Many fans of TV and film head online to read the latest happenings in entertainment.
For journalist Michael Ausiello, this is his life’s passion.
The founder of TVLine has spent much of his career reporting on stories straight from the big screen.
Yet just behind the scenes, he has his own special story to share.
What was it about this story that made you want to share it on the screen?
I was excited by that prospect.
Ben, I read that you auditioned through Zoom with Jim and the director, Michael Showalter.
Can you talk about that experience and what drew you to the character Kit?
It felt like we were speaking the same language.
Very fortunately, that didn’t happen.
I’d never seen that with two men.
I was very excited to be telling the story.
How they prepared to portray real-life people
“Spoiler Alert” is a true story.
Parsons:The biggest thing for me was the source material.
The book, first and foremost, I kept going back to that.
Then Michael was around the entire ride, from the moment we optioned the material to the last day.
He’s in the building now doing his own press somewhere else.
Aldridge:Jim had the most well-thumbed copy of the book you’ve ever seen.
It had Post-its all hanging out of it everywhere.
Parsons:It was a bit of a mess.
Aldridge:I was so jealous of it.
Look at that book."
Parsons:I get physical with it.
[Laughs]
Aldridge:We kept on referring back to the book as well.
It was this never-ending brilliant resource for us.
The story deeply affected each of them on an emotional level
This is such an emotional movie.
How did working on this film affect each of you on a personal level?
Parsons:The easy answer too general is deeply.
The other one is continually, and it was one of the reasons it was so fun to make.
That sounds like a lot, and it’s absolutely true.
This interview has been edited for clarity.
