In the world of Jay Kelly, they’re the unsung heroes — his longtime publicist Liz and manager Ron, who cater to his every whim and ensure his life is as frictionless as possible. Which is why they find themselves reluctant passengers on Jay Kelly’s journey through Europe to reclaim and repair his relationship with his daughter.
For Laura Dern and Adam Sandler, the actors who play Liz and Ron, the roles represented an opportunity to reunite with writer-director Noah Baumbach — and that was reason enough to say yes. Dern’s last collaboration with him on Marriage Story earned her an Oscar; Sandler, who worked with him in on 2017’s The Meyerowitz Stories, and is now in the conversation for best supporting actor for his performance in Jay Kelly.
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In their interview with Gold Derby, it’s clear it’s not just their rapport with Baumbach that keeps them coming back, but their rapport with each other.
Gold Derby: So now you’re both officially members of Noah’s troupe.
Adam Sandler: Yeah, two, two, two, two.
Laura, what does it mean to you? Why do you keep coming back to work with Noah?
Laura Dern: It’s the greatest family you could ask for, and then we happen to also get to make movies together. I mean, it’s incredible. And he keeps the family growing.
Sandler: He knows we love each other. He know we love him. He’s so meticulous, so smart, so relentless. Never going to stop making the best movie he can believe in. And he’s nice enough to think of us twice. Let’s do it again. Yes! Go for three.
What did it mean to you, Adam, to come back for the second time? What did this role mean for you?
Sandler: I loved being this person, this giving, loving human being who cares about others, and I was excited to work with Laura and the history that our characters had, and have her pull me in certain directions to try to make me a better man. I had a great, great time. Laura and Noah, they get on the phone and talk, and all of a sudden, the script gets better. Laura’s got a nice way of saying, what about this, what about that and Noah says, that’s absolutely a great, great thought. Let me get into that.
Laura, did you have any advice for Adam?
Dern: I have no advice for Adam.
Sandler: She tried .
Dern: Except, Adam, please teach me your ways. I’m just trying to glean advice from him. You know, there are few noble men in this world, and this is definitely my top guy right here.
Sandler: At times.
Dern: Looking in his eyes, as an actor who’s dedicated my life to this, is one of the great privileges of my life. You know, it’s all truth, all compassion, all beauty, and just the f–king funniest person. … It’s the best time of your life to be with this group.
You both have some great moments in the film. Was there any scene that was particularly challenging for you?
Sandler: We had fun on the train. I remember trying to carry those bags and get out all our 6,000 lines.
Dern: That was its own challenge. Just the banter and, you know, everybody crossing over everybody else literally, physically and crossing over the crane. It was a very orchestrated design.
Sandler: Plus, I think Noah wanted the realism of a suitcase that actually had clothes in it heavier than you wanted it to be. And having to lift it on top of the compartment and not hit people in the head and save your life. It’s not easy.
Dern: Not easy.
Sandler: We did it, though!
And looking back, is there a moment you’re proud of?
Sandler: I just really think the movie’s got beautiful, beautiful stuff all over it. I can’t pick a moment, but I can say that maybe ten different times watching it that it rocks me, it breaks my heart.
Billy Crudup has a now famous scene where he had to Method act out a menu.
Sandler: That was amazing.
Is that something either of you think you could have pulled off?
Sandler: Dern could. I couldn’t.
Dern: That was incredible.
Sandler: Absolutely. That is the the best reaction at the end of that scene. I’ve seen the movie maybe four times in front of a big crowd, and he’s four for four with a whole applause break. Thirty seconds of applause at a movie in the middle of a movie. That’s pretty cool.
Is there something either of you have taken away from the film? It’s very much about how your teams get treated. Are you treating your teams differently because of it?
Sandler: We’ve always been nice to our teams.
Dern: He’s a generous family man to his entire community of people.
Sandler: My team’s been around for a long time and so has yours. You love them and they’re your people and you tell them stuff that you’re feeling and if you’re comfortable saying stuff. And that’s what our characters are for Jay.
Dern: That’s one of my favorite moments, watching you do his eyebrows — the compassion. Yes, friendship in it and the love in it.
Sandler: That’s sweet.
Dern: Yeah, absolutely. I just can’t stop thinking about that moment.
Sandler: Clooney’s got one of those great set of eyebrows to work with.
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