In the footsteps of the viral sensation of 2022, Smile 2 Finally hits theaters on October 18. The psychological horror film expands on the lore of its predecessor, picking up after Joel (returning actor Kyle Gallner) caught the curse at the end of smile. But rather than follow his descent into madness, the sequel focuses on Skye Riley (Aladdins Naomi Scott), a famous yet tortured pop star whose unfortunate run-in with her high school friend Lewis (Lukas Gage) makes her the evil entity’s next target.
While the mechanics of the curse were explained in the first film, Smile 2 Delves deeper into the spirit’s abilities, the implications of the parasitic relationship between the smiling demon and its host, and potentially even the motivation behind the curse. Skye’s platform on the world stage is of excellent use Smile 2As her every move is watched not only by her loved ones – including her mom and manager (Rosemarie DeWitt), best friend (Dylan Gelula), and assistant (Miles Gutierrez-Riley) – but also her fans and the media at large.
Related
Screen Rant Interviewed Scott about stepping into the persona of Skye Riley for Smile 2An effort that included drinking lots of Voss water and even writing songs from Skye’s perspective. The actor also revealed how tight director Parker Finn’s vision was, allowing him to cut through the haze of Skye’s hallucinations and keep the timeline on track for the cast and crew.
Naomi Scott gives a look behind the pop star curtain of Smile 2
“You’re not necessarily bound by the creative limitations you place on yourself as an artist.”
Screen Rant: My first question is the most important. Did your water drinking habits change after filming this? I’ve never seen someone drink as much water on screen as you do Smile 2.
Naomi Scott: I was very prominent on set! I drank so much water, but not so quickly. I didn’t put it down like Skye put it down, which was actually one of the hardest things in terms of [playing] Ski.
But I basically traveled everywhere I went with a massive two-and-a-half liter bottle called a Gidget. We named it Gidget, and it’s good because it also doubles as a weapon. If anyone tried to come for me, I could only really [swing it]. Yes, so I was very well hydrated.
Screen Rant: Speaking of Skye, her songs are amazing. I’ve been listening to the EP nonstop, and I know you even helped a couple of them. What’s it like to use the singer-songwriter side of yourself and get the choreography down?
Naomi Scott: It was great because when I signed on to this project, there were three songs already written, two of which were written and produced by an amazing writer-producer called Idarose. It was her voice on the demo of “New Brain” and “Blood on White Satin,” so she was really the blueprint for me in terms of [Skye’s music].
We then talked about it, and I was like, “I feel like I want to lean into what you’re doing here.” And she was like, “Great,” so we’re actually doing it together. She is just so talented and incredible. I think it was one of the first days I was in the studio that we co-wrote “Just My Name” together over Zoom, which is one of the songs in the movie. After I’d filmed the movie, we then co-wrote the song “Death Of Me,” which was so much fun because it felt like, “Okay, all the work is done.” And we really amplified her sound, really knew who she was, and we thought we could have so much fun with Skye’s pop anthem.
What’s been enjoyable about it is that when you’re writing for a character or you’re writing for someone else, which I feel like it was for me, you’re not necessarily bound by the creative limitations that you put on yourself as an artist. Craft who you are as an artist. You can just kind of run away from that, which was fun. A lot of fun.
Naomi Scott looked to Smile director to keep track of the sinister energy of the sequel
“99% of what we shot is in the movie.”
Screen Rant: Even as a viewer, it’s disorienting to not know when Skye is talking to a real person or when the interaction is infused with spirit. How do you keep the timeline for you?
Naomi Scott: I just don’t. I just say, Parker, “Where are we?” What day? Who am I? who are you What are we doing? [Laughs] No, there was a lot of Parker helping me, of course. I need him. The great thing about Parker, actually, is that he really is one of those directors who know. I know that sounds crazy—of course, directors know—but he’s so clear about his vision.
And what I mean by that is, for example, sometimes when you’re shooting a movie, there’s a lot that’s shot and there’s a lot that’s not put in the movie. This is not the case. 99% of what we shoot is in the movie, so he really knows where we are at every moment. And that’s obviously imperative in terms of communicating to me and helping me in terms of where I need to be at any given moment.
Screen Rant: Finally, you had smile-off competitions on set, and whose was the scariest?
Naomi Scott: No, because it’s very tiring! The smile, it is a muscle workout. I think it’s funny because I feel like some people who had to make that smile, I saw them as the day went on, start to realize that, “Oh, I need to conserve every bit of muscle energy I have for this moment that I have to smile.”
At first, they’re like, “Oh, is that it?” [Big, creepy smile] They’re trying to figure it out, and by the end of the day, they’re just like, [blank face]And then they go into it. Do you know what I mean? It is really tiring for the muscles.
More about Smile 2 (2024)
About to embark on a new world tour, global pop sensation Skye Riley (Naomi Scott) begins to experience increasingly terrifying and inexplicable events. Overwhelmed by the escalating horrors and the pressures of fame, Skye is forced to face her dark past to regain control of her life before it spirals out of control.
Check back soon for our others Smile 2 Interview here:
-
Parker Finn (Director)
-
Peter Jacobson
Source: Screen Rant Plus