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The creative juices were flowing.
DOMINIC MILLER/NETFLIX
They weren’t ready to stop.
(Levinson actually did this, and still feels guilty about it.)
“This confident, tough woman who was a little bit of a fighter.
She’s got opinions; she’s funny, charismatic, radiant.”
Then came Levinson’s next question: “Who can go toe-to-toe with her?”
“I was at such a low.
And here’s this opportunity to escape my reality.”
Malcolm & Mariefollows the couple over a tumultuous night of arguments, revelations, and passion.
Two people, one location easy enough for a COVID-safe shoot, right?
But bare-bones as it may have been, options were limited.
So it had to be in Carmel."
The rules for the actors were as straightforward as they were strict.
For 12 days in June, “nobody left the Carmel Valley estate, the lodging.
Nearly everyone on the skeleton crew needed to wear multiple hats.
“No ADs, or schedules, or script supervisors…
There were times when Sam was writing as we were going.”
There was one other complication.
“We didn’t really have a third act,” Zendaya deadpans.
“[We] were figuring it out as we went.
It was very intimidating.
I felt myself trying to play catch up the entire time.”
For her part, Zendaya appreciated everything Washington brought as a scene partner.
“He’s so talented and detail-oriented and asks all these incredible questions.
Because of the level that your creative partner is going.”
“I had some breakthroughs, honestly.
[I’ll be] appreciative of Sam for that for the rest of my life.”
Nearly everyone on the film’s set was from the HBO drama and had been out of work.
“I felt like the entire industry was watching us,” Washington admits.
Fortunately, they pulled it off.
