Opening this weekend, in limited release, is director Jordan Vogt-Roberts' dramedy The Kings of Summer (formerly Toy’s House).  The film centers on Joe (Nick Robinson), Patrick (Gabriel Basso), and Biaggio (Moises Arias), three teenagers who are fed up with their parents and decide to live in a house they build in the woods.  Reported missing, the boys enjoy an idyllic summer until their friendship begins to strain from mistrust and jealousy.  The film landed great reviews at Sundance, and I can tell you it’s definitely worth seeing, as it’s a very unique coming of age story with some great performances.  The film also stars Nick Offerman, Alison Brie and Megan Mullally.  For more on the film, watch these clips or the red-band trailer.

Last week I landed an extended video interview with Moises Arias and Gabriel Basso.  They talked about their Sundance experiences, their characters, the great script and the improv that made it even better, the freedom to experiment on set, best memories from the shoot, and future projects.  Hit the jump to watch.

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Moises Arias and Gabriel Basso:

  • Arias is happy to get on the promotional circuit to get the word out about the movie
  • 0:45 – Talk about their Sundance experience
  • 2:10 – Basso praises the script, which is mostly what you see on the screen.  Arias walks us through the process behind an important addition, the pipe scene seen in the teaser trailer.
  • 3:40 – Arias wanted to make sure his "weird" character isn't a gimmick.
  • 5:00 – Arias avoided mimicking a similar performance, like Zach Galifianakis in The Hangover, but admits it may be a little "Rain Man-y."
  • 6:20 – Basso says his character is much more normal than Arias' and so didn't require much preparation.
  • 6:50 – The strong script served as the foundation for improv.  There was freedom to experiment on set---some B-roll footage of the boys was incorporated into the movie.
  • 7:40 – The shoot was a quick 23 days, but there was enough room to experiment over different takes to find the character
  • 9:30 – Best memory from the shoot: the pipe scene.
  • 10:30 – Talk about their reaction watching the premiere at Sundance.
  • 12:40 – Arias has Despicable Me 2 and Ender's Game coming out later this year.  Basso is graduating high school.