Summary
- Director Matthew Lopez explains using a styrofoam cake in the “Cakegate” scene of Red, White & Royal Blue to ensure safety and prevent wasting real food.
- The cake incident is a crucial moment in the book and movie, leading to the start of Alex and Henry’s relationship.
- Lopez and the production designer enjoyed throwing real cake in the actors’ faces for a cathartic and satisfying moment.
Director Matthew Lopez explains recreating the “Cakegate” scene from Red, White & Royal Blue. The film, based on Casey McQuiston’s novel of the same name, was released on Prime Video on August 11. It explores the romantic relationship between Alex (Taylor Zakhar Perez), son of the United States President, and Henry (Nicholas Galitzine), a British prince. In addition to Perez and Galitzine, Red, White & Royal Blue stars Clifton Collins Jr., Sarah Shahi, Stephen Fry, Rachel Hilson, and Uma Thurman.
In a recent interview with What To Watch, Lopez discussed adapting one of the Red White & Royal Blue book’s most memorable scenes: An argument between Alex and Henry that results in a large wedding cake getting destroyed. He explained that the cake wasn’t real for a majority of the shots, including those that occurred after it toppled over. Read Lopez’s comments regarding Red, White & Royal Blue‘s Cakegate below:
“We hedged our bets a bit! For the most part it was a styrofoam cake, it was a squishy polystyrene I think, which had a latex coating on it. It was so lightweight that actually my production designer lay down on the floor and had her team drop it on her head just to show us that it was safe! For a lot of what you see in the movie we got away with using a very durable, indestructible cake, and a lot of the aftermath of the cake disaster was also not real cake, because one of the things that was really important to us was to make sure that we didn’t waste food needlessly, so most of the cake in that whole thing is not real cake. The real cake was saved for when we had to just like throw it in their faces, and we did it once. The shot of the cake landing in their faces, we got once, we got lucky, it landed perfectly where we wanted it to be. It was actually me and my production designer throwing cake in Taylor and Nick’s faces, which was very cathartic for me after a few weeks of filming!“
Red, White & Royal Blue’s Cakegate Explained
Red, White & Royal Blue‘s cake incident is an important part of the book, ultimately leading to the beginning of Alex and Henry’s relationship. Similarly, when the movie opens, the two characters express disdain toward each other, which only seems to grow at the reception of Prince Philip’s (Thomas Flynn) wedding. Alex, who had been drinking, bumps into the cake once, getting some of its icing on his hand, and inadvertently dirties Henry’s suit. After being shoved, the entire dessert then falls on them.
Once the cake incident gets covered by various outlets, President Ellen Claremont (Thurman), who is seeking re-election, suggests that her son publically fix things. In order to convince the world that Alex and Henry are actually friends, the two make several appearances with each other. The more time they spend together, Alex and Henry settle their differences and develop a closer connection. Their romance begins with the cake toppling over.
While Red, White & Royal Blue features changes from the source material, the cake scene is too significant to alter. Fans, able to see the wedding cake get destroyed and completely cover both Alex and Henry, are likely happy with how it turned out. Lopez’s comments suggest that it was a fun moment to recreate as well.
Source: What To Watch
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