Steve Zahn, Audrey Zahn, Mackenzie Ziegler and Rick Gomez Talk ‘She Dances’

We're really tight

So, you know, I was in London doing a show, Silo, which he and I are both on, which is crazy

We did it again. Now we can never not work together. Rick and Steve, I was stalking your Instagrams, and it looks like you guys have been friends for quite a while

How did you guys meet initially? We did a show called The Crossing Wednesday night at 1130

It was kind of one of those shows. Yeah. It wasn't on like Thursday night

No. But anyway, so I was the sheriff and he was my deputy

Great deputy. And we just, we thought, you know, we grew up as young actors in New York and we just

We never met each other. Never met. I was almost his understudy in suburbia at Lincoln Center

You almost did Band of Brothers, but you didn't do Band of Brothers. So there's all these things. We crossed over

And we know the same people. So when we met on the show, we was like, oh, I'm so confident

Thank God you're on this. Yeah, we were instant friends. That's all we had was each other

Anyway, there you go. And so you guys just hit it off instantly. Yeah, we really kind of felt like we were like-minded in the way we told stories and what we laughed at

And then we wanted to make stuff. And then, like, our families are all kind of intertwined and know each other

And, yeah, so we're really best buddies, but also write and work together

Yeah, so then for this movie, you guys co-wrote the script together. This is your directorial feature debut, I believe

And then it's your first big movie as well. Lots of firsts for everybody

How did the project all come together? Like, what was the sort of brainchild, I guess, of it

And the original thing came together because you guys, these two were in a national dance competition together

And so I took her there and I was sending back videos and calling Rick and Kobe

And we were like, look at this, look at that. And we're like, oh my God, there's such a movie here

The competitive dance world is like just something else. If you haven't been a part of it, you just can't even imagine what it's like

We're telling Rick about it so much. And then they're like, dude, we should make something about it

Because you don't really see a lot of movies or shows specifically about dance competition

There's a lot of stuff about, like, dance in general. But I don't know

Yeah. That was cool. It's intense, yeah. Yeah. So then we did, so we looked at, so we talked about that story, your story of the kind of dance competition

And Steve and I just were, it was kind of right in the throes of COVID

And there's a lot going on in everybody's life. And there was a lot of, people were going through a lot of stuff

And then we kind of just built a story around some stuff that was in our life and around our life

And Jason Reed, who's a producer friend of ours, called us up and said, what do you have

And we kind of just outlined a basic kind of what it could be. And he said, you guys should write it

And really, that was the first shot. We wanted to make a cinematic American independent film for families

Yeah. Yeah. That was the whole goal. And then did you guys know that Audrey was going to be in it from the start

Immediately. Yeah. I worked with Audrey on a short film where she was a dancer

And when Audrey danced. I was 16. When she was 16. And when Audrey danced, I was like, I knew that was the kind of fabric of the whole thing

was being around her dancing. I was like, oh, man, she's so good

When Kenzie came on board, that was a cool. Done. And we saw Kenzie

We deep-dived Kenzie. Didn't know each other. And then we saw Kenzie do her thing

I'm like, she's perfect. We wrote this thing. And then Kenzie came in and was like, the thing we wrote

Thank you. And so it was just, and then these guys just hit it off

and it feels like they've been friends since they were three years old in the movie. Seriously. I mean, it's one of the, it's really remarkable

Yeah, I mean, the second we met, I was like, I know she's going to be my friend forever

Like, she's, we clicked instantly, and we obviously were such goofballs on set, all of us

I mean, we had such a blast, and we created such an amazing family. So I was so happy to be a part of it

Yeah, yeah, I could definitely tell that chemistry out of the way. I was like, did they know each other beforehand

Like, it just seems like you're connected. did uh what was it like filming the or putting together i guess the dance sequences since you

guys are both dancers did you choreograph those yourself you have another choreographer

the best guy ever he's been my dance teacher for years like he was the guy that choreographed all

my solos from middle school onward he basically created my dance style and he's such a talented

the choreographer. He made it for both of us, the duet and the two solos that I do in the film And it was really fun I mean he such a good teacher you know It was really interesting because obviously they choreographed it

before I got there because you guys live in the same place. Right

And so they were just sending me videos of a bunch of things and I just saw how fun you guys were having

And he's such a talented choreographer. It was so easy to learn from him and made me feel so comfortable

And I think because I haven't danced in so long, I was really nervous

kind of stepping into an environment where people are you guys dance all the time and so I was a

little intimidated but it really worked out and I think we dance really well together yeah that's

the other thing it's because it's hard to find a dance partner that like really matches you well

but it was really natural for us yeah I saw on Instagram that you've done a lot of theater what

was it like or how does that sort of compare I guess to to starring in a movie you know that's

an interesting question. I will say theater, there's just so much more adrenaline that goes

into it and a lot of like energy. It kind of feels like you're running a marathon like 12 times a

week, which is so fun and like it's on the spot and whatever happens on stage happens and there's

beauty in that on its own. But I kind of really fell in love with the intimacy in film and how

you get to do it over and over again, try new things. Like, it just felt very artistic for me, and I really enjoy it, so, yeah

And then, Steve, you've obviously played a dad in a number of different films and TV shows

How was it like playing the dad to your actual daughter versus, you know, someone else

It was beautiful. I mean look the best compliment I can give her

and the film is that it was it was like every other movie

we're really tight so you know I was in I was in London

doing a show Silo which he and I are both on which is crazy

we're both on the same show now we can never not work together no

it just took crossing right but Audrey came out for like three weeks

We read it every day. And then these guys got together. I was still shooting

They came, Rick had them in Kentucky. That's the other thing we did with this film. It was so great

We had rehearsals. See, there's some intense scenes we have. We did those once

We did, not only did them once, we rehearsed them once when we started

So I had these guys for three weeks, and people were coming in and out, and rehearsal's a huge part of just the way I came up

and I think it's the thing that's cut out of films first because when you're making a budget, you just go, that doesn't necessarily

Sometimes you don't even rehearse on the day. Yeah, you don't even rehearse on the day. And so I had them for a while

We had each other for a while and we were able to work through it. But these guys did it, our big scene, one time

I looked up and there was a puddle of water underneath my face

and I was like, we don't do it anymore and we'll just go shoot it. And then we did it a few times when we shot it

But they're so locked in. Who's great? They so knew the stuff, the work, and then each other that it's just magic, man

It's just magic. And you see it. There's really, it's not like anything else. It's such a great, this is it for me

That's so special. Yeah, no, I was crying watching it. Yeah, yeah, yeah

Yeah, sweet. No, yeah, what was it like, I guess, filming those, yeah

the big final dance scene at the end where you have that moment where you're like

your the home video flashes on screen and you just like feel all I have I have I

I've had that that Every time I watch yeah her yeah since she was young

Yeah, it's I I see something totally different than somebody else sees and in that moment

It was beautiful for everybody, but as a dad that wasn't hard to tap into I

Was so layered here. I am playing a character, but I'm also reacting to my daughter

who's playing a character. I'm reacting to home videos. You watch a home video from the past of your kids

you get all, I get all worked up. I'm such a sap

So it was layered watching that stuff and seeing my son and my daughter at three and five

like swimming and I- It's so universal too, man. It's like, it's their family

but it's all of our family. And when you watch it, you feel that same thing that you feel when you watch your because they exactly the same as all the movies we have of each other and all the so it became this really beautiful place to be in because we all just know that as people we know what that thing feels like

But what's remarkable about it is what, and people, I think it's a compliment to the film, it's like people don't go, that's crazy

You're using home movies with you and Audrey and you guys are, wow, I've never seen that before in a film

It's really cool. yeah yeah what was it like going through your home videos and picking out which ones you were

going to use i didn't know it was a surprise um scott scott hall system selects and then we i gave

him a bunch of like dvr tapes and and you know i said dude i i don't even know what these are it was

a box in the attic and he he was like hey man i'll you know i'll dig it too we'll get it on digital

and then he called me like dude do you know what's on this stuff i'm like no i have no idea i didn't

He didn't even write like... At the circus. Or whatever, right? And it was like, he goes, dude, dude, dude, sit down and watch

And I watched some of this stuff and I was like, oh my gosh. It's behind the scenes and like movies and stuff, right

Just walked around with a camera. It was all this stuff at home. And then Rick saw it

It started to build on itself about where it was going to go in the movie. You've got to use this

Yeah, and there's a great Easter egg at the very, very, very end of the movie

If you don't watch it to the very, very, very end of the movie. There is his high school footage on VHS that really..

I shot a bunch of VHS in the movie. That's actual VHS footage. It's not manipulated in post

We shot on a VHS camera. And I was inspired to shoot on a VHS camera

because I found his Oklahoma story that he tells her. He was in Oklahoma

I found that thing. And Steve's on as Will Parker at the very, very, very end of the movie

If you watch the very end. Wait, is that after the credits? Yes. At the very end of the credits. Okay, now I need to go back and watch

Yeah, you need to go watch it. That's the final little thing, yeah. And it's me as a junior in high school

Basically the age of her character in the movie. Wait, okay. It's crazy

It's layered. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So this is the Young Miss Southeast Regional Dance Final

Is that a real thing or did you guys make that up? We took a little bit. We took a little liberty with it

I mean, it sounds like so. It's like, seriously, everything at dance competitions is so unheard of and extravagant

And so it makes sense. Yeah, yeah, yeah. platinum right yeah the triple crown platinum diamond yeah yeah diamond the turn and turn and

turn again countrywide dance fest like literally and it would make sense yeah yeah yeah yeah no it's

not a real thing what was it like building that out and getting all of those extras and the dance

costumes and the ballrooms and like did you guys have input in that from having gone to so many of

those yourself we didn't necessarily have input but i think it was really interesting for us to

be in that environment again you know like when we were on the stage and all the dancers are

stretching and everyone's and i was like whoa this is like a fever dream i feel like i'm back

when i was like 10 yeah and like at a dance competition it felt so real yeah well it was

Well, it was because we got real guys. It's my old studio. The dancers in the background and the other dancers you see on stage

We had hero dancers that were. People I used to dance with. We had extras that were

I mean, this is a tiny movie. Yeah. And we were so lucky

This is all homegrown. There's a lot of just Kentucky kind of local

Yeah. You know, Haley, who plays the nemesis. Everybody showed up when we played

is a local who lives in New York and is on Broadway a lot

and she's remarkable but she grew up dancing with Jamie who choreographed it so there's all these

bits and pieces that come together yeah and Jamie choreographed her solo as well

yeah Jamie choreographed everything and did an amazing job it was really cool because I

shot a like a behind the scenes sizzle experiment shoot. Like a let's see what a dance competition is

Never been to a dance competition. New York, West Coast. Never spent a bunch of time in the middle of the country either

And so I had a whole idea in my head about what I was about to go watch. And my favorite story is there was a little girl who came out

She danced her butt off. And I don't know what she did wrong. But she felt like she did something wrong

And she held it the whole dance. And danced and smiled and bowed like a warrior

came off the stage and once she hit the curtain on the side of the stage, burst into tears

and ran to her coach and was like, and I was like oh my God these are warriors These little girls are like these warriors And I and that the way we decided to shoot it That the way we wanted to hold the whole space I never realized how much care and competition real competition

and quality of dance. And yeah, man, it really blew my mind

And so we tried our best to put that into the, and in fact there's some of that footage in the film

That's the real footage from the dance competition we shot at. But, yeah, man

It was really cool. That's why I think it felt that way. Because a lot of those same kids were there again in some of those same costumes again. Totally

In the same theater we shot it in. Sorry. It's exciting. We're just fighting each other back there

Mackenzie, did you have, like, Dance Moms flashbacks while you were sort of on the show

Oh, for sure. I definitely felt very at home. But I think for me, it felt obviously better because it was, you know, we were dancing together

It was so fun. And I think now I found a love for dance, doing it kind of separate than actual dance competitions

Because like we were talking about, dance competitions can be very toxic

And so, yeah, it felt like really nice to dance again. And I definitely think it helped me find my love for it

So there's a scene where you guys are all in the car and you're doing Jennifer Coolidge impersonations

You were in White Lotus with Jennifer Coolidge. Did you pick up the impression from her

Like, how did this all come to be? You know what? I don't know where it came from

I just figured out one day that I could do it. And Dad thought I was really good at it

Like, so much so that I filmed a video and sent it to him

He showed Jennifer Coolidge. She sent a video back to me impersonating me

She was like, I have to send her a video. I have to send her. I can't do it. I have to send her a video

What do I do? And then she was like, okay, I'm ready. I'm ready

And then she started the video saying, hi, Jennifer. It's Audrey. I have a sore throat, so I'm going to do your imitation, but I hope it works

You know, whatever. And then she was like, hi, Audrey. Hi, Jennifer

It's Audrey. I have a sore throat. She just mimicked the game

I know. So insane. We picked it up on set, and we just were doing it

You guys did. She has a great one. And so we were going over lines for the scene

because we were about to go shoot that scene. And I always like messing around with stuff

We're like, just do it in whatever voice. Just do the words in whatever voice there is. And then Audrey's like, oh, yeah, great

And then I plundered and you kicked in. And then the both of them are doing it. I'm like, I think I'm not going to shoot it any other way

We didn't. We didn't shoot it any other way. I think we had great. There was no alternative for that scene

Yeah. Like, seriously, most of the time we interacted was in Jennifer Coolidge's voice

But we didn't. But Rick didn't do. Okay, just do one. For safety. There was no safety

That was either going to be in the movie or wasn't going to be. And it had to be in the movie. It's so punk talk

That's the right way to do it. I'm glad it's in the movie. Did you meet Jennifer Coolidge at any point

Oh, I wish. I wish. I'd be so upset. Someday. Someday. Someday

Do you watch a lot of your dad's movies? Do you have favorites

Ooh, okay. I love that thing you do, I will say. That is one of my favorites

Some of them, like, if he brutally dies in something, I'm like, no, not for me, but he's pretty good

He's pretty good. Thanks, kid. um and then i guess sort of what was there uh like what was the most fun scene to shoot uh for

both of you or i guess for all of you i think mine was the tire scene oh you're right i thought

that was the most fun the tire scene was fun it's that or the jennifer coolant in the car

i really like i love the story scene that was we just kept eating though that's why it was hard

Yeah, we were, our tommies were hurting. Yeah, that was fun. I liked

shooting the one where we just locked the camera off and let the whole

night go by and you guys just did stuff for like 45 minutes. You know what was also a great one? It was the

brushing teeth. Just a one on the mirror. That's a really good scene

And that was stressful though. We were calling, Ro, Ro had to call in

Roseberry DeWitt plays. So we did it, you know. Also the scene

at the pool with you guys. Oh, that was a great scene. And the camera picking. That was stressful, though

Every scene. Every scene was great. Every scene was hard. That was fun to watch

Yeah