Writer, director and producer Lauren Miller Rogen’s film Like Father, starring Kristen Bell and Kelsey Grammer, has had quite the journey from starting as a “kernel of an idea” six years ago to making its Netflix debut on Aug. 3.
“I feel like I have birthed my child. It’s out there and people are getting to see it and are enjoying it and telling me that they are seeing it. It’s exciting,” Rogen told The Hollywood Reporter In Studio.
Like Father centers on a workaholic woman (Bell) who is left at the altar and decides to take her honeymoon trip with her overachieving father (Grammer), whom she hasn’t seen since she was a little girl.
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Rogen explained how she found herself “really drawn” to the story six years ago after it started as an idea by producer Anders Bard.
“I was not left at the altar and I have a fantastic dad, but I was really drawn to it,” she said. “I think because I really wanted to explore what a woman who was put in that situation would feel like, what she would go through, what her emotional journey would be. Which is why I bugged him to write it, which took a little while.”
Rogen’s husband Seth Rogen also stars in the film, and as she told THR, he was “really supportive” of her vision on set. “It was amazing. Like I said, we’re very lucky and we really like each other a lot and we respect each other,” she said. “My first instinct when he was on set was to be like, ‘I don’t need your help. I’m fine, I can do it on my own.’ And then I was like, ‘What am I doing? I’m so stupid.’ I think he’s the most talented filmmaker that I’m lucky enough to know and he’s so smart and so supportive and he was really supportive of my vision.”
She continued: “I really knew what I wanted going into this and he very respectful of the whole process and was there to give an opinion when I wanted one.”
Watch the video above to hear Rogen also discuss the idea of Bell’s workaholic female character, how she relates to Bell’s character and her successful Hilarity for Charity.
Like Father is available to stream on Netflix now.
