinpoint their off-screen chemistry as the backbone of the production, with Mausner stating, “The heart of this film is friendship, and we were lucky to have a very strong friendship that grew over the course of making this movie.”

Prom Dates also marks the first feature for a number of its members, including co-lead and Tony nominee Julia Lester, who broke out on the Disney+ series High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. During the Q&A, Lester shares the qualities she learned on that set that allowed her to bring her best to the top of the call sheet, as well as sings the praises of their director, Nguyen. We learn how the movie changed from the very first draft to the final film we see on screen, how Mausner and Nguyen’s shared “fucked up humor” benefited the story, and tons more. You can watch the whole conversation in the video above, or you can read the full transcript below.

‘Prom Dates’ Is the Product of a Decades-Long Friendship and F*cked Up Humor
“The heart of this film is friendship.”

PERRI NEMIROFF: For many of you, this is a first feature and that’s a really big deal, something that should be celebrated. D.J., what would you credit with bridging the gap between writing a screenplay and then finding the right people to trust with it that’ll bring it to the screen?

D.J. MAUSNER: From the get-go, we had a wonderful team. We were really lucky to pair with some incredible producers and then, ultimately, bring on the perfect director for the project to make it come to life. It was really wild how collaborative it felt as time went forward post-script. Kim and I are really lucky to be kind of aligned, and I’m really lucky that Kim and I have the same fucked up sense of humor. That was really beneficial because it just meant that when we were working on this we were making each other laugh. The heart of this film is friendship, and we were lucky to have a very strong friendship that grew over the course of making this movie, and I feel like you can really feel that.

The inspiration for the screenplay were my best friends of now officially 20 years. We met in the fifth grade and when I decided I was gonna sit down and write my first screenplay, I wanted to write what I knew, as the old adage says, and I thought, “The one thing I know I really know about and can write about are really, really good friends because I’ve been lucky to have them.” So that was where the script started and then the other friendships just kept rolling as we kept making the movie.

You said the collaboration was through the roof so, D.J. and Kim, can you recall the first thing you saw in the other that made you think, “This is an ideal creative partner for me?”

MAUSNER: So, I was a big fan of Kim before we had ever met. Actually, I wrote Kim a letter to ask her to direct the project because I wanted her to see what I was actually trying to articulate, like, “This is what’s important to me about the movie, and here’s how I think you would really make it sing,” and she absolutely did. So it was even before we met for me.

KIM O. NGUYEN: On my end, that letter was so heartfelt and complimentary. Thank you so much. I don’t know if we’ve ever actually really had a chance to speak about that. And then the script, obviously, you saw, it’s so funny and there’s also veins of sincerity through it too, and just the fact that it was friendship-forward and really frontal. The first time that we actually got on a Zoom together, we’re both big fans of dim sum, so we started just talking about dim sum, and I think we were just going on about it too long because then one of our great producers, Luke [Kelly-Clyne], all of a sudden he just goes, “Great, and speaking of dim sum, let’s talk about the script.” [Laughs]

MAUSNER: As a good producer should.

NGUYEN: But it was effortless and fun, the way that it should be and the way that friendships can be.

Kim, again, it’s your first feature, but everyone’s likely seen some of your work in the series format. Of all the shows that you’ve directed, is there any particular one that you think prepared you most for directing your first feature film?

NGUYEN: Oh, that’s a great question. No, I don’t think necessarily it was a single show per se, but I think it’s just working in the format. Filmmaking is always about storytelling, so whether you’re doing a series or you’re doing a feature, you’re world-building. It all feels very organic. Honestly, it felt really natural and fun. Honestly, we had such a dream cast, and so every day was fun and easy, and I think you can feel it. And yeah, it was a lot of work, but it didn’t feel any different at all. If anything, it just felt like, “Yeah, this feels really comfortable and natural. I love this.”

‘Never Have I Ever’s Terry Hu is a Rock Star On and Off Set
Image via Hulu

Terry, I wanna loop you in now because you and Kim worked together on Never Have I Ever. Because of that, you go into this knowing what the other is capable of, but can you recall something you saw the other do on this set that made you say, “I knew you were really talented, but I didn’t realize you were capable of doing that?”

TERRY HU: Yeah, we got to work together, and we were actually reminiscing about it just earlier today because we talked, like, two years ago about our Never Have I Ever episode. One of the biggest things I thinkKim brings is such an approachability, and it’s so helpful as an actor because I get very nervous and stuff like that. On Never Have I Ever, she reached out to me and was like, “I’m the director. Let’s get on a call.” It was so collaborative, like you guys were saying, and then on this one, same. We were on location this time at Syracuse at American High, and she just takes so much time with you, and I think that’s something an actor is really privileged to get because not all directors give that. But also, I think she has a way of encouraging you while also giving the note that she wants you to try out and stuff, and I saw her do that with other actors. She did that with me during the fart scene, the flatulation scene [laughs], and it was amazing because she has a way of making you feel really encouraged and guided too. That was something that I loved seeing through and through.

I will never grow out of the fact that there is nothing better than a well-placed fart joke.

MAUSNER: I mean, that is in the movie because it actually happened to me. That exact thing happened to me. So it was not like a “Guys, we gotta fit one of these in here,” it was like, “I need this moment to have been worth something for it to have happened.” [Laughs]

NGUYEN: I just wanna follow up in terms of Terry, who, yeah, we met on Never Have I Ever, and just right away, you can clearly see it also in the film, but Terry is a damn rock star. Just that charisma and such a magnetic personality, and also so empathetic and an amazing human. So I just felt like, “Whoa, there’s something so special about them.” And then for us to be able to do that, that whole sequence just played out so, so great.

HU: We did D.J. justice.

MAUSNER: Yes, thank you.

NGUYEN: That rock star energy really came through.

While many people won’t want to admit it, I feel like that scene and you admitting that, makes a lot of people feel seen.

MAUSNER: Good. Farters be free! That’s the real message of this movie.

That’s actually the headline of the Collider article now.

MAUSNER: Oh, god, sorry everybody. [Laughs]

‘High School Musical’ Prepared Julia Lester for Her First Feature Lead

Julia, I get to come back to first features with you because, you have accomplished a lot, but this is your first feature film, and again, leading it is a big deal. Can you tell me something from your experience making High School Musical: The Musical: The Series that came in handy leading a feature film? But then I also want to know, what’s a learning curve you experienced making a movie?

JULIA LESTER: I feel like I experienced what technically would have been, like, my “college years” on High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, so it was a lot of growth in the four years that I was on that show. I learned how to take care of myself and speak up and be a leader and take care of those around me. That was such a beautiful collaborative family environment that coming on to this movie and seeing how American High is also like a collaborative family environment, I was able to take some of the things that I had learned from the show and carry it over to this movie. I don’t know. It’s a lot of responsibility, obviously, but I felt in very safe hands with everybody around me. And a learning curve — I learned how to vomit on-screen and snort fake drugs, which I did not do on High School Musical. [Laughs]

Very fair point. You can’t vomit in a film and sneeze in a film and not inspire me to ask — I swear, I ask this question all the time — would you rather have to fake sneeze or fake vomit in a movie?

LESTER: I did both.

I know! I want you to choose. I’ve never interviewed someone who’s done both in one movie. I’m just so impressed.

LESTER: I will say, the vomit was kind of delightful tasting, so I wouldn’t mind doing that again.

MAUSNER: What was the mix?

LESTER: It was crushed pineapple and apple sauce, which is kind of nice, so I would do that again.

MAUSNER: Yeah, that’s a signature cocktail at the bar after this.

NGUYEN: I was also gonna say, speaking of multitasking, Julia, in addition to being one of our amazing leads and doing all of that work, and also being just a real natural leader on set, during the time that we were filming also got a Tony nomination and also sings the song in the end credits. So Julia, thank you for everything.

I love two-part questions and I also love questions that force people to sing each other’s praises. Julia and Terry, can you each tell me something that the other did for you as a scene partner that you really appreciated, something that maybe helped you crush a tough scene that you wouldn’t have been able to without them?

LESTER: That’s so sweet. Terry and I sort of walked in the same Disney circles for a couple of years, but we never met.

HU: I’d seen you from afar.

LESTER: Yeah, we just knew about each other.

HU: I said, “That’s Julia Lester.”

LESTER: I always admired Terry, and we have a lot of mutual friends, and I just heard amazing things about them. So coming onto this movie knowing that I would be sharing some pretty intimate or intense scenes with somebody, it was very refreshing to know that it was somebody who was my peer and now a really great friend of mine. I think it’s really important when you’re doing scene work like that to be able to trust the person that you’re working with, and we had such open communication and I felt so safe with you. We also had an amazing intimacy coordinator on set who also made us feel so loved and protected, so that was really special. Terry and I are really great friends because of this project now, so that was really cool.

HU: Yeah, I have truly only the best things to say about Julia. She did an incredible job on this, but she has done an incredible job in so many areas. I think what is really lovely about a scene partner is when they are an incredible actor. I mean, she is an incredible actress. The authenticity really shines. It’s so human. But also, yes, speaking to those intimate scenes, I think she’s grounded and very open. The communication is very easy, with a little humor, too, and I think it really helps that we knew each other beforehand, and I’m very grateful for that. I’m really glad that this movie brought us together finally. Really, I wrote you like a really long card, remember, at the end? I chased her down the hallway to give it to her. [Laughs] She’s incredible to work with.

‘Prom Date’s Julia Lester and Antonia Gentry Bonded Over McDonald’s
“We made such a great pair, and we’re also lifelong friends now.”

Julia, I have to ask you specifically about working with Antonia who couldn’t be here tonight. The two of you are pitch-perfect. Your cadence and your back and forths are so spot-on. When you first met her, do you remember the first thing that signaled to you, “She is my partner in this. We’re the right match?”

LESTER: Oh, yeah, easy. We met probably like, what, three or four days before we filmed, which is ridiculous because we have to play lifelong best friends in this movie. We had met over Zoom once and then all of a sudden it was like, “You’re going to play childhood best friends in this movie.” And I remember we were staying at this hotel in Syracuse — everybody was in the same building — and we were like a few doors down from each other, but we were texting, and then she was like, “I’m kind of hungry. Are you hungry?” And I was like, “Yeah, I’m hungry.” And so we went to McDonald’s and got Happy Meals and drove back to the hotel and sat in the parking lot for, like, four hours and just like talked, and we were like, “Okay, we got this. We’re good.” We had the same language. We had such a good rhythm with each other, and she was so incredible to work with. That’s also a really important relationship to have with somebody that you’re working with, especially when you’re portraying such close friends. She was so supportive, and we just had this amazing back-and-forth that felt like we had known each other for years. And that’s crazy to be able to see that chemistry through a Zoom meeting and know that it’s going to work on screen. So, that’s a real testament to Kim and what she saw. But yeah, she was fantastic, and we made such a great pair, and we’re also lifelong friends now because of this. She’s amazing, and she’s so funny in the movie, and I think we just worked really well together.

I love that. You feel the weight of that history even though the movie doesn’t spell it out, and that’s not easy to accomplish in a 90-minute movie.

D.J. and Kim I’ll throw this question to you. I love hearing about how things can evolve from script to screen, so first, more broadly, what would you say is the biggest difference between draft one of this screenplay and the finished film that everyone just watched?

MAUSNER: From first draft to our final feature film, there weren’t massive set pieces that changed or anything. We changed around the third act a little bit to focus more on the friendship, but more specifically, when Kim came on, Kim was such a joke master and was like, “We gotta find ways to get more jokes into all of these scenes. I know we’re at 90% — let’s get like 120%.” It was Kim’s pitch to have the couple at the fountain interrupting, and it’s so funny. It’s unbelievably funny. That was Kim’s pitch.

LESTER: I need to say we did so many takes where we were screaming at each other at, like, three in the morning on a real campus, so people were probably listening to us actually go at it. Like a lot of takes of actually screaming at each other’s faces. So that was pretty cool.

MAUSNER: Someone was studying for finals like, “I’m going to fucking kill them.” But yeah, that scene was so funny. I feel like it was Kim’s idea to have the fight intercut with these people and then ultimately have the people be like, “Do you mind quieting down?” And our leads to be like, “Don’t you talk like that to my best friend! I will fucking kill you,” which I think is such a good way to switch between these people are having conflict and they’re still ride-or-dies. So I feel like that’s a way that the script changed much, much more for the better.

NGUYEN: Well, it was obviously already an amazing script.

What about a time when you had a vision for how a scene would play out, and then one of your actors went above and beyond your expectations, and a scene morphed for that reason?

NGUYEN: A lot. I would say, in particular, the scene with Lexi at the frat house and Hannah, Julia, and that moment where Hannah sees Lexi and she gets to see this beautiful woman who’s putting all of her energy on her. It’s just a combination of things where, one, she’s in this reverie almost and then she really does get into it. It’s also this moment for her, like, she gets to basically step into her own truth at that moment, too, which is really lovely. But that ended up being exactly the way that I saw it. I really do wanna also thank our cinematographer, Bradford Lipson, who did such an incredible job. Thank you so much, Bradford. We worked through that scene so often, and in addition to it being hilarious, I really wanted it to be beautiful because I felt like that’s what it deserved. And then when Julia came in and she just has this moment. I mean, it’s all of it. It’s the reverie, the pathos, the confusion, all of those things. That’s just one small scene. But Julia, you really do, you light up all the scenes that you’re in, and that was just one of very many. But that was a really, really fun night and, yeah, lots and lots and lots of that crushed pineapple mixture.

How American High Is Supporting Filmmakers’ Visions

Kim, I wanted to ask you about American High because that company has been brought up quite a bit and I think it’s really important to note when we have companies out there that are helping get films like this made and also make sure that the artists making them feel supported. What do they do as a company that makes you feel not only that you can deliver your best work, but you can exceed your own expectations for your work?

NGUYEN: Honestly, this project was so much fun and really, truly just delightful to work on. Both Harpy and American High, our producers were awesome. They were so completely supportive. They are incredible supporters of filmmakers and I really feel like that is such an important part, every single step. I mean, I think part of the reason why I felt so comfortable and it felt so fun and I felt so confident was because they are so empowering of the filmmakers. I always knew that not only would they have my back and also be supportive of what we were doing with the film, but it just was so, so nice. It’s such a cool way to do this. Everybody is awesome. I’m looking right now at Luke and Axelle [Azoulay] and Will [Phelps], and I’d be remiss not to mention Jeremy [Garelick]. They were awesome.

The Cast of ‘Prom Dates’ Vote for Class Superlatives

I wanted to play a game, and this game sounded like a great idea until I showed up and realized that the whole cast is here, so it might get a little awkward. I love playing cast superlatives when I’m covering a high school movie. I want you to tell me which member of the ensemble best suits these descriptions. The first one is gonna be Teacher’s Pet, which is essentially the Director’s Pet.

NGUYEN: [Laughs] Well, wait, hold on. First of all, let’s back that up just a second because let’s talk about the cast. In addition to Julia, Toni, and Terry, who are amazing, also everybody else, like Kenny [Ridwan], Jordan Buhat, J.T. [Neal], and especially let’s really shout out Melissa DeLizia, who is our amazing casting director who brought everyone together in the first place. I love them all.

Okay, I’m going to split it between Julia and Toni because they had so much incredible heavy lifting to do as the leads, and they, every single time, completely nailed it. Just awesome, awesome people. So it’s a split, and you’re sharing it because you’re both amazing.

LESTER: Yes! Thank you.

What a beautiful way to answer that question! The next one on my list is Class Clown.

IN UNISON: Kenny.

I feel like I should have expected that. Alright, next up is Life of the Party.

HU: Julia.

LESTER: Me?

HU: Absolutely!

LESTER: I would say J.T., too. He’s the life of the party.

Next is Best Dressed, but I want to know Best Dressed before getting into wardrobe.

LESTER: Terry. I mean, look at this.

HU: Wow, I think I’ll take that. [Laughs] You know what? I don’t have a quick wit on this one.

LESTER: And Toni, too.

This is a random one that I made up. It’s not something that high schools actually use, but who’s the most likely to drop their phone in the toilet?

MAUSNER: Me.

You took one for the team.

MAUSNER: I’m jumping in front of that bullet, guys.

NGUYEN: No, that’s a really good question because the cast was really pretty buttoned-up. Everybody was always really professional.

This is my favorite one and this is the one I’ll end on; who is the most likely to brighten your day on set?

LESTER: Kim. She was really just so warm and welcoming to every single person that stepped on set, whether it was us who filmed for six weeks straight or somebody who came on for a day or for an hour, and that’s a really important quality to have when you’re the leader on set. And also, she brought me and Toni Happy Meals one time and that was pretty cool. So she also has a good memory because we told her we liked Happy Meals. That was pretty lit.

Prom Dates is available to stream on Hulu and Disney+ now.

Watch on Hulu