Latest / Besties Do Verticals / Episode 32 - The School for Bad Boys Part 1
Transcript
- Greg Duffy: Hello and welcome to besties do verticals with your besties, Greg and Declan. Hi, I'm Greg. Declan: And I'm Declan. LUCY: Hey whipp wa wait guys, what are you doing? Declan: You invited us to do the recap. Aleta: Recap with us, not instead of us. Declan: Star, back to you. LUCY: Ha ha. Greg Duffy: Oops. Declan: Actors. Can't trust us. Aleta: No. LUCY: Ha ha. Aleta: Vesties, as you can see, we have two special guests with us today. Declan and Greg are here to help us recap their new vertical, The School for Bad Boys. We are really looking forward to them sharing the BTST with you in this episode. And our favorite singer-songwriter, Mr. Greg Duffy, also had the chance to write an original song for the vertical. I want a bad boy is a tune, as we used to say back in the day. Greg Duffy: Ha ha. Aleta: You can stream it everywhere, you get your music. Greg, can you tell us how that all came about? Greg Duffy: I would love to. in the casting process, I think Declan and I have said this, you know, on various lives and stuff. I didn't even think I was gonna get the part to begin with. You know, and then I remember being so excited when casting called me and told me that I had the part and we knew it was the trilogy. So I knew this was gonna be like a big project. And so one of the first few days on set, I approached Jenny Esig, who was the showrunner, lead creative producer, wonderful, wonderful person. She has been on many of Declan's projects. I said, Hey, like you may or may not know this. I'm a singer, songwriter. Is there any version where we can I can Can make something for this. I I entered pitch mode. They did not approach me. I I did approach them. Declan: You should see this man just g s it's like it's like watching art. I see him approach, I'm like, here he goes. Aleta: Ha ha. Greg Duffy: I'm like, hey Aleta: Ha ha ha. Greg Duffy: Jenny. Aleta: wow. Greg Duffy: And I have met her in Stable Boy, but you know, I I I don't know her super well, you know. and I was like, you know, I have this music and I I really think it would be cool because this this really isn't happening much if at all in the vertical space to have original music for a vertical. And she to her credit right away was like, Yeah, wait, let me listen to your music and let me see what we can do. So she in between takes is listening to my music catalog. And then she came to me and she said, Okay, this isn't your style necessarily, but is there a version where you write a song about bad boys in the style of Billy Eilish, Bad Guy, Von Dutch, Charlie XCX, and then National Anthem Lana Del Rey. She gave me three songs to reference when I was thinking about the Sonic palette for You Want a Bad Boy. And I said I don't know if I can do that. I'll Aleta: Ha ha. Greg Duffy: have to see. So I basically after set every single night, I would just go home and see, you know, listen to those songs, see what I could do. I enlisted a friend of mine who is a co-producer on a few other songs of mine, my friend Spencer Hattendorf, who was a co-producer on the day that I met you. And I said, Do you think could you help me with this? Because I'm gonna be on set for the next month, but could we co-write this together? Here's the brief. And over the next few days we basically came up with the song that would then eventually become You Wan a Bad Boy. It went through many iterations, many lyrical changes. And I didn't know if it was gonna get done. We were our schedule was just so busy and the turnaround time from finishing the shoot to launching the vertical is so short. It's like four weeks, five weeks. And so I said to Jenny, like, I'm gonna do everything I can to get this done. I don't know if I'll be able to. And she's like, that's okay. Just, you know, see what you can do. No pressure, no pressure. But I was like, my pressure was self-imposed. I was like, I want this in the vertical. Aleta: Of course. Greg Duffy: And so over the course of the next like four weeks while we were filming, in between takes and at night, and we did have some days off, like I was just trying to get this song done. And just under the gun, the day that I needed to hand it to them to to be able to put it in the edit. I got it into them and that's how it ended up being in the vertical. Declan: And it's crazy 'cause it's not like a song that you feel is just, you know, put together in that amount of time. It feels like this epic piece and this amazing score to this series. Like it just encapsulates the whole series and I think it so much fits the aesthetic and the vibe. Like it's just talented, talented, beautiful human. Like amazing. Aleta: Mm-hmm. Greg Duffy: Thanks, Declan. LUCY: That's right, I agree. Aleta: Yeah, I was like, so he can do a song in less than a year. Greg Duffy: Ha ha ha. Declan: Leaders like, okay, great, time to pump him out. Greg Duffy: I was stressed. I was like, when she said, could you do this? I because I initially LUCY: snap. Aleta: I'm sorry. Greg Duffy: was like, I have a catalog of music. Would you be interested in using any of the catalog of music Aleta: Hm. Greg Duffy: in the vertical? Right? And then she came back with this idea. I was like, cool. Okay, in a month. Like, write it, produce it, record it. Mix Master and I'm not doing all of those things. I'm not mixing, I'm not mastering, right? Like I'm working with especially Spencer who did mix and master it and co wrote it and really led the production on it. But just to say, like, yeah, I that turnaround time, I feel like I was not well. I was like, yeah, yeah, Aleta: That's crazy. Greg Duffy: yeah, yeah, yeah. But I was really proud of it. So I really wanted to get it done in that timeline, you know. Aleta: Yeah. Declan: And it was like such a LUCY: So did you do Aleta: If looks could kill could kinda work too, I think. Greg Duffy: Yeah. Yeah. LUCY: I was gonna say Aleta: Sorry. LUCY: like twelve hour days though, did you like work twelve hours and then go work on the song and get no sleep? Greg Duffy: Kind of, yeah. Declan: That's I'm like so impressed. LUCY: my gosh. Declan: I don't know how you did that because this shoot was Aleta: Kidding. Declan: very challenging in terms of the like the shooting hours. We were in a heat wave as well for a lot of the shoot and you know we were in the desert. Desert, desert. Greg Duffy: Some of the places didn't have air conditioned like we were like sweating in some of these scenes where in the desert. Where it's like a hundred Aleta: Mm. Greg Duffy: degrees in LA and it's like a hundred and twenty in the desert. Declan: And then to go home and do that is just wow. Greg Duffy: I sometimes I was like, okay, I'm not in the next scene, like let me try to write. You know, I was just like any moment I had 'cause I just felt up against the clock. I like, let me see what I can do to get this done Not knowing the whole time whether I would even get it done. Like maybe I would just not finish in time because you know the editing schedule for this stuff is like kinda crazy. I d I feel for the editors who have to take all of our raw footage and make something in just four weeks. So to their credit, again, like they were like, no pressure, but I was like, I want this really badly. I think it could really like be a cool part of the show, feature of the show. Aleta: Mm-hmm. Greg Duffy: And, you know, if this goes well, like maybe I could write for other shows or shows I'm not even in potentially, right? Like Aleta: Mm. Greg Duffy: what is the potential for all this, so I I really felt like I really wanted to get it to happen. LUCY: I'm so proud of you, man. You made that happen so fast and it's so amazing Aleta: I know. Greg Duffy: Thank you. Thank you. LUCY: and I can't I can't even believe the lore of that song. Aleta: Miss Mr Overachiever. Declan: Mm-hmm. Greg Duffy: I w I was also concerned 'cause it was a little out of my genre. I was like, I wonder if people are gonna think Aleta: Hm. Greg Duffy: about this, you know? Yeah. Aleta: It's fun. LUCY: We loved it. Aleta: It's good to have some different songs. We can still listen to you all Greg Duffy: It's fun. Yeah. Yeah. Aleta: the time even if we don't want to cry. Greg Duffy: Yeah, right. Right. Aleta: But I really liked how they how they used it throughout the vertical, like especially to highlight Beckett when he comes in and stuff like that. It was it was Greg Duffy: Yeah. Aleta: well done. Greg Duffy: Yeah, that was a surprise to too. I like, I know where they're gonna use it, but they put it in the trailer, they put it in that first episode and they put it a few other times. I was like, Aleta: Yeah. Declan: This is very good. LUCY: They put it in the headmaster's office. Like Aleta: Ha ha ha. LUCY: as an epic like kiss moment. Yeah. Greg Duffy: I was surprised. 'Cause there's Declan: I loved Greg Duffy: that Declan: it. Greg Duffy: there's the epic kiss moment and then the song does change. 'Cause Declan: Couple. Yeah. Greg Duffy: it's a ver obviously we'll get into this, but it's very intimate that moment. And I was like, huh. A and then it shifted. They had it into this kind of exciting, you know, dangerous moment of like what's gonna happen and then a more sweet and intimate moment where they shifted the the song. Yeah. Aleta: So good. Greg Duffy: Yeah. I'm glad you like it. I I'm really proud of it. Aleta: Love it. LUCY: Absolutely love it. We love everything you do, so it's okay. It doesn't surprise us at Aleta: This is true. LUCY: all. Greg Duffy: Ha ha Aleta: Okay, before we get into the recap, Declan, would you be willing to read the summary for us? Declan: Of course. Alright. after being sent to Maplewood Reform School, a last stop before prison for the problem sons of wealthy families, openly gay teen Cody Callaway, originally Benji, is not welcome. After all the first rule of Maplewood is clear. Any homosexual activity earns an immediate expulsion. Enter Beckett Hayes, the school's straight golden boy with a girlfriend, a dark past, and a growing obsession with Cody. Every stolen touch puts their freedom on the line, but some things they're worth the risk. Greg Duffy: Oof That was so well written. There's Aleta: Ha ha ha. Greg Duffy: this great line when in early on in like episode two maybe when Beckett brings Cody to the showers and he's and And Cody says something like, Really like prison? And I think Beckett says something like, Yeah, if you're like gonna make a move on a guy, he better be worth going to prison for, you know. Make sure it's worth it, yeah. Declan: Make sure it's worth it, yeah. And you Aleta: Yeah. Declan: were and you were. Aleta: Yeah. Declan: Okay. LUCY: It seemed like very stressful to like just want to be together like every time. Aleta: Ha ha Declan: Cortisol through the roof at all times. Greg Duffy: it was so funny like the stakes are so high. It's like not expulsion, it's prison. Aleta: Yeah. LUCY: Right Goodness. Aleta: So on to the recap. Greg and Declan, please jump in anytime, whenever you have anything to add, your stories, your lines. I know that they all want to hear from you more than us, so So the first few episodes introduce us to our leads, Cody Callaway, who has just arrived at Maplewood, played by the lovely Declan Clifford, and the golden boy Beckett Hayes, played by our very own Greg Duffy. There are three rules. Do you know the three rules? Greg Duffy: No homosexual activity. no single pasker few? Declan: Yeah. Aleta: Mm-hmm. Greg Duffy: I have a I posted a picture of us with the rules. no fighting. Nice. Declan: Violence, you can't fight. No fighting. Aleta: Yeah. No. Mm hmm. Declan: That becomes important later. Greg Duffy: Mm-hmm. LUCY: Mm. Aleta: All of which will result in expulsion. The headmaster Greg Duffy: Media. Aleta: instructs Beckett to show Cody around, and he very quickly learns that rule breaking is not tolerated, and the smallest infraction will send you straight to prison. Can you tell us a little bit about your characters without getting too much into the plot? Declan: absolutely. Do you want me to go first? Aleta: Yeah. Declan: so Cody is basically the son of a senator. I think he comes from a Yeah, really prestigious family, a high profile family and as opposed to like different characters I've played, Cody is the one who has been rejected by his family. it's not as clear in other verticals slash I have a really supportive family. So this was like such an interesting character for me because he's coming to this school with no one, with no support, with no friendship and with no family connections. He's if I had to like give you a little summary, he he's come 'cause he's he's basically hacked his dad's political campaign to send funding to Pride Youth. So you know this is a little go-getter, this is someone Aleta: Mm-hmm. Declan: who stands up for what they believe in and they're they're ready to tear shit up. So I Aleta: Ha ha ha. Declan: think that's what we see with Cody through this. He is a little firecracker and he's ready to go to Matt on a lot of stuff. Greg Duffy: I think to your point, a great line that encompasses the family relationship is early on, again, this is by the showers, Autumn comes in and says, Blair Price, daughter only daughter of the headmaster of Headmaster Price. Aleta: Mm. Greg Duffy: And then you say like Cody Callaway, some a lot of his son of no one. Like you really I didn't know that. Declan: Beloved Son of No One. Which was improv. We got to improv so much on this. We Aleta: Yeah. Declan: get like a lot of the ending lines in the scenes are just improv. So like the beloved son of no one, I just was like, I'm throwing that in there Greg Duffy: Awesome. Declan: because she's your beloved daughter. And then Greg Duffy: Yeah. Declan: I love Autumn at the end when she's like, I've seen better. LUCY: Yeah. Greg Duffy: that was for sure improved. They really let Declan: It's crazy. Aleta: Ha ha Greg Duffy: us have a little fun. And we didn't know if it'd make it into the edit, but they really let us go for it. Declan: Sorry, wicked Yeah, and it did. Beckett Hayes. Tell us about Beckett Hayes. Greg Duffy: Beckett Hayes. Aleta: Mm-hmm. Greg Duffy: Beckett Hayes is Golden Boy of Maplewood Reform Academy. He's Declan: Straight golden boy. Greg Duffy: straight Golden Boy, which is said maybe like a hundred times in the show. LUCY: Ha ha ha. Declan: He Greg Duffy: And he's dating Blair, played by Autumn. And from the outside, it looks like he basically has everything he could you know anyone would ever want, right? Like he has the girlfriend, he's a top student, he's there because he had a relationship with a teacher, which some guys think is like so cool, right? Like he's he's respected by his peers and teachers. He Wears a varsity jacket. We had a conversation about this. Like he play probably plays a sport, even though, you know, it's not referenced, right? He's probably like, you know, star athlete, which is funny, because I'm like, that's not really that's not really me. and he is set to graduate early. So, you know, he's not really happy to be there, but he's making the best of it, and he's he's widely respected across the school from the students to the teachers to the headmaster. He's also very overconfident, you know, which maybe comes to the territory. He's pretty egotistical. which I think we uncover is really a a tool to not be vulnerable with anybody, to not let anybody in, and and over time we see the relationship with Cody develop, and you start to see him be a little bit more vulnerable. But that's Beckett Hayes. LUCY: Love these explanations of the characters. They're so thorough Aleta: Ha ha ha. LUCY: and it just makes me think like, 'cause you guys have talked about it when you're preparing for a role, you're kind of trying to get into their psyche. And honestly, Greg Duffy: Yeah. LUCY: you guys both brought it across the screen. It was I loved those characters. They did them so Aleta: Ha ha Declan: Yeah, they're special. LUCY: well. Declan: They're really special. Yeah, I loved their I think we've talked about this before, but when there's a lot of stakes to the relationship and you know, these people getting to actually be together and go through that, it it makes it so much sweeter when you get that payoff of them actually giving in to their feelings. Aleta: We love a love story. So at the beginning, Beckett is showing Cody around and we meet Beckett's girlfriend, Blair, as you've mentioned, and Beckett seems less than enthusiastic, to say the least. He can't go out with her because he has to show Cody the ropes, which yeah, sure you do. Greg Duffy: Mm-hmm. Aleta: in the lunchroom we meet more of the cast. Tyler Von Row, the ladies' man. Played by Tom Sis, Xander Thorne the Bully, played by Kamen Cardiff, and Leo Lovell, the emo artist, played by Nick Hermick. I like the way they have sort of a real variety, like you actually usually do in a high school, right? There's there's all those different types of people. Declan: For sure. Greg Duffy: Yeah. That was what was so nice about this ensemble cast is they everyone does fit a very different archetype and so Aleta: Mm-hmm. Greg Duffy: and everyone was so well cast. We were talking about this like s it was so great to work with these everyone brings something something different and I think an ensemble cast allows for that to happen. You really do need some variation and I thought, you know, who we were able to Aleta: Mm. Greg Duffy: work with was they were so so so so talented. And you'll see more of them. Aleta: Mm-hmm. Declan: Yeah. LUCY: Yeah. Declan: There was no like everyone had such a different vibe on set and like one of the really fun things is that and I think I'm allowed to say this that in season two and three we get into a lot more ensemble scenes where you see all six of us together. You didn't Aleta: Mm. Declan: see that as much in this season, but we shot a lot of ensemble stuff in season two and three and I think that's when it becomes especially when you pan across the six of us, it's just like it's like, ooh, this is so cool with everyone's different Aleta: Okay, Declan: vibes. You know, everyone Greg Duffy: Yeah. Declan: has a really different yeah, really different and that scene, that cafeteria scene was the s first scene we shot for season one. So Aleta: okay. Declan: that was day one, a couple of hours into day one. And yeah. So that's like the special memory of that little cafeteria Aleta: Yeah. Declan: scene. Greg Duffy: Yeah. Aleta: And as you said, this is the first part of a trilogy. Can you tell us a little bit about the challenges involved in filming three verticals simultaneously? 'Cause that seems crazy. Greg Duffy: Yeah. I think Aleta: Ha Greg Duffy: I mean it was the longest it was a long shoot. We would we shot for a month, right? So it's basically the length of three verticals. And I think the most challenging thing is you're shooting out of order, right? You're shooting based on locations. And so I remember we shot the first season of season one, I think in the last scene of season one in the same day. all basically all of the days you're shooting scenes from different seasons. And so when you try to do this like work to develop your character and understand who they are, and they have this really interesting character arc over the course of not just one season but three, you want to be able to embody what that character would be like accurately across that chronological arc, but you have to embody it in the same day, depending on what part of the scene, what part of the show you're filming. So I think that was probably the the biggest challenge for me was to be like, okay, Beckett has a girlfriend right now. He doesn't really even know that he's could have feelings for guys or for Cody. Okay, season three, like Beckett and Cody, you know, without giving too much away, like, obviously he's under s now he understands himself a lot better and but that might be acted on the same day. And to the to the credit of the of the all the team behind the camera, like if I ever had question, the director David and and Janny the the show runner would be like, I think this is what he would be feeling right now. so I think that was the a unique challenge for shooting three seasons Aleta: Mm. Greg Duffy: together for me. Declan: Mm, mm. Yeah, I I do this for every show, but it was particularly important for this one. I always do like a I rewrite the story from my character's perspective, just like in basically dot points, not like a full a hundred page script, but like so I can track where the story is at any time, because obviously we always shoot out of order. but that was like really important, especially for this one. But one thing that I really liked doing with Greg and I on this shoot is we would talk about if it was a season two Two or three scene, we would talk about where Cody and Beckett were and how far we felt they were in their relationship, and also developing like little couple language between them, which is really sweet because often a vertical ends with the happily ever after. Like you see, you before the happily ever after, you get they you get they get their moment and then it's off into the sunset. We don't see the sunset. Whereas with this, we could see more of them as a couple just living their lives, and so it was really really fun for us to be like what would be their like little thing they do, like their little move, how would they hold hands, you know, how would they cuddle Greg Duffy: Yeah. Declan: each other? Like all that stuff was really special for me on this one. And so With this shoot as well, like the challenge of it, it's was actually a lot less intensive than a traditional vertical. In the sense of if you are leading a traditional vertical, you're on set twelve hours a day and you're not off camera at all. Aleta: Hm. Declan: So you have like no break. Whereas with this, because each season kind of predominantly focuses on a different couple, we could you know, if it was a season three or two moment that didn't involve us, we just had a bit more space, some days, you Aleta: Mm. Declan: know, we're not so it's more akin to filming an actual T V show, which was really awesome for us. So Aleta: Hm. Declan: I I really liked that. But Greg's right, the challenge was where are your characters at this point? Staking that out and and I just think Yeah, the challenge sp specific challenge around this one was just the necessity of what we had to film, like overnights, intense heat wave. there was, you know, a sickness going round that I s you know, went down with about week two and a half, three and Greg put up the wards. Greg Duffy: Put up the wards, we're like locked in a closet making out. I'm like, LUCY: Yeah. Greg Duffy: it is what it is. Bring it on. Aleta: It's all that yogurt. Declan: out the youngin. He's got a strong immune system. I need to get Jibati. Greg Duffy: Yeah, the probiotics, my gut biomes one other th one other thing I'll say about the longer term shoot is that and with an ensemble cast is we all get to spend more time together. You know, a typical shoot is is seven, eight, nine, ten days. And it's really fun. And by the end you're just much closer than you are at the beginning, especially in a in a seven, eight, nine, ten day shoot. But certainly that's the case in a month long shoot. So, you know, we're on this kind of adventure together for longer and we get to know each other a lot better. You have these breaks like Duclan set on set where you're like, you're getting you're having lunch and you're chatting and you're getting to know people that you have Declan: Okay. Greg Duffy: not worked with or maybe you haven't worked with to this extent. And so that was a really nice aspect of a longer term project. And I can imagine on a TV show, you know, just how close those those actors and those teams get. But that was a really nice aspect is we had to spend so much time together over a long period. You know, before shooting we Declan: The family. Greg Duffy: we all got dinner together and it was like buckle up. Like this is gonna be a long process, you know, and and what a what a great group of people to work with. Like really one of my best experiences on set. Declan: Hmm. Little family. Aleta: Cody is eager to meet everyone in the lunchroom, but wow, Beckett is already showing signs of jealousy as he says what does he say? Greg Duffy: is this in the lunchroom? Aleta: Yeah. Declan: You I'll give you the lead in. You want me to like you? wait no. No. No. Never mind! Aleta: No, that's after. Greg Duffy: I was like, that 'cause I think my next LUCY: You That still helps though. That should still help him. So Declan, you're covered. You're Declan: I LUCY: good. We don't Aleta: Yeah. Greg Duffy: You want me to like you? I Declan: I like him. Greg Duffy: think I think that's when I just burst out into laughter, right? And I just say like Aleta: After that you did, but what did you say before he said that? Declan: I say before, I like him. You go. Greg Duffy: I'm the only it's something like that. I'm the only one you get to like. Is that what it it's something like that? Yeah. Yeah, yeah, because you're f you notice Easton. Leo, you like Leo because Leo's kinda firecracker. Aleta: Yeah. Yeah. LUCY: Yes. Declan: with the little chin grab. 'Cause I'm looking at Leo. Leo. 'Cause he he pinches the money. Yeah. Aleta: Yeah. Hey Mm. Greg Duffy: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm the only one you're allowed to like. I'm already jealous. Like it's like scene two. Aleta: Ha ha ha. LUCY: Declan, do you have a cheat sheet? Aleta: Ha ha ha ha LUCY: Do you have a cheat sheet? Declan: I just w I just watched it last night. So it's fresh in the mind. LUCY: Well, I just saw him like peeking around and like Greg Duffy: Like Declan: No that that was that that was acting to pretend that Leo was there. That's that's on acting. Greg Duffy: yeah, he's he's got the vertical playing like right here. Aleta: There's a script beside him. So Cody goes looking for his room and runs into Easton Scott, the queer writer, played by Ben Ubinas. Flirting ensues. LUCY: We love Ben. Aleta: Swiftly interrupted by Becket, who is not happy with the way Easton is looking at Cody. Greg Duffy: Mm-hmm. Aleta: Beckett drops Cody off at his room, telling him that he'll need his rest for when he sees him later. Greg Duffy: Yeah. Declan: Sorry, can I just add one thing here with this scene Aleta: Yeah, absolutely. Declan: with Easton? When I watched it, they and it's the first time they've reused this music, but the music they use to introduce Easton is the same music they used for Sky and Eye's first kiss in Pool Boy, when he gives me the new glasses. And I was like, Holy flashback! Holy my Aleta: wow. Declan: god! Like it like literally I got like a gut when I rewatched it, I was like t that first kiss 'cause I remember that was Sky and I's first kiss in the show, but also our first kiss of our you know, franchise. And so it's like such a special bit of music and it yeah, I was just like Flashback. Yeah. Aleta: Aw. Greg Duffy: It really sets the tone then, doesn't it, too, for this kind of romantic vibe between the two of them. Declan: Yeah. LUCY: How did I miss that? Cause I've seen Pool Boy a bunch and I not Declan: Go back and watch the pretty woman glasses and the first kiss where Sky's like Victorious Greg Duffy: What do you want? Declan: and he Yup, it's that music. Sorry. I just had to interject with that one. LUCY: I will. Okay. No. Aleta: No. LUCY: Keep jumping in like that. This is gr yes. Aleta: We want to hear all the things. Declan: It doesn't. Aleta: So later on, Cody's awakened by Becket, Xander and I couldn't tell who the third person was. Greg Duffy: Tyler it's right my god right it's it's supposed to be Tyler who was deathly ill like patient zero on our set for the for the disease Declan: PA wheel. It was meant to be Tyler, but Tom was sick. Ty Tom was patient zero. Aleta: okay Yeah. I was like that doesn't look like any of them. okay. LUCY: So Aleta: no. LUCY: Okay. Greg Duffy: that spread Aleta: God. Declan: We love you toe if you're watching. Shut up. Greg Duffy: shout out it love you Tom supposed to be Tom it was Will a PA LUCY: Well, I'm glad he was able to stand in, so but that's the reason why then. Cause he was suffering. poor guy. Declan: Yeah. Greg Duffy: Yeah. Yeah. He actually showed up to Aleta: You were all Greg Duffy: set that day, I believe, and they sent him home. They're like, You are not well Yeah. Declan: Yeah, and they were just like, No. yeah. Aleta: that's good. Yeah, it's like you're all wearing the ski masks and I was looking at like Greg Duffy: I know. They were like, We can swing this. Aleta: that is that is not any of the others anyway. Declan: Go on. I was so nervous because you're just like laying in bed. I don't know why I was nervous. But I'm just like laying in bed. Greg Duffy: Eyes closed. No, I get it. Declan: I think I'm like, and I'm waiting for it. I'm like, when's it gonna come? And you're like Aleta: You know what's gonna happen. Declan: trying not to move because you're asleep, but you're like, I know this is about to like collide Greg Duffy: I'm about to be Declan: with my face LUCY: Did you say they did it multiple times too? Declan: N just once. Greg Duffy: It was one, but LUCY: okay. Greg Duffy: we were like gearing up to do it. So like we shot the shadows on Declan. We shot everything you need to shoot prior to the shooting the water, right? So that you can make sure that you don't have to re-shoot anything once he's all wet. But Will, the PA, was the one they gave the bucket to. Declan: Mm. Greg Duffy: And he was like he was like nervous. He was like, I don't know if I can do this And I kinda was like laughing. I was like, You got it, you can do it, you do it. And I don't know why. It was based on how we were all positioned. Like they thought he had a closest access to Declan. And then they I was kinda making fun of him, I like, don't mess it up, don't mess it up. And then they handed it to me. They're like, actually Greg, can you do it? was like, Shh shit In the end I had to do it and I was like af I just that's karma, like immediately. LUCY: Ha ha ha ha Declan: You got me good. You ate straight for that forehead. Greg Duffy: I didn't want to do it 'cause Declan: But what Greg Duffy: it is stressful, like if you miss or if you mess it up, then Declan has to go into hair and makeup and dry off and it's like a hu probably like at Declan: And the bed. Greg Duffy: least a half an hour delay. And the bed yeah. Yeah. Aleta: The bed, you'd have to yeah, change everything, yeah. Declan: The bedding. Yeah. And as well, like, there was like a we shot with like a jib on this one, which is like a little mini crane. So you'll see a lot of the interesting cinematography through this where we whip and Greg Duffy: Yeah. Declan: up and down is because LUCY: Mm. Declan: we had a jib, which I've never had before on a vertical, which was really cool. But Greg Duffy: A lot more fun shots when you have a jib. Declan: So I'm in bed here, right? The jib is like here, the crane is like above me, and I'm like, don't reflexively like go up and, you know, bang your head because Greg Duffy: And bang your head. Declan: I was like, stay still but shocked like So it's just there was so much happening at that at that point. Aleta: think one of you posted a still of that or maybe Reelshirt did. Greg Duffy: Yeah. I think maybe I did. I think I did. And Declan: of that moment. yeah. You did great on your BTS yeah. Aleta: Of you lying in the bed. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Greg Duffy: I have some BTS video of that too, which I'll post. Declan: Yeah. Aleta: god. Greg Duffy: I I knew it LUCY: Please. Greg Duffy: was gonna be a fun moment because Declan was like, you know, bracing for it and he's Declan: Yeah. Greg Duffy: gotta do it, and it's a little nerve-wracking to have your eyes closed, like you said, and to just like wait for brace for impact. And so I was like, let me set up my phone, I need to capture this. LUCY: Was it really cold too? Declan: It was cold but it w we were in the heat wave, so honestly I was grateful for it. I was like Speak release. Greg Greg and I go LUCY: Okay. It was nice. That was great. That might get clipped, just so you know. Aleta: Yeah. Greg Duffy: Yeah. Declan: to the sweat. Greg Duffy: Sweet release. Aleta: Totally getting clipped. LUCY: Not by us. Aleta: Don't count on it. Okay. LUCY: My goodness. It'll alright, sorry. We're so this is derailed, but that's good. Greg Duffy: Mm-hmm. Aleta: That's all right. Okay, so he's dragged out to the scrapyard where Blair is going to whip the gay out of them. If she can get them hard, Greg Duffy: Mm-hmm. Aleta: they're off the hook. How was it working with Autumn? I I didn't know her from anything before, personally, but Declan: Really? Autumn is like the OG real short girl. Aleta: I tend to just rewatch, so I haven't Greg Duffy: Yeah. Aleta: seen that many. Declan: Gotcha, yeah. I mean she she was amazing and I think Aleta: Ha ha ha. Declan: this is her first time doing a supporting role and I think the first time playing a quote unquote villain, although I think I don't I don't classify her as a villain or like Greg Duffy: Yeah. Declan: a typical mean girl, which I really liked, like and y you Aleta: Mm. Declan: know, you'll continue to see her. I think she's just a girl who loved her boyfriend. So fair. I'm Aleta: Mm. Declan: like, honestly your reaction's kinda justified. Greg Duffy: R right. Yeah, I kind of agree with that. Declan: but She was awesome. She was so much fun and yeah, just like the sweetest human. We were so lucky that just did like a bunch of sweet humans on this set. So yeah, she's such so talented and I really thought like when I rewatched it, I loved watch re like watching her on screen because just she had such a like strong point of view on everything that came out of Beckett's mouth and she was just like so irritated she like, ew, like no. Greg Duffy: Yeah. LUCY: Ha ha ha. Declan: It was great. Greg Duffy: Yeah, everything Declan said. She's super talented. She was such like a a steady presence on set. and she even said too, she's This is one of r my favorite productions. She said because of you guys. So it was like the six guys in Autumn, you know, spending all Aleta: Mm-mm. Greg Duffy: this time together and I she's the seventh, you know, she's the she's sort of part of she's part of the ensemble cast. She's the seventh. Declan: Click, yeah. Aleta: Mm-hmm. Greg Duffy: The one the click, yeah. And And through like the long streets and the late nights and stuff, I I I always think of her as like, you know, remaining like positive and and she's Declan: Yeah. Greg Duffy: just like a pro. She's a pro. Declan: Yeah. Greg Duffy: And you'll see you'll see a lot more of her. She's she's Declan: Mm. Greg Duffy: prominent in in the next two seasons. Declan: Yeah. Aleta: Okay. Well. Declan: Yeah. Aleta: So the scrapyard scene, I my favorite part of that was Easton's line when he said, my god, they're not even gonna kick our asses old school style. Declan: Yeah. Aleta: Technology really is taking all the jobs. Greg Duffy: Technology, yeah. That's one of the best lines. It's so natural, it's so like timely. Declan: my god. That yeah. He's so sassy. That disgusted look he did as Blair is grinding on him said like sent me. And he's just Aleta: Mm. Declan: like LUCY: Ha ha ha. Greg Duffy: I feel like he had such a strong point of view on his character too. His little mannerisms were so good. Declan: totally. Yeah. Yeah. Greg Duffy: Yeah. Aleta: We were wondering if the period pain simulators actually did anything or you just had wires stuck to you. 'Cause I think every Greg Duffy: Well Aleta: man should have to go through that. Greg Duffy: Agreed. Agreed on that. It was it was labor. It was labor pain simulator. Not even just period. Aleta: labor simulator. even worse. Greg Duffy: Yeah, pr I would presume, but I don't know. It was it w I don't think it was real, right, Declan? But the remote did turn on. Nothing was I wonder what Aleta: Did it buzz you at all? No no. No. No. Declan: no it wasn't real. No. Greg Duffy: remote was from. 'Cause it turned on and stuff. Declan: the remote turned on. Yep. Greg Duffy: I don't know. Yeah, yeah, it like had a little light on it. no no no, I don't think so. I think 'cause I held it, I think I I'm trying to remember. But anyway, I think it was Yeah, someone somewhere someone somewhere is like in in cra crazy main. Aleta: Mm. Declan: I think they've added that in post. okay maybe. really? okay. Maybe it's setting off a different device on a different person. Someone's in the back? Aleta: Ha ha. LUCY: Ha ha ha Greg Duffy: No, because I don't think that actually exists, right? Like a pa a pain simulator. Declan: It does, 'cause Ben was telling us you can do it. Aleta: it does. yeah. Declan: Ben was saying that someone he knew used it to get amazing abs. 'Cause it like tighten your core or something. LUCY: I guess I could see that. Greg Duffy: Yeah, 'cause there's electro stim, right? Like muscle stuff. Yeah. Maybe that's how Ben got Yeah. Declan: They just like what Aleta: I'm like labor does not tighten your core. Declan: I don't know w listen, I don't know. His body. He's like someone I knew. I'm like, okay. LUCY: What wasn't it? Greg Duffy: Maybe that's Ben's secret to having his in shape bod, yeah. Someone I knew, yeah. Declan: Whatever. Aleta: I don't know, I've seen I've seen lots of of TikToks of of guys having to do that and it's like it starts off kind of low level period pain and they're immediately like Greg Duffy: Yeah. Aleta: out for the count. It's like Declan: Really? Greg Duffy: Is that is it just for the sake of like better understanding what it's like? Yeah. Aleta: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Greg Duffy: Like solidarity with their female partners. Aleta: Yeah, because you have they most men have no idea how much pain women go through every every single month, right? Not even Greg Duffy: Totally. No, totally. LUCY: No, it's Aleta: getting into seventy two hours of labor over here. So LUCY: Yeah, no, that's true. Greg Duffy: Seventy two. LUCY: And then we put Declan: yeah. LUCY: a smile on her face and we're like, It's cool, it's fun and we go to work. Aleta: It's fine. Ha. Declan: Yeah. LUCY: Everyone it's a different level, but that is cool. Declan: Truly the best among us. Greg Duffy: Right, seriously. LUCY: Ha ha ha. Aleta: You can't be a bitch just 'cause you're feeling like one. LUCY: Ha ha ha. Greg Duffy: I don't know, Declan: It's c huh? Greg Duffy: sometimes I think again. Aleta: Huh. Declan: I think you can. LUCY: You have permission to lead us. Aleta: Okay, great. Beckett has a plan to get Cody off the hook by getting him hard and then calling in Blair so that she thinks that she did it. You told us in your chat about how they wanted Greg to bounce up and down here as you struggled. Was that a problem with your back, Greg? That's all I could think of. Greg Duffy: Ha ha ha. LUCY: Ha ha ha. Declan: That's what you're thinking of? LUCY: Yes Yes it was Aleta: Well, we knew how much pain he'd been in all the way through that, so Greg Duffy: Let me tell you it was so f I so yeah, for those listening, I have a herniated disc, so my back was such a thing this whole shoot and like in between takes I like on the ground, like trying to heal myself. Try to heal Declan: Yes, generally. Greg Duffy: myself. and there wasn't a lot of time to go to physical therapy and stuff. So I was just doing my best and poppin' Advil like no tomorrow. But th the the thing that sticks out to me most from that scene is really how insane it felt to bounce as high as I was bouncing on Declan: T. Greg Duffy: Declan's lap. We were we were, you know, it's an insert of of, you know, my like bottom half straddling Declan's bottom half. so you don't see our faces in that in that particular like moment. And Declan and I are like Dying laughing. Like we Aleta: Ha ha ha Greg Duffy: can't keep it together because we we did the take, and I'm kind of like, you know, moving a little bit on Declan's lap, you know, to in a way that feels realistic for that moment. And you know, we get cut, we're like, we need to be bigger. Okay. So then like I kind of balance a little bit and I cut, it needs Aleta: Ha ha Greg Duffy: to be it needs be way bigger because the insert is so zoomed that it's just not registering. That's what's happening. And Aleta: so tight, yeah. Yeah. Mm. Greg Duffy: but you don't, as the actor on the you don't you often Don't know the frame, you don't know like how it's all you Declan: Yeah. Greg Duffy: have to have trust. Like that the director and everybody is like, and the camera people are all getting the shot. You just have to do what they say, basically. You have to trust. And so anyway, after like three more takes, I Declan and I are crying. Cause I am bouncing to the moon on top of him. I am, it it's not, it doesn't feel sexy. It doesn't feel Aleta: I know. Greg Duffy: it feels insane. Declan: And everyone is watching us. Greg Duffy: Yeah, yeah. Everyone's standing right there. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Declan: Everyone is just standing around thinking It's like watching like a horror movie, like LUCY: Are they all doing Aleta: That is the LUCY: this? Aleta: that is the BTS you needed someone to film. Greg Duffy: Yeah. Declan: I'm like, why is no one filming this? LUCY: Are they covering their mouths in shock too while they're watching? Aleta: Ha ha ha. Declan: I mean, Greg Duffy: Yeah, Declan: at this point I can't see 'cause I have like tears going down my face. Greg Duffy: trying not to get the audio. Yeah. I'm like right in front. Aleta: Mm-hmm. Greg Duffy: So yeah, we're crying and bouncing and bouncing and bouncing and finally they're like, got the shot. And then after we cut, I was like, Did that look okay? Like w because I felt like I was I felt insane. They're like, look great, we're moving on. Like, okay. I'm gonna trust. Aleta: Ha ha ha. Greg Duffy: I'm gonna trust. It Declan: It did, it looked good. Greg Duffy: looked really simple. Aleta: Yeah, yeah. Greg Duffy: It looked really yeah, it looked Super normal. LUCY: Okay, so well I just have a little more questions here. This is we've never recapped with actors before, so this is great because I Declan: Yeah. LUCY: get to get some you know, responses right off the bat. So were the crew straight faced this whole time? Declan: really think LUCY: Was it just Declan: that I think they'd had seen so much that nothing fazed them. I think they had just seen Greg Duffy: They've been through so much. Declan: like honestly, they they w one of our camera ops was like, I literally feel like I'm in a threesome right now. Like 'cause you know, you're so close and they're getting these inserts and she she was like, literally feels like I'm having a threesome. She's moving around us. Greg Duffy: Yeah. Well that's what's so funny is like for intimacy scenes too, you know, they're right up in your face with a camera. You're getting kissing like this close, you know, you're getting inserts, really close zooms of moments on the body and stuff and so you know, there's always this question, like, is it like hot or like how do you manage your, you know, feelings and stuff? It's like cameras like right here. So the the Aleta: Mm-hmm. Greg Duffy: room is f It's not full of people, but it's there's a lot of people, you know, that have to be there. Lighting and and and there's a lot of people in there. So yeah, they get intimate with us. You Declan: Mm. Greg Duffy: know, you just they do. And it's funny, there's a there's a lot of trust not just between actors, but between like you know, the camera team filming intimate moments, you know. But yeah, yeah, yeah. Declan: And they're total pros. Like they totally make us feel like so safe and everyone's so focused on their particular thing, whether it's sound or wardrobe or you know, y the camera team is very much focused on the shot and the the lighting Greg Duffy: Mm. Declan: and that's their s singular focus and then director, showrunners very focused performance and the whole vision of it. So like they are really respectful. Really respectful. I think it's like Greg Duffy: Yeah, yeah. Declan: the other actors who you can kinda crack up a a bit weird. Aleta: Ha ha ha. Declan: And yeah, I remember the the other boys in Autumn just being like in the back. That was Greg Duffy: That was crazy. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. Aleta: Ha ha Declan: some crazy shit. LUCY: I don't know if I could do it because the minute you were talking about that, and I know this one isn't your vertical, but we Alita and I did talk about this in tutoring my rival boy. There like is a shot with Evan on the bed, and Sky is like straight up in the camera. And I just we were talking about how just must have been a camera dude on the bed with Skye just on top. I was like, what? Like, how did they get that? That's crazy. Declan: Yeah. Greg Duffy: Yes. So frequently they're in bed with you. They Declan: Evan's probably eating an orange Greg Duffy: are literally in bed with you. Declan: over in the corner. Sky's doing the Greg Duffy: In Declan: most with the camera. Greg Duffy: In in in I think it was In Straight Until He Kissed Me, like in one of my intimate scenes with Evan, the camera guy was yeah, it's just on the bed. I think I was on top of Evan and the camera guy if I'm here, camera guy legs straddling my body looking over Aleta: Ha ha ha. Greg Duffy: my shoulder to Evan. Declan: Yeah. Greg Duffy: You know what I mean? You're like LUCY: Stop. Greg Duffy: in bed with these people. LUCY: Well, I hope they wore cologne like you do, Greg, to make sure it was a refreshing experience. Greg Duffy: Always. Always. Aleta: Ha ha ha ha. Declan: Absolutely. Greg Duffy: Yeah, yeah, yeah. LUCY: My goodness. Okay, I don't know if we're gonna do this in ninety minutes. We're getting some good stuff here. Alright, Leno, go. Aleta: All right. Greg Duffy: We got more. LUCY: We're ready. Aleta: We're spill it. Alright. I something that made me laugh here was all the all the other characters giving each other like a what the fuck? Look when when Blair announces that she's turned him straight, they're all like I don't Greg Duffy: Yeah. Aleta: think so. LUCY: She's proud of herself, dammit. She did a good job. I thought she looked hot. So I mean, she did look hot. Gotta talk Greg Duffy: Yeah, right. She did. She looked awesome. It was very hot. Declan: She did. She did. LUCY: about her a little bit too, so Aleta: But it was like one second and then he's hard. Greg Duffy: Bom. Aleta: I did it. LUCY: Ha ha ha. Declan: I mean that's how bonus work in verticals. It's Greg Duffy: In Declan: you know nothing and then Greg Duffy: verticals, yeah. Instantaneous. LUCY: Ha. Declan: It's instantaneous. No messing around. Greg Duffy: Well the the sound Aleta: Huh? Greg Duffy: effect that we often use on site is boy ya Boom, done. LUCY: Ha ha ha. Aleta: dear. Greg Duffy: Yeah. Aleta: All right. You've already talked about your crazy long days and night shoots in the vertical. What was it like filming the night scenes? 'Ca d wasn't y that was i at night in the scrapyard, for example, yeah. Greg Duffy: Mm-hmm. Declan: That one wasn't bad because that was the first part of the night. The ending scene of the show of season one, we filmed from one AM to seven AM. Yeah. Yeah. We were on set from seven p.m. Yeah. We filmed season three from like seven till one AM and then season one from one AM till seven AM. Greg Duffy: Yeah. And well we were on set from like what six or seven seven PM filming something before that. Yeah. yeah. All on the same yeah. It was LUCY: my gosh. Greg Duffy: I have so many photos. Actually I have some I have some BTS about this album, but yeah, you see the remember the photo of me and Declan lying side by side, eyes closed? Aleta: Mm. Greg Duffy: It's from that part of the Declan: That night. Greg Duffy: show that night because it was like the sun was rising when we left set and we were like Whoa, like twilight's on. Declan: But the hard thing was we would that would be a Friday. Most of our Fridays were night shoots and then on the Monday we would start again, but we would start again at a normal time, like six AM. Greg Duffy: Six AM Declan: And so it was like you'd kinda like have to not sleep Saturday and Greg Duffy: Try to recover Declan: then try and get up at like eight or nine on Sunday and then to get up at like five, four Greg Duffy: Come back. Declan: AM Monday. And so it was just like that was like tough. Greg Duffy: It's like being jet lagged. Declan: Yeah. But Yeah. We we we took naps where we could. Greg Duffy: There's there's a camaraderie to it. There's like we're in this together and there's, you know, however many people, like forty, fifty people. There were there's background there's background on some of the actually Declan: Yeah. Greg Duffy: most of those night shoots, which I really give a lot of credit for. It's like they, you know, signed up to be to be background and then this is what this is their lot. Like they get to do this overnight thing, and it's like, wow, that's impressive that you're really unable to do that. but when you finish it does feel like wow we just did something pretty hard together and Aleta: Mm-hmm. Greg Duffy: so everyone's like it brings us it brings you closer. 'Cause you're like, wow, that's tough and we did it. You know, we got everything we needed. Yeah. Declan: Totally. LUCY: Lots of Celsius, I bet. Yeah. Greg Duffy: Mm-hmm. Declan: Greg was Greg Duffy: I'm chugging it. Declan: Greg was going though so I Aleta: Yeah. Greg Duffy: I'm chugging at heart LUCY: Ha ha. Greg Duffy: palpitations. Aleta: Can't have too much blood in your caffeine stream. All right. LUCY: Ha ha ha Greg Duffy: That's right. That's right. Aleta: So the others all leave and Beckett and Cody have a moment where they almost kiss those frickin' interruptions all the time. But Greg Duffy: Classic. Aleta: classic. Sometimes it's too much. We were complaining about this on our previous recap. It's like okay, third interruption, you're done. LUCY: Three times. We're allowed it three times before I get before I get annoyed. Number four, there better Greg Duffy: Yeah. LUCY: be they better have their epic moment with the bad boy song. Greg Duffy: Totally. Yes. Aleta: But they get caught by security and dragged into the headmaster's office. Price is about to whack Cody with like a mop handle or something. And Declan: His his Greg Duffy: His cane. Declan: K. Greg Duffy: His cane. Aleta: Well was it his cane? For some reason I thought it looked like a mop handle. The end of it looked funny. Anyway. Declan: I mean I un I do understand that. Yes, but yes. Aleta: Okay. His cane makes sense. Yeah. LUCY: Ha ha ha Greg Duffy: Very old school, like s Aleta: Yeah. Greg Duffy: the getting your knuckles wrapped by the teacher. Aleta: Yeah. Yeah, I don't know. I guess I've never been to reform school, but Greg Duffy: We have. We have, let us tell ya. LUCY: Mm-hmm. Declan: Yeah, yeah, let us tell you. Aleta: A lot of a lot of the stuff would not fly in my boarding school. Alright. So well yeah. I mean, I went to an all girls boarding school. Declan: Like what, having sex at the headmaster's office? What the Greg Duffy: Spoiler. LUCY: Yeah, she did and Greg Duffy: Can still happen. LUCY: nothing fun happened. Like what the hell? Aleta: Nothing fun happened, Declan: Yeah. LUCY: Disappointed Aleta: No. LUCY: in her. Greg Duffy: That she's aware of. Declan: You just gotta get into bird bubbles. Aleta: True. But I mean, like in a room with seven girls, you can't really hide, so Greg Duffy: Your sleeping quarters versus with seven? my god. Wow. Aleta: Yeah. Seven of us in the biggest Declan: Crazy. Aleta: room I was in, yeah. LUCY: Some girls would not Aleta: So LUCY: care. Just Declan: Yeah. LUCY: saying. They would see what they can get away with. I'm telling you. Aleta: Ha ha. LUCY: That's why I was surprised. Greg Duffy: Mm-hmm. LUCY: But anyway, okay. Declan: Yeah. Aleta: What can I tell ya? LUCY: We can keep going. Okay. Aleta: God, I've lost my spot again. Okay. Declan: Yeah, well that's definitely one way to get off topic. LUCY: We're doing really well, guys. We got this. Aleta: Okay, lock in. Beckett intervenes and admits that he was the one who dragged Cody out of bed. He has to give up his hall pass, but Price says from now on, if either of them breaks the rules, they'll both get expelled. After class the next day, Easton asks Cody out on a date. And Becket again is not happy. He shoves Easton as he walks down the hall. Blair wants to take Becket shopping for the mister Maplewood pageant, but he insists on going to detention with Cody. I love how Beckett slaps his ass and then grabs him by the pants and drags him down the hallway backwards. LUCY: Ha ha ha. Greg Duffy: And then do you remember the line that he says? As he's dragging him off. Declan: Is it your ass, is mine? Greg Duffy: Your ass is mine. Declan: First indication. Aleta: Ha ha ha. LUCY: Ha ha ha. Greg Duffy: fars. Aleta: Yeah, I was gonna say LUCY: Fans do like it when Declan just randomly gets pulled out of frame, just you know, aggressively. That's right. That's right. Greg Duffy: Yeah. Aleta: So there's a lot of discussion about that in Declan's chat. Greg Duffy: Ha. Declan: Yeah. Aleta: dear. All right. y you've said that you got to do a lot of improvising on this shoot. Is that just f for the dialogue or do you ever get to improvise those more physical elements as well? Declan: I think Greg and I had a lot of power isn't the right word. What's the word I'm looking for? Say or input in Greg Duffy: Agency. Declan: into the physical Isa physicalization of Cody and Beckett's relationship, intimacy. A lot of the intimacy scenes, g Greg and I had really strong ideas for each moment. So I would say that our our input and a and improv came into a lot of that. and I think also yeah, I I think it mainly came to that and to the gestures and to the that aspect of their romantic relationship. I think in terms of other physical blocking, I can't remember to Greg Duffy: I think like the two answers I have for this are one in this shoot and in a lot of shoots like we were given the ability to to shoot it how we want it to. Meaning like In the scene, there's a camera setup and there's dialogue. So there is a specific frame to work within, one of which is like the wide shot, right? Which is capturing your whole body. But then you have to be aware when it's like your coverage or your close-up shot, you can't shift too far out of frame, right? So there are there are types Aleta: Mm. Greg Duffy: of shots where you can have a lot of physical freedom, and there are certain types of shots where you really have to physically remain in frame. But the wide is often one of the first shots you do. and we weren't given we were able to just do what we wanted most Aleta: Mm. Greg Duffy: times. So basically, like most physical choices are our own, because that's kind of what it's like, you know, you bring to the character is like this is my understanding Aleta: Mm-hmm. Greg Duffy: of what this person would do, this is how they would behave physically. when it comes to like a big movement, like okay, storming off grabbing his you know belt loop and and pulling him, that's definitely like basically choreographed because there's so much. movement that you have Aleta: Mm. Greg Duffy: to prep camera to know exactly what's gonna be happening. yeah, so those are my two answers. Like they give us a lot of freedom. And then you just have to know where frame is. but I'm trying to think if there's any like crazy big physical thing that we improvised. I mean, so much of it is improvised in that we're just bringing, you know, the the natural movement to the character, whether it's a hand Aleta: Mm. Greg Duffy: on the face or the arm, or you know, there's a there's a moment where after the headmaster's office, I think, there's a moment where you kind of reject me because it's too dangerous, and then it says in the trailer, I like pull you off. off my arm I think the following day. You're like, hey, wait, and I like go like this. Like I think that Declan: huh. Greg Duffy: was something you even made might have suggested. Yeah. Declan: Hm. yeah, 'cause I don't think a grab was in the script or yeah. Yeah, a lot Greg Duffy: Yeah, yeah, yeah. So a lot of those grabs, a lot of those things are improvised. Declan: Yeah. Yeah. And yeah, and like y you know, little moments where we put our heads together or things like that. That's all just us f feeling Greg Duffy: Yeah, touch hands, yeah. Declan: that out together. Aleta: Okay. In the scrapyard detention scene at the beginning there is a lovely little exchange, which I think you said was improv, and w Declan: Yeah. Aleta: we want to hear you say that. Declan: You wanna hear us say those lines? LUCY: Starts with Cody, I guess. Aleta: yeah yeah yeah. Greg Duffy: Do you remember do remember all of yours? 'Cause I Okay. Declan: Yeah. Nosy Aleta: Do you remember what it starts? No, a first? Greg Duffy: Your first set your first set of them 'cause then I say, I can hear you. Declan: something like nosy, controlling Greg Duffy: Like full of himself. LUCY: Craig knows what's up. Aleta: Bossy. Declan: something something w what is what do I say? LUCY: Bossy is the first one. Aleta: Fossey? Declan: Bossy, controlling, infuriating. LUCY: Yeah. Aleta: Yeah. LUCY: Yep. Greg Duffy: I can hear you. Declan: Nosy, full of himself, not that tall. Greg Duffy: I am that tall. Declan: Mm-hmm. LUCY: That was one of my favorite lines of the whole vertical. Greg Duffy: That was Declan's idea. Aleta: I lit so good. LUCY: Just your face crank? Declan: And I love as he's pushing me into the thing, because we had this thing, it wasn't in the script, but he does it a couple of times where he manhandles me and I like go, get you giant hands off me. Aleta: Yeah. Greg Duffy: your giant hands off me. Yeah, that was all improv too. Entering the scene, Declan: Yeah. Greg Duffy: the director, David, was like, Just like enter how you would enter. You know? And we enter and yeah, you say d is that when you say get your giant ha hands off me? Or Declan: Yeah, yeah. Aleta: Yeah. Greg Duffy: and I say Declan: And then you're just like, get to work. Greg Duffy: Sorry, can't do that. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Something like Aleta: Yeah, Greg Duffy: that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That was what was so great about Aleta: I Greg Duffy: this is like if they just told us, like, okay, do it as you would do it, Declan and I have such like a rapport and a trust that like we just Improv. We and we got to Aleta: Yeah. Greg Duffy: know the characters so well we're just like there's a lot of stuff that we did. So much of it got used, much of it, you know, ended up on the cutting room floor, but a lot of it got used. Aleta: Being such good friends would help with that for sure. LUCY: Mm-hmm. Declan: Definitely. Aleta: I was watching this because it came out at midnight. I was watching it in bed with my husband asleep beside me and the lights out and I was just like trying not to cackle and wake him up. So funny. dear. Greg Duffy: That's dedication. Aleta: Listen, we had two days to get ready for this, so we had to watch. Greg Duffy: yeah, totally. You had to start. Yeah. Aleta: You know, some of them we've re watched a lot of time. Well, I mean Succum and Princess First Love, we had watched those so many times before we s even started the pod. So w we knew Greg Duffy: Yeah. It was Aleta: those inside out. A lot Declan: Effortless. Aleta: of these more recent ones, it's like, God, we gotta we gotta hustle to get Greg Duffy: Yeah, there's no way you could have watched it a bunch of times, yeah. Just came out. Aleta: Somebody in your live said that they had watched it fifty times and I'm like, girl, Greg Duffy: Like Aleta: it's been out for fifteen hours. There's no way yes Why lie? Like Greg Duffy: Like physically impossible. It's like ninety minutes, right? How long is it? Yeah. Right. Right. LUCY: Determination, damn it. Greg Duffy: No, didn't sleep, didn't eat. Aleta: Like, LUCY: That's right. Aleta: yeah. Even so, impossible. Anyway. Greg Duffy: Right. Aleta: Back to the scrapyard. Cody is in the middle of lifting a heavy piece of metal when he catches sight of Beckett. And we get the obligatory shot of Becket taking off his shirt. Greg Duffy: Sure, coming up. Has to happen. Aleta: And Cody drops the pipe. Declan: Mm-hmm. LUCY: Understandable. Declan: literally. Aleta: Beckett says they just have to move a barrel and they can be done and it gets spicy. I think yeah. Greg Duffy: You wanna know something interesting p BTS for this? Is that we shot like half of this one evening, but it was outside and it was at sunset and we didn't finish in time. We there we were delayed in starting it and stuff. And so they had to push it. And it was not meant to be, but it became the last scene we shot. We wrapped the ar the whole project. with that scene because we weren't able to finish it on the day that we started it. Because the we ran out of light. Aleta: Yeah. Declan: Mm. So we filmed like all the other side of it, which is co the headmaster, Blair, Greg Duffy: Headmaster Blair Declan: the teacher, Mr Ward, and then we've did the other part the other day. Greg Duffy: So that's that's what's funny sometimes is like they weren't even there when we shot th our side. Like Declan: Him arriving. Yeah. Aleta: Yeah. Greg Duffy: we were there when we shot them because we thought we were gonna be able to flip it around to us, but it's two separate days, like three or four days apart, where you have like it's dialogue, like we're talking to the headmaster, we're talking to Blair, but actually our portion was Aleta: They weren't there. Greg Duffy: shot like three or four days later and they weren't even there. It's just what happens. Declan: Yeah. And so much of it is Aleta: Mm-hmm. Declan: so much it's like just someone else reading off camera and you're just acting like they're there or with the VO as well. Like it's someone usually reading the VO but sometimes they'll forget or, you know, whatever. Greg Duffy: Yeah. Declan: So you just have to remember where the VO is and remember like your your internal monologue at that time is. Greg Duffy: What facial expression. Yeah. Yeah. LUCY: Sounds hard actually. Greg Duffy: It's harder than the person being there, yeah. But it happens a lot. You just have to kinda roll with it. Declan: Mm. LUCY: Yeah. Greg Duffy: You know? Aleta: Yeah, you don't really think about everything being shot all out of order and it's Greg Duffy: Yeah, there are some actors, like famous actors that go in for their coverage and the people who a act opposite them almost always are acting opposite like someone reading lines. Like the A list, A list, some of them just do when the camera's on them and then they don't show up to read the lines for the other person. LUCY: Whoa. Greg Duffy: Yeah. LUCY: Geez. Greg Duffy: It's crazy. It's tough. That would be tough. Like, Aleta: Yeah. Greg Duffy: yeah. Especially if you book a role like opposite like a an alias actor like, god, I'm gonna get to meet so and so. Sometimes you don't meet them if you can believe it. Isn't that LUCY: That's crazy. Greg Duffy: crazy? Yeah. Aleta: I think you guys said that the intimacy coordinator on this one was Jen Albert, is that right? Greg Duffy: Mm-hmm. Aleta: Can you tell us a little bit about how those things are choreographed? We did talk to Olivia, but I w you said that you were getting to ad lib a bit, which I was surprised. I thought there would be a lot less of that in the spicy scenes. They would be more Greg Duffy: Mm. Aleta: specifically choreographed. Declan: I mean when I say that what I mean is that we we Greg and I had like a clear because every Aleta: Mm-hmm. Declan: IC works differently. Aleta: Mm-hmm. Declan: Some might like come with ideas, but because Greg and I knew each other so well, we we like had our own ideas for these the the scene, which with we then talked about with Jen. So Aleta: Mm. Okay. Yeah. Declan: it wasn't like in the moment you just do something Aleta: Not just ad lum. Declan: crazy. But like if it's like a little forehead touch or something like that that feels right Aleta: Mm-hmm. Declan: in the moment or like a little you know that might be added in sometimes. Aleta: Mm. Declan: But Greg Duffy: Yeah. Declan: really we would kind of talk about it kind of all as a whole. But yeah, when I say ad lib I mean Aleta: Mm-hmm. Declan: like the script doesn't say and then they do this and then they do that and then they do that. So you just like Aleta: Yeah. Declan: talk about it as a group and a like Mm-hmm. Greg Duffy: Yeah, and we Declan and I had had a few conversations prior to jumping into it. So like you said, Declan, we had points of view when we started talking to Jen and I've worked with Jen many times. Declan, have you worked with Jen? No. So Jen and I knew each other. J Jen, you know J Jen did Drive and Wild along with Livia. Jen did part of Strict Tilly Kiss Me along with Livia, they often partner depending on Aleta: Mm-hmm. Greg Duffy: each's availability. But Declan and I had a point of view on what how we wanted that intimacy to look and feel and one of to give an example of that like one of the things that Declan and I had talked about was how Audience can feel electricity in the moments that are not kissing, right? And so LUCY: Mm-hmm. Greg Duffy: sometimes the moments before the kiss are a bigger, in my opinion, are a bigger payoff than even the kiss. Especially if you linger this close to each other's face for a Aleta: Mm. Greg Duffy: long time, you know, as you deliver the dialogue or as you breathe heavily. So that was one example of like something we wanted to bring to this because we wanted to bring electricity. to those moments prior to kissing, especially because also like they're not sure of their feelings. I mean Declan knows Cody knows or identifies as gay, but doesn't necessarily trust fully that Beckett isn't gonna hurt him. And then Beckett doesn't know LUCY: Mm-hmm. Greg Duffy: exactly his sexuality yet. And so there are reasons that they might both delay also. Aleta: Mm. Greg Duffy: And anyway, that was something that we said like we talked to each other about, we talked to Jen about. It's like we want to really be this close for a lot of the intimacy before we really give give the full kiss away, you know. Declan: Mm-hmm. LUCY: It worked. I have a big shitty grin on my face. I was like Greg Duffy: Lucy's smile Yeah, yeah, yeah. LUCY: I I totally like fans will rate their favorite couples or like actors playing the characters together and you guys were so up there for so many people. You and I really think it's because you were so close. So you Greg Duffy: Mm-hmm. LUCY: sold it and it was like we wanted you two to do like romantic leads together for a while. So Greg Duffy: I know. We did too. Aleta: Mm. LUCY: we're so grateful it happened. Aleta: Ha ha LUCY: You guys Greg Duffy: Us too. LUCY: did not disappoint. It was a beautiful love story. It's beautiful. Declan: Thank you. Greg Duffy: That's so good to hear. Aleta: I was gonna say I've heard Lucy at length about how those those lingering moments too often get interrupted or cut or fade to black and Declan: Yeah. LUCY: But they didn't do us dirty, okay? Like th this one was fine. Aleta: they did not. They did not. Declan: Yeah. LUCY: There's been so I've noticed newer verticals lately, more of the YA ones, and they're Aleta: Mm. LUCY: doing it in the GLs and it's driving me insane. They literally will just have like seven interruptions where they're so close and there's nothing, and then you might, if you're lucky, get a kiss at the end. And I'm like, come on. Greg Duffy: my god, wow, they're not they're not that intimate. They don't get that intimate. Wow. Aleta: The whole vertical, nothing. LUCY: Yeah. Yeah. And the and the actors Declan: Yeah. LUCY: are working to like try to make those almost, I call them the almost kisses, but I've just noticed it. It's like a recent thing. It's like brand new that may maybe they're trying out. But as somebody, her and I have watched so many at this point, we've watched almost all the Western BLs and G L's. Like, we have a lot to compare to. And we're like, Come on, guys. Like, come on. So, I just appreciate Greg Duffy: Yeah, you need the payoff at the end. LUCY: Yeah, Declan: Mm. LUCY: you just want the payoff. So but yeah, nothing was irritating with yours. Like I feel like it was nicely Aleta: no, no. LUCY: paced. So yeah. Declan: Mm, mm, mm. I Greg Duffy: Yeah. Yeah. Declan: think when I rewatched it, like I thought gr I know I know Greg has his opinion on his favourite kiss moment, but I thought the like the bed to kiss scene in his room where like I'm on my knees and he lifts my chin and he's like, Please show me and it's like the slow up to his arm. 'Cause it's like the shower 'cause our that was our second kiss, but it's our first proper kiss. And the shower kiss is kinda like off guard, really shocked, but this is the first moment I think both are really consenting and really gonna give each Greg Duffy: Yeah. Declan: other and it's like Beckett's first understanding of being gay could involve feelings and it's so Aleta: Hm. Greg Duffy: Yeah. Declan: much more than just set and so just that slow coming together and then it being just this juicy melting into Greg Duffy: Juicy. Declan: each other was so Aleta: Mm mm. Declan: I thought so beautiful. Mm Greg Duffy: And your dialogue there I thought was good, right? About how it's not just the physical, there's all this emotional, you know, Declan: Yeah. Greg Duffy: aspect to to being gay, of course, right? And Beckett is trying to understand, like he doesn't understand that Aleta: Mm. Greg Duffy: yet. It has a kind of an immature view of it. Declan: Yeah. Well and when you say and but like your response to that I think is so beautiful when you're like when you understand what it is and like do you want me? Do you want me truly? Not just 'cause of attraction, but because of all this stuff and I'm like, I do and it's yeah, it's gorgeous. Greg Duffy: Yeah. Yeah. LUCY: I love that you guys remember some of your lines here. The important ones. Greg Duffy: I Yeah. I Aleta: Ha ha ha. Greg Duffy: like the shower kiss scene. There's a lot going on there, but I like that one because of the The way that it's shot, there's the cameras behind like towels and stuff to kinda cover our lower half, right? But so it's a wide shot of the two of us facing each other and Beckett really goes like a hundred percent of the way. I I think Cody's probably surprised. But I just the urgency to that kiss, I was just so happy with how it looked in the end, 'cause Beckett is so like tortured in the moment, but can't help. He's just the magnetism of Cody just pulls him all the way in and I just love how that kiss looks. Declan: Mm, it's gorgeous. Yeah. LUCY: It really was. Aleta: Yeah, that kinda reminded me a little bit of Drive Him Wild too, the sort of the the like lunge forward like Greg Duffy: Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, totally. I think it's if if you if the dialogue has earned that urgency, I think it's it looks really good. Yeah. Aleta: yeah, we're just getting to the shower scene. when the boys head off to the shower, but Beckett passes up his private ensuite for the communal showers with Cody. something that I noticed was the I I assume homage to 1984 with the Big Brother Eye poster on the stall door. You're always watching it Greg Duffy: Yes, it is. Declan: Yeah. Aleta: in red and black, very 1984. Yeah. Declan: Yeah. Yeah. Aleta: In the shower, Cody is surprised to find Beckett there already soaping up. I was curious how you guys felt about the don't drop the soap line. Cause to me it was like a crack that I that w is often in traditional media in the past that is homophobic and is threatening in nature. and I was curious how you guys felt about it. Especially considering the conversation that follows. LUCY: Mm-hmm. Greg Duffy: Yeah. Totally. It's almost like a trope. Aleta: Mm. Greg Duffy: but like the implication of it, like you said, is like aggressive and suggests assault, right? Aleta: Mm-hmm. Greg Duffy: which they get into. I mean in terms of their conversation starts Aleta: Mm-hmm. Greg Duffy: to gravitate in that direction, so I totally understand. I think the way I the way I look at it, 'cause I I think you're right, is like Beckett's a pretty flawed individual. So I think from that lens he still has these Misogynistic patriarchal like views of what it means to be gay. Like, I Aleta: Mm-hmm. Greg Duffy: think he's not he's a flawed, you know, protagonist for sure. And so him and his bros and the gu Xander and whoever else Aleta: Mm. Greg Duffy: that he has these conversations with, like, he probably is homophobic. Like he p like he can Aleta: Mm. Greg Duffy: probably say things that are hurtful and we do s we see him say a few things that are hurtful. And so I think like to me in the character arc of this of of Beckett in this story, it's him being like somewhat problematic to learning Declan: Mm. Greg Duffy: and Cody being the person who's able to teach him as he's, you know, in this coming of age story, like how to what it means to be gay and what it means to like, you know, really love and you know, accept yourself and so I I I think you're right about all that stuff and I think it's like from the mouth of a fairly flawed character early on in his character arc. You know? So Aleta: Mm-hmm. Greg Duffy: I think it is kind of wrong to say it. And Declan: Mm. Greg Duffy: he is kind of wrong to to say it, yeah. Declan: Yeah, and I mean I think if you look at like verticals as a whole and especially some of the stuff in the the BL verticals, there it can be a lot of bullying. and there's a lot of stuff that feels frankly outdated. Aleta: Mm. Declan: But it is, I guess, representative of people's experiences in the past as well and also like some parts of the world still obviously. But it is I I know what you're saying because there is lines in there, there's storylines, there's bullying and abuse that feels really uncomfortable to see now. LUCY: Mm-hmm. Declan: and Yeah, I think we've all spoken about before what could scripts look like without those elements in there. and yeah, that's a really exciting thing to consider because I know as well before, like and you've had to do it too, Greg, there's some really rough bullying sequences. that are are really rough on the on the characters and the psyche and and and flipping audience to to to view them. I remember like the one in Stable Boy with him trying to put the the horse saddle on him. Aleta: Mm. Declan: was particularly like whoa. and the branding and stuff like that. So I just think Yeah, it's it'll be interesting to consider what could be the the next phase of storytelling and I think, you know you all as viewers as well, like using your voice about like what you want included in there. I I'm really hopeful for the next phase of storytelling with these. We tr we just try and do LUCY: Yeah. Declan: what we can with the those Aleta: Mm. Declan: elements to it. LUCY: Yeah, I have a lot of hope for the new apps with Gamma Time and E Twist and Shorts, Cher T V. So hopefully we'll see some you know, light loosen up a little bit. Lighten up, I mean. You know, just Declan: Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Greg Duffy: Yeah. LUCY: yeah, so Greg Duffy: Yeah, there's a lot of things right that we would like to see evolve in verticals. I think that being just one, I think we could name several things right now we'd love to see continue to evolve with the storytelling. Declan: Yep. Hmm. LUCY: Absolutely. Aleta: Yeah. Yeah, it's it's the slurs and ever I mean, it bothers me and I'm straight and I hadn't didn't have to deal with any of that, right? Declan: Mm. Aleta: so that would be nice. It it reminds me very much of TV and movies when I was growing up a long long, long time ago, when, you know, if you got a gay character Greg Duffy: Yeah. Declan: Yeah. Aleta: at all, they were either the villain or the punchline. Right? And there was a lot of that kind of Greg Duffy: Yeah. Totally. Aleta: attitude. Which yeah, that Greg Duffy: Totally. Aleta: can really Declan: Yeah. Aleta: that can really go. Anyway, okay. So Cody as he when he sees Becket, do you remember what he said to him? Declan: In in the shadow. Greg Duffy: When c Aleta: In the shower, when he walks into the shower and he sees Becket there unexpectedly. Declan: I thought he left with Blair. Aleta: Yeah. And what is that? Declan: Aren't you supposed to be with your aren't you supposed to be with your girlfriend? LUCY: Yeah, that was it. Aleta: Yeah. And Beckett's Greg Duffy: And then Dagger says something like I have to clean up, I'm as dirty as you are. Is that the line? Yeah, yeah. LUCY: Pretty much. I couldn't go like this. Yep. Aleta: But yeah. Greg Duffy: Couldn't go like this, yeah. Declan: Better hurry up, your girlfriend's waiting. LUCY: Ha ha ha! Greg Duffy: And there's the shot of me when you walk in and I just like smirk like I kind of acknowledge Declan: Yeah. Greg Duffy: you. Just Aleta: Ha ha ha. Greg Duffy: Like I think it's like how did I even get there that fast? It's like what I forget what happened just prior it's like LUCY: Yeah, I thought that same thing. Aleta: Yeah. Declan: Well, that's why they have the shot of me coming out of the toilet and I'm like Aleta: yeah yeah. Declan: W I just in the toilet thing? Greg Duffy: Forever. For a long time. Aleta: Ha ha LUCY: It was stressed out, Declan. my gosh, you know. It was a stressful situation. Aleta: Yeah. Greg Duffy: Cody has IBS. Declan: Facts. Facts. Cortisol is through the roof. Stress and gut health is a real thing, guys. Greg Duffy: Yeah, yeah. Mm-hmm. LUCY: Ha ha ha haw. Aleta: boy. god. So Beckett starts to take care of himself and Declan all I could think of here was the tennis ball that you were talking about stable body. Declan: yeah. This time it was a bar of soap. Greg doesn't know that story. Greg Greg Duffy: I don't know, sorry. Aleta: Doesn't he? Declan: Basically Skye and I had a similar scene, but we used a tennis ball in our hand to make it look like Yeah. Greg Duffy: To just have something to Yeah. Totally. There are there are methods like that I see is right up in there to be like, how do you make it? Where does hand placement go? Declan: Yeah. Thank you, Jen. Greg Duffy: I mean, I can't even walk you through this. Like you you have an anchor on your own leg, on your own body. Usually it's the like hand to opposite leg, right? So you get this kind of cross motion. And then typically 'cause I've had to do this I think in multiple Aleta: Yeah. Greg Duffy: you're you're the heel of your hand is an anchor on that part of your leg and you're you're kind of moving your fingers back and forth. So it creates this like if you can kind of see it like I'm I sh I probably shouldn't do it like but like Aleta: we are explicit. Greg Duffy: I was gonna prove to you that it kind of looks real like Declan: SC verticals just got banned from YouTube. Just got a channel strike. Greg Duffy: Basically I should keep this hand in frame, but the you know there's just enough shoulder movement, just enough Aleta: Mm. Yeah. Greg Duffy: to kinda see the muscle kind of move. So anyway, no tennis ball, but there there like the IC is all up in there being like Aleta: Ha ha ha Greg Duffy: and then they're looking at the shot. And and in this shot, I think I was doing it on same arm, same leg, like right hand, right leg, and Aleta: Mm. Greg Duffy: they cut they're like, doesn't look real enough, change the leg, like so I had to get this cross motion. It didn't look like I was doing it, basically. LUCY: goodness, this is def we are an explicit podcast. This is great. Greg Duffy: Getting right into it. Aleta: So yeah, you better set YouTube t do you set YouTube to eighteen plus when it goes through? Or to to not just not for not for children? LUCY: I just I it says it says explicit content on Riverside. I just do what it does and I hope yeah, so I'm assuming Aleta: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Greg Duffy: And it's distributes it. Yeah. LUCY: Yeah. Okay. Aleta: Right. Cody is bothered by the fact that Beckett is staring at him and Beckett tells him Greg Duffy: What you've never rubbed one out in the shower before? Aleta: before that. Declan: you say. Aleta: after that. Sorry, that is before that before what I was thinking about. S I can Greg Duffy: But you were you were referencing another line? Aleta: do more Declan: Do you have to stare at me while you're doing it? Greg Duffy: Yeah. And then I can do LUCY: It was I can do more than just stare. So he was helping you along. Greg Duffy: I can do more than just stare. Aleta: Yeah. LUCY: Yeah. Aleta: Yeah. LUCY: And then Cody says Greg Duffy: You don't have the guts. I remember your lines. Declan: You don't have the guts. Aleta: Mm-hmm. LUCY: yeah. Yep. Declan seems to remember yours too. Aleta: Yeah. Greg Duffy: Yeah. You don't have the guts. yeah, no, I don't Declan: Challenge accepted. Aleta: Yeah, you do remember each other's like Greg Duffy: we do, we know each other's lives. LUCY: Yep, that's it. That's it. That's Declan: huh. LUCY: the line. Greg Duffy: Challenge accepted. Aleta: Yeah. And that's where we get the lunge forward, the kiss that Greg Duffy: The kiss. Aleta: you were talking about. Yeah. Greg Duffy: Yeah. Aleta: And Declan: What are you doing? You're not gay? LUCY: Ha ha ha. Aleta: That's right. Cody's confused because Beckett has a girlfriend. And this is where we find out the crime that crime that Beckett has committed. Having sex with a teacher. And we we did put a trigger warning at the beginning of this one, but yeah. Becca tells Cody that he did not sleep with that woman, and he tells the whole story of how she flirted with him all year, and he didn't mind because he was getting an A. But she took it too far and they were caught, and she started crying, and he got the blame. No one believed him. Obviously, this is a very delicate subject, and there's a lot of controversial topics and verticals. SA, abuse of women, etc. How do you navigate delicate scenes like this in your verticals? Like Greg Duffy: Yeah, you want to make sure you're representing something that's so emotionally charged and so visceral and raw, well and respectfully And in a way that makes people feel seen and not tokenized or used as sort of like a plot device for its own sake, which sometimes we do see in verticals. And so when it comes to this particular story and and dealing with anything that's that sensitive, just Trying to bring as much realism and respect to it as possible. So, you know, verticals can be hyperbolic and they can be campy, but when it comes to something that's so serious and and traumatic, that's where I like to try to make the performance as completely grounded and real as possible. And that's where also with dialogue, if I feel like the dialogue Isn't servicing that story, then I will that's the a place I will lean in the most in terms of changes that I will suggest to make it as grounded as possible. and that's definitely what we did here. And I think what's interesting about the dialogue at this moment, we s we get we get more of the background of the story as the as the project goes on. but there's some interesting lines from Beckett that are like he says like I never want It to go that far. And Aleta: Mm-hmm. Greg Duffy: I actually thought that was interesting to keep because Beckett, it seems to me, is still f He's never really been able to successfully open up about this to anybody because no one's believed him. He tried and then like like so many victims, like people don't believe them, and that's what makes people not want to speak up. So then Beckett has buried this and now Cody's the first person to believe him. But I think Beckett is still clearly processing what happened. And I think that that's a very real thing that victims of assault feel where there's a lot of LUCY: Yep. Greg Duffy: sometimes there's self blame and sometimes there's an evolving understanding. as time passes that clarifies what happened because a lot of victims Do blame themselves, or a lot of victims feel it's not safe to speak up because they're afraid other people will blame them. So I actually thought that was an interesting aspect to include for for Beckett was it seems at this moment he's still processing and there might be some self-blame there where he's like, I never meant it to go that far. It's like I he never really wanted it at all. We we know that to be true, but the dialogue suggests that he's still processing it. So I actually thought that there was Was some care given to that, or was some realism given to that, and then we it evolves over the course of the story where through Cody's help, he does really begin to have a much more robust understanding that like he was taken advantage of. And I think Cody says that in the LUCY: Mm. Greg Duffy: moment. which is like Beckett begins to understand when Cody says it, because finally someone else believes him. So that's I actually felt that. there was enough meat here to make this grounded, realistic, and handled with care. So that's what I I tried to bring to it. I don't know if Declan, you have thoughts on this? Declan: Mm. Yeah, y I mean you did an you did an amazing job at capturing that pain of that experience and I I I go back and forth with this in my in my mind, but I think that what Greg did with that performance was give a voice to people who have been in horrible situations that they never asked for or never should have been in and the pain of then speaking up as a victim and not being believed. And that was such a raw, beautiful telling of that and the pain that people go through with that experience. And specifically on this show and this character, I just I just felt it so deeply the the pain of what had happened to him and and what it meant to him to be believed and and for for for my character Cody, you know, I just there there was nothing but yeah, pain and sorrow for what he went through and so I think if you can walk that delicate balance with something like that, you know, I I think it's just all in h how it is handled and the writing and the team you have around you and you have to be so confident in that to to even bring a subject like that into a story where it can't be really triggering for so many people, as you've said. So it's like a real It's a real project by project basis, but with Greg and the team we had, I knew it was gonna be handled with the utmost care and and it was. And I think, you know, there was a lot of respect around those scenes and I think your later scenes with Aviva as well, who played Miss Harmon as well, so LUCY: Yeah, I think it's rough because in BLs, I think I've only known of two BLs. This is the second one that actually involved essay. It's usually bullying. It's usually heavy bullying onto you know, the lead, one of the leads, right? So, we appreciate your your views on that. And I do think that there were some interesting takeaways from it, you know. Where you were s your character was saying, I didn't want it to go that far. And then you were mentioning how you know, your bros are like, yeah, a teacher, and we do see that in the vertical. That is so common for male victims. So, so common. Greg Duffy: Yeah, totally. LUCY: So it's like a lot of males who've been hurt and violated, they're like, Why do I feel so bad then? Everyone says this is the coolest thing that's ever happened. And I had a lot of thoughts on that whole storyline. what was interesting to me was I actually wished they had taken her line from episode fifty-nine where she was like, I was assaulted and it was like put in this scene because I have so many memories of the news and stuff in America. And there were some female teachers who did hurt it might I was like, he's a minor. I was like, she should be in jail, you know? So, Greg Duffy: Yeah. Yes. Aleta: Yeah. LUCY: it was it was a little interesting, I think, how it was taken, but I do you played it so beautifully, you know, I could I could really see the pain there and it means a lot that you guys are willing to address, you know, this this part of it, 'cause it is a hard part of the vertical for sure, but it's a big part Declan: Mm. LUCY: of the vertical and your character. Greg Duffy: Yeah, it's pretty Declan: Yeah. Greg Duffy: s yeah, it's a pretty central plot point in this one. And that's LUCY: Mm-hmm. Greg Duffy: why too I felt like again we can talk about the imperfections in verticals and and there are historically many imperfections, but This one actually being a more central plot point, I think allowed it to breathe, and allowed it to have a little bit more nuance and a little bit of understanding of Beckett's experience and his evolution in understanding that experience. Versus sometimes, you know, you see assault in some verticals and sort of just like happens. And you're like Declan: Yeah. Greg Duffy: Yeah, or I mean s this is a common trope and but it's has been the case in some that I I have been in. So I it's certainly not my my choice to I don't agree with all plot lines and all verticals, you know, and and all the devices they use. But so often you know this, so you'll know where I'm going with this, but sometimes assault leads right into a a an intimate scene with like the leads. Declan: Mm. Greg Duffy: It's like, you save me, let's LUCY: That's always rough on me. Greg Duffy: have sex. It's like you would never you would never so LUCY: No. That Greg Duffy: Yeah, it's really intense. LUCY: was suck man. That was suck'em. What's the what's happening? Aleta: Yeah. Yeah. Greg Duffy: And and it and it's a it's a common trope in a lot of straight. I mean, if you've seen this this is a very common but it doesn't it doesn't make it right. But what was I think good about this one was that this that was not the case here. There's actually being a more central part of the storyline and not just a plot device to create drama, allowed it to have some nuance, that sometimes isn't always there in verticals. LUCY: Yeah. Absolutely. Greg Duffy: I appreciate those questions always. I'm sure Declan does too, to like talk about the serious stuff. Declan: Mm, mm. Absolutely. LUCY: There's a lot yeah, there's some serious stuff and then there's a lot of fun and play in the up in in the recap we're doing. So, you know, that's our serious part Greg Duffy: Sure, for sure. Can do it all. LUCY: of the Aleta: I got the serious stuff. LUCY: Yeah.