‘Música’s Rudy Mancuso on His ‘Palpable Chemistry’ With Camila Mendes & Falling in Love on Set
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Rudy Mancuso will tell you that making Música, out now on Prime Video, is one of the “most rewarding experiences” he’s ever had. Mancuso is the semi-autobiographical film’s director, co-writer, composer, and choreographer.
He plays a version of himself who is trying to bring harmony to his life while dealing with his family, his complicated love life, synesthesia, and the uncertainty of his future. Mancuso reveals to TV Insider that he knew he wanted to depict his “relationship with sound and music onscreen” from a young age, and he’s never been “more ready” to tell his story.
He also found love on set with co-star Camila Mendes. The Riverdale alum plays Isabella, one of Rudy’s love interests. Música is the origin of their own love story.
Below, Mancuso opens up about the moment when the line between the film and real life “started to blur,” the reason behind the film’s hopeful ending, and that surprising cameo.
Are there notable differences between onscreen Rudy and real Rudy?
Rudy Mancuso: Well, I am playing a younger, lost version of myself. This was based on a time when I wasn’t very self-realized and was a massive people-pleaser. I didn’t know what to do with my perception of the world and the creative side of my brain. I was having just some major difficulty maturing and finding myself. And that’s kind of where this story takes place. I want to say 90 percent of what you see either actually happened or is based on a version of something that happened.
Música is your feature directorial debut. What were some of the challenges for you?
I suppose wearing all the hats was a tall order, but it was really the only way I could tell the story. I knew I had to co-write the script. I knew I had to compose the music. I knew I had to play myself. It was something I’ve always fantasized about. And I knew I needed to I need to direct. No one knew the story and understood the vision as well as I did in my head. It took a very long time to build the perfect foundation and team and studio that believed in it. So although it was probably the most difficult part, assuming all the roles was also the most rewarding.
Tell me about why you wanted Camila for the role of Isabella. Had you seen her on Riverdale?
Oddly enough, I hadn’t seen a lot of Riverdale. Obviously, I knew her. I knew of the show. I watched some things here and there and some of the indie films that she had done. But I’d seen enough to know that she’s a very gifted actor, and I had seen a lot of her behind-the-scenes works and interviews. I saw how articulate and smart she was. None of those things came as a surprise, but the role is very specific. It called for a Brazilian American who spoke both Portuguese and English and could embody this Brazilian American girl next door if you will, who is super grounded and adventurous and beautiful inside and out. She ticked every single box and more. I didn’t anticipate how knowledgeable she was, not only as an actor but as a producer. We met on the project and the connection and chemistry in our brains clicked almost immediately.
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I know you two met on this project and now you’re together. Is there a moment when you made this film when you realized this relationship was going to continue offscreen?
I think we both felt something when we were developing over Zoom before we actually physically met. We only physically met a couple of days before shooting. And then on those first few days of shooting, we were doing the Rudy meets Isabella at the park scene. They’re getting to know each other, she’s asking him questions, expressing her curiosity, and they have this very sweet, palpable chemistry. We were also experiencing that in real life, and the line started to quickly blur. I think we both realized, oh, this is more than just onscreen.
How does it feel to his tangible representation of your own life and your relationship as well?
It’s bizarre, it’s wonderful, it’s a lot of things. In retrospect, it’s one of the coolest, most rewarding experiences I’ve ever had, and maybe will ever have.
Why did you decide to end the movie on a hopeful but open-ended note?
From the start, I knew I didn’t want a perfect happy bookend because that’s not really realistic to my experience. This character is by design somewhat unlikable at times because he makes all these very questionable decisions. He’s a victim of his own self-perpetuated obstacles and circumstances, so the character deserves to get the girl of his dreams at the end. But also, that wasn’t the point because more than romances, these women represent versions of Rudy’s future, right? They also represent different cultural ideologies, more so than actual people. So Isabella represents one route that Rudy can take, his mother [Maria Mancuso] represents another, and Haley [Francesca Reale] a completely different one. None of them are wrong. They’re just not Rudy’s. So the end is about Rudy figuring it out for himself more so than seeing him fulfill his romantic dream. So I rather end it on an ellipsis than anything definitive.
I think life a lot of times is an ellipsis. You don’t know exactly where you’re going or what the next chapter is until you’re in it.
The ending is perhaps not the most satisfying thing in the world, but I prefer true to satisfying. My favorite romance films have similar bittersweet endings. Take La La Land or 500 Days of Summer. They’re not perfect, tied in a bow endings. And, at least for me, that’s what resonated the most.
Music is a very important aspect of this film and your life as well. How does music help you express yourself?
I have a condition called synesthesia, which is depicted in the film, even though we never actually say it. I’ve always had a really unique and sensitive relationship to sound and music. I, for a long time, struggled with it and felt very odd and different and had a hard time connecting with others and to the world, until I ultimately found a way to start treating it as an asset and not a hindrance. But the film explores the moment in time where I didn’t know what it was, what to do with it, and it’s very real. I mean, not that everyone I like breaks into an elaborate choreography, but the sounds are constantly being organized into some kind of musical construct in my head. But now having an outlet, storytelling, video making, filmmaking, composing, helps manage it.
We’ve got to talk about the puppets. Is that a real-life hobby or something you added to the film?
No, that’s a very real thing. At a young age, I was very inspired by Team America and Avenue Q, the live show, and Crank Yankers. I remember telling my mom that I’d love to order these hand puppet faces that I can customize and create my own kind of multicultural adult comedy puppet show, just something that I thought would be different and hilarious and unique. So that was very real. Out of that birthed the character Diego, which kind of represented my unfiltered consciousness in the film.
I noticed the Andy Muschietti cameo in the film. What’s the connection there?
He’s one of my best friends. Andy and Barb [Muschietti] are family. We got very close during the pandemic, actually. Serendipitously, the film was a go and it got greenlit after the pandemic. We only got into production just after the pandemic as he was going back into production for The Flash. So I appeared in his film The Flash, and that’s when I asked, ‘Do you want to appear in my film?’ He was like, ‘Absolutely.’ He appeared in my film, and we’re starting our own Muschietti-Mancuso Cinematic Universe.
Música, Original Movie, Streaming Now on Prime Video
