Exclusive Interview
‘Guarding Stars’ Director Teases Book Changes in Netflix Holiday Romance
What To Know
- Netflix’s holiday rom-com Guarding Stars is based on Katherine Center’s The Bodyguard.
- The movie premieres on November 18.
- Director Elizabeth Allen Rosenbaum revealed several major changes from book to screen.
Call security: There’s a “fake dating plot” afoot! You’ll find all the clues in Netflix’s sweetly charming holiday rom-com Guarding Stars, which flips the script on the typical bodyguard romance.
Based on Katherine Center‘s bestseller, The Bodyguard, the film stars Leighton Meester as Hannah Brooks, a no-nonsense protection agent suddenly assigned to keep an eye on Jared Padalecki‘s Jack Stapleton, a charismatic movie star who is dealing with a stalker. When Hannah accompanies Jack to his home in Montana for the holidays, she tackles her hardest assignment yet: Convincing the Stapletons that she is Jack’s girlfriend… without actually falling in love.
“Jared and Leighton both have that rare quality where audiences feel like they already know them, but they can still completely surprise you,” director Elizabeth Allen Rosenbaum previews. And, citing Meester’s Gossip Girl role, Rosenbaum adds, “There was something fun about putting Blair Waldorf in combat boots! And Jared’s fans will get a kick out of him playfully embracing his ‘Hollywood movie star’ persona.”
Netflix
They’ll also enjoy a literal “flip” in the script when Hannah shows Jack what she’s made of by flipping him flat on his back moments after they meet. “That was why I knew I wanted to direct the movie,” Rosenbaum says. “How often does the romantic heroine get to throw her leading man over her shoulder?”
The casting pluses continue with romcom royal Andie MacDowell playing Jack’s mom, Connie. Rosenbaum saw the full-circle idea of “having one of the women who helped define the genre join us.”
Guarding Stars also marks Grammy-nominated country singer Walker Hayes‘ film debut. Walker came in to read for one role that was later changed, but “there was no way we were letting him go,” says Rosenbaum. “We rewrote our script and made him the town sheriff. And then, because that wasn’t enough, we made him a singing sheriff! He and Jared even share a song on the sheriff’s Christmas float at the parade.”
But it’s Jack and Hannah’s push-pull chemistry that leads to all the magic. “A bodyguard’s job is to anticipate the worst possible outcome, while a movie star’s job is to sell the best possible one. Jack and Hannah have this wonderful clash in how they see the world,” says Rosenbaum. “She’s unimpressed by his celebrity, which allows her to see the man behind the movie star, and he sees the woman behind the armor.” Can this unlikely duo let their guard down enough to find a happily ever after? The answer’s in the Stars.
Guarding Stars, November 18, Netflix
