You People ends with a romantic moment between leads Jonah Hill and Lauren London, but one member of the Netflix film’s team claims it was never actually filmed.
During a conversation on the latest episode of podcast The Brilliant Idiots, co-hosts Charlamagne Tha God and Andrew Schulz discussed director Kenya Barris’ film, which centers on interracial couple Ezra Cohen (Hill) and Amira Mohammed (London) dealing with their families’ complicated reactions to the relationship. Schulz plays Ezra’s cousin Avi in You People, which was released last month and also stars Eddie Murphy, Nia Long, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and David Duchovny.
After podcast guest Nyla Symone mentioned agreeing with recent social media commentary suggesting that Hill and London don’t make a believable couple, Schulz stated that the stars never actually filmed Ezra and Amira’s wedding-altar kiss, which takes place about a minute before the end credits start rolling. According to Schulz, their nuptials lip-lock, which is seen in a medium shot but is partially obscured by falling flower petals, was achieved in post-production by CGI wizardry.
“There’s a hilarious thing — I don’t even know if I should share this shit — but the final scene, they don’t even kiss,” Schulz said. “It’s CGI. Swear to God.”
After Charlamagne Tha God expressed his incredulity, Schulz continued, “I’m there — I’m watching the wedding — and I see them go in for the kiss, and their faces stop like this far. And I’m like, ‘I wonder how they’re gonna play that in the movie. Oh, they’re probably just gonna cut right there.’ But the movie, you could see their faces come close, and then you could see their faces morph a little bit into a fake kiss.”
The Hollywood Reporter has reached out to Netflix for comment.
During a previous interview with Harper’s Bazaar, London admitted that she was initially reluctant to play the role, explaining that she worried about whether Ezra and Amira’s bond could feel genuine.
“I thought, ‘Why would these two people really like each other?’” she said. “We have to showcase a real connection. They’re from two totally different worlds, and if you see them, you would never think that they would meet or hang out, whatever the case is.”
