Episode 1 - Gabriel's Inferno

Welcome to PassionPod: the Official Podcast Passionflix! In our very first episode, Tosca Musk, Lauren, and Ali discuss their roles and the process of adapting romance novels into movies, focusing on the adaptation of Gabriel's Inferno. They talk about the meticulous attention to detail in translating the book to screen, casting challenges, and how they maintain fidelity to the source material. They explain the pressures and joys of filming, the significance of the book’s slow-burn romance, and behind-the-scenes anecdotes, including interactions with SR, the book’s mysterious author. The team reflects on the importance of showing the female gaze in their films and recounts the filmmakers' perspectives, touching on how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted their schedules. Thank you for listening and please subscribe to the podcast on the platform of your choice!

Chapters

• 1:00 First Podcast Experience
• 1:56 Turning Books into Movies
• 2:22 Defining Romance Novels
• 4:06 The Passionflix Mission
• 7:46 Challenges in Casting
• 9:08 Gabriel's Inferno: A Deep Dive
• 27:59 Building the Perfect Set
• 39:41 Marketing and Teasers
• 45:30 The Passionflix Team Dynamics
• 47:55 Why Gabriel's Inferno Resonates
• 53:32 Interpreting Gabriel's Inferno
• 54:38 Character Strength and Misinterpretations
• 58:44 Romance Tropes and Comparisons
• 1:01:15 Intimate Scenes and Slow Burn Romance
• 1:04:20 Directing Challenges and Actor Insights
• 1:10:16 Team Gabriel vs. Team Paul
• 1:13:39 Filming Locations and Production Details
• 1:14:39 Fan Excitement and Author Collaboration
• 1:23:30 Production Timelines and Challenges
• 1:36:25 Final Thoughts and Future Plans

Transcript

Lauren: [00:00:00] All right, the recording has started. Um, hi, hello.

Tosca, will you introduce yourself? 

Tosca: Yeah, hi, I'm Tosca. I'm the founder and CEO of Passionflix and occasionally I direct a movie. 

Lauren: I'm Lauren. I'm the head of, uh, I'm the, wow, director of development at Passionflix. I get to read a lot of amazing books that we get to turn into movies. 

Ali: Right. And I'm Ali. I'm the director of marketing and public relations and I'm the one having fun bringing all the, uh, spoilers and trailers and everything else to go with that.

When 

Tosca: Guilio and I don't do it first. 

Ali: Exactly. Poison Alley. That's my new nickname. 

Tosca: Poison. 

Ali: Poison Ali. 

Tosca: I love it though. I also think it's hilarious, the spoiler woman, spoiler man thing. I think it's just so fantastic. So 

Lauren: funny. Yeah, you're Poison Ali. Poison Ali. Great. 

Tosca: It's insane. 

Lauren: Um, [00:01:00] 

Tosca: so, so this is exciting.

So this is our first time really communicating with everyone through a podcast, all of us, of course, in our bedrooms, um, uh, so we all know what our lives are like. Exactly. Um, and, and Lauren, how is this recording? Does this record as the three people in a row or how does this record? 

Lauren: So it's, right now it's recording with Ali and I at the top, and you, and like, it's like a triangle, kind of, and we're all on screens with a black background.

And so that's how it records these Zoom calls. Thank you, Zoom. 

Tosca: That's awesome! Well, that's exciting. Well, um, yeah, we're excited to, um, address some of our, uh, some of the questions that are always sent out, and, um, have a conversation, uh, just about how life is at Passionflix, and what we do. So, I know Lauren was the one that was going to kick off.

Our podcast. So go Lauren. I'm gonna sit here and drink my beer. 

Lauren: Wonderful. So yeah, we wanted this to be a chance to talk more about [00:02:00] what Passionflix does in the specifics of turning books into movies because it's a long process. Um, and specifically we were going to talk about Gabriel's Inferno today and also treat it kind of like a book club.

And so we could talk about our favorite Parts of the book and also some questions that come up in different reviews and different topic ideas about, you know, why the book is so popular and why it's so loved by so many people. Um, so I thought we could start out by generally talking about what does the term romance novel mean to you?

You can start T. 

Tosca: Oh, what does the term romance novel mean to me? Well, um, a romance novel to me is about two people Sometimes three. My preference is the two people one. The two people that, um, meet and, um, they both have their own lives, there's nothing that they're desperately lacking in any way, um, but they have their own lives, [00:03:00] they have their own things going on, um, and when they meet, they have this instant connection.

Indescribable at times. And for some reason they just must see each other again. They must see each other again. They're drawn together. And then they're unsure about whether or not they can actually be together because then they're, they struggle with this this vulnerability and fear and then they communicate and they realize that they have this this connection is even stronger and then they find that they just can't not be together and then they're in love.

Lauren: I've always liked to think of it as two souls meeting and yeah the love story that goes with it it's just it's so beautiful and that was so well put. 

Ali: Yeah I don't think I have anything to add to that you've said exactly 

Lauren: what it 

Ali: is. 

Lauren: That's why we're here we all love romance novels and we love So we bonded and that's why we're bringing it to the world in [00:04:00] such a cool way and on that What does a company like passion flicks bring to the romance world Tosca?

What do you think about that? 

Tosca: Well, um, thanks Lauren. Well, I think first I just want to say yeah We all bonded on that and the reason why we all Know each other and why we're all working for passion flicks is because we all have the same love of romance And we all met in the romance community. That's how we know each other. And because And then Passionflix brought us together because you guys were fans of Passionflix and then reached out and You know and and and really wonderfully pursued me. I feel kind of flattered by that actually. No i'm kidding I was like thrilled. I was like, oh my god, they like us. They want to hang out with us still.

That's great Um, no, and and so I was i'm very happy that we're all together and all all because of this love of, of, um, romance novels. Um, but you were saying, so what does Passionflix do, um, in that regard? So the, the goal of Passionflix is to take these [00:05:00] stories that we all love, like, and we have a high respect for, um, and, and genuinely enjoy the story, um, and to bring it to life in the way that the fan wants to see it brought to life.

So it's not about me at the end of the day, and it's not about, um, Whatever a distributor or, um, an actor wants to do to the, for a movie, it's what does the fan want to see? How do we make this book into what the fan wants to see, into their imagination? So we work very closely with the authors to make sure that it's whatever they initially thought, um, for the scene, or for this character, or for the look, for the clothes that they're wearing.

If we match what the author thinks, then we're close to what the fan will, you know, we're close to what the fan might imagine. And so that's what we focus on at Passionflix. [00:06:00] 

Lauren: And I love that. Um, and that's and that's a big reason why a lot of people have Have signed on to us and have been paying attention and showing such love through their subscriptions and through our founding memberships and stuff like that They're just obsessed with how close we are sticking to the book itself because a lot of the times with adaptation in hollywood They take drastic changes from the book to the screenplay because they have to turn it into a much smaller nugget 

Lauren: And something that will entertain people who haven't even read the book.

So, a lot of what people love in the story, sometimes it gets lost in that sense. Um, so I do love how close we stick to the book. 

Tosca: Yeah, and that is the, that is the sort of special source, I guess, in Passionflix. Is that, because we are our own distributor, right? Because of the subscribers and the people that actually pay to watch Passionflix monthly and keep us afloat, Um, And, and our investors that have given us money to make these movies.

Um, but because of those subscribers, [00:07:00] we can release a movie at any length. We are not beholden to, um, any ad sales, so we don't have to cater to, you know, specific ads. Um, and we also are not beholden to, to a network. So the networks often, they will say you have to have 45 minutes so that we have 15 minutes of ads.

And you have to have, you know, you have to have all these time restrictions. And we're also not beholden to a foreign sales team. So a foreign sales company is the one that tells you. who can be in the movie. They tell you that this person has value in the foreign market, we can sell this person in Germany, and this person in France, and this person in Italy, and you have to cast a lot of movies based on who, where they can sell this project for the most amount of money.

And we don't have to do that. 

Lauren: See, and that's a great segue to my next little bit is Gabriel's part one, which is our first part Really on May 29th. Um, which begs the question. How many parts will there be aka? How long [00:08:00] will it be in total? Um, and then can you talk a little bit about what it was like casting for this project?

Tosca: Sure, here comes spoiler woman Ali. Watch out Sorry, i'm like literally getting questions about this every day um, so the movie itself, um is currently about 5 hours and 40 minutes. 

Lauren: So like an hour per 100 pages, basically. 

Tosca: Pretty much. Um, it's actually about 2 hours per 100 pages. Yeah. Wow. Um, cause the script was 200 pages long.

Right. And most scripts are 100 pages long. So we were just like, I'm not cutting anything. And then as we were getting in there and filming it, I was like, hang on a second, I feel like We're missing something from the book. Quick! And I would just add things during the day and it's really awesome because Julia and Melanie would be like, what's in the book?

And then they would read it with me and then Julia, who's the second language, I mean, would just memorize all this poetic, um, Gabriel dialogue. And, uh, and film it. It was amazing. Um, [00:09:00] but, uh, but anyway. So, um, uh, and now I've lost track of the question because now I was thinking about, oh, there was that chocolate, eating chocolate cake scene.

Casting process. Oh, the casting process. Yeah. Um, so the casting process was The casting process is always tricky. Um, and Ali can attest to this because, you know, we were in the office and we're casting Gabriel's Inferno and everyone out there has their own idea of who Gabriel is. And we have a lot of people saying it needs to be this actor.

We have to have this actor. And then I'm like, Oh, I'm struggling. I'm like, I don't, I don't 100 percent believe in that actor, but then, okay, fine. Well, I guess we'll, we'll see if this person is available and wants to do it. Um, and, um, And then if that person comes back and says no because that's the one that all the fans said, which is normally what happens, right?

The first two or three people will always say no. And in this case, we went out to one person that the fans had all decided was the one to go out to, and this [00:10:00] person came back and, um, ultimately said no. Um, and, and I was kind of shocked that this person said no. But also relieved because I was never sold on him.

Tosca: No, because I was like, well, I don't have really know if he's really the person for this. And so I'm kind of glad he said no. And then, um, but then I, I start to get really nervous, right? Because if I get this wrong, there's very little forgiveness out there. So. So there are 

Lauren: so high tea. 

Tosca: Yeah. Um, but, but it's, there's so much pressure.

And I, I, I have a lot of, honestly, I have a lot of fear, right? It's a, it's a lot of fears to, um, am I doing the right thing when I cast. A particular person in a role and even though I have the the author's backing and people are around And back to me. I still sit there and I go is this person the [00:11:00] right person?

Is this right person the right person? And so when this one person passed um and And we were sitting there and I was like, you know, we were relieved that this person actually said no. Um, shocked, but relieved at that point I sat down with Ali and I was like, okay, we're just going to start looking through Instagram and we're going to start looking at the people, the other people that, that, um, our fans are really suggesting. And,  we're not going to make any offers to any actors that aren't exactly who we want, 100%. And that's when Giulio's name was, um, presented to us. And then, the, the interesting thing about him is that I emailed Our casting director, um, at the same time as his manager e mailing our casting director, both of us saying we want Giulio, um, I want to meet with Giulio.

And then, um, and so then Giulio and I have this Skype [00:12:00] phone call, um, in, he's in Rome, and I'm in Los Angeles, and we have this Skype phone call, at which point he'd already read the script twice. Um, and loved it. And so when you speak to an actor, and this is really the telling point of casting, right? So when I speak to an actor who's read the script twice, and can tell me so much about the story, and so much about this character, and how they would do it, and what it means to them to do this, you just immediately know this is the right person.

And besides the fact that he's beautiful, and he has the right look and all those things, He was deeply committed to this character. He felt that this was the character that he was always meant to play. And when he convinced me of that, and it was pretty much immediate. I came out and I said, I think, uh, I think we're gonna cast Julio.

He's pretty Fantastic. And that is also a risk, [00:13:00] you know, and I know I'm giving a bit of a monologue here, but it's a bit of a risk because Giulio is Italian and our character is American. And, um, and while Giulio worked very hard to, uh, to present more of an American accent, his accent is still there and he still has an Italian accent, but it's a, but it's beautiful and it's soothing and man, it is sexy.

And when you speak 

Lauren: Italian as Gabriel, it's just Yeah. 

Ali: Yeah. I mean, 

Lauren: it 

Ali: is 

Lauren: yummy, right? Oh my god. 

Ali: Yes. And even, even talking to SR, SR said that they couldn't see anybody else as Gabriel. There is no other person. Guilio is Gabriel. 

Tosca: Guilio is Gabriel. And we had this conversation within the office and with us, and we went, you know, basically we have the option of hiring an American who can speak Italian fluently.

Which is very rare. Or an Italian that can speak English fluently. Which is less rare. And then, [00:14:00] so we went with the Italian who could speak English fluently, who looks the part, and who is Deeply committed to Gabriel, and this whole series, and our community, and that's hard to find. Yeah, he's such a good sport with everything.

So that was that one, and then when it came to Melanie, that was the harder one. 

Tosca: Um, you know, it's actually very hard to find female actresses out there that, um, A, will commit to doing three movies back to back, three movies in a row, like, over two years, basically. Um, and then also, That would be willing to do some nudity.

Now, while we don't do a lot of nudity, um, we do have nudity in our movies and, um, and, and a lot of women will not do it. And, you know, that's their decision. That's their, that's their choice. Uh, you know, they're going to be, they're going to show some of their body on a computer screen, and people sadly screenshot that and decide to save it.

And, and not [00:15:00] our audience, hopefully, but some other people do. And so it's always tricky to find a female actress that, that is willing to, um, do subtle nudity. Um, and so, um, and, and also be excellent. Um, and be exactly who you, who you need for this role. Also embody the character. Um, and so we, again, we found one person in the, in Canada who I wasn't really sold on.

Um, and. I met, I had a Skype with her, and I was like, Really? I mean, if she's the only person in the world, I guess we have to go with her, but that's not who we want. Um, and then, just sort of like a random out of the blue, our casting director, Lindsay Chag, who's done all of our movies, who's amazing, just said, I found her.

She's in Australia. What? [00:16:00] You know, the far reaches. It's fine. I know! I found her. She's in Australia. She's Julia. And I'm like, okay. And, um, and then I, she sent me her picture and I was like, well, she certainly looks like Julia. Right? Yes. Yeah. And, um, and then I saw, then I was sent some of her work and I was like, well, um, and her work was all, all had an American accent.

So I actually had no idea she had an Australian accent at all. Incredible. Yeah. And then, um, and then I Skyped with her and same thing, same thing as Julia. She'd read the, um, script a number of times. She'd already read the book. She was, uh, she read book two and three as well before we even, um, finalized our deal.

Um, deeply committed, deeply committed to this role, knew it was her, fought for it, wanted this, um, and then, and I also, because of that, and because of the way that her and I connected, and because of the way that [00:17:00] Julia and I connected, and because of their deep commitment to this story and this role, I knew that the two of them would get along because they always, I mean, I'm sure, um, Ali, I don't know if Giulio and Melanie have spoken to you about this, but they always, um, talk about how it was just so surprising that they had such incredible chemistry.

Tosca: that they'd never actually even met and and then they did a Skype call and they suddenly on the Skype Skype call We're like, hey, we really get along we seem to have the same work ethic. We seem to both really care about this and then And they, and they did. I mean, they would, they just immediately bonded and became these incredible friends and, um, and now I think as Guilio and Melanie both say, it's like a friendship for life.

Ali: It was so fun getting to go and see them on set together too and how much you could see they loved and supported each other through everything. It was really incredible. 

Tosca: Yeah, and they work [00:18:00] all the time. I mean, those guys, they're like, they're so committed. And they really, they, they, um, value this opportunity so much.

Um, and, and our fans. Like, they really value the SRs fans, the books, the Passionflix fans. Um, And they are, um, perfectionists at their job. They really want to do an amazing job. So they don't take any of this for granted and they don't take it lightly at all. They work. So hard, every day, um, constant rehearsals, every weekend they take a day to relax, um, and then they work almost, like, half, at least, like, four or five hours on a Sunday before starting on Monday, they rehearse everything for the week.

And they have, they have the scripts memorized way before you even start, which is a lot. 200 pages of memorizing dialogue is a lot, especially when it's your second language, especially when both of them are speaking in unusual accents. [00:19:00] It's, it's hard. 

Lauren: So you enjoyed, you greatly enjoyed working with them on this.

It was fun. I hated them, terrible, I hated them, yeah. 

Tosca: After all that! After all that, uh, eh. No, I love, I love them. I love them. I love them. All of the, all of the cast on Gabriel's Inferno are, are, um, particularly fantastic. And I'm so thrilled that they joined us. And, um, and of course, uh, missing, uh, Julio.

Because otherwise he'd be here in LA, but he's in Rome. 

Lauren: Um, a quick other question about, um, the film before we jump into the book. Uh, have you shown the, the first, like, the cut of part one to anybody yet? Before it goes on Passionflix, do you show it to anybody? 

Tosca: Well, um, well that's an interesting question, Lauren.

Yes, I do. Um, so, yeah, Lauren, who's seen it? Yeah, the most important thing is I showed, I showed to the Passionflix team, and I can't actually, [00:20:00] um, move forward with an edit of a movie without Lauren seeing it. Because Lauren is my constant, she's my instant feedback monitor, that's my founding member in the room, pure passionista in every way.

Seriously, Lauren, you're gonna, we're gonna have to film you watching parts 2 and 3. That's the only part I did not say. There's actually three parts right now. 

Ali: I never watch Lauren again. It's my favorite thing. It's the emotion. 

Lauren: Yeah, we definitely gotta record it then so that people can see. Cause I, I definitely piss off a lot of my friends.

Like, if we're watching a movie for the first time together, I have to really Hold it in, but if it's a movie that I haven't seen but they have I'm like, all right freak flags flying I'm, just gonna go for it and show everything that i'm feeling and your movies make me feel things. Tosca. Jeez 

Ali: I do what I can.

Yeah. Lauren, real quick, what, um, with your viewing of part one, did you [00:21:00] like Paul? What were your thoughts on him? 

Lauren: Paul sucks. I hate Paul, but I didn't like Paul in the book either. No, he's a bad guy. He was a sweet guy, but the term rabbit just really that's in the book. I know. I know. Meaning like, that's not even, it's not even a, like an acting choice.

That was terrible. It wasn't, it was nothing like that. It was more just like, Some of his personality traits from the book and also in the movie, I just didn't enjoy as a person. It's 

Ali: because you love Gabriel so much. I'm not, yeah, I'm not team Gabriel. I'm not team Jacob. I just had to bring it up because your reaction to him was so severe.

Every time James came on screen, Lauren just  got really mad. So sorry, and I haven't even met him. Like, I haven't, I, this was the first set I didn't go on. On set, too, so I haven't really met anybody, and it was funny to, like, feel such things for people that I hadn't interacted with. Which is how, you know, everybody goes into watching movies.

Tosca: What was your reaction to, um, [00:22:00] Krista? Krista Peterson. Oh, she's 

Lauren: I mean, a bitch. 

Tosca: I know, 

Lauren: and yet she's like the sweetest human being on the planet. She's such a kind person, yeah, from, from what I've been told, uh, that's what acting is. She's a great actress. Yeah, so this, yeah, I feel like this movie, from what we've seen so far, it definitely nails what a lot of the fans are gonna fall in love with and that kind of leads into my next question of Starting to talk about the book a little bit more deeply and to first start off by talking about what our favorite parts Or just like us if you have a specific part of the book that you think is a favorite part of yours that you were excited about What, what was it?

And Tosca can start and we'll go around the circle. 

Tosca: Me? Okay. Um, well, my favorite part of the book, Um, I, I actually really like a lot of the stuff that I have to do, um, with Dante and Beatrice. So I like anything that parallels [00:23:00] the Dante Beatrice relationship. Um, and so anytime we got into that world, it got really exciting for me.

That was actually one of the reasons as to why SR let me Adapt this book is because I said that that was one of my favorite parts and that I would want to really bring that into the story But, yeah, so I like that. Um, I would say that, yeah, the Dante and Beatrice stuff. How about you, Allie? 

Ali: I, I have a lot of favorites. I think, looking back when I read it the first time, and I think even after that, I love when he finally opens up about his past with Paulina. Um, I just, it's so, you're really finally, I mean, you're wondering the whole time what's happening and who Paulina is, but when he tells you the story, guts you, and it's something that I just remembered from reading it the first time, and then even going back, it's [00:24:00] still, it's, it's hard to read.

But it's so good, and you get this glimpse into, you know, what, why he is the way he is, and what, why he's so troubled. It's, it's rough. 

Lauren: Oh my goodness, you're crying! 

Ali: It's rough, man! They truly are like They're like Lauren right now! Yeah, they just, they truly are too Broken people that find and help fix each other, which is so crazy and a part of what makes like this book and how SR is the master of slow burns Beautiful, right?

It's a gorgeous slow burn. Just slow burn almost frustrating at times slow burn Yeah, like so satisfactory at the end when you read like that big conversation they have and then subsequently their trip to Italy and just further connecting, and it's just so beautiful. Um, but one of my, one of my other favorite parts aside from that and the Dante and Beatrice stuff, well, to piggyback on the Dante and Beatrice stuff, is when, um, he, she first has that moment at the, like, she's leaving his apartment after he wakes up.

Oh yeah. What are [00:25:00] you doing here? And she's like, you told me to find you in hell, but. That's exactly where I found you, and you can stay there for all I care. Yep. So good, so great, and so then she ignores him, like is such a badass female and ignores all of his outreach and is just like, fuck you dude, like I'm done.

And it's not until she's back in class when they start having that banter in front of her. Yeah, the fight again. That's one of my favorite scenes. I was like, oh my god, like I can't wait to see it in, in all its glory. Um, but yeah, in the book, it's one of my favorite moments. It's great. 

Tosca: So that one, that's really interesting.

So those scenes, um, are two of the best scenes that we have in Gabriel's Inferno. The, the fight scene in the, in the seminar room, um, is, is so funny. And, and, I mean, the two of them are just like at it in front of everybody. [00:26:00] And it's like this, um, This bitchy fight between these two people, but it's so funny.

Um, in the, in the right way that it's supposed to be funny, you know what I mean? It's like these two people just going at it in public while trying very hard to talk about Dante and Beatrice. You know, like, um, so it's very funny. And then, um, Ali, I think you'll be super proud of, um, Giulio's performance, um, during his talk about Paulina. 

Ali: I was going to say, just seeing him so far in part one, and what he's brought to the character, I'm so excited to see that part. I mean, I'm sure he's going to be amazing. Yeah. 

Tosca: It was so beautifully performed. He did a really great job, and Melanie, you know, just sat there, because it's mostly him speaking, and she just sits there, and then, you know, she comes up to him, puts her hand on his [00:27:00] tattoo, and It's very beautifully done.

Lauren: So I'm very proud of them. And really quick to you. What what has been your favorite part of a directing this adaptation? 

Tosca: Um, oh, this meeting has been upgraded by the host. Yes. Good job. I didn't even mean to do that.

Lauren: That's amazing. Good. 'cause I'm having too much fun now. I know. I was about to be like, I have to ca I have to start and stop this again soon, but No, we're good.

Tosca: We can move on. Um, what was, sorry?

Lauren: What Your favorite part of directing this movie. 

Tosca: The favorite part of directing this, the, the. Um, this is definitely the biggest movie that we've made for Passionflix. So, in that regard, because we put, you know, so much into this movie, there are, there are multiple elements to me enjoying directing it, besides the fact that it's a, it's a wonderful story, it's a story that we've all loved, and the actors are great, which I think we've spoken about a number of times.

[00:28:00] Um, for this particular movie, we got to build all our sets. Exactly. Right. Out of, out of our imagination, right? So, for the first time, sorry? For the first time, right? The first time we've had a soundstage and Exactly. And so, I would basically, um, I was Thinking like this is how I picture Gabriel's home.

This is how I see his his apartment It's gonna we're gonna enter here. We have something in front of us then we've got to go around the corner and then this side is gonna be the the office and then his we're gonna have a guest bedroom and a guest bathroom and then the laundry room and then his room and then We have to have a fireplace, and the red chair, and the living room, and then the, and as I was seeing everything in my head, and then I would sit there with, um, Tracy, who's our production designer, and I'd be like, this is how I see the room, and I'd sort of just sketch it on a piece of paper, just sketch it on a piece of paper, and then hand it to, she'd, she'd take it, she would take it to the art [00:29:00] director, and they would build it in this model.

And then try and see, like, actually the room can't be this big, we can't join this room to this room. It was like building a house, right, from scratch. We would literally build this house. And then Tracy, the whole time, you know, looking at the Manulife building in Toronto and going, well, what kind of taupe is it?

The walls have to be taupe, but taupe is many, many different colors. So, like, there are many variations of taupes. And you start to figure out what taupe goes with the brown leather couch, and the red chair, and the, and all the artwork, and all these things. So. It was just the, the um, being able to read something on a page.

See it in your head and then actually create it was amazing. I've, I've gotten to do that with actors before where you can make your actors, you know, perform and it's like, you know, playing with dolls. It's great. But now I actually got to build the Barbie doll house as well. So it was really great.

Ali: I've  never seen anything like it, especially with Julia's apartment and the level of detail that went into [00:30:00] that.

I just never experienced anything like that before. 

Lauren: I didn't see any of the sets, but seeing what we saw in part one, like, you, I couldn't tell that it was a set, that's how seamless it was, it was gorgeous, and very detailed, like you said, like, I'm sure Tracy had so much fun with you. 

Tosca: Yeah, we did, and Julia's apartment was the first one that was built.

So it was the first thing built, even though it was the last thing that we filmed, but we didn't know that. And so they just started building things initially. And, um, and so it was, yeah, so Julia's apartment with that little sort of cubby that they created and, and the bathroom. And, um, yeah, it was, it was pretty incredible.

Got to have all. Everything in there and and it was so specific Tracy who I was a production designer who deserves an award I mean she did an amazing job But she would go through the book in such detail go it had mold in the corner. Okay mold. There's the corner There's the molds And, um, it had a radiator heater.

What they built, they designed [00:31:00] and built that radiator. It's not a real radiator, they built it. Um, and so each little thing, there's a crack here, there's a something here. She made sure it was there. And, um, and so that was, that was really impressive, um, for that team. And, uh, so yeah, so overall that was, that was a very exciting thing to do.

Lauren: That's awesome.  And I'm sure that's one of the helpful parts of having a book when you, when you're adapting so close to a book is you can literally open the original text and just be like, oh, this is the detailed description of what the room looks like. Let's do that. Like, it's so helpful in that sense.

Tosca: Yeah, it's helpful, but it's also a little bizarre at times, right? Because what, what you do is you'd sit there and you were like, okay, so, um, It's a, it's like, as I said, it's a taupe ball and a blue this and blue curtains and, and in your mind you're going do these colors even match? Like, it's gotta look good, right?

Because sometimes in your imagination, [00:32:00] somebody might write taupe ball, but what they really mean is not necessarily taupe or, or, or like what shade or what shade of blue or what shade, and so it's trying to match all these colors so that it's not, um, Ugly, but fortunately S. R. is a great writer and I think has taste.

Lauren: And Ali, what was it like getting to go and, and visit the set? Because you had to go for a lot of your, your marketing duties and stuff. Can you talk a little bit more about what that was like and meeting?

Ali: I loved it. I mean, I, it's so fun getting to go there and experience it. The cast for this movie is just incredible and I've made friends with a lot of them and I think this is the first movie that I've been really, really in Passionflix for because I started in August.

So this is the first one that I was really a larger part of and so, um, being able to [00:33:00] interact with the cast members and get to know them on a personal level has been amazing, but also because I was already a fan of this book. Seeing it come to life is just, it's insane and it's also given me such a deep appreciation for what Tosca does.

Um, I, I don't even know where to start. So many things you don't even think about that go into filming these scenes and how tedious it can be and how stressful it can be. But, um. They truly, everyone that was a part of that cast, they're so kind and wonderful and it's really interesting being able to watch them do what they do best and bring characters that I personally love to life.

So, for me, it was amazing. 

Tosca: Yeah, and it was really great for me to have you on set. It's unusual, um, so in the past I've just not had, um, too much sort of, well, um, I've always had Lauren and [00:34:00] Margie with me on set, and so I've had that kind of support, but a marketing support, a PR support on set is very different, and I've never had that before, and so, um, for those of you who know me at Passionflix, I'm a little, I'm very protective of our Passionflix bubble, and I'm very, um, I'm a little bit controlling as to what, what we want to, um, Um, on how we want to present ourselves because we, we want to make sure that it's done in the, in the way that's so respectful of everything that we're doing.

And then, so as soon as Ali came on board this, I was like, initially like, oh gosh, how's it going to be? But then I saw that she had the same respect and the same love and the same, um, and, and, and just such an incredible, um, knowledge on marketing and PR and, and how to work with, These stories, um, in, in getting them, um, and exciting the fans about them that I just have completely let [00:35:00] go and now I, uh, now I'm just Spoiler Woman and I don't actually know what's going on in the PR world because I'm like, ah, at least I got that handled.

It's just so nice for me. For me in the, you know, at Passionflix, because it's been such a, um, uh, It, um, I hate to say a one woman show, because it hasn't, because I've had Lauren and I've had Margie with me the whole time. Um, so, so it's not, it's not even that at all.

Ali: You have a dual role though, that CEO slash founder slash director, it's a lot like a million things.

The amount of times you'll be like, Lauren, do you mind helping me with this thing? And they'll be like, yeah, of course. And I'll jump in and start helping you. And I'm like, I'm sorry, have you been doing this on top of everything else? Like, I just don't, still doing this. It's mind blowing how you've done this.

Tosca: Thanks. Well, and now I have you guys to help me. Um, and I have and and so Lauren who then last year Um was promoted Lauren was my assistant the best [00:36:00] assistant ever And and now i've lost her to a promotion of director of development You shot yourself in the foot with that one. Yeah. My life's over.

Anyway, no wonder everyone's going to hell now. Um, but in the same way that Allie has been incredibly helpful and wonderful and had had, um, and she has this, um, knowledge of our community and how to really present it to everyone. Lauren has that same knowledge when it comes to our books and the romance community.

Um, and so just as my little, um, you know, praise on Lauren here while I have lost her as my amazing assistant She is excelling beyond Um any expectations as the director of development for passion flicks and she yeah Take this, babe. And um But reading all these books and having the right Right under, like, the right respect for every different kind of genre, [00:37:00] because she doesn't only get to read historicals, which is what her favorite is, um, but, but reading all the genres and, and giving really strong reports and ideas on each one of these authors.

So, so as you guys know, like, um, for those who are listening, um, If you send in a suggestion to, um, to us to read this book, Lauren's reading it, and she has a large TBR list, and, and she keeps thorough notes on all of them, and then she pitches them to, to us, and to all of us at Passionflix. So she'll pitch them to me, but then she'll also pitch them to Ali, and Ali will pitch some stories to Lauren, and I, I get some requests, and then I immediately send it to Lauren, and, you know, it's, it's, um, it's a, it's a beautiful, thing for me, and also I hope for Lauren and Ellie to understand that the amount of, um, freedom and appreciation that I personally have, and I think everyone who is a fan of Passionflix should have for the [00:38:00] work that you guys do and for your contribution to Passionflix is, is way up there.

Um, because I wouldn't be able to do what you guys do. You do it better than me, and I appreciate that.

Lauren: You're welcome. And a lot of that was from you, you know, like Taking a chance on us and believing in us and then giving us the opportunity to grow because yes, you are particular in things But that's what's so great is that we have a boss who we can go Yes No And you give a very decisive answers then we can moving forward grow in a way that like we then almost can guess exactly what Not what you're gonna say It helps us anticipate and work as a more cohesive team to know exactly what you need and what the brand needs and what we want and, and so it's very helpful.

Sometimes I'll, I'll ask Ali, I'm like, can you market this book? And she's like, yeah, that shouldn't be a problem. And then I'm like, what about this book? Do you like the sound of it? She's like, I love the sound of shooting there. Let's do it. And that's how fast it can happen sometimes. That is, yeah.

What's this place in France? Do you think that's cool? And she's like, oh, I'd [00:39:00] love to shoot in Paris. And I'm like, alright. Like, it's so fun that because we are still such a small company and it's still such a startup way, like, all of the big, you know, meetings and, and decisions happen so quick and just amongst us.

Ali: As a team, which is really nice. I was going to say on the flip side too, because you two are more of the filmmakers and I'm on the marketing side. It's been fun for me to say, Hey, I like this book, but would this actually work on screen? Cause it's really interesting. The things you don't think about that totally would not work on the screen or totally would.

But I've learned so much just over the past several months doing this. And it's. It's been really fun. 

Lauren: With the teasers too, you've been helping with, um, editing some of the teasers as well, Allie. And that's, that's a new process for you because you've just watched Margie and, uh, and Tosca do it and be like, what?

Ali: Yeah, I mean the things, I, I know the feelings that I want from a teaser. I can identify a [00:40:00] great teaser and trailer, but there's so many little things that you just don't even realize you can do, and then it also helps, you know, I've been in marketing for a long time, I've created, I've done ads before, um, but it's very different when you get to have the director of the film helping to make these edits because, you know what I mean?

And she, Tosca came in and she says, oh, Wait, this part, we can add this part in and Margie can say, Oh, well, how about we do it like this? It just completely changed every, everything. And then it's, it's really exciting. So now I'm learning a lot on that too. 

Tosca: But, um, Well, it's interesting though, because we have to, um, from a, from a marketing perspective, we want to jump into that.

So, um, Margie and I are there, we know how to make the film and we're making, and, and, you know, we've very rarely had, um, Trailer editors come in and actually do anything for us because we just haven't had the budget for that Margie's cut most of them and done an amazing job Um, but in this world where we're, you [00:41:00] know, putting out teasers and a little faster With, um, using other editors for the first time because Margie's still editing the rest of Gabriel's Inferno, so she can't step away from that.

Never stops working. She has an editing suite in her house right now. Um, and so, um, but, um, when it comes to the marketing, Ali will say, okay, teasers and a trailer, And, um, and so, and go, and then you're like, okay, well, I don't know what that means. What kind of teaser do you want? And she's like, okay, I want a teaser that looks like this, and I want a teaser that's this, and I'm going to And then, even then, it's a little confusing, so, so we have to sit down with her this last time.

We sat down with her, and we're like, okay. What do you want to happen? What is the feeling that you want? What, what is it, because I, uh, Margie and I can, can communicate in feelings, right? So we're like, how do you want to feel after watching this? And so I was like, I want sexy, and I want viral. And I'm [00:42:00] like, I've got it!

Ali: But you know, it was so cool that day. I remember too, because I'd seen a couple of the teasers that we'd put together and they were, they were all beautiful. There was nothing wrong with them, but there was two things I wanted to make fans excited. People that are already fans of the book. But I also wanted to use this as an opportunity to reach a new audience because I know that a lot of people that don't know this story will want to see the movie when it's out.

So right after we had that conversation, Tosca and Margie disappeared for a little bit and then Tosca came back and said, okay, this, this, this, and then we cut the first teaser that came out, which it was amazing and all of you seemed to love it. And it did exactly. What I was hoping it would do and then if you take a look at the second teaser that we just put out It's a little bit different.

It's you know, the first one is very sexy and then this one was more of that longing feeling and Showing that romance because that's [00:43:00] also a very important part of this story I mean, that's the most important part of the story, but it's it's a nice I think it's a nice tribute to the fans of the book because they, they recognize those scenes and they know it and I, so, two very different teasers.

Tosca: Yeah. And, um, and then the same for the trailer. So we had, uh, that no one's seen yet. Um, I'm working for a little while, but that's not me. That's Allie. Knowing me, I'll probably be like, Hey, it's done. Here we go. And she'll be like, That's what we used to do. We'd be like, we're the trailers lady.

Lauren: Let's release it tomorrow.

Tosca: And I'm like, Um, that's how we've operated in the past. No, but this, um, the, but the trailer, so we were sitting there and, and, you know, of course, we're all in our beautiful self isolation quarantine world that we're in. Um, and, uh, and I'm, we're having this house party. Um, conversation, um, me, Ali, and Margie, because this is how we're able to connect at the end of the day.

And of course, the only reason why we know Houseparty [00:44:00] is because Lauren had a house party with her friends and then posted it on Facebook.

Lauren: This is also my  first Zoom. Like the apps you discover when you have to work remotely. It's really quite beautiful. It's still connected. 

Tosca: It is. It is. This one works.

Um, and so, uh, so anyway, so. So we're sitting there and we're having our glass of wine at the end of the day and just chatting and Ali's like, okay We need a trailer And we're like, sort of going, I'm like, what trailers and all these sorts of things, and then I was like, okay, how about if we do, and I can't actually tell you what we're going to do, because then Ali will kill me.

I would kill you. Just in that conversation, we sit there, and we just have this beautiful, creative brainstorming idea as to how the trailer's going to work, and you have Margie, like, jotting down notes, and she's going to hand these notes over to the trailer editor, and I'm like, okay, picture this, you're going to do this, and Ali's like, yes, that's going to work, oh my god, it's going to be great.

So apparently it's going to be great, guys. That's amazing. Uh, yeah, you nailed it with that idea.

Ali: [00:45:00] I'm, I'm so excited. But that's also, I mean, I can't, looking at it now, I can't imagine working on a trailer. I mean, I'm going to have to do it eventually, but it's, it's so Wonderful to be able to work closely with you on it because you know, you know the scenes already 

Lauren: You're obviously very familiar with it.

Ali:  So it's so nice to have you be able to say, okay, we're gonna pull this We're gonna pull this whereas for me i've seen it a couple of times, but it's much easier and more efficient to work with you. Yeah. 

Tosca: Well, I mean, there is something really great about, so I know all the scripts of every movie that we're going into, because generally speaking, I've rewritten most of them, to be honest.

I do a pass, I do a Passionflix pass on every one of them. I'm at my desk for about a week each time, solidly. Into a pass of every script, no matter who writes the script. Again, impressive. Yeah, it's And, um, and that's, that's it. And that's, that's even for scripts that I, I take no credit on [00:46:00] writing those scripts.

Um, the ones that I take credit on writing are the ones that I've actually done a complete overhaul on the script and I've worked on it for about a month. But, um, but the, um, the So I know these stories really well, and I know the actors, because I've been heavily involved in casting, and then I see dailies, and I also, because I hire the director, I know what they're going to be like.

And then, because I oversee every single editorial pass of every movie that we do, So Margie watches them, she's our head of post production, and then, um, and then, but Margie and I watch them together. I give my notes, Margie has the notes, they go and edit again, then they come back, and, um, and a couple of times, the notes have just not been implemented well, and Margie and I have had to take over editing those movies as well.

So we'll just take over, we'll re edit the movie, and then put it out. Um, and that's happened a couple of times, and, um, and so, Even if I don't direct the movie, I know these movies really well. Because they have to, [00:47:00] they have to hit a certain level for, um, for us to really have done the author justice. And, um, and be as respectful as possible to the fans.

Lauren: Yeah, and that's, and that's another reason why I feel like our brand has, has been doing so well and why fans have stuck by us is because we, we've tried to be consistent with being accurate and, and being what you've envisioned and, and respecting the original source material because we're here to do romance.

Like, that's all we're doing is romance. From the romance novels. Yeah, we're not bringing in any original movies or anything like that. It's purely from the already vast library of amazing work out there. We're just bringing it to the fans. Yeah 

Tosca: We're very fortunate in that regard But um, yeah, so I wanted to so we should probably tap on some of the other questions that people have for us Before, because how long, we've been chatting now for almost an hour, haven't we?

Lauren: Almost an hour, yes. So I thought we could move into some of the book questions. Um, and, and the first one being just a general idea of why [00:48:00] you think this book resonated with so many people when, when they read it. 

Tosca: Why do I think this book resonated? Well, I think Ali, you're a big fan of this book. Why don't I let you answer this one first and then I'll jump in.

Ali: It's so different than any of the other books. Um, I mean a lot of the other books that i've read. Um, I I think that the You know the book The going into Dante and Deatrice and tying that into everything that was I remember when I read it the first time I had to go back and I did my research a little bit because I didn't Really know a whole lot Um So that was really interesting for me.

I started going into it. Yeah. So I think because the book was so [00:49:00] unique and because the character of Gabriel, I, the first time I read it, I remember I had to put the book down for a little bit because he was, he was.

Irritating me, driving me crazy. But then I kept picking back up because there was something that really drew me into his character. And then obviously you fall in love with him. And again, you know, it's one of the reasons like going to the Paulina part where he reveals everything that's happened, I just really, I really grew to love his character and the same with, with Julia, you have these two.

Beautiful, beautiful characters. And I, I don't find that that often in a lot of, I mean, a lot of books that I've read, you know, sometimes one or the other might irritate me a little bit more. I don't always love the heroines in the book, but with this, I thoroughly enjoyed the two of them, even when he was driving me nuts, I really liked watching their journey throughout the whole story.

And I just think it's, it's a [00:50:00] little bit, it's been a different experience for me reading that than a lot of other. Romance novels. 

Tosca: Yeah. Yeah, this one is definitely, we talked about it earlier, is the slow burn. You have to be prepared for this very slow burn about two people who are immediately connected to each other, and you're not sure why, and they're not being so great to each other.

And, um, and, and, and, um, But if you stick in there, and you actually, you know, the beauty about romance novels is you know that we're going to get ourselves to an HEA, right? So, you know that through this, these trials and tribulations of these two people, it's a very interesting meet cute, right? Because it's not, they meet when they're, you know, 17, and then, you know, when she's 23 again.

And so, it's, um, it's, It's this, um, uh, young love, let's see what happens six years later, right? I've had a crush on you for six years, and then the reality of [00:51:00] it, and then you're like, how am I gonna deal with the reality of this crush that I have? Um, cause he's not very nice. Um, and he's horrible, but you know, the, the, the beauty of it is, you know, and I sit there and I'm like, well, everybody is not innately horrible, right?

There is, there is, there is some underlying reason as to why he is acting this way. Which is why I could keep picking the book back up. Exactly, because you're just like, especially the first time she sees him, she goes to his office and there he is, he's like crying and he's like holding his head and he's like, you can just see he's like in gutted pain and you're like, what, what's going on?

Why are you so, you know, there, there's definitely something about you. You're not just this cold. facade, you're actually this deep human, um, and we must know more. But, um, but yeah, you have to be prepared for the slow burn on this one because it is a slow burn, but it draws you in and then you get sucked in and then you're unable to put it down.

So it's the same with the [00:52:00] book. It's like, I mean, the, the movie, the movie is, It's, as I said, five and a half hours long, so, um, it's a long, slow burn, but you guys have watched the first two hours. 

Ali: It flew by. It does not feel like two hours. 

Lauren: Yeah, but it has, I don't even know what, you know, it has all the, it's all the nuggets that you want from the book.

Tosca: It would be impossible. It would be impossible for me to put this movie and all the feels that are in the book into one, two hour. No, it would've felt too rushed. It would've felt too rushed because it's such a slow burn. So I'm, I'm so happy we did it and I. I loved part one so much, and I think you are absolutely evil for how you ended it, but No spoilers! But you're gonna love how I end part two, though. 

Lauren: Oh, I can't wait. We haven't seen that. 

Tosca: Oh god, oh no. I know, I'm I don't know how many here's the thing, is that [00:53:00] I have to show you guys part two and three, Um, but I have to see your reactions so that I know that I'm on the right path, and um, and so, and yet we're all in this strange isolation, isolation, so we're gonna have to like, put it in a room.

You can keep Zoom on us. I'm gonna put you in a room where everyone's gonna be like six feet apart at least, and then we'll just do that. Let's do that. 

Lauren: Or I'll watch it online and I'll record my Zoom reaction, then do that video. 

Ali: Exactly. I just want to record your reactions anyways, Lauren.

Lauren: I know. Um, well that's, and that's, so that's, you guys touched on great points as to why this book has resonated with so many people and why it went so viral in that it, it, It really was that slow burn that you could get into, and it had such, such pained, but beautiful characters that you're just like, oh, why I can't not feel attracted and attached to you.

Tosca: I wanna touch on, on, on another thing about it. I'm sorry to interrupt you, Lauren. Go ahead. Um, but, um, So, [00:54:00] one of the things that I found really fascinating about, um, Gabriel's Inferno was the interpretation of those who read it. Um, so we were looking at a number of different producers to come on board, um, to make this movie with us.

And a lot of male producers actually pitched themselves to, to produce this movie for us. Um, And, um, we do have a wonderful male producer at the end of the day, but, but it was interesting when these, I, you know, these producers came on board and they're like, we want to make movies for passion flicks, you know, what movie do you have next?

And I would say, okay, well, here's Gabriel's Inferno. This is the one that we really want to make next. So I need you to read this and let me know your thoughts on how to make it. And a lot of these producers would come back and go we can't make this movie not in today's environment in the me too movement There's no way this girl is this this this rabbit this demure rabbit is completely crushed by her professor And seduced by her professor all these things.

I was like, what are you talking about? How are you reading this novel? This novel is about it's not [00:55:00] about some crushed Human being who is, um, Completely manipulated by her professor. That is not what the story is about at all. She is, in fact, her own person. She is somebody who met a guy when she was 17.

He was not her professor at the time. But she did have a massive crush on him. And then she ended up in his class, Not intentionally, but Ended up in the class because he developed this love of Dante and Beatrice At a young age and she had studied italian and she'd studied the alphabet. She had a strong um She has a strong personality and a determination to become a very successful, um, uh, professor in, in Italian studies.

She got into Harvard, like, yeah. She got into Harvard, exactly. The girl's very smart. 

Lauren: And she wasn't doing it with the intention to follow him and find him and meet him again. It was just, he inspired this story that she, that he told and he's like, she's like, wow, I'm fascinated and then delved even [00:56:00] deeper spent a year in Italy like.

Tosca: Yeah, but at the same time she'd gotten involved in a very very bad relationship.

Yes, and um, And a very abusive relationship that she eventually was able and and it's a and it happens right you get into these abusive relationships and you get beaten down and and um, and you and um, verbally abused and physically at times and um, And she still was, it got out and she was still a person inside.

She still had a goal. She still had a plan to go. She was not broken by that. She was kind of light inside. Yeah. Because she has, she has an incredible strength. So the fact that any, anybody would read these stories and then think Julia has no strength or she's weak is just, it blows me away. I was like, what?

She's one of our strongest? One of the strongest, uh, female characters that I've worked with because she's had to go through [00:57:00] so much. Look at her childhood, look at the abuse, look at the lack of attention from her father, the complete abandonment from her mother, then the relationship that she gets in, but each moment, each time somebody does this to her, she just picks herself back up.

And she keeps going and then gets up and she's like, I'm still going to keep doing my thing. I'm still going to keep doing, no one's going to stop me. No one's going to stop me. I'm going to get there. And even when Gabriel comes in and he's like, that's it. And he treats her poorly. 

Lauren: And then this is not passiveness. Like a lot of men will come in and read her, her sweetness and her angelicness that is talked about so much as passiveness when that is the opposite. Exactly. Completely. Yeah, I completely agree. She's, she's very, angels are strong. Mm hmm. They're, they're some of the more powerful creatures in the universe.

Yeah. If you believe in that, you know? Like it's, yeah, exactly. Um. Yes. No, I love, and that's, that's exactly why this resonates, this has, book has resonated with so many fans, particularly women, because we see [00:58:00] those things and we, and we hold onto it and we're just like, yes, she's a strong character and I've, and I've seen my own struggles or, or, you know, you can, a lot of.

Book lovers and a lot of romance lovers, particularly, really love the books that they find a connection to. Like, Ali, you said you had a hard time reading this because maybe you didn't relate to her the best, or you didn't, you know, or, no, she's fine, but other books you've read, sometimes you don't relate to her as much, so you've put them down or something like that, which has a bunch, and that's one of the beautiful parts about this is that you can almost find a piece of yourself in her.

Similar to how, like, the Twilight books had such a reflection for women, and, and subsequently, Fifty Shades of Grey, women were able to find, like, little bits of themselves in the heroines there, which is why they became so popular. So this book kind of continues with doing that. Um, and I thought we could talk a little bit more about certain tropes.

From the romance world that are in this book. Okay. Um, cause while there are connections to the other, other stories like Twilight and Fifty Shades, Um, there's also just flat out tropes in general that it follows, Like [00:59:00] kind of the enemies to lovers story, Cause even though they have a past, they do start out butting heads, And then they fall in love.

Um, And so that's one of the tropes that I found that I, I'm obsessed with, with any romance novel is enemies to lovers. That was fun for me. 

Tosca: Same here. But you see that in, um, like Pride and Prejudice, right? Yes. Yes. This is a very Pride and Prejudice story with a hint of Romeo and Juliet, which is a little bit more like the Twilight feel.

Like, I can't be with you, we're from the other side. Like, you just can't be together for whatever dangerous reason you can't be together.

Tosca: Because there's that added element. So it's not just I'm your enemy and I, you know, and then we come together It's also we actually cannot be together.

It's dangerous. Exactly. 

Lauren: It's the self I can't I can't pick the word. It's not harming but self depreciating I can't think of the word but like an alpha male who was like, you can't be with me because I'm broken, you know, like that's [01:00:00] broken. It's in a lot of different romance novels and Gabriel definitely fits that bill of just thinking that he's, he's too impure.

He's done too many impure things in his life that he can't, how could he possibly have the love of this kind? person, generous person, like he doesn't deserve it. So that was a big part of it as well. And another Dante and Beatrice, obviously, um, another comparison there, which is brilliant. 

Tosca: Yes, but he does, um, once he realizes who she is, um, he will not let her go.

Yeah. Yeah. He actually, he, he doesn't fight it and say, he, he does say I'm not good enough for you. That's for sure. But he also says I cannot. 

Lauren: Right. And, and, and, and thank you. That, that, that is why at the very end when he finally tells his story about, um, Maya and, and Paulina and all that, why he opens up his immediate fear is, I, I didn't want to tell you any of this because you're going to leave me.

Yeah. And that'll break him. And I'm just like, 

Tosca: Oh, I [01:01:00] know. Yeah. It's just, it's too much. It's crazy. It's. And then, and then once again, her strength is there for the two of them. And she's like, Ultimately, this just brings us closer because you know the truth. 

Lauren: Yeah, exactly. Um, uh, so and jumping not away from tropes, but one of the tropes of romance novels or tropes are just almost like a requirement for romance novels is to have those intimate scenes, those sexy moments.

Some have them more than others, like erotica is almost all sex, whereas like Pride and Prejudice, there's no sex, but it's still a romance. Um, this book definitely doesn't have sex until the very end. It's very slow burn up until the end. Um, And, and, would you say that sets it apart from other romance novels in certain ways, or, or what do you guys, how did you guys take reading that when, when, especially with our other adaptations, um, of books we've done before, they've had a couple of other scenes and part of those scenes are what bring the characters closer, [01:02:00] and in this sense, it's more of them getting to know each other as people before, and then this was the ultimate, if that makes any sense.

Tosca: Yeah, well, I, I, I don't, uh, it's, I mean, it's a romance novel, um, in the same way that Pride and Prejudice is a romance novel, as you said, and, and Fifty Shades of Grey, but, um, to me, the, um, for any one of those books, it's actually not the sex scenes that, um, draw me in or make me that excited about it, because it's normally the, um, intense chemistry between the two characters that Keep me excited.

So, it could be the longing look that burns through her soul and makes her feel all tingly inside. Just as much as his kiss that could do that. But a lot of these books, even if they don't have, um, sex scenes, they'll have a lot of, um, these, They describe the, the, the chemistry reaction, the chemical reaction between the, the two, [01:03:00] which helps me get along, get through the book pretty quickly.

How about you, Ali? 

Ali: Yeah, I was just gonna say those, uh, I love some steamy scenes in, in my books, but the, the slow burn, and then when you finally get to the end where it happens, it's just, you know, makes it so much more beautiful. He takes her virginity, but he does it in such a sweet way. A beautiful way.

For someone going into it, it was very, it hit me in the historical romance field. Cause I was like, this is how they do it. Almost all of the women in those stories. Or, like, not all of them, but the majority of the stories involve virgins, because Yeah. You didn't have sex until you were married. Like, sex was a very taboo thing in those books.

So the second it happened, he was like, Ah, shit. Or, you know, he'd be like, We have to be careful, because Yeah. You're a flower, and all that stuff. And they'd be like, Whatever, just make it good. Um, but that was really nice [01:04:00] to see that, um, SR really took care of those characters and took care of that. And Gabriel delivers at the end for her first experience.

Lauren: Yeah, seriously, right? 

Ali: Yeah! 

Tosca: Like, he massages her, and they take a bath together, and it's just like, Listen, can I tell you how hilarious it is? So here I am directing this movie, and the sex scene, and, and let's um, let's just really hope that I actually did it justice, because you, it's built up so much, I'm like, oh my god, the pressure, gonna be amazing.

It took us a long time to film that sex scene, so, you know, what's so funny is that, um, and I just love boys, you know, in general, um, studio. He's sitting there and he's like, why is there cranberry juice and, and ibuprofen and KY and all these things. And I'm like, Oh honey, let me explain to you what this is.

Lauren: Yeah. Wow. No, the cranberry [01:05:00] juice and the ibuprofen was like the cherry on top. I was like, wow, this guy's done his research.

Tosca: Poor, poor Giulio. I know. And then of course I was like, and then I was like, now you have to go and get a damn cloth from the, from the bathroom and bring it to me. Why am I bringing a damn cloth? That's very historical. Honey, you're bringing a damn cloth. You're doing the damn cloth.

Go and get a fucking damn cloth. 

Lauren: That actually inspired, that, that actually brings me up to it. To a good question of, um, or just an overall thing that has happened when you direct movies, Tosca's. We like to call it Tosca's School for Gentleman Callers, I think it was. Yeah, right. Yeah. Can you talk a little bit about what it's like working with, with some of these male actors and, and then learning a lot from you through learning?

Tosca: I think we should probably bring on some of the boys, I say, the men, I guess. [01:06:00] Um, to talk about this. We should. But, um, you know, it's really interesting, because I, obviously, I cast a lot of guys, and, um, and when I meet them initially, they have this, Beautiful, naive arrogance about them, because they're all so gorgeous, and they're like, ha ha ha, I know what a woman wants, and I'm like, that's cute.

Anyway, listen, you're going to do everything that I tell you, and you're not going to question it, and you're just going to do it, because this is what it's going to say in the book, and so it's very specific, I'm like, you will. You will get the cloth you will pour the cranberry juice You will do these things like why i'm like because and then I have to explain it to them And it's really interesting when you see these guys.

They're like have this beautiful cocky attitude about their you know, um Their effect on women and their knowledge of women and things like that. And then as I start explaining the various things that women [01:07:00] need, and, um, and why we're going through all these motions, um, the, the whole, it's like, it's like a cloud lifts, and they're like, what?

Wow. Oh, and it's great. And then they just learn. And then suddenly they have this, the slight, the next time we do it, they're like, Oh, should I pour the cranberry juice now? You being all like ready to pour the cranberry juice, um, as an example, but, but yeah. But many of the times, it's mostly about conversation, right?

So a lot of men that I work with haven't really had to do very many, um, long emotional scenes with women, right? Where they talk and share emotions and share their feelings. And a lot of the times they'll actually look at these lines of, with our alpha men, and they'd be like, I can't say these things are very aggressive.

And then I'm like, don't worry, the girl's going to give it right back to you. Because that's. Who we [01:08:00] are, right? We're not going to be, don't, don't, uh, be scared of how we're going to react or don't be scared, um, of being this alpha guy because we're going to react in an alpha woman type way as well. Um, but we're going to communicate and we're going to share our feelings and we're going to demand that you share your feelings.

And I'm going to tell you why you're going to share your feelings. And it's not because you're trying to appease a girl or trying to get in her pants. You're actually going to share your feelings because You finally get to share your feelings, and it 
means a lot, and it slowly but surely gets this woman to pay attention to you, and that makes you even more excited to share your feelings.

Um, and, so yeah, so all the guys, almost all the guys, I don't think there are any that haven't, but almost all the guys that have worked with me, um, have, uh, gotten into incredibly serious relationships, if not married right after working with me. Thank you. All the women can be very happy to, you know, thank Passionflix.

Lauren: No, it's, it's, and I've, that's, those are some of my favorite [01:09:00] stories is hearing how they're, they're doing, you know, five years later, how are you doing? Not like, not that long, but it's cute to see whether they come to a different premiere or things like that. They're like, Oh, by the way, like this all worked out great.

Exactly. It's really cute. Um, 

Tosca: It's nice. You know, I think that, um, the romance genre gives us. Um, especially with me as a director and everything that we do at passion flakes, but the romance genre gives people the freedom To be able to speak about to voice their emotions at any time, right because we validate all emotion So if you are sad happy quiet loud That's not really emotions But but if you're all of whatever emotion you're feeling angry at something or happy at something We want to know about it and we want you to express that and we want you to tell us Um, everything about that situation, um, and, and we will sit there patiently and quietly and listen.

Lauren: And it's really important that we, um, teach people [01:10:00] that. Yeah. I love that. That's awesome. Um, we, we've actually hit a lot of the questions that I had. For the book. We've just done it through our conversations, which is brilliant. Um, I will bring up a question just so that you guys answer it, because I've sort of already answered.

Um, if you're team, uh, Gabriel or team Paul, because apparently that's been an online debate before. Uh, which team you're on. I'm clearly team Gabriel, because Paul, you're a sweetie, but nah. I can't. Oh. What about you, Allie? I mean, uh, 

Ali: it's easy. But I still want Paul to find the right girl. 

Lauren: He does. He does? Oh, that's awesome.I need to read the next book. It's on my list.

Ali: You gotta root for Paul, but That's fair. 

Tosca: You know, are those the only two that I get to choose from? Who else did you put on the list, T? [01:11:00] Um Yeah. Uh, yeah, I guess I'm a, I guess I'm a team Gabriel, not so sure about that. No, I mean, I am, I, yeah, I, I don't know.

I kind of like, I kind of like, um, uh, it, uh. Oh my gosh, now I'm forgetting everybody's names, but, um, I'm like, because I'm remembering the actor's names as opposed to, um, uh, we'll see them and we can help. So it's like, um, you know, going for the, the solid. Yeah. Bad type characters. That's really good, man.

Lauren: You not have, not taking Sides Paul or Gabriel . 

Tosca: Yeah. No, I can't. I can't sides. Are you kidding? Totally.[01:12:00] like, I'm sorry, what I meant was your dad . Yeah. 

Ali : I love that's, that's okay. What about, hang on, so what about our previous movies

Tosca: And we'll do previous movies and then future movies. I know I'll work with Team Jessie for sure. Oh yeah, Team Jessie, that's fair. 

Lauren: Future movies, wow. 

Tosca: You're Team Jessie? Oh yeah, 

Ali: of course.

Lauren: that's, I'm thinking of, of Past movies. I know, with the, with the Will, I really love Jake. He's great. Oh my god. Yeah. Jake was a pleasant surprise. It was a super recent one. Um, I also loved, uh, Ian in Matchmakers. He was fun. 

Tosca: Oh yeah. Um. I would say I'd be team Clay Kincaid. 

Lauren: Yes, Team Clay.

Tosca: Oh my god, David, why did I forget? Yeah. Yeah, I love Clay. Clay is, Clay is amazing. 

Tosca: Um, or probably, or um, Cole. I was gonna say Cole, I love [01:13:00] Cole. 

Lauren: And you, you really loved, um, Hollywood Dirt, cause one, it was the first one you filmed, but also you got to throw a little bit of, you know, period in there with having the movies be from the, was it 40s or 30s?

Tosca: I was very happy to do a period. The, the three days of period. piece filming that I could do. Um, but yeah, hopefully we'll get to a period piece for Passionflix. But yeah, um, yeah, that was great. It was my, it was my first, my first baby, Hollywood Dirt. On location in Georgia, which is very fun, because that's one of the other things we try to do is if we can, we film on location where the book takes place, which is why Which is why it was Syracuse for Gabriel's.

So Toronto obviously takes place in Toronto and Pennsylvania. We can't shoot in both locations and it's really hard for us to actually go to Canada. Sometimes it's very expensive and I can't take a lot of my US crew with us. So I wouldn't be able to take my production [01:14:00] designer or Dennis or my editor.

You have to hire a lot of locals Um, and so, uh, and our producer for this one was from Syracuse, and so, uh, Syracuse has a lot of the same weather as Toronto, um, and Pennsylvania, and we could shoot both locations, um, there. So that's why we went to Syracuse. That's awesome. And did you guys also shoot in Italy?

And then we shot in Florence, Italy. Yes, exactly. And we'll be, which was great. Um, and then we'll shoot again when we are able to come back from this wonderful isolation time. And we're able to go to Italy, we will shoot the remainder of Rapture, the beginning part of Rapture, which takes place in Italy, which is what we haven't shot.

Lauren: Amazing. Um, And so I'll quickly ask Ali and then I'll ask you T. Um, what do you think fans? What what do you think fans will enjoy it from this adaptation? Like what do you think if the fans can be excited about with the with this upcoming release? 

Ali: Uh, I mean other than the fact it stayed so true to the book, I think [01:15:00] watching the chemistry between uh, Giulio and Melanie just burn the screen up.

It's it's wild. I think it's going to be fun for everybody. 

Tosca: Yeah, thank you. Yeah, they are really are good. I'm really happy with everything that they brought to it and I think for me, I truly feel that we plucked this from SR's imagination and were able to put it on screen and, um, for me, I'm just so happy that that was their response to the movie so far was that it, um, at one point they said it's like you took it from my imagination and that's one of the biggest compliments that I could have gotten.

So I really hope that it's exactly what everybody else pictured in their heads. 

Lauren: Oh, that's brilliant. I mean, as it was for me. Yeah. Yeah, it was for us so far. So I think the fans are really gonna love it. Um, and to bring up SR, because I feel like while we've talked about the book quite a bit and about the passage of this [01:16:00] process quite a bit, And you've mentioned how working with authors very closely is really important.

I know on past sets we've had the authors even come and be on set, and with Jodi Alamalpous with The Protectors, she was with us every day. Which was fantastic, and it was great for like, on the fly, if you had to be like, Okay, that's not working. Jodi, what do you think? You're like, well, what did you mean here?

Like, you had the direct source. What was it like with SR and how there's all this mystery behind who they are, and what was it like working with them? Them on this. Him on this. Her on this. Um, 

Tosca: well, them. Yeah. We don't know male or female. Um, so, uh, It was, it was great. I mean, it's a little different because on the other ones I've had the author directly next to me um, so I could if there was a question I could I could ask but SR was generally always available via email and um, and so I would you know, take pictures of the set I would send little bits to Them and they would [01:17:00] respond almost immediately if I had questions about a scene or a look or You know, uh, you know, how do you like this pillow or whatever?

I don't think I ever said that but basically Does the does this artwork work for you for um for gabriel's bedroom? Do you like this artwork? Did you have this in mind for this artwork? What did you have in mind for these photos all these questions? I just sent to them and they responded with these are these were my the inspiration for the pictures um This is the artwork, and in my mind, this, this painting went here, this painting went there, this painting went there.

So, they always responded very quickly and very clearly as to what they wanted. And if I needed to adjust anything, for whatever reason, um, Which I don't, may have happened once, and I think it was where a painting went, honestly. Um, uh, I immediately came back to them and said, I'm sorry, I think we were confused as to where the painting was supposed to go.

I thought it [01:18:00] was on this wall, but it's going on this wall. And he was like, oh, actually, it might be on this wall, it might be on that wall. But in my mind, it was here, but that's going to work. So, um, they were very, um, very quick to respond and very positive in their response and, and really seemed to like everything.

Lauren: That's awesome. That's really great. Yeah, great. And subsequently, Allie, with marketing it, and stuff like that, what was it like interacting with SR, with Tosca, and all of that? Amazing. 

Ali: Everything's been amazing. And quite honestly, getting to market this, being a fan of the book has just been a dream. Um, like Tosca said, SR is always available and very responsive.

And SR's publicist, Nina, is amazing. Oh, she's great. Yeah, she's wonderful. They, and they're so pro passion flicks that they want to help in any way they can. So it's, it's And, you know, we don't have these million dollar, [01:19:00] multi million dollar budgets to play with. But because the, the fan, the community of fans around this book helps spread the word so well.

And SR, everything we put up, SR will promote, I mean, SR even promotes our other movies. When The Will came out, they were, you know, there's so much love for us from them. But, you know, marketing this has been, I don't want to say easy, but we just, the fans are so dedicated that when we, when we put things out there for them, they are so quick to spread the word, which can also be hard when, when images slip out that shouldn't slip out.

Um, um, because then when you try to get them taken down, I mean, something can be up there for. a second and it has already gone viral. Thanks a lot, Giulio. Um, but it's, it's also tricky because every time we have something, I want to keep putting more and more content out there, but you also want to make sure you [01:20:00] save some of the magic for the movie.

And as much as we all think we want to see everything, I swear we don't. You want to keep some of it. 

Lauren: It's amazing to see it in its final form, which is why it's a painful wait, but it's worth the wait. 

Tosca: And just on that, anybody that's listening to this now, I mean, it's not like the movie is finished, right?

So while everyone's watched this two hour version of the first part, um, it's not, it's they, everybody still watched it right out of the edit suite. So the sound is not done. The music's not done. Um, all of these things take a lot of time to, to, To make to finish a movie. So that's why we're not able to release it right now Um, everyone's like can we release it now because everyone's at home and and unfortunately, no, it's still not finished It's only going to be finished.

We don't hold on to movies. We release them as soon as they're done so as soon as this one's done, we will release it in the same with the Part two and part three, but it will take long. It's a longer movie. It's a longer process to make a longer movie So [01:21:00] bear with us. We're trying to do this entire movie justice and the whole story justice by doing it correctly 

Ali: And Tosca a couple of fans did ask and I think you can go ahead and confirm They asked about parts two and part three and if they would be released this year 

Tosca: Yes.

Oh, hello. Part, part two and part three of Gabriel's Inferno. Mm hmm. Yeah. Yeah, parts two and part three of Gabriel's Inferno will be released this year. Um, the hope is that they will be released, um, about a month apart. That's how long it'll take us to finish each part. But please keep in mind that each part is the same length as a feature length movie.

Um, a normal Avengers type movie. I mean, the They're big movies and the fact that we're working really hard, like literally around the clock, some people just said that we're able to release three feature films in three months. It's pretty insane. It's a pretty insane schedule, so I do ask that we try and be a little understanding if it's.

Four and a half [01:22:00] weeks or whatever it is, especially because we're all now working in an isolation World where we're not able to work Speedily together so we have to show work send it give notes send it back and it just takes a little longer But we are working on it and it will be released as quickly as possible this year Yes.

Lauren: Which I'm sure everyone will appreciate because, um, nothing is better than having little moments of escapism right now. And our movies definitely provide that, which is nice. I had a lovely email from someone earlier today, and I meant to forward it to you, Tea, and I'm sorry I didn't, but someone emailed about The Will and said, I just finally, you know, caught up on my movies and saw The Will.

And she's in Australia, she's 68, the country's been closed, and she's, you know. Freaking out and she's worried and she's had pneumonia before so she's worried about everything and uh, And she was like i'm isolating and all of that and so i'm fine right now But watching this movie made me forget about everything and that was really great And it was just it was such a beautiful Little note that she sent us to thank us for everything that we've been [01:23:00] doing and she's a family member as well So she was very grateful.

Tosca: So you can read as well. Yeah, and louise alston. She's the one that um Directed that movie and she did an amazing job. Yeah. 

Lauren: You, you, we, it's been very incredible that we've found, that you've found, like, great screenwriters for this, for these movies, as well as great directors for ones that you, you can't make yourself, because you can't do everything.

Um, can you talk? I know. She tries Asking people to be to be patient especially with Gabriel's and how it might take a little bit more time Already, and I think people forget this because it's been said, you know in the in the live here and there but it's sometimes forgotten how just how fast we are working compared to how The rest of Hollywood operates like the year time spans between the Fifty Shades movies and the Twilight movies even like long Spans of time between those releases because it takes time to make a [01:24:00] movie Um, can you talk a little bit about what some of the process is? And why it takes so long, and what your process is with finding screenwriters and directors. It's a two part question to you, just to make you talk more. 

Tosca: Yeah, it's gonna be a two hour podcast. Um, so, the first one. So we'll, uh, those, those are, so finding the writers and directors are very tricky. It's, it's hard, right?

You have to find a director. You have to, firstly, you find, have to find a writer that is willing to, um, Not rewrite the story. I need them to adapt a book and I need it to be adapted exactly how it is And I don't want your version of it. I want it to be the book. Um, and so that's hard, hard. It's hard to get writers to understand that they will try and, um, and adjust things in a scene by making characters do things that are not actually what's in the book.

And fortunately, I read it, I'm like, I don't think they do that, actually, [01:25:00] that doesn't seem like within their character. And then when you question the writer on it, they're like, oh, I was trying to get across that this place is sleazy. So I, I made him do something sleazy. And I'm like, but, He's not a sleazy guy, so you've just made him sleazy, not the place sleazy, so we have to adjust, and, um, and so it's, it's a very, uh, it's, it's an interesting direction to give them, um, but once they get it, they get it, and then they're like, oh, oh, oh, it's as simple as that.

It's as simple as just transferring this book into Basically a screenplay format and making sure that we are showing the the intention and the action behind everyone's motive so a lot of times in the book we will Um, show consent, right? In the book you'll hear, you'll see consent all the time, but in a screenplay they won't write it.

For some reason they skip over that part. We're so used to men just taking them and if you have an alpha male and she's going to take a woman and you don't [01:26:00] write and she leans into him, that's a problem, right? Now you're reading it as an aggressive Very alpha male story. That's not two people meeting.

Exactly. Yeah, so once you get the writer onto that path And then it's great and the same with the director director comes on and they want to make the story their own story They want to put their own spin on how the story is going to be they want to know how much leeway do they have in dialogue and in in Improv in Clothing and my response to them always is none You have it written there.

You have a, you're hired to do this script that we approved. You have a lot of input in how you direct these actors, how you can convey the chemistry, the shots that you choose, the beauty that you choose. Louise, you know, her shots are beautiful and the chemistry between those actors is incredible and how she directed them in their intimate moments.

Beautifully done, but they will, but she will [01:27:00] wear a green dress to that dinner, and she will have her hair up, and then it will come down. And it'll be very specific things that are noted in the book that will happen in this movie, and it will not be any different. 

You can direct for Passionflix, and you must show consent, and you must show our alpha male, and we must show the chemistry, and you will stick to the dialogue that's in the book. And if you start improvising or feeling that your dialogue is better than the author's dialogue, I will, I will cut it out of the movie, as I have done every other time.

When there's improv, I'll just cut it out of the movie immediately. Um, And I'll, I'll, or I'll make them redo it or I'll come to set and I'll say no that's, you actually aren't a better writer than our author so you don't get to make that decision. Um, and, and so that's, so that's how I am with my directors.

Lauren: I do love that you that you take on the [01:28:00] filmmaking side it very seriously that they're is not a lot of representation for women working in film. Um, we're, we're slowly and surely getting better at it in Hollywood. Um, but I love that right from the get go, and especially with you being at the helm, it's, it's taken on, no, we're gonna give females as many jobs as we can on our sets.

Um, and so that's It's been incredible to see. And so we haven't had a male director, which is great. 

Tosca: Yeah. Well, we haven't had a male director, honestly, no male directors have applied for the job. Ah, rude. So, there's that. Yeah. Um, but also, I don't know very many male directors that can show me the female gaze.

Tosca: In the way that we need to do it, right? I have a hard enough time with women not showing me the female gaze because we're so trained in showing the male gaze. That's everything that we've done is male gaze. Um, all of our examples on male gaze. So very rarely do we show a female gaze, even as women.

So um, uh, [01:29:00] you know, we haven't had very many men apply for the job and, um, or, and maybe one guy has, um, I, I know one agent has pitched, pitched one. Male director to us, but it's a time when I wouldn't that we weren't hiring another director And also I know their work because they did a movie for me many years ago Oh, and I won't he's not the right person for a passion fix movie But, uh, the other thing that we were talking about, so we went, you, you asked for directors and writers and then And your 

Lauren: process of, of how a Passionflix movie gets made, a little bit start to finish if you want to Oh, for the length of time.

Quickly summarize that, why it takes the length it does and how quick it actually is. 

Tosca: Yeah, so movie, so we can write a script in about two months. It's sometimes three, depending on from start to finish and how many notes the author has because the author responds to it. And then it'll take us about six to eight weeks to cast the movie.

Um, because we need, we're many characters, you need a number of times to go [01:30:00] through it and address things and meet with people and then have like three meetings and four meetings and sometimes it takes a week for people to get back to it and read a script. And then, um, so now we're at, you know, so that's two months, the three months, four, five months, right?

Five months just to get to day one of principal photography. And then the movie will take three to six weeks to film, depending on the movie, right? So most movies take three weeks to film because they're smaller movies. Gabriel's Inferno took six and a half weeks to film. Um, yeah, a long time, six and a half weeks to film that movie.

And, um, and so, so now we're at, how many months is that? Six, seven months, right? So we're at seven months. So it's seven or eight months, seven months. And then once we finished the movie, um, I don't see a cut for about two to three weeks after that. That's when editorial comes in and they put the whole thing together.

Lauren:  Margie's already very speedy. 

Tosca: Okay, that's very fast. Yeah, exactly. And so, so let's imagine it's three weeks later. [01:31:00] And, um, so just from the day that you guys all know, Hey, that's the last day of filming a movie. Three weeks later, I get to see a cut, um, and then we have another, maybe, um, seven weeks of editing after that.

I see a cut, then she goes back and she does more, then we do back and forth. So let's say it's, it's, um, seven to ten weeks after we wrap the movie, keeping in mind any holidays, everybody has holidays, so if it's over the holidays, if it's over Christmas holidays, everybody else is So it's, so it's, so let's say seven to 10 weeks.

So we're at two and a half months of editing. And then, um, once we lock picture, then it's another six to eight weeks of post production sound. So that's another two months. So four and a half months is, is generally speaking the length after we've wrapped principal photography. And then after we've finished that.

We have to do QC, which means it's quality control, to make sure that everything's [01:32:00] there, which takes about a week. And then I have to do closed captioning and subtitles, which takes two and a half weeks. So that's why sometimes it's not done, because we release it the next day, closed captions are not done, subtitles are not done, and we can re release it two and a half weeks later, because it's how long it takes.

So, ultimately it takes about five to five and a half months after we wrap principal photography to finish a movie. And that is it. Super fast. It's faster than most other people can make a movie. And that's us dedicated to this, um, dedicated. 

Lauren: So. And not even to mention the fact that, that because we have so many irons in the fire, you were directing Gabriel's Inferno while editing Dirty Sexy Saint.

Like, like, that's sometimes how fast it overlaps because we're trying to As hard as we can to get the content out. 

Tosca: So while dirty sexy saint I was doing color timing. So we changed the color on a picture I was doing color timing on dirty sexy saint on the weekends [01:33:00] in rochester while filming in syracuse and then um, and I would drive out to rochester with my kids and stay in the holiday inn and then my kids would be in the Rochester Institute of Technology playing with a babysitter that we found in Rochester, uh, in the Institute of Technology while I'm color timing and, um, then put the kids back in and then go and hang out at the hotel.

And, and then I'd drive back and then I would direct Gabriel's Inferno during the week. And then when we do color timing, then I would leave at, you know, seven o'clock in the morning to fly to New York. to do sound mixing on Gay on Dirty Sexy Saint Saturday and Sunday, and then I would fly back to Syracuse, and I would direct during the week, so Jesus.

I know. And then, and then at the same time, we were finishing The Will, so once, so once I'd finished Dirty Sexy Saint, so then we're finishing The Will, so then on the weekends, um, we would, I would shoot So after I finished Dirty Sexy Saint, okay, that's [01:34:00] done. Now I'm doing um, Gabriel's Inferno. Now I'm doing um, The Will and um, and also with Gabriel's Inferno.

Then we had the premiere of Gabriel's Inferno in the middle of Dirty Sexy Saint. We had the premiere of Dirty Sexy Saint in the middle of directing Gabriel's Inferno. So then we finished directing, fly to New York, go to premiere, yay! Oh yeah, I watched and 

Ali: I watched The Will in Syracuse too. I forgot that, so you weren't doing all that one time.

Tosca: Yeah, and you were with me, because you were with me working on Gabriel's Inferno, um, that week, and then, um, we had, like, a glass of wine or three, um, after wrapping, and then had two hours of sleep, and then jumped on a plane, and flew to New York to do the premiere of Dirty Sexy Saint, and then the next morning flew back to Syracuse to go back to directing on the Monday and then that following weekend I started doing all the editorial notes on [01:35:00] the will so that's when I started watching the will and then giving notes on the Will every day every week and then it was Christmas And then we went to Italy and filmed then it came back when it was Christmas.

We got back on the 22nd of December It was Christmas And then I was like, hey, we should really do the Gabriel's Rapture right away. So 12 days later after the holiday, so December, oh no, January 14th, 15th, we started shooting Rapture. Yeah, you hear that folks? We've got Rapture on the way. Yeah, we started shooting Rapture while, and so then while I was shooting Rapture, I'm giving more notes on the will, and then I finished shooting Rapture.

And, uh, left that day, flew to New York, and did the sound mix for The Will. And then I flew home.

Lauren: And you haven't finished all of Rapture. You've finished what you could film so far, because it takes place over a bunch of seasons. Just to, just so fans 

Tosca: are not like, what, Rapture's already? No, we filmed, we filmed everything that took place in Toronto.

So in the Toronto part of the [01:36:00] book, um, Toronto and Stelan's Grove in the winter, that's what we were able to shoot, um, so once she moves to Massachusetts, no, we haven't shot any of that, um, and we haven't filmed the beginning part of Rapture, which is in Italy. The BBC and his lecture and things like that.

We haven't filmed that because it's in Italy and we can't go there. 

Lauren: Totally fair. Totally fair. Um, so great. I think that was basically all of the questions I have. Um, Allie, did you have anything else you wanted us to talk about? Um, and if not, I would say if we have any last thoughts to share, we can share them and then we can sign off.

Ali: Yeah. 

Tosca: Uh, this was really fun. That's, that's one of my final thoughts. Yeah, I love this. This is really fun. I really enjoyed it, and I look forward to doing many more podcasts. Maybe we can keep them down to one hour as opposed to almost two. 

Lauren: This was definitely a tester, and, and, and we definitely talked about, a lot about passion flicks in general on Gabriel's, so [01:37:00] maybe with Margie's help we can split it into two different cohesive videos.

Tosca: No, I think we can release it just like this. I think it's great. We'll be fine, but, um, But the, um, but it is, uh, I look forward to us having more of these conversations and doing, um, more of these podcasts and video podcasts, depending on how they work out. Zoom podcast. Um, but, um, and inviting some of our authors to join us.

Yes. That would be really great. I look forward to our next conversation, where maybe we can talk about either this man and the protector, or tangled and royally screwed, or You know, anyone about that, maybe Kristy Bomberg wants to come on board and talk about Driven.

Lauren: I love it. We have all the possibilities. Yeah. It's going to be great. Um, so thanks everyone for listening and for watching and, uh, [01:38:00] please comment on the video, uh, below. We would love to hear any thoughts you have from what you heard today. Um, and we would love to hear your thoughts on the Gabriel's Inferno book as well, and we're so excited to share it with you soon.

Tosca: Yes. And look forward to getting your questions. If there's anything we didn't answer and we'll address it next time. Exactly. Perfect. All right. Thanks, everyone.