Paul Rudd improvised what is sure to be the most quoted scene in Wanderlust. Psyching himself up to partake in a free love open relationship, Rudd riffs in front of a mirror talking dirty about his d*ck. He and Jennifer Aniston play a New York couple who try living on a hippie commune. At a press conference for the film I asked them several questions about the David Wain comedy.
CraveOnline: Were there any takes that you just couldn’t believe how long they were letting you go?
Paul Rudd: I mean, come on. That’s just about every single one in the movie, I’d say.
Jennifer Aniston: David would wait, but then he would do it just for his own laugh. You’d hear him laughing. We would just be going on and on and on and then finally he’d yell cut, laughing and we knew we were just giving David a kick.
Paul Rudd: I like it. I’m not a fan of just doing the scene, cut, setup again and do the scene again, cut, do it again. It’s nice when you can kind of keep going and sometimes find a rhythm, a groove, something can happen, particularly if you’re improvising. So, it’s great when you have a director that wants to work like that. For me, I like it.
Jennifer Aniston:That’s where you find the magic, the fun stuff comes, when someone is not so strict on sticking to the script. So, you’re allowed the spontaneity and great moments can happen.
Did you ever surprise yourself, Paul, like in the bathroom scene?
Paul Rudd: That was just gross. That was our first day of shooting. That was the second scene that we shot and it did go on along.
Jennifer Aniston: You set the tone. You had that and the toilet, sitting on the toilet with Jordan [Peele] and Kerri [Kenney-Silver]. It only went uphill from there.
Paul Rudd: That was the first scene. The mirror was the second scene and I remember vividly seeing the many faces of the crew with the expression of, like, ‘What the fuck am I working on,’ like legitimately concerned, like, ‘This is not what I read. This is weird.’ But they went with it.
Jennifer Aniston: They had the best time. We had the best time with our crew.
Do you feel pressure now that people expect you to bring comedy to a movie?
Paul Rudd: Well, that’s kind of…
Jennifer Aniston: If it’s a comedy, yeah.
Paul Rudd: There’s pressure every single time, the pressure of not sucking. Now that you’ve pointed it out I think I’m screwed.
Jennifer, congratulations on your star on the Walk of Fame.
Jennifer Aniston: Thank you.
How do you feel about the timing of getting that now and the event of it?
Jennifer Aniston: Well, I’m extremely flattered, humbled and nervous and excited all at the same time. It feels very surreal, to be honest. I was born here and it’s sort of something that you went and saw as a kid. You were excited about just walking and seeing the names, and to imagine that you’re going to be there is really special. It’s fun.
