THE FIVE-YEAR ENGAGEMENT CHAT: Emily Blunt & Jason Segel

10th November 2012

We talk to Emily Blunt (‘Violet’) and Jason Segel (‘Tom’ & co-writer) about The Five Year Engagement, which is on DVD.

Q: What kind of deleted scenes can we look forward to?

EB: There was a storyline with an ex-boyfriend of mine, which was very funny, named Gideon.

JS: There was also that beautiful sequence where you loaned me money.

EB: Oh yeah.

JS: And we dance. We have a whole romantic dance number.

EB: I’m so sad that’s not in it. We go to this dance club and he finally admits that he’s broke and all this stuff, but it’s stuff that we just couldn’t fit in.

JS: Yeah, the movie’s already two hours long. We had to – they use the expression, “sacrifice your babies,” and it was stuff that we truly loved but we had to leave some of it out.

EB: Yeah.

Q: That’s good because that means that it’s good babies that are extras.

JS: Absolutely.

EB: Yes. Yes.

Q: I really love that this film is about post-proposal, about what a real relationship is about, is that what drew you to it? Or what you wanted to get out of it?

EB: It’s definitely what drew me to it because it just seemed a very fresh premise for a romantic comedy in that the couple actually starts off in love, and I thought that would be interesting, to see the plight that they have to go through now.

JS: Yeah. I think we just wanted to explore how relationships change over that amount of time.

Q: Is there a message in there that if you find someone who is right, or nearly right, then you should just get on with it?

EB: I think it has to be what you feel – it has to be totally gut instinct. I think and I believe that when you know, you know, like it’s very, very instant.

JS: I agree. I completely agree.

EB: Stop waiting for perfection, just let yourself fall in love and go from there. Right?

JS: Yeah.

EB: I wasn’t saying it to you.

JS: Oh.

Q: Is there also a message that if your guy gets a bit beardy and feral, that it’s not possibly very attractive?

EB: Very beardy?

JS: Yeah, I’m getting beardy now, but it is attractive, but I do know what you mean.

EB: It’s patchy at the moment, but it will be.

JS: It is patchy, but it will be beardy. Yeah. What is unattractive, I think, is the loss of identity. He has forgotten who he is and has basically just become an assistant to her in a lot of ways, versus a partner. I think that is what is unattractive.

Q: It’s not attractive in a guy if he just gives up.

EB: Yeah, or just enables her or lives vicariously through her, probably.

Q: Tell me about working together, I am sure it was a lot of fun.

EB: It was crazy!

JS: It was the best! We had a really good time.

EB: It was really good fun.

JS: We’ve done three movies together.

EB: It’s almost nauseating now.

JS: Yeah.

EB: I mean amazing. No, it was great. It was easy-going and fun, and I think it helps the relationship on-screen because we have this natural rapport and ease with each other off-set.

JS: We know each other so well we can finish each other’s

EB: sentences. Wow!

JS: Woah.

EB: Shit, that was good.

Q: Did you rehearse that?

EB: No. Improv.

JS: Amazingly no, we didn’t rehearse that.

EB: Because it was so funny.

Q: Finally, how was it working with Nick Stoller (director)?

EB: I love him. I love him. You’ve had more experience than me.

JS: He’s one of my best friends in the world, and we’ve done quite a bit together, and it’s always fresh and new with us, but it was really nice to have a new partner in crime [indicates Emily].

EB: The best thing about Nick is that he has

JS: The laugh.

JS: The laugh of the century.

EB: You feel so supported because after each take you hear this screeching laugh and you’re like, “Oh,” and you probably think it’s funnier than it actually was because he is so incredibly supportive.

JS: It’s really high-pitched.

EB: Really high-pitched. Have you heard him laugh? It’s amazing. Ask him.

JS: That always works, when you ask someone to laugh.

EB: Every actor who has worked with Nick always says, “Oh, the laugh.”

JS: Yeah, it’s amazing.

EB: He’s just awesome.

Thanks to Sophie.

Facebook

Google

Twitter

We hope you're enjoying BRWC. You should check us out on our social channels, subscribe to our newsletter, and tell your friends. BRWC is short for battleroyalewithcheese.