Leighton Meester has long held much more than a basic understanding of the comedy movie Basic, thanks to outings with husband Adam Brody.
Meester and Ashley Park star in writer-director Chelsea Devantez’s feature directorial debut that premiered Monday at SXSW. Taylor John Smith, Nelson Franklin, Kandy Muse, Ashley Nicole Black, Amber Ruffin and Jon Gabrus round out the cast for Basic, which is seeking distribution.
During an onstage conversation about the movie that followed its screening, Devantez explained that the project originated as a three-minute short film of the same name that was accepted into SXSW in 2020. Because the event was canceled that year amid the COVID pandemic, the short never actually screened in a theater, but the festival posted it online, leading to hundreds of messages from impressed viewers. Six days after the short debuted, producer Katie McNicol from Marc Platt‘s banner set up a Zoom conversation to board a feature version of Basic.
The film centers on Gloria (Park), who splits from boyfriend Nick (Smith) after she starts obsessing over the social media presence of his attractive ex Kailynn (Meester). Hailing from Marc Platt Productions and BuzzFeed Studios, Basic counts McNicol, Platt, Adam Siegel, Nadine DeBarros, Michael Philip and Richard Alan Reid as producers.
Meester told the crowd that she had been curious to read the script for the feature after hearing about the short when she and Brody would spend time socially with Devantez and her husband, comedian and filmmaker Yassir Lester.
Leighton Meester (left), Ashley Park, Taylor John Smith and Chelsea Devantez attend the SXSW premiere of Basic on March 16.
Hutton Supancic/SXSW Conference & Festivals/Getty Images
“Me and my husband go on double dates with Chelsea and her husband, Yassir,” the Gossip Girl alum said. “I remember Yassir being like, ‘Chelsea’s got this short film, and it’s called Basic.’ He’s like, ‘I know I’m biased because she’s my wife, but it’s genius.’ She was like, ‘Yeah, I’m going to make it into a feature film,’ and just internally, I was like, ‘I really would like to be cast in that, please.’”
Meester continued, “I heard her backstory through all the years of writing the script. One fine day, she came to me and was like, ‘Do you want to read it?’” The star added, “I was like, ‘Man, Kailynn would be such a fun, insane, different role to take.’”
For her part, Devantez called the actress “a dear friend of mine” and also recalled that it was initially a challenge to land Park.
“We went through so many trials and tribulations,” the filmmaker said of the casting process. “When I went to Ashley Park, she was ‘unavailable.’ We went through a bunch of stuff with the movie, and I was like, ‘Can we please just try again?’ We went back, and they’re like, ‘She read it, and she loved it.’”
Park, known for such credits as Emily in Paris and Joy Ride, immediately connected to the script, although she initially saw herself as a fit for Kailynn. “All I knew is, when I read the script for the first time, I was like, ‘I need to watch this movie many times, even if I don’t get to be a part of it,’” Park said. “I need this to be happening. Her singular tone and voice and comedy, it’s just so human.”
In her review of Basic for The Hollywood Reporter, critic Angie Han wrote that the film never stops “being a blast” and added, “Basic‘s two leading ladies do much to sell the unexpected delight.”
