Romantic Comedy Inspired by Danny DeVito's Assistant and the CEO of Warner Bros.

Danny DeVito's Assistant (the CEO of Warner Bros.) Inspired This Rom-Com, Description: Coming down from the rom-com high of The Idea of You? If you’re on the hunt for your next guiltless pleasure, look no further. It’s been 10 years since director Richard Lagravenese helmed a production, but Netflix’s A Family Affair, a unique coming-of-all-ages take on the genre, was just the script to get him back on set. In fact, all the elements of a rom-com are served up from a stellar cast led by Zac Efron, Nicole Kidman, and Joey King, but it’s also a fun peek behind the scenes at the dynamics of the industry, which is exactly what inspired Lagravenese. A Family Affair introduces us to Zara Ford (King), an aspiring Hollywood producer who’s currently working as the personal assistant to action star Chris Cole (Efron). She’s put up with a lot from her out-of-touch boss in the hopes of reaching her goals, but when Chris’s demands become a little too outrageous, Zara finally puts her foot down and quits. This move derails her plans, but at least she doesn’t have to put up with Chris’s antics anymore! Until a chance meeting between her ex-boss and her mother, played by the Oscar-winning Kidman, proves too steamy for the pair to deny their feelings for each other. Ahead of the film’s streaming premiere, Collider’s Perri Nemiroff got the chance to sit down with Lagravenese, writer-director of P.S. I Love You and Beautiful Creatures, to find out what exactly it was about A Family Affair that was too good to pass up. During their conversation, the director reveals which Hollywood studio CEO inspired King’s character, what was so unique about this particular romantic comedy script, why no one else could have played the three leading roles, and tons more.