Summary

• Awkwafina and Sandra Oh star in the hit comedy Quiz Lady, bringing Asian-American representation to the forefront.
• The movie not only garnered rave reviews but also an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Television Movie, which made writer and producer Jen D'Angelo even prouder of the film.
• D'Angelo reflects on working with Awkwafina, Sandra Oh, and director Jessica Yu to build out her spec script, finding the perfect people for her colorful cast of characters, how she originally intended to feature Jeopardy! in the movie, and the origin behind the film's Mr. Linguini joke.

Awkwafina and Sandra Oh have another award-nominated hit on their hands with Quiz Lady. The 20th Century Studios comedy revolves around Anne Yum (Awkwafina), a quiet woman obsessed with the game show, Can't Stop the Quiz, which has been her sole point of comfort and security after her parents' divorce when she was a kid and her reckless older sister, Jenny (Oh) left to chase her dreams of being a star. When their mother runs away to Macau to escape her loan shark debt, and Anne's dog is kidnapped as collateral to pay off the debt, Anne reluctantly travels cross-country with Jenny to compete in the game show.

Alongside Awkwafina and Oh, Quiz Lady includes Jason Schwartzman as Ron Heacock, the game's reigning champion on track to set a new record for longest winning streak, Holland Taylor as Francine, Anne's cantankerous older neighbor, Jon "Dumbfoundead" Park as Ken, the loan shark who takes Anne's dog hostage, and Will Ferrell as Terry McTeer, the kindhearted host of Can't Stop the Quiz. The movie also features a cameo from Paul Reubens in his final role before his death, with Francine having a crush on him, though mistaking him for The Good Wife's Alan Cumming.

Quiz Lady marked the first fictional directorial movie from Jessica Yu in 16 years, her last being the sports comedy Ping Pong Playa before making a name for herself in the world of television, directing everything from Netflix's 13 Reasons Why to the Jared Padalecki-led Walker reboot. The movie also hails from rising writer/actor/producer Jen D'Angelo, who previously co-developed the story and wrote the script for Hocus Pocus 2, as well as multiple episodes of Young Rock and Workaholics.

In honor of the movie's recent Emmy Nomination for Outstanding Television Movie, Screen Rant interviewed Jen D'Angelo to discuss Quiz Lady, reflecting on her experience working with Awkwafina, Oh, and Yu to bring an Asian-American focus to her spec script, creating an original game show after being unable to land the rights to Jeopardy!, finding the right cast for her unique ensemble of characters, and what she has coming next.

D'Angelo Is "So Proud" Of Quiz Lady's Reviews & Awards Recognition

Following its Toronto International Film Festival premiere, Quiz Lady garnered largely positive reviews from critics and audiences alike, holding an 81% "Certified Fresh" rating from the former on Rotten Tomatoes and 80% approval rating from the latter. In reflecting on these reviews and her Emmy nomination, D'Angelo expresses being "so proud" of the movie, with one of her favorite general reactions to the film being people describing it as "the feel-good movie of the year":

Jen D'Angelo: It's incredible. We're so proud of this movie, and the whole time we were making it, everyone involved was sort of, like, "I can't believe we're making this, it feels like the type of movie that we don't make anymore." Everyone was just so excited, and we felt like this little engine that could. [Chuckles] In the world of streaming, you never really know if it will reach people and how it does, so just the idea that it's getting awards recognition, and just hearing more people are finding it. It's just so sweet and lovely, and it just really warms my heart.

I really love — not just because I'm talking to you right now — when people are like, "It's the feel good movie of the year." It really makes me so happy, because that's all I want to do is make movies that make people feel better, and that people want to rewatch. That's what I love about movies. I'm such a movie nerd, and I have my comfort watches, so the idea that Quiz Lady could be a comfort watch for someone else, there's no higher praise.

Quiz Lady's Mr. Linguini Has A Very Unique History

One of the movie's more unique angles is that, rather than a person having been kidnapped and held for ransom, Anne's pet pug Mr. Linguini is the one taken by the loan shark. Throughout Quiz Lady, various characters poke fun at the fact the Yum sisters got the dog in the late '90s, making it a very old pet who still has plenty of life in him. When asked about the running joke of the movie, D'Angelo recalls the unique origin of including Mr. Linguini in the story, basing him on one of her friends' dogs, and recalling the deeper character reason for why he's still around:

Jen D'Angelo: It was so funny, so Mr. Linguini really evolved as a character throughout the development of the script. [Chuckles] Initially, Mr. Linguini is based on my friend's dog Aggie, who's 12 now, I think, but she's a black pug, and she's had a salt-and-pepper face, basically, since she was like 4. Pugs just have such old spirits, all they want to do is lounge, that's literally why they were invented was to just be lapdogs. So, initially, Anne just had this dog that was based on Aggie. It was just this old pug named Mr. Linguini. And then, as we were working on scripts together, me and Awkwafina, Sandra and our director, Jessica, we sort of just discovered this idea that it would be really funny if Jenny thought of Mr. Linguini as her dog.

It did seem like something that she would do is just get a puppy on a whim, and then immediately be like, "Oh, I can't take care of the puppy," and just foist it onto Anne. So, when he came up with that idea, we just sort of naturally realized like that would make Mr. Linguini in his 20s. [Laughs] Which is technically possible, I think the oldest dog in the world was 24, and we were just like, "You know what, we'll just go with it." It was fun to just find little ways to sort of poke fun at how old we backed ourselves into making him.

Quiz Lady's Asian-American Representation Came From Awkwafina, Oh & Yu

In addition to being a lighthearted road trip comedy, Quiz Lady also marked another chapter in Hollywood's positive trend of Asian-American-focused storytelling, with some notable hits including Awkwafina's own The Farewell, for which she earned a Golden Globe, and Everything Everywhere All at Once, which won seven Oscars, including Best Picture. D'Angelo explains that her movie's cultural representation was largely thanks to working with Awkwafina, Oh and Yu on the script, as she initially wrote the characters with no specific race or ethnicity, and later determined that with the trio onboard, this representation "added such a richness to the script":

Jen D'Angelo: So, it all came from working with them. When I initially wrote this script, I didn't specify any race or ethnicity for the family, because I was just thinking like, "I'm writing the script, there's very little chance that I'll ever get it made, and the only way that it will ever get made is if we get two incredible actors to play these two sisters." So, I just left it completely open, and then Awkwafina was the first person we sent it to, and she immediately signed on, which was incredible. So, that began the process of wanting to make these characters feel authentically Asian-American, not just white characters played by Asian-American women.

So, we just started talking about how to do that, and then we had this very magical time in London, where, after everyone was on board, Sandra and Jessica were both working on separate projects in London, but they had the same week off, so they asked Awkwafina and I to just come to London. Then, we spent four days together in a room reading through the script and talking about it, and talking about our families, and in that sort of process, that was very much when we were figuring out, "Okay, what are the dynamics of this family?" We were trying to figure out, "Is it a Korean mom or Chinese dad?" We ultimately settled on Chinese mom, Korean dad, and it also just added such a richness to the script, because, we had it in there already that they were going on this journey to California, and that Jenny had this dream of California.

And then, to add the additional layer of these are two Asian women who were raised in central Pennsylvania, where they were probably one of the only non-white families around, and then in California, they had their cool Korean cousins, who lived near Koreatown, and had such a more diverse community, and therefore, a bigger sense of belonging. So, just adding that element to Jenny's dream of California just made it so much richer, so it was really cool to just find those moments of how to enhance what was already in the script by just making it more authentic.

On the note of Anne and Jenny's mom, who is never seen on-camera, D'Angelo explained that she was never meant to have a bigger role in the movie, as she and the rest of the creative team "really loved the idea" that their mother was so bad, she would never be seen in the film:

Jen D'Angelo: No, she was always a very off-screen character, because we really loved the idea that was just how bad their mom is. You don't even really think that you can call her for help, but then you're like, "No, let's call for help, she'll help us this time." And then she just immediately shuts you down, and you're just like, "Well, yep. The mom was bad." [Chuckles]

Quiz Lady Was Originally Meant To Feature Jeopardy! Until D'Angelo Couldn't Get The Rights

In a previous discussion with Screen Rant, D'Angelo explained how part of the origin of Quiz Lady's story is that her brother is similarly a major fan of Jeopardy!, and, as such, she hoped to feature the iconic game show in the movie, even as the writer encountered the unique challenge of determining whether to write for Alex Trebek or Ken Jennings following the former's death. Despite not getting the rights to it, D'Angelo actually saw it as a blessing, as it not only allowed her to create her own game show, but also develop Will Ferrell's Terry McTeer in a way that closer fit her vision for the story:

Jen D'Angelo: The evolution of Terry was very interesting, because I initially wrote this script to be about Jeopardy. So, it was always going to Jeopardy, and then — to give you a sense of how long I worked on the script — initially, it was Alex Trebek. And then, he sadly ed away, so we made it into Ken Jennings, and then we wound up not getting the rights for Jeopardy. So, I had to create a new game show in a very short amount of time, but it had always been in the back of my head, so I was very pleased to do it.

The best part about it was I had always been thinking, "If I wind up having to fictionalize this game show, it'll be so great, because then we can make the host whoever we want." Will was already attached as a producer on the project, so when I started breaking out the new game show, he expressed interest in wanting to play the host, which was just the most incredible news I've ever received him. We were just talking about this character, and we thought it would be really fun to sort of do the opposite of Alex, where it's like Alex Trebek has this very — you want to impress him.

He seems so smart, and he seems like he does know all the answers, and you just want to feel cool in front of him. We thought it would be cool if Terry was the complete opposite, Terry is just openly blown away by how smart everybody is, because he has no idea about any of the answers, and he just loves meeting people and talking to people.

He just always was a very, very sweet man, so we tried to sort of bury it a little bit where, when she first meets Terry, in the nature of they're about to go on stage, it's a very small interaction. She sort of embarrasses herself, and we don't necessarily know, "Is Terry how he appears, or is he a don't-meet-your-heroes situation?" And then, you get the scene in the bowtie hallway, which is one of my favorites.

During our last interview, D'Angelo mentioned her brother had yet to make it past the contestant pool to appear in Jeopardy!, but despite nearly a year and a variety of changes to the game show, the writer itted he still hasn't received the call, but hopes one element of the movie's success can change that:

Jen D'Angelo: No, I'm like, "What can we do?!" Maybe if we win the Emmy, I don't know. [Laughs] How do we get him on there? He's still in the contestant pool waiting for that call.

Francine Was Meant To Be "The Ghost Of Christmas Future"

Amid the movie's colorful cast of characters is Francine, played by Two and a Half Men alum Holland Taylor, who frequently butts heads with Anne for meaningless things. When she abandons the trip after a fallout with her sister, though, Francine offers Anne some unique life advice that would cement leaving the game show dream behind for some, but it actually reinvigorates Anne to try. When asked about whether Francine ever had a lighter side to her in an alternate script, D'Angelo confirmed that Taylor's character was "always the ghost of Christmas future" for Anne, and recalled her delight at Taylor playing the role:

Jen D'Angelo: Francine was always the ghost of Christmas future for Anne, so she was always a very crotchety, cynical woman who was always gonna give really terrible advice. I similarly love George of the Jungle and Legally Blonde. I love Holland Taylor, she's incredible. So, when we got her for the role, it was so incredible, because the thing about Francine is you get the sense of — especially Holland Taylor's Francine — that it's not that she's just a shut in, and that she doesn't have the energy to go out and deal with the world. She's this very vibrant, intense woman, but she just is like, "I'm not interested in any of that. It's all bad." So, Holland Taylor added such a layer to Francine of just a real ballbuster, and made her kind of scary, I wouldn't want to mess with her. [Laughs]

Quiz Lady's Major Ending Cameo Nearly Looked Very Different

Another running joke in the latter act of Quiz Lady is that Francine is enamored with the actor Alan Cumming, though has actually confused Pee-Wee Herman actor Paul Reubens with the Good Wife star, with Reubens even showing up at the very end and reluctantly pretending to be Cumming to appease a very happy Francine. In reflecting on this joke, D'Angelo revealed that the original idea was for Francine to love Ray Donovan and have star Liev Schreiber make a cameo, but ultimately found the "script-save" moment of landing Reubens to be "so cosmically right":

Jen D'Angelo: It was so funny, so that was another kind of script-save in the moment where, initially, it was written that Francine loved Ray Donovan, and it was going to be Liev Schreiber. But he was not available, so I was just thinking "How do we preserve the structure of this joke without having it be completely reliant on who the person is?" So, that was where the idea came from to have it be that Francine was wrong about who her celebrity crush was that she had a picture of someone, and then saw someone else.

Obviously, the first doppelgänger pairing I could think of was Alan Cumming and Paul Reubens. For so long, I've always been like, "Wait, which one is Nightcrawler?" [Chuckles] I always forget which one is which, so that was the first one I thought of. I put that into our table-read draft. Thankfully, it got a laugh. So we were like, "Okay, great. The joke is approved." Then it became, "How do we get Paul Reubens?" He was so lovely, and now, it's just like, "How could that moment be anything but Paul Reubens coming around?" Especially because this movie is about the power of TV to comfort people, and to really bring joy to people's lives, particularly lonely children.

So, the fact that we have Paul Reubens in this movie, it just feels so cosmically right, and to get to work with him was a dream come true, even though he was just there for one day. It was our first day of shooting even, but he was so incredible, and just another instance of you might think don't meet your heroes, but he was cool, and so wonderful. We were so honored to have him as part of the movie.

D'Angelo Is Ready For A Totally Killer Sequel (& Is Even Coming Back To The Horror Genre)

Quiz Lady wasn't D'Angelo's only major 2023 hit, having also co-written the script for the Blumhouse and Prime Video time-travel horror-comedy Totally Killer, which also saw rave reviews from critics. When asked about the chances of a sequel to the slasher movie, much like fellow Blumhouse horror-comedy Happy Death Day, D'Angelo itted "there have not been talks" for one, but remained hopeful for it to happen, particularly because of how the first film left the door open for one:

Jen D'Angelo: Oh my gosh, I mean, there have not been talks, but I love Nahnatchka Khan, who directed Totally Killer. She's incredible, so I would work with her to the ends of the earth. So, if she wanted to do a sequel, I would be so thrilled to get in there. I mean, no spoilers — click away if you don't want a spoiler — but there is an extra time machine out there. We've got a lot of kids back in the '80s who were messed up inadvertently by it. There's definitely ripe territory for a sequel. But yeah, that was just such a fun world to play in, and collaborating with Sasha and David, the other two writers on it. I love that movie, it's so fun.

In looking to the future, though, D'Angelo revealed she is returning to the horror genre in a slightly different future with a new script she's not only penned, but is also directing in her feature debut. Though remaining mum on story details for the project, she did reveal it will be "a little bit different from Totally Killer in tone", while also explaining that it will be a "contained horror-comedy":

Jen D'Angelo: So, I am now working on a script that I will direct. It's been so fun being on set for Hocus Pocus 2 and Quiz Lady and The Tomorrow War, I was the on-set writer for that. I've had all of these experiences of just really being on set every day, and getting to shadow directors unofficially, and learn so much. So yeah, I'm really excited about that next phase of my career, just taking the director's chair. It's a horror comedy. A little bit different from Totally Killer in tone. I almost said "Tonally Killer". [Laughs] But yeah, it's sort of a contained horror comedy, because my favorite thing is giving people really fun characters, and giving them the room to play in those characters. So it's an ensemble horror-comedy that I'm super excited about.

About Quiz Lady

Anne, a tightly wound, game show-obsessed woman, must come together with her chaotic sister Jenny in order to help pay off their mother's gambling debts. When Anne's beloved dog is kidnapped, they will have to set off on a cross-country journey in order to get the money they need. In order to do so, they will have to tap into Anne's skill set by turning her into the game show champion she was always meant to be.

Check out our previous Quiz Lady interviews with:

• Awkwafina & Sandra Oh
• Jessica Yu
• Jen D'Angelo (Pre-Release)

Quiz Lady is now streaming on Hulu and Disney+.

Source: Screen Rant Plus