Jeremy Garelick's brand new comedy Rolling Loud: The Movie is now playing in theaters and ahead of its release, we were able to catch up with stars Owen Wilson (Avengers: Doomsday; Loki; Zoolander) and Matt Rife (Scrubs; That '90s Show; Wild 'N Out) to talk about adapting the wildly hilarious true story.
The film is based on Garelick's real-life experience taking his son to the Rolling Loud Festival and now, we get to see Wilson take on the lead role as Hank, a father attempting to re-connect with his 13-year-old son by taking him to the annual music festival. However, when he promptly loses him, things take a wild turn and he needs an assist from some friends - and Travis Scott - to track him down before his wife finds out.
In our fun conversation, Wilson breaks down how he was able to relate to his character, while Rife expands on transitioning his stand-up skills to the screen, and they also talk about what it was like actually shooting at the concert. Plus, Owen Wilson also tells me all about his viral moment walking out on stage with Travis Scott at Rolling Loud 2024!
The cast features Owen Wilson, Matt Rife, Christine Ko, Christian Convery, Jolene, with Henry Winkler and Travis Scott.
Jeremy Garelick helmed the feature, with a screenplay he wrote. His son Zion also contributed to the story.
Rolling Loud: The Movie is now in theaters!
Watch our full interview below and/or keep scrolling to read the full transcription. Plus, remember to subscribe to our YouTube channel for more exclusive content!
ROHAN: Owen, since your character is based on Jeremy Garelick, the writer/director of this film, did you find your inspiration for the role directly from him or did you want to take it in your own direction?
OWEN: Well, yeah. I mean, it's based on Jeremy's story with his son Zion, who I think even gets a story-by credit with the movie. So, you know, it was listening to him, but I think as we've talked about today, it's such a relatable, universal theme—that fear as a parent of losing your kid in a crowd. And so I felt like I was able to imagine that and do that in a way that hopefully was believable and funny, too.
ROHAN: Matt, you're extremely quick-witted in your stand-up, but film and television is a different beast. How have you been able to translate your stand-up skills into film?
MATT: I mean, it's entirely different. I get to write my own stand-up. It's my own tone, my own voice, and I know how everything should be delivered and how it should flow, versus following a script. It really comes down to a good story and good dialogue, you know? It's a lot more pressure to try to get somebody else's vision to come to life with how they see a scene or a conversation happening. But also, Jeremy was so generous in letting us play and improvise so much that Owen and I did have space to add a bit of our own fun on top of that. So that kind of loosened up the stakes a little bit.
ROHAN: Owen, you get this incredible moment where you get to walk out with Travis Scott during his Rolling Loud set - you also did something similar when you worked with Jennifer Lopez before - What's going through your head before you're about to go out onto this giant stage with hundreds of thousands of people about to see you, while also trying to stay in character?
OWEN: Well, I didn't worry about staying in character. That was the last thing that I was thinking of. It was really just... I didn't have a lot of excitement; I had more fear. It's sort of like the idea of giving a toast at a wedding, but amplified by a billion. Walking out there, I felt like there was sort of a whole arc to it, because when I first got out there, I definitely was nervous and a bit stunned, almost feeling concussed getting out there. And then as it went along, I started to think, "God, maybe I should have done music instead of acting. I feel like I've got this crowd in the palm of my hand." And I felt like if I did this, I got these guys going, and I could do this. It was like they couldn't get me offstage by the end.
MATT: If they would have asked you to stage dive, would you have done it?
OWEN: Oh, 100%. 100%.
ROHAN: Matt, you and Christine get to have a lot of fun in this movie, both playing these very unhinged characters. How did shooting at the actual Rolling Loud festival and feeling that raw energy help you get into character?
MATT: I mean, it's contagious. Everybody there is on... they're at an 11. Everybody there is at the highest possible stakes. It's the best weekend of their lives, so it was pretty easy to gravitate towards that tone for my character, because that is exactly that for Terry. It's the greatest weekend of his year; he looks forward to it every year. And I know festival people—some of my best friends are big festival-goers, and they're super annoying about it. So I had done plenty of research over the last couple of years hearing about people's molly and shroom stories at Lollapalooza to get ready for this.
Hank can feel his family slipping away. His marriage to Melanie is strained, and his 13-year-old son Zion is growing up and pulling away. So when Zion begs to attend Rolling Loud, Hank sees one last chance to be the cool dad. Melanie says the festival is inappropriate for a 13-year-old, so Hank lies: he tells her they're spending the weekend at the lake, sneaks Zion into the festival—and promptly loses him.
Unable to call security without exposing his lie, Hank launches a frantic search through tens of thousands of festivalgoers. Along the way, he teams up with reckless old friend Terry and eccentric security guard Linda, and every attempt to find Zion leads to more chaos: drugs, backstage disasters, a Ferris wheel, a mosh pit and a run-in with Travis Scott.
When Hank finally finds Zion, he's safe—and having the time of his life. Hank realizes that his real struggle isn't finding his son, but accepting that he's growing up. After one unforgettable moment together, father and son race to the lake house before Melanie discovers the truth.