Interview: Producer, Screenwriter, and Actor Bill Connington Talks New Romantic Comedy LOVE, REPEAT
LOVE, REPEAT is now available to rent and own on Amazon, FandangoNOW and more.
By: Chloe Rabinowitz Jan. 20, 2021
Love, in its many forms, can be beautiful, complicated, funny and everything in between. Bill Connington's new indie romantic comedy LOVE, REPEAT tells the uplifting, New York City-steeped story of James, who with the help of his 11-year-old son and quirky, close-knit circle of family and friends, sets out to win the heart of his ex-wife Barbara once again, before she can marry another man.
Directed by Shelagh Carter and written, produced, and starring the multitalented Connington, LOVE, REPEAT is now available to rent and own on Amazon, FandangoNOW and other North American digital HD internet, cable and satellite platforms and DVD through Freestyle Digital Media.
Starring Connington as James, the ensemble cast includes Leenya Rideout as Barbara (War Horse & Company on Broadway), Chalia La Tour (Tony Award nominee for Slave Play on Broadway, "The Good Fight"), Marcus Ho ("Succession"), Nandita Shenoy ("Insomnia"), Vivia Font ("For Life"), Carole Monferdini (Hank Boyd is Dead), Stu Richel ("Billions"), Leon Andrew Joseph ("Blue Bloods"), Elizabeth Pojanowski (Morning Star), Donovan Mitchell ("Law & Order: Special Victims Unit"), Rich Liu (The Long Exit), Sarah Megan Thomas (A Call to Spy), Ryan J. Haddad ("The Politician"), Cadden Jones ("The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel"), Chris McGinn (Kidnap), and introducing Maxwell Purushothaman and Maeve Seto.
Connington, who is a Lecturer in Acting at Yale School of Drama, has appeared in many international theater and film productions, and is also known for his acclaimed Off-Broadway play Zombie.
Check out the trailer for Love, Repeat below!
We spoke with Connington about his inspiration for Love, Repeat, what it was like producing, directing, and starring in the film, some of his favorite love stories told on screen, and much more!
What was the inspiration behind Love, Repeat? How did the initial idea for this film come to you?
One of the ancient dramatists said there are only seven plots. You would think audiences would get tired of them - but we don't! Everybody has loved and lost. We've all pined after the one that got away. In this quirky, diverse circle of family and friends, each person has someone they love, that they want to win back. The game of love has always interested me more than the game of ice hockey (nothing against ice hockey!) When you win at love you get to spend your life with a fascinating, wonderful human being. When you win a hockey tournament you get a brass trophy somebody has to polish. I also wanted to show the softer, more intimate side of New York City. New York: she looks so beautiful in the film.
You are known for exploring many different kinds of love stories in your work, how did you decide that a romantic comedy was the way to go for Love, Repeat?
I wanted to remake Dr. Zhivago, but I didn't have the budget. In a romantic comedy you can slip in a message when no one is looking. People get caught up in how good-looking the actors are, and the pretty sets, the New York locations - but meanwhile the story is telling you that we don't live forever, and you have to grab love while you can.
You are the screenwriter, star and producer of this film, how was it wearing so many different hats during the process of bringing Love, Repeat to the screen?
Baseball cap for producer, stocking cap for actor, cowboy hat for writer - I just needed to make sure I had the right one on at the right moment. But the job of all three is the same: to tell the story in the best way you can. And to deliver the story the audience didn't know they wanted.
The cast for this film is stacked with some amazing theater actors, what was it like working with this cast?
New York is packed with smart, highly talented, good-looking actors. All my aunts are in love with Marcus Ho - that charming devil. Leenya Rideout has appeared on Broadway acting, singing, dancing - not to mention being so beautiful. And did I mention she's a songwriter as well? Nandita Shenoy is a highly accomplished actor, as well as an actively produced playwright. Viva Font and Liz Pojanowski are ripe for acting in sit coms. They are waiting to be plucked! Carole Monferdini and Stu Richel bring so much gravitas to their roles. It was such a pleasure working with all of them. And we were well-helmed by director Shelagh Carter. Everyone was hard-working and prepared, easy to work with, with wonderful senses of humor. They made my job so easy. All I had to do was put on the right costume, and show up. I'm ready to shoot the sequel. (And we were lucky to snag Sarah Megan Thomas for a cameo! Her film A Call to Spy is making waves.)
What do you hope viewers take away from Love, Repeat?
The sense that love wins. Despite all the difficulties, challenges, and our human flaws. We can overcome our shortcomings, open our hearts - and offer the best of ourselves to the people we love.
What is your favorite love story told on film? Do you have a favorite romantic comedy or old-school sweeping drama?
There are so many great romantic dramas and comedies. I'd like to see more starring people of color. For old-school drama, What's Love Got to Do With It is a classic with Angela Basset and Laurence Fishburne. It's a tough love story, in that she loves him, and knows she has to leave to save herself. Also, Monsoon Wedding, directed by Mira Nair, is wonderful. In a lighter vein, there's an indie English film called Get Real, which is a gentle mix of comedy and drama. It's a gay love story, which is very real in the way it tells the story - appropriate re: the title.
What can you tell us about your next film, Poughkeepsie is for Lovers?
Poughkeepsie is for Lovers is about an arty couple from Brooklyn, and is set a few years in the future. They are having some challenges in their marriage, though they love each other deeply. It's an intimate story about what happens to two people when there are serious political problems in their country, and the world. It's about how to continue to love, when the world around you is falling apart. It's a very different story than Love, Repeat, which has a comic view of the world. But both films have the same message: love is the most important thing. In a crazy world, love is the only thing that makes sense. The synopsis of Love, Repeat says that: so it must be true!
For more info about LOVE, REPEAT visit https://www.loverepeatfilm.com
Videos