Penelope Lawson – 1 Night in San Diego

By starrymag | November 27, 2020

By: Jamie Steinberg

 

 

 

Q) What are the recent projects you have been busy working on?  

A) Most recently I wrote and produced a short film/pilot, The Dinner Party, that Jenna Ushkowitz directed, which will be released later on this year. I have also written two other feature comedy scripts, one of which I am about to start pre-production on and plan to direct mid-next year.

 

Q) Please tell us the premise for the film 1 Night in San Diego. 

A) 1 Night in San Diegois about two best friends who are recent LA transplants, Brooklyn (played by Laura Ashley Samuels) and Hannah (played by Jenna Ushkowitz). They hit the road to go to San Diego to meet up with a former high school crush and attend Comic Con. But things don’t exactly turn out the way that they anticipated and the night takes some wild turns.

 

Q) What inspired you to create this film?

A) I grew up watching 90’s movies like Romy and Michelle’s High School Reunion and Don’t Tell Mom the Babysistter’s Dead and those films left a lasting impression on me. The female protagonists in movies like these represented a whole new way of women being depicted in comedy—they were strong, empowered women who didn’t care what others thought of them. These women were powerful go-getters and they showed me that women can be the lead in a comedy and own their imperfections and unapologetic sense of self. I didn’t realize it then, but these women were rare in cinema, especially comedy. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve been troubled by the lack of female positive content there is out there, particularly funny content. Female characters are filmed gratuitously or they exist in a realm solely to be a male actor’s arm candy. I found that to be a poor representation of the female gender. I was determined to make a female buddy comedy that accurately portrays the life of the modern woman like the ones I remember enjoying so much as a little girl, but reflective of society today. I wanted to create a modern, funny, high-stakes world where women could be just as potty-mouthed, reckless, strong-willed, driven and tough as men without having to apologize for it later. So much of female-driven comedy is that a woman finds herself because of a man. I truly hope that this movie sends the message that a woman’s relationship with herself, as well as with her closest female allies, are what define her… not a romantic one.

 

Q) What made San Diego the perfect setting for the movie?

A) When I first moved to LA from New York City three years ago I decided to take a few road trips there with various friends. We really had zero sense that it was so close to Los Angeles. I suppose that’s where a lot of the comedy came in—a road trip isn’t normally classified as a 3-hour drive. But each time we went there something hilarious and random seemed to happen. We met so many personalities in San Diego. I can imagine two girls from the east coast going there and feeling like fish out of water because I’ve personally lived it. It’s a culture shock.

 

Q) The movie stars Jenna Ushkowitz, Alexandra Daddario and Laura Ashley Samuels. How involved were you in the casting of the film?

A) I was super involved in casting the film. Jenna is truly an amazing talent— super dedicated to her craft. She makes Hannah such a relatable and kind character and I think we see most of San Diego through Hannah’s eyes. I met Laura through a friend when we were casting the film. Originally, I had her cast as a completely different character, but after our table read, I felt strongly that Laura was the Brooklyn I’d been searching for. She makes strong character choices and although Brooklyn can be kind of obnoxious at times, the audience still roots for her. Laura made that possible because if the character was in anyone else’s hands there was a danger of her being unlikable. With regard to Alex, I really wanted to see her channel playing someone completely different than the usual characters that she plays. It was so much fun to see her step into her ‘crazy” and she really took Kelsey’s character to a completely different level. It was a lot of fun turning the girl next door into a man’s worst nightmare.

 

Q) Did you notice there was instant cast chemistry between the stars or did you offer them some time to bond before shooting began?

A) Instantly everyone bonded. I was especially shocked by Jenna and Laura’s chemistry because they had only recently met at the table read for the film, but on screen it was like they’d known each other for years. I was actually so thrilled that everyone, in both cast and crew, bonded so quickly. We were a small but mighty team and everyone was there because they genuinely wanted to be. That led to a lot of positivity on set and so our days went super smoothly.

 

Q) What kind of advice did you offer the cast as they were shooting the movie? 

A) It’s important to let actors make strong character choices. I like to keep my directing clear and concise and just make sure that all actors have the security to be vulnerable by providing a healthy and positive working environment. Most importantly, I told everyone to have fun. I wanted everyone to enjoy the shooting process as much as the final result.

 

Q) As director, what were some of your favorite scenes to film for 1 Night in San Diego?

A) Personally, I loved shooting the hippie commune scenes. Jenna, Laura and Eric [Nelsen] are all hilarious when you put them in a room together and I definitely remember spitting my coffee out in laughter shooting those scenes. I also really loved the bar fight scenes with Alex and Kelsey [Douglas]. And let’s never forget about Jenna’s infamous spray tan sequence!

 

Q) How did you shake off a long day of filming and being on set?

A) I’m a fitness enthusiast, so most days I would go to bed immediately after reviewing my notes for the following day so I could wake up and hit the gym early. Sometimes cast and crew would hang out or grab drinks together if we didn’t have to be up super early the next day. One of the most fun nights I remember was when some of the talent and crew all had a 90’s dance party in San Diego in one of the hotel rooms we stayed in one night after shooting. Everyone became super close, like a family.

 

Q) What do you hope viewers take away from watching this movie?

A) I hope that people can watch this movie and have a good laugh. I wanted to make something positive, especially during a year which has been so tough for so many people. I hope that viewers can kick their feet up, have a drink or whatever their poison of choice is and escape for ninety minutes.