Interview: Tess Morris

My interview with Tess Morris, screenwriter of the romantic comedy Man Up, starring Lake Bell and Simon Pegg.

Here are links to the eight installments of the entire interview:

Part 1: “…although I’ve also lost friendships to people who haven’t liked the same films as me, because obviously, of course, that is very important.”

Part 2: “I always say it took me 15 years to have overnight success. Because it’s a long game.”

Part 3: “Actually Simon said to me we first got together to talk about the script ‘He’s lovely, but he’s a bit of a dick, isn’t he?’ I said, ‘Yeah. You’ve pretty much summed him up.’”

Part 4: “It’s so important that you believe why people are doing things in films.”

Part 5: “I get very angry when people use the word ‘subvert’ or talk about the anti‑Rom‑Com. Oh, I’m writing an anti‑Rom‑Com, I’m subverting the genre. Please, you don’t say that about any other genre.”

Part 6: “I get very nervous when I haven’t had an idea for a year or so… But it’s so satisfying when you do think of something and you go, ‘Ooh, that’s a good idea for a film.’”

Part 7: “I just really like people. I really do, genuinely… And even if I don’t like someone, I will want to talk or interact with them anyway, because I’ll be thinking, hmmmm, they might be useful as a future character.”

Part 8: “Take chances! Because everybody gets so beholden to rules and what’s expected of them, when actually sometimes the best thing you can do is go, ‘Fuck it, what if I didn’t do that’”.

Tess is repped by WME and Julia Tyrrell Management.

Twitter: @TheTessMorris.