In it, they play ex-husbands Georgia and David, who consider getting married once as the biggest mistake of their life. Nineteen years ago, thanks to a summer glow, they stood in front of the altar, fourteen years ago they realized that it was not a good idea and ended the adventure in divorce.
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Since then, they try to avoid each other as much as possible, knowing that every encounter they encounter will end in a noisy discussion. But now they have to get together and go to great lengths to make sure their daughter doesn’t make the same mistake as theirs.
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During her vacation in Bali, she fell in love with an intelligent, handsome and enterprising native who makes a living by growing and selling seaweed. And she just announced to her parents that she was going to marry him.
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So Georgia and David declare a temporary truce to free their daughter “from her clutches”. They fly right after her, but while they’re very good at setting up elaborate traps to take off her daughter’s pink glasses, none of them go as planned. And what’s worse: the scenery of the marine paradise begins to awaken memories of much of their shared past, which neither of them expected.
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People need romance and laughter
The screenwriter and director Ol Parker, originally from London, has behind him successful films such as The Fabulous Marigold Hotel or Mamma Mia! Here we go again, regarding the inspiration for Ticket to Paradise he says:
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“When the pandemic broke out, what I was writing at the time suddenly seemed completely inappropriate. The world changed. I thought about what I wanted to work on and I thought about writing something that would make people happy. The romantic comedy will bring a lot of viewers to the front. to the big screen laughing together. It seemed beautiful to me in that difficult moment. “
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He met producer Sarah Harvey, with whom he had worked on The Fabulous Marigold Hotel, and she told him the story of her divorced friend over lunch. “Something clicked in my head and I suddenly realized where my film was supposed to go. It was also immediately clear to me that the central couple had to be played by Julia Roberts and George Clooney. If even one of them refused, I didn’t have plan B, “Parker says.
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Longtime friends
He then sent the finished script to both actors and luckily received a positive response from both of them.
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“It’s not like I deliberately avoided romantic comedies, but I was waiting for a script as big as Notting Hill., or I’ll have as much fun as I enjoyed at my best friend’s wedding. Now I got it and I have George Clooney as a bonus, ”Roberts explains, explaining why she returned to the popular genre years later.
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Clooney was no less satisfied: “Ol Parker is an extraordinary writer and director. When I read his script, I called Julia and asked her if she had taken it too. We agreed that we would only do it together. In the film we are antagonistic to each other, but in the funniest way, “explained the actor.
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Producer Tim Bevan was also happy: “If you’re going to do a romantic comedy and you have two of the best actors in the world for the two leads, that’s a good start. They know each other very well, they are longtime friends, both are completely relaxed and natural in each other’s company. We were able to make good use of their relationship and each other’s energy. ”
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Adds Clooney: “I think the main reason Julia and I work so well together is that we have a similar sense of humor and we know how to make each other laugh. I haven’t been doing a romantic comedy since Wonderful Day, so when I got this script seemed to me the perfect opportunity “.
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According to director Parker, the two protagonists look as authentic as if they’ve been a couple for years. “You can try to write the best script, put it in a good position and point the camera in the right direction, but in the end the success will hold up or fall on the alchemy of the two protagonists. And George and Juliet’s chemistry is second to none, “he adds.
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In one particularly memorable scene, David and Georgia get drunk and dance in a market bar. Their dance is a bit “old school”, but they get into it quickly. “I guess everyone was looking forward to this scene,” recalls Roberts, who said her cheeks hurt with laughter at the end of the day of shooting.
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Filming in the covid era
Preparations for the film were progressing well, so filming could still begin during the covid restrictions. Because of them, it wasn’t possible to shoot in Bali, so the filmmakers decided to find locations in Australia, which had a very low number of infected people at the time.
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And as the creators agree, tax incentives also helped. The biggest challenge was approving the production dates. Later, once covid restrictions in Bali were relaxed, the filmmakers were able to shoot the sets there with a local crew.
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Czech viewers can see how everything has gone in cinemas since Thursday.
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