Celine Dion Never Filmed With Her 'Love Again' Co-Stars
While Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Sam Heughan, stars of the upcoming romantic comedy Love Again, share many scenes in the film with music icon Celine Dion, it has been revealed by Heughan in a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly that the pair never actually shot with Dion in person.
Chopra Jonas and Heughan's characters Mira and Rob are brought together in the film through technology, as Mira continues to send text messages to her late husband following his recent death, unaware that the phone number has been reassigned to Rob. However, it seems technology also played a crucial part offscreen as well, in bringing the actors together with their costar. Speaking to EW, Heughan shared "we shot during the pandemic, and it was obviously very difficult for people to travel at the time, so we did shoot a lot of it on sound stages and on green screen. That was one of the challenges of working during the pandemic."
The film was shot in 2020, at a time when the entertainment industry was still trying to get back to some semblance of normality, while trying to grapple with a new reality under tight COVID restrictions. Unable to travel, Heughan revealed that "we were in our own bubble in the U.K., and Celine was in Canada." He added, "it was difficult, but I think they did some great magic in the movie, and I think those scenes really worked out. Jim [Strouse], who directed it, he's such an amazing person, and it was just working with him very closely. We got extras and people to read [Dion's] lines. And honestly, Celine is such a professional herself, that's [why] it really worked out."
Adjusting Under Difficult Circumstances
Chopra Jonas also expressed she found the experience challenging, as cast and crew alike struggled to adapt to the new normal. She shared that "it was nuts at that time. It was tough, but it was a scary time in the world. As actors, we're the ones that have to take off our masks on set. I was terrified, honestly, in the beginning." However, the actors eventually found relief through their work; Chopra Jonas added "it was a very scary, daunting atmosphere, and we were doing a romantic comedy — we had to bring lightness and fun to set in this daunting atmosphere. We really leaned on each other to create a fun environment on set with each other. We would laugh and crack jokes and tried to find the joy so that we could inspire and infuse ourselves as well. But it wasn't easy."
While the pair never acted with Dion in person, Chopra Jonas had kind words to say of her costar's performance, saying "she's so amazing. She's funny, she's self-aware, it's really cheeky." The film, which contains five new songs by the iconic singer, is set to be released exclusively into theaters on May 5. Check out the trailer below:
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