“The Wrong Paris” is the latest rom-com trending on Netflix, offering viewers a reminder to always double-check your ticket.
In the film, Miranda Cosgrove (Dawn) and Pierson Fodé (Trey McAllen III) star as contestants on a dating show called “The Honeypot,” (“Bachelor”-coded in the best way) who unintentionally fall in love when the reality show tricks them into thinking the show is taking place in Paris, France, but ends up being less than an hour from Dawn’s small town in Paris, Texas.
When asked if the movie is inspired by ABC’s hit franchise “The Bachelor,” Yvonne Orji, who portrays “Honeypot” producer Rachel, says they were trying to “strike the balance of all the antics” of similar dating shows.
Ironically, Fode admits he’s “never watched” a dating reality show before taking on his character as a single, ready-to-mingle cowboy.
“Pierson knows nothing about reality television,” Cosgrove told our entertainment reporter Courtney Tezeno. “Luckily, I know everything about reality.”
Fode says the two co-stars “coached” each other on reality TV and romantic comedies before filming together.
“She was my coach the entire time,” Fode laughed. “And he was my, like, rom-com coach a little bit, because even though I’ve seen almost every rom-com, he showed me, like, the two or three that I haven’t seen,” Cosgrove chimed in.
Cosgrove and Fode have a natural on-camera chemistry, which comes as no surprise since this film is a mini reunion for the pair. In 2012, Cosgrove, who famously played Carly on Nickelodeon sitcom “iCarly,” met Fode, who had a guest spot as Todd on her hit show, marking his first role in showbiz.
“I only had like four lines in that,” he shared, confirming they had a scene together. “Miranda was so nice to me on that [show], and that was my first project. So that was just like a great intro to Hollywood for me.”
Flash forward, and the Moses Lake, Washington native admits his current role as an East Texas ranch owner felt “full circle” for him as a country boy.
“I was born and raised on a farm,” he said. “As far as connecting to the character, I just brought most of my life to it, like it was kind of no acting necessary for a lot of Trey. I just put on an accent, and that was great.”
Several of the filming locations were based in Texas and Paris, France, but the horse Trey is seen riding in the movie (and washing in that infamous shirtless scene) has close ties to his hometown.
“Oddly enough, my dad and I have delivered hay to a lot of the ranches that we ended up shooting at,” Fode said. “Another weird story is the horse that I rode in the movie; his name is Moses. And I was talking to the wranglerHe goes, ‘Guess where we got the horse from?’ He goes, ‘Moses Lake.’”
A unanimous favorite place the cast enjoyed filming in Europe — the iconic Eiffel Tower. Cosgrove reveals the final scene almost had an alternate ending due to inclement weather in Paris.
“When we filmed the scene at the end of the movie, it actually started raining,” the actress said. “Netflix, or the movie, had paid for the little twinkly lights to stay on the Eiffel Tower all night long, specifically for the scene. And because it rained, they had to turn the lights off, because they have a rule when it rains really hard.
“We were literally sitting there, like, ‘Is this like the “Notebook,” and we’re going to do this scene like fully drenched in the rain with like a dark Eiffel Tower?’ But then, luckily, we got to come back the next night and film the next day instead, and it was just crazy. The finale of the movie, like, it could have been totally different, and it ended up working out.”
“The Wrong Paris” is streaming on Netflix now.