A Chat with the Director and Stars of Tribeca' Favorite: "Lemonade Blessing"

Out of all the films in the narrative feature competition at Tribeca this year, few have remained as talked about as Chris Merola's Lemonade Blessing. This week, with the help of fellow writer, Eric Hardman, we were fortunate enough to speak with the director himself as well as the two stars, Jake Ryan and Skye Alyssa Friedman who play John and Lilith respectively. Together we discussed the film, staying true to yourself, and the deeply pressing issue of everyone's favorite curse word.

Credit: Andrew H. Walker/Shutterstock

Rua: "Hi, thank you all for appearing on our publication today. I saw the film earlier and absolutely adored it, am I correct in assuming that the film is a little autobiographical?"

Merola: "Yeah, absolutely. The feelings in the film are super, super real, and the first draft was written just by putting down a series of memories in a notebook, and then organizing them according to narrative arcs, and like, thematic arcs. Once it was all together, I started like, fictionalizing things, and sort of shaving it down. Ultimately, I think the film is a work of fiction such that everyone who may recognize themselves if they go see it… their privacy is properly respected. But I think that anyone who knows me or anyone who went to my high school, would probably feel pretty seen by the film."

Rua: "So when it comes to the main character, John, is there a lot of you in him?"

Merola: "Yeah, I would say so. I mean, we’re both children of divorce who both numb our pain by throwing ourselves into the world of video games, and we both have people-pleasing qualities and a desire to be… I guess loved by whoever we’re standing in front of, There’s a lot of like chameleonic-like self presentation and like… shape shifting, and it takes a really long time to figure out where a solid sense of self is derived from when so much of what your existence is is trying to like… merge itself with other people. There’s a really fine line that has to be walked when one does something that’s somewhat personal because… you really want to make sure that it’s like not this narcissistic, self-absorbed thing."

Rua: "And in that respect, Jake I'm curious if there was an added pressure of essentially playing the person who is directing you?"

Ryan: "Chris made it pretty apparent very early on in the casting process that he wanted me to do my own thing. Like he wanted to completely just let me do whatever. He didn’t want to see himself because that would have been too much for… both of us."

Rua: "I'd imagine so. Chris, can you point to a moment where you knew you'd found your John?"

Merola: "Honestly he was on the pitch deck so it was pretty (laughs)… like it was pretty in advance I would say. There was maybe one other actor that I thought was really interesting that we brought in for a chemistry read but we… we were pretty sure it was Jake very early on. Even though John is such a personal character, I just had to whittle him down to just a few core traits that I think Jake had, and then Jake took those traits and he ran with them."

Rua: "You really do give an incredible performance, Jake, amazing job. Skye I actually was wondering about your character, Lilith because she's very...specific in the way she behaves and interacts with those around her. I was just wondering if you had any inspirations for how you approached her character?"

Friedman: "I don’t know if I even had any specific inspirations? I read the script, and I said 'I understand this person and this character exactly.' I had never read a script and been like “I wanna be Lillith. That feels like mine.' It was a very singular experience for me. She has this very tough outer layer, but this very beautiful, and kind of damaged inner life, and I understand putting up the guard, and just letting cracks show through. I just felt an immediate love for her, and her boldness, and her daringness, and it was so fun to be able to do that."

Rua: "Do you two find it daunting to play fifteen year olds as adults?"

Ryan: "We’re all children at heart, I feel. You get used to it at some point. It also helped that it’s not exactly treading new ground, role-wise, because we’ve already lived through it, we’ve all been fifteen. They're are also such layered characters as well, like there’s a lot of depth. 

Friedman: "Exactly, we've all lived through it and I feel like it’s easy to reconnect to that part of ourselves again."

Rua: "Right, we've all been fifteen even though a lot of us wish we hadn't. Have you guys gotten any comparisons to this film that you've found particularly flattering?"

Merola: "Oh yeah, some crazy shit. Like, someone in an interview told me they liked it more than Lady Bird which was like, really ridiculous to me. But honestly, people say nice things and I don’t really believe them, like I think it's too much praise. I gave it like a 3.5 on Lettterboxd, like that’s about right, I think I could probably do better in the future. I’m figuring my shit out, you know. Someone compared it to Harold and Maude that was really weird. It gets a lot of comparisons to Eighth Grade, which I was really flattered by because Eighth Grade has a really great tone and subjectivity, it manages to handle both raunch and sincerity very well. I definitely got the fuckin Rushmore comparison. Like every day people go 'Wow it’s just like Rushmore! He looks just like Jason Schwartzman! He wears a red blazer! Oh my gosh it’s crazy!'"

Rua: "I'm also just extremely curious: Jake, how many times a day do you get told that you look like Jason Schwartzman?"

Ryan: "I mean today it's been like three, we have a Q&A tonight so I think we could go for a record..."

Rua: "I mean I genuinely thought you were a long lost Coppola."

Eric: "I think the strongest scene in this film is when John is having a conversation with his mother and saying that there's a part of him that lives according to her and to his dad and to his friends but he hasn't really discovered the part that's authentically him yet. And I was wondering if the making of this film reminded you of the time in your life when you were really going through that?"

Merola: "I really appreciate that question, thank you. Honestly, since I was fifteen I've been such a serial monogamist. I just kept being in these back to back long term relationships and then when I started prepping for Lemonade Blessing, I got dumped by someone I was just so head over heels for and became so fucking depressed. I had to keep making the film and at the same time learn how to be alone for the first time which was one of the hardest things I've ever done. So through that I kind of found this strength I never knew I had, and I was really proud that I didn't have to rely on anyone for support."

Friedman: "Yeah, I think that's such a common experience of finding yourself when you're a teenager and not really knowing who you are for a long time. Like, Lilith just completely rebels against her parents and school, so I found it helpful to go to extremes in this film because when you're a teen you don't have that middle ground so it's easy to deal in extremes. I know that I'm still figuring out who I am as a person."

Ryan: "Yeah, that's a good question, I feel like I have to re-contextualize my entire life now."

Eric: "Oh my god I'm so sorry! (laughs)"

Rua: "Now, my last question I like to ask my guests, and I think it's particularly appropriate considering the nature of this film is...what is your favorite swear word?"

Merola: "Okay so like, 'fuck' is a classic but there's this meme of this Australian guy on Instagram who uses the c-word in a way that's somehow like, polite and empowering and it's the funniest thing ever. He uses it like punctuation it's actually the greatest thing ever."

Friedman: "I really gotta go with the classic 'fuck,' you can use it in so many situations, it's very versatile."

Ryan: "I would have to say 'fuck' as well but 'shitbird' has really grown on me."

Rua: "That's a new one! 'Cunt' really is the greatest though, I'd love to get like a hidden tattoo of it on my bottom lip so I can just flash it at people when I feel like it."

Merola: "That's absolutely something Lilith would do at like 19. I had an idea for a short sequel to Lemonade Blessing that was just...way too personal, like I couldn't write it, but it was gonna have a super cool Lilith cameo. Maybe in a couple years if I get the courage."

Rua: "Well if it's anything like this film you can sign me up. Thank you three so much for speaking with us today, best of luck with the rest of the festival, I know that anyone who sees the film is going to be blown away."

Merola: "Thank you for having us, this was cool!"

We want to thank Chris, Jake, and Skye once again for giving us one of our most fun interviews we've ever done. Make sure to catch Lemonade Blessing at Tribeca for the next week and keep an eye out when it gets distribution as some pretty big companies are currently bidding! Thank you for tuning into Cinemasters.net and remember to never stop watching!