"The Five Star Weekend" Press Junket | The Latest With Maya

 A conversation with Bekah Brunstetter and Minkie Spiro.❤️ All episodes of "The Five Star Weekend" are streaming now on Peacock! 


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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

It's a late Hi um I'm Maya from The Latest with Maya. Um I'm so excited to be talking with you.

SPEAKER_00 0:20

We all too.

SPEAKER_01 0:21

Good to see you. Hi. Um so uh why did you want to adapt the five-star weekend into a limited series?

SPEAKER_02 0:35

Well, to me, it's um exactly the kind of story I'm drawn to because it's on the one hand, um life-affirming and hopeful and aspirational and funny and sweet, but it's also got a lot of depth to it too, and a lot of grit and messiness. And I just love stories that that walk that fine line.

SPEAKER_00 0:59

And I and I and I think that uh when I look at what's out there on television, I feel like this is the kind of story that needs to be told. There aren't enough female-centric shows that really dig deep, that really interrogate friendships while also um looking at grief and and love and family, all the things that are universal, but what Becca's done is kind of encapsulate them in this very entertaining but rather deep um journey. So I for me it was a a no-brainer I had to get involved.

SPEAKER_01 1:45

Oh, I love that. Yeah. Um, so I got a screener and I've watched half of it and um I love it. Um what are you most excited about for everyone to see?

SPEAKER_02 2:03

Oh man, the so I, you know, when I was growing up, I was a big fan of when I was a kid, the Babysitters Club, and then when I was a little bit older, Sex in the City. And I love the fact that those stories and that show make make you look at your own friendships and look at yourself and say, Am I Carrie? Am I Samantha? Am I Miranda? Am I Christy? Am I Claudia? Right. Because there are these like really different, almost like archetypes of women that also feel like real people in your life. And I'm excited for people to watch the show and reflect on their own friendships and ask themselves, like, who's my Tatum? Who's my Duran? And let the show inspire people to really like do the work that friendship requires and make time for your friends because that's so hard to do and we must do it.

SPEAKER_00 2:51

Yeah. I mean, I I I I think that uh um five-star weekend, I hope the biggest takeaway for audiences will be that they will invest in their friendships. I mean, the truth is when when things get difficult, we turn to our friends, but we also take them for granted because life and family and work become the unfortunately the priority. So hopefully by the end of watching five star, people that people's takeaway is going to be I'm going on my own five-star weekend, and who are my five stars gonna be four stars gonna be?

SPEAKER_01 3:30

Oh, I love that. Yeah. Um, so were there any scenes that you had to do multiple takes and would make it on a blooper reel?

SPEAKER_02 3:43

Oh man. What was bloopery? I mean, there were certainly a lot of big emotional scenes, but I mean, I think anytime where the five women are together, I love those scenes because they feel like almost scenes from a play. And um we we had a lot of fun just letting them all be themselves and improvise to capture that spirit of uh just some friends hanging out in an unscripted way. And I'm sure there's some bloopers there.

SPEAKER_00 4:13

There must be. Yeah, there are tons of bloopers, but there that there's one that isn't on camera. But I remember in in the pilot episode, uh, or maybe it's the beginning of episode two, uh, Jane Garner's character is bringing out the remade uh galette. Yeah, and the cameras are all on our four stars receiving her and this galette, and she she the galette starts to slide off the board, the the chopping board, and you can see the cast slightly flinching, but really being terribly professional. Meanwhile, off camera, Jen G sort of like trying to and she manages to catch the black, the galette, and we only had a few, so yeah, she manages to save it. And then I call Kat, and everyone's just bursts into laughter because, of course, you know, they can now release that yeah, that anxiety of Jen saving the the galette.

SPEAKER_02 5:09

Yeah, the dance party too, they were pretty nuts, even though it was so cold that night, they they had a lot of fun expressing themselves with the art of dance.

SPEAKER_01 5:17

Oh, I love that. Yeah, the dance scene was so fun to watch. Um and uh so um as you were um adapting the book, did you have any actors in mind for specific roles?

SPEAKER_02 5:36

I try not to um I try to keep an open mind when I'm writing because I don't want to get like too attached to an idea. But as soon as um we started talking, like as soon as the first time somebody uttered the name Jen Garner, I thought, well, that's absolutely perfect. Yeah. And um, I think I kind of felt that way, which with each cast member that we found. I I'm so blessed with our cast, I just can't believe it. It's wild.

SPEAKER_00 6:05

Yeah. I mean, they are a gift that keeps giving. Um, I th I think what was interesting is we were very, I mean, Jen Geng Ji was our temple, yeah, and then it was finding the other four. But I think we were very keen to surprise the audience, as in not to go for what potentially could have been a predictable casting. I think each one of our cast could could basically lead their own show. They're that talented and they're that you know, like a different genre of show, too, which is so interesting. Yeah. So and and so as the series went on and you knew who each of those characters was, I think you were then writing to their strengths. Yeah, and it was just wonderful to watch, they're such a generous ensemble with each other, like they're not scene stealers, they give each other in the moment, and there is as a director, that's a very unusual thing to have, is that they're all supporting each other and their journey, and there isn't a kind of selfish player in the mix that sort of hogs the scene. Yeah, it's a very, very unique unicorn show in that respect, uh in terms of the cost.

SPEAKER_01 7:26

Oh, I love that. Um so my final question for you is today, what are you most grateful for?

SPEAKER_02 7:37

Oh man. I'm sitting here living the dream with with a director, another woman who's both strong and kind and funny, like all the women on this show. Um, I just can't believe and and I'm getting paid to write the thing that I've wanted to do since I was a little girl. This is insane. I'm very lucky and grateful.

SPEAKER_00 8:00

I I mean, you know, it's such a beautiful question. Because gratitude is something that people take for granted, or rather forget to acknowledge. And I think Becca's kind of stolen my answer, which is uh because we share a brain. Yeah. So like it was so interesting as the the shoot progressed, I would be walking to set to give a note, and I'd look at Becca and she'd say the note, and I'd have the same note on my post it sticking to the code.

SPEAKER_02 8:32

We're like going to each other to say the exact same thing.

SPEAKER_00 8:34

So that there is I I am grateful to have met Becca, to have had the honor to work with Becca and indeed the cast. Um, and I really believe that this, I really hope that this show brings as much joy to the audience as it did to us making it. Yeah. And we we develop friendships for life on this show, um, truly.

SPEAKER_01 8:58

Oh, I love that. Um, well, thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions. Uh I've loved talking with you both, and I love this show, and I can't wait for everyone to see it. Thanks.

SPEAKER_00 9:15

Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 9:16

Appreciate you.