“They’re all very similar to me,” says White about the hotel inhabitants.
The resort onThe White Lotusappears to be the picture of opulence.
Which is no wonder seeing as how the HBO show was filmed at The Four Seasons Maui.
‘The White Lotus’.Credit: Mario Perez/HBO
But perhaps the change in scenery is a welcome one for the writer/director.
“They’re all very similar to me,” says White.
What’s your position on that: Have you ever complained about your hotel room?
Mike White, creator of ‘The White Lotus’.Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic
MIKE WHITE:I have an agent who it’s a badge of honor for him.
As my aesthetic probably indicates, any kind of conflict at this frequency is almost unbearable for me.
I can write it, but I’m very bad at trying to get a better room.
Connie Britton on ‘The White Lotus’.Mario Perez/HBO
And it’s like I never even mentioned that my room is facing a wall or something.
Watching the show, I couldn’t help but wonder: What is your take on tropical resorts?
Do you like staying at them?
Jolene Purdy and Murray Bartlett on ‘The White Lotus.'.Mario Perez/HBO
The first vacations my family took were in Hawaii.
So I do tend to want to go.
And I guessSurvivoris an extension of that.
Jennifer Coolidge and Murray Bartlett in ‘The White Lotus’.Mario Perez/HBO
I would look atSurvivorand be like, “That sounds kind of fun.”
And they’ve got a mask and a snorkel.
Do you mean psychologically or within writing?
Hawaii has such a complicated cultural history in its relationship to the mainland and American mainlanders.
Is there any common thread throughout all these wealthy hotel guests as you were writing them?
Or is it just a common location?
Is there something beyond the hotel and their obvious wealth that binds them together?
I just wanted to get at how money really impacts all relationships, beyond even just guest and employee.
Do you see yourself in any of these characters?
Are any of these characters similar to you at all?
They’re all very similar to me.
I mean, there’s a certain part of me in each of the characters, I think.
I just said that!"
And you just catch yourself in those moments where you’re like, I am a modern-day bitch.
Our whole world orients you to having a life of comfort and convenience.
And then you realize how privileged that is to even have a vacation and all those things.
How involved were you with making those wardrobe and prop choices?
That’s probably the best part of being a director is that I can make those little decisions.
Cornell seems to be a good one and that seems funny.
And we got the hat, I was like, “Yeah, that’s perfect.”
He got it all broken in.
And what was funny was that Jake never really gets very far in the book.
One of my favorite scenes so far was between Rachel and Nicole back in episode 2.
Where did the seed of that scene come from?
And then it’s like, “But you f—ed me over.
I’ll destroy you.”
And I find that the great executives that I’ve worked with who are women haveallthe moves.
So I just felt like that was sort of true.
How did you come up with the act they were caught engaging in?
Now with shows, anytime there’s nudity or anything sexual, there are these intimacy coordinators.
So I wanted to minimize it.
So I just felt like it was specific, but also would end up being impactful visually.
So we kind of landed there.
It’s so great because you think know what’s going to happen.
He should be bent over."
You have Armond reciting a portion ofThe Lotus Eatersat the end of episode 5.
Was that poem a big inspiration for the series as a whole?
How having money can, in a way, buffer you from some of the harsher parts of life.
I know I’m not the first person to tell you how great the music is in the show.
How did you find your soundtrack from Cristobal Tapia de Veer?
Or there’s just a real tropical anxiety.
That works really well."
And it worked so well, I was like, “We just have to find this composer.
I need this exact thing.”
And yeah, people are like, “How did you create the tone of the show?”
And I was like, “Well, Cristo did.”
The tone is really so much set by the music.
Finally, yourSurvivortribemate Alec Merlinoplays one of the bartenders on the show.
How difficult was he on set?
He was actually a little bit of a troublemaker.
We were in a bubble at the Four Seasons and we were never supposed to leave.
And then, of course, I find out that he really was leaving our bubble.
Was heposting pictures on Instagram with the caption “F— it” or not?
He didn’t go that far, but I could see it happening.
