Lily Collins’ Husband Says Directing Her in Windfall Was ‘Distracting’ During Kissing Scene
” ‘My good friend [is] kissing my then-fiancée,’ ” Charlie McDowell recalls of his thoughts while directing Lily Collins and Jesse Plemons in Windfall
Working with Lily Collins on his movie Windfall wasn’t all smooth sailing for her husband, Charlie McDowell.
The 38-year-old filmmaker — who wrote and directed the upcoming Netflix thriller starring Collins, 32, Jesse Plemons and Jason Segel — told Entertainment Tonight Monday that “the only time it was a little distracting” to direct his wife was “when Jesse Plemons, who’s a very good friend of mine, is picking her up and kissing her.”
“I’m like, ‘Wait a minute. There’s something off about this. My good friend is kissing my then-fiancée,’ ” McDowell added in the interview.
But for Collins, she said she “was able to completely forget the fact that it was my husband directing me” and be in the moment with their characters, thanks in large part to her beau’s talent behind the camera.
“He’s such a great actor’s director [in] the way he communicates to all of us and what he wants and how collaborative he is,” added the Emily in Paris actress of McDowell.
Windfall is “a Hitchcockian thriller” that follows a young couple (Collins and Plemons, 33) who arrive at their vacation home, only to discover that it has been robbed, according to an official synopsis.
McDowell, who tied the knot with Collins back in September, told ET that he and the cast and crew “had such a good time making this film,” noting that “the collaboration between” him and his wife on set “was really special.”
“Jason Segel, I’ve known for 18 years and is a dear friend,” McDowell added. “It was like being at camp with all of these actors. It was really fun.”
“It was so easy, and it was such a collaborative team effort,” Collins said. “And it was really fun. It actually was really fun. Then, at the end of the day, we got to pick apart the day and go, ‘How did you feel?’ … It was great. It was a really great time.”
Collins previously opened up about working with McDowell in an interview with Vogue Australia, admitting it was different from what she initially expected.
“I thought it would be harder, I have to say. I thought it would be more stressful to have to work with him, but it honestly was really amazing and freeing,” she said. “It was great, and I’m really, really proud of the movie and I’m proud of him. It’s a different type of role for me.”
“It was so easy working together. I would forget that it was him,” Collins told Vogue Australia, jokingly adding, “He just said, ‘I haven’t heard the word ‘genius’ yet.’ “
Windfall is streaming Friday on Netflix.
