Red, White & Royal Blue director explains the missing Cornetto scene: ‘It was pacing’
We saw it in the trailer!
The director of the gay rom-com, Red, White & Royal Blue has explained a missing scene involving Cornettos.
The film, based on Casey McQuiston’s novel of the same name, debuted on Prime Video on Friday (11 August).
Red, White & Royal Blue tells the story of Alex Claremont-Diaz (Taylor Zakhar Perez), the first son of a US President, and Prince Henry (Nicholas Galitzine) who fall in love.
As with any film, there are scenes glimpsed in the trailer that didn’t make the final cut. One of those involved the frenemies turned lovers bonding over Cornetto ice creams just like in the book.
Speaking to Teen Vogue recently director Matthew López explained that the reason why that scene was cut “was pacing.”
Coming shortly after the beginning of the film, which sees Alex and Henry thrust their respective countries into damage control after a royal wedding cake disaster, the scene “relieved some of the tension between them” López continued.
“If you take the Cornetto scene out, then the tension from that first scene remains when they go into the interview scene. I learned a lot of it is about taking the energy from one scene and using it to help you get into the next scene.
“One of the things I learned as a playwright, which I found was applicable to cutting a movie, is if a scene isn’t working, it might not be the scene itself. It might be the scene before.”
Ultimately, while López found the Cornetto scene “charming,” from a narrative point of view it was deemed unnecessary.
“More to the point, it sapped the tension out,” added the director.
The good news there’s some deleted scene out there!
“Anybody who criticises their chemistry doesn’t know what chemistry is” – Red, White & Royal Blue’s Matthew López
Ahead of the film’s release, the Red, White & Royal Blue director defended his lead actors against claims they lack chemistry.
People had given such critiques after seeing early social media promos for the film involving the actors engaging in light competition.
“Anybody who criticises their chemistry doesn’t know what chemistry is,” López told Attitude.
The director also told Attitude he would not have altered the movie to get a PG-13 rating. Red, White & Royal Blue was given an R-rating in May.
“No one asked me to change the movie in order to get a PG 13 rating. [I] probably wouldn’t if they’d asked so [I’m] glad they didn’t.”
Red, White & Royal Blue is streaming now.