We want the best: Our demands for the forthcoming Kiss movie starring Nick Jonas

Earlier this week, we learned that Kiss, initially dubbed "the hottest band in the land" before they upgraded to "the hottest band in the world," will soon share their story on the silver screen. Shout It Out Loud, named after a particularly catchy song on their third album, is due to start production at the end of this year or early 2026.
The film will be directed by McG, the Charlie's Angels auteur whose last five movies have been Netflix releases including Rim of the World and Family Switch. Nick Jonas is currently in negotiations to play Paul Stanley, Kiss' lead singer (but second banana to bassist Gene Simmons, whose casting remains a mystery, as spokesman for the group).
We're going to be optimists and say we eagerly await the finished product. For those raising eyebrows at Jonas' casting (and the Kiss Reddit page is a good source for that sentiment), one must recognize that while Kiss is considered a hard rock group — what with their demonic face paint, leather-and-spiked costumes, lusty tongue wiggling, blood spitting, and onstage fireballs — a lot of their music is just as poppy as the Jonas Brothers' material.
That may sound like sacrilege, but when you break down what makes a song like "I Was Made for Lovin' You" work, you'll see it's not that different from "Play My Music."
Much like the Bob Dylan film A Complete Unknown, this upcoming project is reportedly about the early days of the group, watching Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley transform from two Jewish kids in Queens (Chaim Witz and Stanley Eisen) into "The Demon" and "Starchild." We'll likely see how the pair, with guitarist Ace Frehley and drummer Peter Criss, created their flamboyant, theatrical style, which, mixed with simple chords and prurient lyrics, eventually led to 14 platinum albums and 75 million records sold worldwide.
A Kiss movie has the potential to be a lot of fun, which is why we're going to assume that McG and the roughly 700 listed producers on this project are eager for some notes. Especially since there already was a movie, Spinning Gold, that detailed Kiss' pre-superstar years, which was pretty lousy. (It was more about record executive Neil Bogart, but Kiss is a big part of his story.)
To that end, here's what needs to be in a Kiss movie.
Several behind-the-scenes sequences detailing the production of Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park, the 1978 television film starring Kiss. For those who haven't seen it, Kiss play themselves facing down an evil inventor who keeps his secret lair in an amusement park. It's kind of a mix of The Phantom of the Opera and Westworld, and features a lot of sunny California girls and roller coasters.
We would also like a songwriting scene rivaling the Mozart-Salieri conclusion of Amadeus, but with Simmons and Stanley composing the lyric "You pull the trigger of my love gun."
We also insist that they include the moment (which many believe to be an urban myth) where the members of Kiss dripped some of their blood into the vats of red ink used to create a Marvel Kiss comic book. A notary was witness to it, to ensure that this really happened, and that fans who purchased a copy would know they had real Kiss DNA in their homes. (Imagine reading this comic after cleansing yourself with some Sydney Sweeney bathwater soap!)
Another highlight would be one of Simmons' first television appearances, on The Mike Douglas Show, where comedian Totie Fields saw right through his Dracula act and the two started making Jewish jokes.
We'd also like to see the notoriously pugnacious Simmons accepting the fact that the band's biggest hit was the syrupy ballad "Beth," sung and co-written by Criss. (And that many people believe that the best song in the entire Kiss oeuvre is Frehley's cover of "New York Groove," which Simmons had nothing to do with.)
There should also be a montage of Jonas belting out some of Stanley's signature screeching stage banter. (Do not click this unless you have an hour to kill and are in a location where you feel comfortable roaring with laughter.)
Similarly, please give us more details about The Elder, the never-produced fantasy film that gave us the uncharacteristic album Music From the Elder, Kiss' attempt to create something similar to Pink Floyd's The Wall.
The film must also show Simmons and Stanley's true métier. Recording albums is one thing, but finalizing merchandising deals is where Kiss truly shined. From shirts and posters and lunchboxes and figurines to the most final of purchases, the Kiss Kasket.
To that end, we should also see how Kiss will live forever, as the members of the group have uploaded their likenesses (and maybe their consciousness?) into digital avatars.
Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Forbes

36 minutes ago

• Forbes

Is ‘The Waterfront' Coming Back For Season 2? Here's The Promising News

The Waterfront. Holt McCallany as Harlan Buckley in episode 101 of The Waterfront. Netflix's latest Southern crime drama is already climbing the platform's charts shortly after its release. Finished all eight episodes of The Waterfront and want more of the Buckleys? Keep reading to learn the latest on Season 2 from the show's creator and Netflix. The Waterfront, which is inspired by true events, follows the Buckley family as they try to regain control of their failing North Carolina fishing empire. But as their business begins crumble while patriarch Harlan Buckley suffers from two heart attacks, his wife Belle and son Cane must do whatever's necessary to keep the family enterprises afloat. 'As their attempts spiral out of control and into treacherous waters, Harlan steps back in to take command," Netflix's synopsis continues. "Facing her own demons, Buckley daughter Bree – an addict in recovery who's lost custody of her son Diller – finds herself entangled in a complicated relationship that could threaten the family's future forever. Just one day after the debut of its first season, The Waterfront has already claimed the No. 1 spot on Netflix's U.S. TV chart. The finale delivered a shocking twist and teased the future of the Buckley family, leaving many viewers wondering what comes next. Here's everything to know about a potential Season 2 of The Waterfront, including its renewal status, what it could be about, which characters could return and more. Warning: Spoilers ahead for The Waterfront Season 1. Will There Be The Waterfront Season 2 On Netflix? The Waterfront. (L to R) Maria Bello as Belle Buckley, Jake Weary as Cane Buckley in episode 107 of ... More The Waterfront. Netflix has not yet renewed The Waterfront for a second season. The series recently premiered on the platform on June 19, and the decision will likely depend on how well the first season performs over the coming weeks and months. While talking to various media outlets, series creator Kevin Williamson has been optimistic about a second season. 'I would love very much a chance to write Season 2, because I feel like I'm just getting started with this story and this family,' he recently told Williamson also shared what his hopes are for Season 2 in an interview with TV Insider. "The end of the first season feels like it's still moving because you don't want it to stop, right? So that's a good sign, I think, for Season 2," he said. "I would like to see it just keep moving. I would like to see the family come together to stave off some universal villain. In a different interview, the creator teased to Tudum what the next installment could be about, and how it will shift from Harlan and Cane's story to another character. 'This season was about Harlan and Cane — how they reconciled their differences and how they're going to move forward,' he told Tudum, hinting that Belle will likely taking a bigger role in the future. 'Now Belle is a little more front and center. She's not living in the shadows.' In Season 2, viewers will also hopefully see more of Shawn Wilson (Rafael L. Silv) – Harlan's secret son and Cane's half-brother. 'Just getting to work with Rafa more would be incredible. I love Rafa dearly. The whole cast is incredible. There's a bond there that can't be broken. Even if we don't do a Season 2, we're all gonna be friends for life. I love them so dearly,' he told TV Insider. 'Rafa, too, that's my boy. He's such an incredible actor, and that would be cool to see more of and Cane and Shawn for Season 2, for sure.' Which Characters Could Return For The Waterfront Season 2? The Waterfront. (L to R) Humberly González as Jenna Tate, Jake Weary as Cane Buckley in episode 103 ... More of The Waterfront. All of the main cast of The Waterfront could reprise their roles for Season 2, especially the Buckleys. However, Topher Grace is not expected to return, as his character, Grady, was shot and killed by Cane in the Season 1 finale. What Could The Waterfront Season 2 Be About? The Waterfront. Maria Bello as Belle Buckley in episode 106 of The Waterfront. With Belle Buckley taking on a greater role in a potential Season 2, the second installment of The Waterfront could revolve around her relationship with the Parkers. In the finale, the crime family has seemingly chosen her to be their point of contact. 'She's much more rational. She's not going to make decisions based on her emotions. She's too smart and levelheaded for that,' Williamson said to Tudum. 'They see a true partnership with her in a way that they'll never have with Harlan.' While this may be good for Belle, Harlan may have mixed feelings upon learning that his wife is working with the enemy without anyone knowing. Harlan's portrayer, Holt McCallany, told Tudum that he believes his character would be willing to talk through Belle's latest betrayal. 'Sometimes people make the wrong decisions for the right reasons,' he explained. 'If someone hurts Harlan, he has to ask, 'Was it their intention to hurt me? Or was it their intention to protect me?' Even though he wouldn't like what Belle did, she did it out of love for him and their family.' Another promising update? Williamson hasn't just mapped out a second season – he's also planned a third installment of the crime drama. 'I'm hoping I get the chance to tell those stories. I do think it's a fun show, and it's unlike anything I've ever done. And I just hope people enjoy it,' he told ScreenRant. When Could The Waterfront Season 2 Be Released On Netflix? The Waterfront. (L to R) Melissa Benoist as Bree Buckley, Rafael Silva as Shawn West in episode 102 ... More of The Waterfront. The first season of The Waterfront began filming in Wilmington, NC in 2024, before premiering on Netflix in June 2025. Season 2 could potentially arrive sometime in late 2026 or early 2027 – depending on when (or if) Netflix officially greenlights the next installment and when filming begins. Stay tuned for more updates on The Waterfront Season 2. Season one of The Waterfront is now streaming on Netflix. Watch the official trailer below.

Hamilton Spectator

an hour ago

• Hamilton Spectator

The Rob Ford Netflix documentary is extra surreal for me. Because I'm in it

Many Torontonians are, thanks to a new Netflix documentary , reliving Rob Ford's wildly chaotic, world-headline-making years as the city's mayor and chief magistrate. Watching ' Trainwreck: Mayor of Mayhem ,' was extra surreal for me because I'm in it, among three reporters, three former mayoral staffers and two city councillors whose recollections narrate Ford's unlikely election, early mayoral success, crack-fuelled scandal and untimely death. Reactions to the doc, since it went live Tuesday, are as fascinating and varied as Torontonians' evaluations of Ford as mayor, ranging from martyred best-mayor-ever to a natural human disaster for the city. Ontario Premier Doug Ford says a new Netflix documentary about his late brother Rob Ford is "disgusting." The doc titled 'Trainwreck: Mayor of Mayhem" chronicles Rob Ford's rise to power as Toronto mayor in 2010 and his chaotic time in office. Speaking at a news conference in Toronto, Doug Ford said he wasn't going to watch the film, and he doesn't see eye-to-eye with the creators. (June 17, 2025 / The Canadian Press) In 2016, when asked about Ford's death from a rare cancer, I replied that it was a huge human tragedy for him and his family. For the city, his reign was collective trauma that would take years for all of us to work through. We're still doing the work. Some reviewers have questioned why do the doc, and why now . The reality is that Canada, where the Ford story is known, is a small part of Netflix's viewership. This is a fast-paced retelling aimed at a global audience including those who had never heard of him. Social media reactions from viewers in the U.S., England and elsewhere are versions of 'I remember a bit about this guy but the stuff in here is CRAZY, can it all even be true? And in Canada??' I sympathize because, even though I watched Ford like a hawk as the Star's city hall bureau chief, I had forgotten how many embarrassing videos surfaced before he finally went to rehab. Torontonians' reactions seem split between Ford fans who, like his brother Doug the premier, think that making a doc is 'disgusting,' those who say the filmmakers made a balanced and informative recounting, and those who say glowing tributes and missing details hide lasting damage Ford did to the city's reputation, transit, finances and more. My take is that U.K.-based director Shianne Brown and her team did a great job in the run time they had, less than 50 minutes, and within the confines of a 'Trainwreck' series focused on promising things that went horribly wrong. I can say from my window into the process that they took the challenge seriously and did exhaustive research, including three background interviews with me before I went on camera. Could the Rob Ford experience have sustained a 90-minute treatment, or longer? Absolutely. The doc doesn't mention the saga of Ford mugging my then-colleague Daniel Dale of his BlackBerry , trying to ruin Daniel's reputation with a heinous falsehood and being forced to apologize . Also missing are Ford's visits to Taste of the Danforth and the Biermarkt, as well as wandering through city hall at 2:30 a.m. with a half-drunk bottle of brandy . A friend who worked at city hall and knew Ford well told me the story is crying out for a multi-part, Scorsese-esque dramatization. Brown artfully covered the question 'What happened?' A longer run time would have allowed a look at 'Why?', and a deeper exploration of the most complicated person I have met in 36 years of reporting. The film mentions the strong influence of Doug Ford Sr., the rags-to-riches millionaire patriarch and one-term Progressive Conservative MPP who was 'tough' on the kids but sparked their ambition before his own premature cancer death. There is more to consider on that. In 2014, I examined why the Fords had no 'off switch,' no matter what came at them, by talking to Doug Ford and family friends. Doug Sr. used to call his four privileged children's unlimited potential 'the gold mine.' 'Any time he got ticked off he'd say, 'You aren't mining the gold!' ' Doug recalled. 'The gold mine, it doesn't have to be financial. You have an opportunity and take advantage of the opportunity.' In 2010 when Rob Ford launched his mayoral campaign at an Etobicoke convention hall , he choked up looking skyward and said: 'He was my idol ... I know you're with me Dad, I know you're with me.' For the 2014 story , when Rob Ford was deep in addiction and scandal, people who knew Doug Sr. and his sons told me that the father who ignited Rob's passion for politics was the only person who could have forced him to temporarily quit to get healthy — but he was gone. The documentary doesn't include the mayor captured by police surveillance drinking in the Etobicoke park named after his father. He seemed haunted by the loss of Doug Sr., the pressures of being mayor of Canada's biggest city — a job he appeared to dislike except for public appearances and helping individuals — and multiple investigations into his conduct. In the documentary, I note that Rob attempted to demonize and delegitimize media, hitting hardest those most likely to expose or criticize him, before U.S. President Donald Trump did the same. Part of the reason Ford is still important is that he was a warning that the populist ability to buffalo through any allegation, with bravado and no shame, is an incredibly powerful political weapon. Something else I felt when the documentary ended was a phantom-limb-like memory of my exhaustion trying to ensure we were keeping up with a seemingly inexhaustible mayor on an extended rampage. I was seeing my wife and young kids so little, and thinking about Ford so much, that I sought and got a nine-month fellowship — my rehab from Rob Ford — at U of T's Massey College. But on a fellowship trip to Berlin I opened a newspaper, aiming to test my high school German, only to see a front-page story headlined 'Crack-rauchen Bürgermeister' — crack-smoking mayor — and knew that I could not escape Rob Ford. Later, when I was back at work and Ford was back from rehab, my doctor sent me to a private clinic for my first routine colonoscopy. As an anesthetist prepared to put me out, the physician about to perform the procedure asked what I do for a living. When I told him, he beamed and said he knew Ford from the Muskoka addiction clinic, adding 'I like Rob!' My stomach lurched. Ford Nation folks hated the Star, and by extension me. 'But him,' the physician said, pointing at the anesthetist as the needle slid into my arm, 'he LOVES Rob Ford.' 'Oh my God,' I thought just before the lights went out, 'they're going to kill me.' Spoiler: They were completely professional and I survived. But I couldn't escape Rob Ford. I still can't, and we still can't. We're still doing the work.

Yahoo

2 hours ago

• Yahoo

Sam Nivola Would Never Turn Down an Opportunity to Work With Mike White

Sam Nivola had the time of his life working with Mike White on The White Lotus. The third season of the lush drama was the largest project the 21-year old actor has ever worked on, and it's an experience he won't ever forget, partly thanks to the incredible list of talent and creatives he had the opportunity to work alongside. Before traveling to Thailand to portray youngest Ratliff sibling Lochlan, Nivola landed parts in the Bradley Cooper-starring Maestro and Netflix's The Perfect Couple, which carries a similar murderous vibe, though White Lotus was his first standout role as an actor. More from The Hollywood Reporter 'Awards Chatter' Live Pod: Sam Rockwell on That 'White Lotus' Monologue, 'Three Billboards' Award Season and Upcoming Martin McDonagh Reunion 'Wild Horse Nine' 'The White Lotus' DP Breaks Down His Favorite Shot of Season 3 'Dark Winds' Star Zahn McClarnon: "I've Learned More in the Last Four Seasons Than in 30 Years" There's no denying that Nivola's career has swelled since The White Lotus, and he thanks White (who he says he would 'jump off the Empire State Building for') and his co-stars (all 'legends') for the lessons he was able to learn so early on in his career. As Emmys voting kicked off last Friday, Nivola jumped on the phone with The Hollywood Reporter to discuss the advice a White Lotus season two alum gave him before heading to Thailand, why working with White was (and always will be) the best and if he ever thought about dropping out of the show after reading the scandalous scripts. *** Looking back, what did you think that your experience and its impact would be, and how did that compare to the reality of what came from the show? Well, they were very different. It's funny, Jason Isaacs, who obviously played my father, is such a contrarian. He loves to say the opposite of whatever everyone's thinking, so he was very much a proponent of always setting your expectations below. The first two seasons were massive hits, but Jennifer Coolidge was a real reason behind that and she's not in this one, blah blah blah and all this stuff. I think probably people in the second season were feeling that too. It's a whole different cast every time and it's not as easy to count on it being a mega hit every time. But also, none of us really were thinking much about that. Not to put us all on a pedestal, but we were really just having tons of fun, trying to enjoy the experience and enjoy getting to work with such amazing writing and director in Mike [White]. The reaction of the show has been unfathomably large, and it has totally changed my life in a way that I don't think I could have ever expected. One thing that David Bernad said when did the cover story was that when the scripts were being sent to you and Patrick [Schwarzenegger], he and Mike were both panicked about you guys potentially dropping out. Were you aware of their anxiety around this issue, and do you think that was justified? No way. In what world would I ever drop out of The White Lotus! No fucking way, no! I mean, it's the juiciest story, and we're also actors. It's not like I actually had to fucking have sex with my brother. I think it was a great and an exciting opportunity to do something that sort of has never been done on TV, in the way that Mike did it. I was stoked when I read the script and I would never, even in a million years, imagine thinking of dropping out of something made by Mike and Dave. They're just the best. As we know, Mike doesn't supply a lot of backstory for his characters, and he's also not really precious about what his actors bring to their parts. So for you, what pieces of Lochlan and his backstory did you bring to the character? I'm 21, I'm still sort of figuring out my method. It was such a lucky experience getting to work with this ensemble because all of these seasoned actors have very different ways of going about performing, and everyone has a different method. So I was able to learn, take bits and pieces from everyone else's method. I don't generally do a lot of background work on my character. When I'm preparing for a role, I really just focus on the script, what's in the scene and what's happening to the character in the present moment, and how to best prepare myself to react naturally in that moment. So I didn't do a lot of world building around my character. But I did make some assumptions, like the fact that I assumed that we [Ratliff kids] had spent a lot of time with babysitters, that we were dealing with a lot of money, and that mom was probably always pulled out, and dad was probably always working. I assumed a certain disconnect between us and the parents, that we were not as close with them as the average group of kids is with their parents. I assumed certain things about how we were brought up, just based on the amount of money that we have, which obviously sets us apart from the average family. Your TV sister, Sarah Catherine [Hook], has talked about an important sex scene that was cut. Leslie Bibb is still sad about her dream sequence on the cutting room floor. What scene that you filmed do you miss the most from the scraps pile? I feel quite lucky in that I think lots of my biggest scenes were pretty important to the development of the story and the progression of the plot, so I didn't have that much cut. I don't think I had any big scenes [cut] in their entirety. They trimmed scenes that I was in where they would cut unnecessary lines from the middle of the scene, which is something I'm not that used to seeing, but it makes sense because we shot so much [and] they were so pressed for time that buying a few seconds here and there is totally worthwhile. The scene when me and Sarah Catherine are on the beach talking, I can't remember whether we're on our way to the temple or on our way back, there was a whole middle section that they cut out where she basically says, 'I don't think you should stay at the temple. I think we should not spend as much time together, because the whole vibe of our family is like our mom has taught us — that everyone is out to get us and we just have to be insular and rely on each other, and it's just super incestuous, you know what I mean?' And she uses that word [incestuous] as a sort of general meaning, like we spend too much time with each other, and I immediately assume that Patrick['s Saxon] told her about what happened on the boat, and I'm like, 'Oh, fuck, did he tell you?' And she's like, 'What? What do you mean?' I'm like, 'Oh, I don't know, what do you mean?' (Laughs) It's a total misunderstanding where I think she knows what happened, but that's the only one that I can think of that got cut. That's so interesting. Yeah, but I think it was smart to cut it because it sort of is too clarifying. It's not mysterious enough for the circumstance. You spent six-plus months with some amazing vets on set, be that Parker [Posey] or Walton [Goggins] or Jason, etc. What morals of wisdom and advice did you pick up from them while working on this show along the way? I learned very different things from all of those legends, some of which were in direct opposition with each other. Everyone has such different ways of doing it, and that's part of what's so amazing about acting to me. I'm a college dropout, [and] this methodology of acting is something that, of course, can be taught in drama schools, but a lot of the time it is not taught. A lot of the time actors are sort of putting together these pieces of how we like to do our job over the course of our careers, and they become very personalized and unique. Jason was very fly by the seat of [his] pants. He would do all the work on the character beforehand, like a month before we started shooting. He got his accent down, he came up with a good backstory and figured it all out, and then didn't look at the script until the morning we would shoot every scene. He would memorize his lines in the makeup chair so that he was prepared, but his performance was spontaneous; whereas Parker [Posey] was much more rehearsed. Every time I'd see her at the pool, she had her binder out and was going through every line and rehearsing different ways to say specific lines. Walton always told me to trust yourself and have faith in yourself and confidence; Patrick and Sarah Catherine taught me things. I think I was the youngest person on that set and it was a really amazing opportunity to learn from just about everyone there [who] has more experience than me in this industry. There's going to be a fourth season of . I'm curious what your advice would be for the next batch of actors, and is there anything that you now know that you wish you had known when you were starting out getting ready to shoot the show? I'd say get your mental health in order, because it is tough being that far away from home for that long. That has no bearing on the job itself, which is the most fun thing in the world. But inevitably, when you're away from home for that long, there are certain challenges. In terms of the actual work, I would say you need no advice. I met with Adam DiMarco, who played a very parallel role to mine in the second season, before I went away to shoot. I was like, 'Do you have any advice? Like, what's Mike like? What's his annoying thing and how do you work around it?' Because every director has one. And he was like, 'There is nothing, he's just great.' I was like, 'Okay, dude. There's no cameras rolling, no one's listening, tell me what's actually wrong with him because there's something wrong with everyone.' He was like, 'No, I swear to God, there's nothing wrong with him.' I thought he was just a kiss ass (Laughs), there's gotta be bullshit. And it turned out he was absolutely right, there is nothing wrong with Mike. He's the most generous, amazing leader of a crew, a set and a story, and whoever is lucky enough to get these parts in the next season, just soak it in and enjoy it. Because even at this young age, I can say I think it's unlikely that you'll ever find someone as amazing as him again. How are the incoming calls and scripts different on the other side of ? I sort of thought I would just be getting parts left and right, which I am in smaller indie movies — if they ever get funding, I'm really stoked about them — but it's actually made all my casting processes a bit harder, because now I'm sort of in a different bracket of projects that I'm going up for where they're all the highest profile, NDA things of the year. So now I'm in competition with all of the greatest and most successful, popular actors of my age group, and it's been intimidating and a sort of bigger thing than it used to be just sending out tapes for these really important directors and casting directors. But it's exciting. As an actor and someone who wants to be a director, the most important thing is to work with the best directors, and I've had some interesting opportunities to do that already in my career. And the fact that every job I do leads to more opportunities to do that is so lucky and awesome. You just said you want to pursue directing, your father [Alessandro Nivola] has been nominated for a Tony and your mom [Emily Mortimer] is also a great screenwriter, do you have any aspirations in either of those directions, or are you set on acting and then directing one day? I totally do. Since The White Lotus came out, I've not been acting a lot. As Jason Isaacs said, I'm no longer an actor, I'm a professional White Lotus promoter. I've been flying around the world so much with no Wifi and just my laptop, so [I've] been doing lots of writing. I have a production company with my friends called Cold Worm Productions and we have a pretty big slate right now. We just got a rough assembly cut back of a feature that we produced in Wales, like micro-budget indie features, but it's so fun, and I enjoy it so much. I think it's really important to do things with your friends and stay creative on a small scale level. Of course, I love acting in these big things, it's the best opportunity to work with the most talented people. But I also think it's easy for money to corrupt creativity, obviously, and it's 'Mo Money, Mo Problems' (laughs). So working on tiny budgets, producing these indie features where everyone's sleeping on the floor of an Airbnb and I'm the producer, but I'm also driving people around and picking up lunch for people, it's a really fulfilling, creative experience. Do you have any other projects to tease, or do you have a dream role that you'd like to take on at some point? I just shot an indie comedy directed by the great legend Bobby Farrelly, so keep an eye out for that. And I did a pilot a while back before The White Lotus came out that I think I'm going to hear in the next little while whether or not that gets picked up, in which case I would go see that soon. A dream role? I don't know. I think that it would be impossible for me to describe a dream role because the best roles are the ones that are original and haven't been written yet. At the time, Travis Bickle [in Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver] was obviously a very new kind of character, and I'd love to play a new kind of character. The comedy that you mentioned is , and that filmed in North Carolina, correct?Yep! Was that your first time visiting the state, and do you think that your Ratliff family nailed the North Carolina accent after spending time shooting there? I kind of think we did! Everyone said that we kids don't have any accents, but we did work with a dialogue coach and changed very subtle vowels, because apparently, from the people I met when I was there, the younger generation are totally losing their accents because of the globalization of the internet and going to colleges where you travel around, you tend to soften your accent. But it was my first time, and I love North Carolina. It was so relaxing because I was there while the show was coming out, and whenever I would come to New York, like when I came to do the Hollywood Reporter shoot with you guys, I came for a weekend while I was in the middle of the shoot in North Carolina, and it was just mayhem. [I was] getting stopped everywhere I went, and it was impossible to go grab a beer without being swarmed, and in North Carolina, no one gave a shit, which was awesome. It was so funny, because the family is from North Carolina, I was expecting people to really give a shit (Laughs). Lochlan was choosing between Duke or Chapel Hill. Obviously, there's this looming financial stress on the Ratliffs, but if he ends up going to college, where do you think he ended up choosing to go? I think, if anything, he probably doesn't go to college. But I don't know, the theme with the family is very much, at least with Piper, trying to be something you're not, trying to break free from the mold of the family and being unsuccessful and unable to do so. So if that's the mold, then I think I probably go to Duke and fall after my father in a very sort of patriarchal sense. But I like to think that what he actually needs is to either not go to college or take a gap year and go traveling by himself, without his family, importantly (Laughs), and go sort of find himself. Both of your parents [Emily Mortimer and Alessandro Nivola] are actors, so what is the greatest thing that you've learned from them, and is there anything that they taught you or advised you not to do in your career as an actor? Advice is a complicated thing as an actor because everyone has their own method and it's very specific. Whenever everyone is playing different characters from different time periods, it's very hard to give generalized advice about what it is to be an actor that is so situational and specific to exactly the character that you're playing. We don't talk, my parents and I, that much about the creative side of it, because I think it's important to find your own way. But they give me so much advice about the technical side of the business, like how to not get fucked on your contract, what to ask for and how to keep yourself happy and sane when you're on a big, long press tour that takes you around the world. And how to keep a level head, how to stay happy and feel in your body, and I've learned a lot from them — and about producing, because they also produce. You know, just the technicalities of having read a good log line, what to put in a pitch deck, formatting, all that shit has been incredibly helpful. Patrick also told that he's heard rumors of an all-star season, and . Have you heard those rumors, and would you be open to potentially returning for an all-star season? Of course I would. I would jump off the Empire State Building for Mike White (Laughs), I would do just about anything. I would adore to work with him again in whatever capacity. I mean, we would all, including Mike, joke about him doing an all-star season when we were in Thailand, but I could sort of never tell whether he was joking or he was serious, so, who knows? The thing is that the all-star season would have to, I imagine, be the last season. I can't tell when the last season's going to be right now, because the show is such a hit and Mike is so happy making it. I don't know when they would ever decide to stop, but we'll see, and if that phone rings with his name on it, I'm picking up 10 times out of 10. Looking back on your entire experience, what is the biggest thing you learned from playing Lochlan? I think the biggest thing that I learned was that you have to soak it in. That's sort of my only regret from the shoot is that, not just me, but I was talking to Parker and Sarah Catherine, and we were just saying we were all so nervous going into it, and we shouldn't have been, because Mike is so lovely and puts everyone at ease. But, it's a big show, it's a big deal, and for me, it's a big deal because I've never been in anything so big before with so many eyes on it. And even for someone like Parker Posey, who's a legend in our field, it's intense and it's nerve wracking to be a part of something that's already so beloved, and [to] be a new part of something that people are going to judge and have opinions on. I think at times, I was too nervous to really sit back and be like, you know what? I'm in fucking Thailand, at a five-star luxury resort with these people that are now my best friends in the world, and we're all doing this job that I've wanted to do since I was little, acting at the highest level with some of the most accomplished creatives in our field. That is something that I wish I had savored more. And I did, but there were a lot of things on our mind on any given day. *** The White Lotus season three is streaming on HBO Max. Head here for all of THR's season three interviews and coverage, including our uncensored oral history with White and the cast. Best of The Hollywood Reporter 'The Studio': 30 Famous Faces Who Play (a Version of) Themselves in the Hollywood-Based Series 22 of the Most Shocking Character Deaths in Television History A 'Star Wars' Timeline: All the Movies and TV Shows in the Franchise