Paul Feig’s latest film, Another Simple Favor, is an interesting case study on the state of comedies. Not to mention, it’s the director’s first sequel (a topic we passionately debate deeper into our conversation). The first film — starring Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively — was released in 2018 and was a financial success, grossing just under $100 million. The sequel won’t see theaters at all, as it is now streaming on Prime Video. And while the film certainly has its fair share of comedic situations, it’s hard to say that Feig directed yet another straight-up comedy.
And people sure do have opinions these days if comedies are still viable at your local cineplex. On one hand, conventional wisdom says “event” movies that “must be seen on a big screen” (sometimes even “the biggest screen possible”) are the only movies that still thrive theatrically. On the other, well, that doesn’t explain the overwhelming success of Anyone But You, a comedy starring Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney that grossed almost a quarter of a billion dollars at the box office. Look, someone has to have a definitive answer. And that person has to be the prolific comedy director Paul Feig, right?
“I do not know,” says Feig, kind of surprisingly, when I asked him if he thought The Heat or Spy — two films that grossed half a billion combined — could equal that success in today’s environment. Feig answers these questions as we sit at a diner on the Lower East Side of Manhattan earlier this week, as Don McLean’s “American Pie” blasts through the establishment’s surprisingly robust sound system. It’s a hot spring day in New York City. Everyone in the diner is wearing shorts while Feig, as always, is wearing a suit.
Ahead, Feig discusses a smorgasbord of topics: ranging from his next film — his return to theaters; a psychological thriller starring Amanda Seyfried and the aforementioned Sydney Sweeney — to watching John Francis Daley go from a 13-year-old actor on Freaks and Geeks to a blockbuster director, to why his Ghostbusters is now subtitled Answer the Call, to his memories of acting in the cult favorite Three O’Clock High, to, well … anal leakage.
Yeah, sure didn’t see that one coming.
Why Paul Feig Is Not a Fan of Sequels

Image via Amazon MGM Studios

COLLIDER: Hope you don’t mind having a little Don McLean on while we talk…
FEIG: Every time “American Pie” comes on, I’m very happy.
How have you been?
FEIG: I’ve been good. I’ve been really busy. I’ve got two movies coming out this year. It’s crazy.
I’m excited about The Housemaid. Not a comedy.
FEIG: No, but it’s still got my stamp on it.
What does that mean? Because I know the plot of the book. It’s a dark tale.
FEIG: It’s extreme. Yeah. So, the fun comes from how extreme it gets. Like a good horror movie.
When the server asked what I wanted, I just defaulted to ice coffee. But then I remembered I already had one today and I can now feel the caffeine.
FEIG: Oh boy. You’re going to be buzzing. See, I can only drink decaf. When you’re down here, they don’t do decaf. So it’s like, I’m sorry, hipsters. I have Tourette’s. I can’t drink caffeine.
I only like coffee for the caffeine. If I’m getting something without caffeine, I’ll just get a Sprite.
FEIG: No. That’s all filled with sugar.
Well, no, not a Sprite Zero. That’s aspartame.
FEIG: Well, the aspartame, doesn’t that make you shit your pants or something?
What?
FEIG: There’s something with aspartame in it, I think it makes you have anal leakage.
What?
FEIG: You can fact-check that with everybody.
I’ve never heard this.
FEIG: Have a nice decaf.
This is terrible news.
FEIG: Well, how are things downstairs?
Well, I had my first colonoscopy recently and so far so good.
FEIG: Then you’re good. The worst part of the colonoscopy is the prep. What do they call it? The “Thunderclap” or something?
Mine was certainly not called “Thunderclap.” That must be reserved for the director of Bridesmaids.
FEIG: Exactly. Somebody’s revenge. He’s a Ghostbusters hater, clearly.

Imae via Amazon MGM Studios

I’ve read where you’ve said you are sequel-averse. Why?
FEIG: Well, because I think I’ve seen so many disappointing sequels in my life.
But there are great sequels.
FEIG: Well, there are great ones, too. Yeah. Well, you want to make The Godfather II…
The Empire Strikes Back.
FEIG: Oh, totally. Totally. But then Exorcist II, not great. God bless everybody involved.
I’ll grant you, The Sting II is not a great movie.
FEIG: See, so there’s further to fall with a sequel. The other problem is sequels, the first movie is always, if it’s good, the reason it works is because [you’re] discovering everything for the first time. You’re discovering these characters. And a movie only exists to have a character that has a problem, and the problem gets solved by the end of the movie. Unless it’s a shitty movie. Like, okay, I’m great at the beginning, and I’m great at the end – it’s that process of healing a character and taking them through the wringer that takes you to the end of the movie and it makes you very happy.
So you get a sequel, it’s like, so did they have another problem? Are they a mess again? Do they have to be solved or are they cool now? And how do I be additive to the story that I did before? And the other problem is that audiences have been burned by sequels for a long time. And where people, when I was coming up, just automatically go to see the sequel. “I liked the first one,” you go. But I think people got disappointed by a lot of them. And now the big question that audiences ask is why. Why do I need to go see that?
What era are you talking about? What sequels do you think audiences went to but were disappointed with?
FEIG: Well, I don’t want to name movies because that would make me sound shitty.
Okay, but for every one of those there’s a Back to the Future Part II or Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
FEIG: Exactly. Exactly. Well, but going into it, you don’t know which you’re going to get. They can be done. They can be done. Exactly.

There’s a lot of snarky people on the internet going “nobody asked for this sequel.” It’s like, I know, but worldwide, it was number one. It just had this resurgence over and over again because it went to Amazon, and then after that, went to Netflix and then went to number one all over the world.

I’m going to use one of your movies as an example. And what you said earlier about, “do these people still have a problem to solve?” There could be five Spy movies by now.
FEIG: Yeah, exactly. And that one’s engineered to.
Because of Susan and Rick Ford’s relationship.
FEIG: Too fun.
And I feel like I’ve been robbed of multiple Susan and Rick Ford movies.
FEIG: I’m ready to go!
Because that last scene of Rick Ford driving his boat in the lake…
FEIG: And then, “Does he know it’s a lake?” Exactly.
Okay, that movie made a quarter of a billion dollars and was totally set up for more, and you just didn’t do it.
FEIG: Well…
Or was there some talk?
FEIG: There was talk about it. And then Ghostbusters came up and then I got involved in that. But here’s the other part of it. It’s just like, I love making movies. And when you’re going to make a sequel, you’re making something you’ve made already, even though you’re bringing a new story to it and everything. I like doing new original things. And a movie takes at least a year. The developing stuff can take two or three years. So it’s kind of like, I want to keep making new stuff, but then if there’s a brilliant idea for the sequel, we kind of get it together while we’re doing something else and then go into it, then that’s kind of cool. And that’s exactly what happened with Another Simple Favor.
Does starting out in television influence why you like making new stuff?
FEIG: Yeah.
The repetitiveness of working with the same characters?
FEIG: It’s almost more the opposite of that. As a TV director, I was doing it probably 10 years after Freaks and Geeks, I’m going from a medical show to a crazy comedy to a procedural. So I’m going through all these genres and learning new stuff and getting to experiment. I’m just definitely trying to work my way through all the genres. I want to do a musical. I want to do a horror movie. I want to do a Western. There’s all kinds of movies I want to do because I just enjoy it. It’s fun, but I’m trying to figure out how to make it something people want to see. That’s the first and all. If I’m just doing stuff because, “oh, it’s fun for me,” that’s bullshit. I have to make sure that people want to see it.
Paul Feig Is Playing the Movie Market

A Simple Favor was a big success. But it is surprising to me this is the first time you broke your rule. Especially with Spy set up for it. Though, I assume you would have done another Ghostbusters if that had worked out?
FEIG: Oh yeah. Oh yeah. I was definitely set to do that. Another Simple Favor happened because, during the pandemic, suddenly it kind of opened up through the roof on streaming. It did really well in the theaters.
Right. It made $100 million.
FEIG: Yeah, on a 20 million budget. So, totally, it was a success. There’s a lot of snarky people on the internet going “nobody asked for this sequel.” It’s like, I know, but worldwide, it was number one. It just had this resurgence over and over again because it went to Amazon, and then after that, went to Netflix and then went to number one all over the world. And so everybody was saying maybe we should make another one. And there was interest in doing it. And Amazon ponied up the money. There’s a little bit of a bidding war going on for it. Amazon won.
Who else was involved?
FEIG: I can’t say. But the other places wanted it. But we got a nice budget for it, which is great.
I’m just going to assume Netflix was involved, but was there any other places where it would’ve gotten a theatrical release? Because that part, that doesn’t make a lot of sense to me because the first one made a lot of money in theaters. MGM puts movies in theaters, like with your guy [Jason] Statham in A Working Man.
FEIG: Yeah, I know. And Accountant 2 also. Do I wish it was on the big screen? Of course.
I understand why Netflix doesn’t like doing it. But MGM/Amazon puts movies in theaters and they do well.
FEIG: Well, we negotiated this back before Amazon bought MGM.
Okay, that’s my answer. The MGM part wasn’t involved yet.
FEIG: Right, exactly. No, had that been, I would’ve definitely gone for that. And it was before Doug Liman had all the problems with Roadhouse and stuff like that. When we made the deal, that’s when nobody’s going the movie theater, too. And now it’s back to sort of armchair, Monday morning quarterback.
And please keep in mind, I don’t know what I’m talking about.
FEIG: I guarantee you do.
But I see a lot of people say, “oh, this won’t play in theaters.” And I don’t think anyone knows what’s going on right now. Even Marvel movies aren’t a sure bet right now, but we were also told comedies don’t work in theaters and then Anybody But You makes a quarter of a billion dollars. But even then, not many comedies followed.
FEIG: No, I know. But you got Naked Gun coming up, which is going to be huge, I think. That looks fucking hilarious. No, it goes back to the thing I said to you earlier, the question of why. Audiences have so much stuff they can see and they’re very discerning. And so you’ve got to be able to answer that question. I mean, look, the nice thing about A Simple Favor is it’s got a good pedigree. People know it and all that. But this decision was set in stone a while ago. So, what are you are going to do?

But over the last 10 years, it went from your movies making quarter of a billion dollars in theaters, to the last few movies you’ve put out have been on streaming. From what you noticed, was that a gradual decline for comedies in theaters or was it the pandemic?
FEIG: It was the pandemic. Totally pandemic, yeah.
But why are comedies the genre not coming back?
FEIG: Well, now we’re coming out of it. These are old deals.
I see.
FEIG: Because The Housemaid is theatrical.
But that’s not a straight on comedy. Are you doing that to get back in theaters?
FEIG: No, I just love the project. And I was dying to work with Sydney.
Sure, but it had to be on your mind.
FEIG: Oh, one hundred percent. One hundred percent. Look, they have to make money or else it’s considered a failure. Then I take the hit. But I’m more about I want the group experience.
I don’t want to come off as anti-streaming. I enjoy watching a movie at home as much as the next person.
FEIG: You’re preaching to the choir, my friend. But I also am very grateful to Amazon that they made the deal to do this and that they did it. And honestly, we sold this during the pandemic. We just have been developing it for a long time to get it right. And then Jackpot! kind of came out of nowhere, honestly. A lot of critics or whatever are like, well, why is Paul Feig not doing comedies anymore? I was like, okay, well, here’s one that’s going to be really nuts and really over the top with comedy action and just kind of balls out comedy. And then the critics shit all over it. So, you kind of go, okay, well, what are you going to do?
If The Heat or Spy came out today, could it make what it made 10 years ago?
FEIG: I do not know. I do not know.
I don’t know either. I was hoping you would.
FEIG: No, I have no idea. I have no idea. That’s why I’m fascinated by The Naked Gun.
Both have action, so maybe they could?
FEIG: They keep the stakes real, people get killed in them. It’s not like, oh, the villain’s goofy. 48 Hours and Beverly Hills Cop are big inspirations to me because those were high stakes comedies.
See, Beverly Hills Cop II, another good sequel. Tony Scott.
FEIG: Yeah, that was pretty good. That was pretty good. But what I’ve found in the last number of years is people are really weird about just straight-up comedy. Audiences just kind of resist it a little bit. But now I’m just fascinated with when I saw the trailer for The Naked Gun.

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“The new version.”

Do you think that’s the barometer?
FEIG: I think it’s a barometer because it’s clearly, those are jokes. Those are joke comedies.
And Akiva Schaffer is a good director.
FEIG: He’s fantastic. But will that work? Because that’s bringing back just a balls out comedy. And I really hope it does well because that just goes, okay, there is an audience that’s going to come to something that’s just there to be funny.
You’re in one of my favorite movies and I always forget you’re in it…
FEIG: Heavyweights?
Three O’Clock High.
FEIG: Oh, oh my God! Three O’Clock High! That’s a deep cut. That’s a deep cut. God. I got my SAG card on that little movie.
Barry Sonnenfeld shot it.
FEIG: Oh, yeah. Barry would walk around in a lab coat. But that movie was really groundbreaking because there wasn’t a lot of crazy ass camera moves and stuff going on in comedies before that. And Phil Joanou and I went to film school together. Phil was always just this energetic guy who was so driven and so into movies and stuff, so it seemed natural that he would do that. But it was fun. We shot that in Utah. Yeah, my biggest memory is Barry Sonnenfeld walking around in a lab coat. He wore lab coat when he was being a DP. It’s so funny.
When your Ghostbusters went to home media, it became Ghostbusters: Answer the Call. Where did that come from?
FEIG: It was because they were afraid, in the catalog, if it was just called Ghostbusters it would be confused with the original one. So, they had to tag that on. That’s why you only see it at the end of the movie because I made a deal with them: just put Ghostbusters up in front, but then for the catalog, they had to do it. It was a business decision.
When you think back on Freaks and Geeks, are you kind of amazed how many people in that cast became not famous actors, but filmmakers? John Francis Daley actually is the one I’m most curious how you feel about. He’s been very successful with Game Night and Dungeons & Dragons.
FEIG: I know. It’s crazy. I wouldn’t say it’s a surprise because you could tell he was a really smart kid and really talented. That’s why we hired them because we knew they had a deep bench of talent and they were inspiring to us because they weren’t just actors. They had a lot more in the tank. But yeah, John was the big surprise just because, yeah, he was a little kid when we had him on the set. But again, he was really smart. You could tell he was always observing and he was a really thoughtful actor. The way he would work with Linda Cardellini and they would pretend to be brother and sister off the set. Yeah, they would just do these dialogues with each other to warm themselves up. I was like, this kid is really smart. And now, yeah, he’s a bigshot. When I was making The School for Good and Evil, we were both in Belfast and he was one studio over making the Dungeons & Dragons. It’s like, this is weird!
Did you see him at all?
FEIG: I didn’t get to see him because it was the height of COVID, so everybody was quarantined.
Did you get to see Dungeons & Dragons? It’s really funny.
FEIG: It’s really good. They did a great job. Well, it’s funny to me is because the last episode of Freaks and Geeks is all about them discovering Dungeons & Dragons. I was like, okay, that’s cool.