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HBOs Spanish seriesFoodie Lovearrives in the United States at the most perfect time.
Or at the absolute worst time, depending how you look at it.
Its so weird, right?
In the past, Ive been offered seasons of existing shows.
Its not as fun as creating something.
I was living in New York and I started thinking about couples and apps.
One of the things which can unite people is food, no?
We never learn their names.
Its not some obscure mystery.
They both have so many things of me that I wasnt really able to give them a name.
I just wrote him/her.
But I was completely unable.
All the names sounded preposterous and fake.
But I have to say, this is the first time this happened to me.
I still dont know why.
Everybody knows my secrets now.
The pacing of the story is so interesting.
In my head, in my bed.
I wanted to do a really raw and complex relationship.
I want to show life is very complicated.
Some people say love is simple.
Love between people is complicated because love is a very complex feeling.
Its about losing yourself in the other person and thats a never-ending journey.
And I want to picture two full-burst human beings, not just being a part of the other.
You use a variety of devices to tell the storyvoice-over, thought bubbles, etc.
Can you talk about those choices?In all my films, theres a ton of voice-over.
I always loved voice-overs.
Some people say its a very literary thing, but I dont care.
Or, Maybe hes not that bad.
Maybe youre not reading the signs the right way.
You worked with four different cinematographers and each one did two episodes.
And I loved the work of the four people I worked with.
Natasha Braier is a brilliant cinematographer.
Jennifer Cox is also an amazing director of photography.
[Nils Dalmases ofThe Bookshopwas the fourth.]
And I want it to feel luxurious.
Sometimes there are very sophisticated things, but sometimes its just a Spanish tortilla or coffee or bread.
Rome and Tokyo are my two favorite cities in the world, and I want these cities to shine.
But since they are not together, you have that compelling feeling of Oh, we want them together.
Laia Costa and Guillermo Pfening have great chemistry.They were very open with each other.
We rehearsed a lot, but also I told them I wanted them to be free to explore things.
Some days I would call on set, Remember that scene with four pages of dialogue?
Were going to do a dance, and youre naked in a kitchen, and lets see what happens.
And they would go, Oh, okay.
Very sexy, but they are very quirky in unique ways.
I had a blast working with them.
How did you pick all the restaurants?
Are these places that you personally love?Yeah.
And I guess the owners hate me right now.
Well, right now, no, because half of them are closed.
Thecoffee shopis a real place in a neighborhood in Barcelona.
Its a place I always loved.
I wrote the first episode in that same coffee shop.The baris like in a secret place.
And all the cocktails are real.
Theyre a creation of these people in the bar.
And the place in Rome exists.
Its one of my favorite trattorias.
But I think its a good invention.
I love that woman.
I love how she always asks, Are you sure?
And you know, the bartender is a very talented actor and French director, Agnes Jaoui.
Now Im thinking, Why did I waste my time before without doing a series?
Was it too late?
No, I dont think it was too late.
Was it hard to convince HBO to let you travel so much for a four-hour series?
You were in Spain, Italy, France, and Japan.No.
From the beginning, they were really supportive.
They knew this is a different love story.
The finale episode in Japan is super-unexpected.
We experience much of the story of that episode through her thoughts.
I have to say, I was surprised people didnt even think about why she was so hard.
But its good that it’s possible for you to surprise people at the end.
And I think I did that.
The series is inspired by things in my life and also things we never talk about.
When you meet someone, its never What you see is what you get.
There are lots of layers in human beings.
And sometimes youre going to know these layers, and sometimes you will never know them.
Guillermo Pfenings performance in the finale is really affecting.
Ive said these words.
I think Guillermo did an amazing performance.
And I love him for that.
Is a season two possible?Im ready!
I have to know.
So, I decided when I have something good to say, I will say it.
If not, I will not say it.
Or, at least, I will say the thing to the right people.
There are so many food bloggers.
I prefer to doFoodie Love.I prefer to say what I want in the series.
