In the spirit of The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and Muriel’s Wedding comes the newest feel-good Aussie film, Seriously Red. The film is produced by Rose Byrne and her Dollhouse Productions company, and stars her best friend Krew Boylan, who also wrote the film. Krew plays Red, a realtor who decides to pursue her dream of becoming the world’s greatest Dolly Parton impersonator after being fired from her job. When her act attracts the attention of an amorous Elvis impersonator (Rose Byrne) and a powerful booking agent who was a former Neil Diamond impersonator (Bobby Cannavale), she is catapulted to the top tier of copycat performers. When she becomes the onstage and romantic partner of the top Kenny Rogers impersonator (Daniel Webber), she begins to finally question who she really is. The HFPA was lucky enough to interview Krew Boylan and Rose Byrne after the New York premiere of the film last year, as part of the Australian International Screen Forum program.

How did the idea for the film come about?

Krew Boylan (KB): I started writing this script ten years ago. My dad has always been very vocal for his daughters to get out there, be successful, ‘Put your heart into it!’ I was doing plays, auditioning, and really wasn’t getting the parts I should have been getting. I felt like I wasn’t being taken seriously. I thought about his words and asked myself, ‘What does successful look like to me?’ Very quickly the answer to my question was ‘Dolly Parton!’ (laughs).

How did you get Dolly’s blessing for the film and music rights?

Rose Byrne (RB): We got in contact with Dolly’s manager in 2015. I was shooting a film in Atlanta and six months pregnant. One weekend I just drove from Atlanta to Nashville and met him. He’s worked with Dolly for over a decade. I gave him the script and said we had very little money to make the movie and even less for the songs but asked for their support. Dolly read the script and loved it and then they said yes!

Did you meet Dolly?

KB: It’s not lost on me that I’ve spent so much of my life thinking about a total stranger. But we were at SXSW with our world premiere. Dolly was going to be there launching a book. Suddenly, I was told to be at the stage door in 30 minutes. I was standing in front of her before I had time to be nervous. She was jumping up and down saying, ‘You played me.’ She was just heaven. Loves the film and is so behind it. Then she looked at me and said, ‘I see you.’ I was crying.

Rose, how did it feel to play an Elvis impersonator and whose idea was it?

RB: It was Krew’s idea. It couldn’t have been more fun. It was such a delight to disappear into this character. Beyond it being Elvis, it was quite a mysterious character who becomes this real representation of success for Red in her head and heart.

KB: As actresses, you want to play everything. So, I asked: ‘How do you feel about playing Elvis?’. She said: ‘I’d love that’. She looks like Elvis because Elvis is beautiful. She’s the most beautiful person I know.

What were you trying to say in the film?

KB: The film is all about identification. Although Kenny and Dolly are living as Kenny and Dolly, we’re all doing that to some degree in our own lives with all the social media and filters we put on depending on whether we’re with parents or friends or work colleagues. It’s a reminder that you should, sometimes, check-in and ask yourself if this is who you want to be and if you’re being your true, authentic self.

Was it fun for you to share a romantic scene as Elvis and Dolly in the film?

KB: For me, it was so relaxing. People were, like, ‘What’s it like kissing Rose Byrne?’. It was kind of like kissing myself! (laughs)

RB: We’ve been best mates since we were 13. If anything, it was just emotional – after 10 years of us all trying to get the film made – that we were all finally on set. We did one other project in the 90s, in Australia, where we played lovers. I guess that’s what we do now! (laughs)

Seriously Red is now out in limited theatres and also available on Digital and On Demand.