The Everything Pot Stars Lisa Edelstein & Gina Torres Talk Chemistry And Intergenerational Friendships

The Everything Pot, which premiered at 2024’s Tribeca Film Festival, is a comedy of errors that sees Rachel sends a gift to her former colleague Charlie upon being invited to his wedding. As Charlie’s wedding date approaches, Rachel’s spark has been relit after years of feeling stagnant in her own marriage. This newfound excitement leads to speculation of infidelity as cracks in both Rachel and Charlie’s relationships begin to reveal themselves, especially as Rachel’s husband becomes obsessed with retrieving said wedding gift: The Everything Pot.

The Everything Pot explores ideas of intergenerational friendship, hilariously unexpected misunderstandings, and rediscovering one’s spark in life. Filmmaker Sherise Dorf, who also penned the screenplay, finds the right balance between sincerity and comedy in her directorial debut. The cast is phenomenal, led by House MD star Lisa Edelstein, who delivers a hilarious and heartfelt performance alongside James Wolk, Gina Torres, Erik Griffin, and Delaney Rowe.

While at Tribeca Film Festival, Screen Rant had the opportunity to interview Lisa Edelstein and Gina Torres about their new movie The Everything Pot. They discussed cast chemistry and the complexities of intergenerational friendship dynamics, which are explored in the movie. Edelstein praised Delaney Rowe’s performance and Torres offered a hint about the new season of 9-1-1: Lone Star.

Lisa Edelstein & Gina Torres Reveal The Secret To Creating Great Chemistry On Set

When discussing cast chemistry, Edelstein explained that being present in the moment is the key to creating chemistry. She and Torres then joked that this can cause problems because actors create bonds, making people feel as if they are their best friends before disappearing without ever contacting them again.

Lisa Edelstein: I think acting is about being very present and that will create chemistry. That’s actually the problem with actors is that as people, they’re so present that you think they’re your best friend, but you’ll literally never hear back from them.

Gina Torres: It’s like kids who meet for the first time in the sandbox, they’re like, Did you bring a pale? I have a shovel. Oh my God. Let’s play! We’re like puppies and kids

Lisa Edelstein: And then it’s over. Don’t hold onto it.

Gina Torres: That’s it.

Lisa Edelstein: Enjoy the experience.

Gina, we discussed how Gail just really thrives on the conflict of others, and it really makes me wonder what’s going on behind the scenes there. What do you think? Does she have it all together or is she just using this as a distraction?

Gina Torres: Apparently Gail has a lot going on. She’s getting laid regularly.

Lisa Edelstein: She is very amazing.

Gina Torres: She’s got a thriving business.

Lisa Edelstein: Yeah, she’s exploring.

Gina Torres: She’s exploring. And she also has this beautiful relationship with a woman that she was in business with. We don’t talk about how long we’ve actually known each other. Clearly there’s history there, and she’s there for her girl.

Lisa Edelstein: It’s important to represent female friendship. I see that a lot in movies with young women and so it’s really important to represent a historied relationship like we have.

Gina Torres: I think the important part about Gail in all of this is that she wants Rachel to win. She wants Rachel to be happy. Whatever that looks like. It’s like, Okay, well maybe you know. What about that? I want you to be whole, I want you to be happy here.

Lisa Edelstein & Gina Torres Are Proud To Usher In New Generations

Edelstein also discussed the complexities of intergenerational friendships both in the movie and in her own life. She broke down how a shift in perspective can completely change the dynamic. Meanwhile, Torres revealed how this has impacted her relationships and dynamic with colleagues as well.

Lisa Edelstein: The thing is, and you’ll figure this out too eventually, but when you’re in your fifties, you don’t know it. You’ll be friends with people in their thirties and at some point you’ll be like, Oh, sorry, I am 20 years older. But it takes a minute. You don’t realize that they look to you, and you’re their parents. I’ve just started to experience that in my life where I realized, “Oh, we’re like mommy and daddy. We’re not really peers.” But that’s not something that you consciously do. It just sort of shifts around you.

Gina Torres: I’ve been Mama G on set for years. Maybe it’s because my voice is deep.

Lisa Edelstein: And you’re tall.

Gina Torres: And I’m tall. Or they just get this sense of, “Don’t mess with Gina.” But I’ve been Mama G for some time. What I noticed mostly is there are really only a few of us around that get the same pop culture references. So you can’t throw out the same call out to a Carol Burnett show or Cher, but not today’s Cher. It’s just different.

Lisa Edelstein: It’s sad.

One thing I found really fascinating was how each of your memories of Charlie differs in terms of who he was in his career with you. Rachel’s like, Oh, he was so great and then he went off to his own thing. And then Gail’s like, Well, it wasn’t exactly like that. He was kind of a little bit of a snake. Can you talk about who Charlie is to each of you and how that influences your perception of the dynamic?

Gina Torres: He’s nothing to me. Go on.

Lisa Edelstein: I think Charlie, for Rachel, is a reach back to her own personal past. The attention that he gives her is a little bit of a drug, and I think it always has been. Just gives her a little spark that she didn’t necessarily have in her home life. And he’s really a cad. I mean, I love the way James plays him because he’s like, I’ve known that guy that’s like the most beautiful eyes and just talking out of the side of his mouth and you don’t care. Just lying through his teeth, turning on a dime. And he did it almost scary well.

Gina Torres: He’s a nice guy, but he’s not a good man.

Lisa Edelstein: He’s not a good man. I mean, I love that you really don’t know for me which way she’s going to go. She’s really weighing her choices by the moment. She does not necessarily know she’s going to leave that house tacked.

Gina Torres: Oh my God. I do love that scene. Because there’s that wanting. But then that fear of, “Okay, but then if I jump off this cliff…”

Lisa Edelstein: Right, that’s it. You’re off the cliff. Tension.

Another vital member of the ensemble is Claire, who is such a surprising, quirky character. Of course, I knew Delaney from TikTok as “the insufferable female lead in every indie movie.”

Lisa Edelstein: I feel like when we were young, I became a club kid, and I got very famous for no reason as a club kid. And it was the underground sort of Warhol scene, but that actually gave me access to the world at large. And I feel like TikTok does that for kids now.

The pandemic lockdown, those kids were not messing around. They were going to find their way through. And that’s what you have to do as an actor. There’s no path that we’re given. You’re chopping through the rainforest, figuring it out. And she figured it out. And she’s so talented. And she studied at USC. It didn’t happen accidentally.

Gina Torres Teases That 9-1-1: Lone Star Season 5 Will “Start Off With A Bang”

Although she kept details close to the vest, Torres did tease an exciting start to season 5 of 9-1-1: Lone Star. Edelstein, who was on 911 Lone Star, jokingly asked if Torres’ character Tommy dreams of hers, sparking an idea for a dance sequence.

Lisa Edelstein: Does Tommy Dream about me?

Gina Torres: There you go. I mean, spoiler alert. Yes. There’s a whole dance dream sequence, and you’re in it. I love that.

Lisa Edelstein: I’m calling Tim immediately.

Gina Torres: We start off with a bang, as usual, but we haven’t shot it yet.

Lisa Edelstein: Those kids look so incredible. Oh my God, in those outfits in the heat? They’ve shot in crazy hot weather. They earn every dollar on the show.

About The Everything Pot

A comedy of errors ensues when empty nester Rachel (Lisa Edelstein) hastily sends a gift to Charlie (James Wolk), a former colleague, upon receiving his wedding invitation. The young couple’s wedding gets Rachel out of her perpetual state of ennui in her own marriage and brings unexpected excitement that inadvertently causes speculation of infidelity. As one domino falls after another, cracks begin to show in their respective relationships especially while Rachel’s husband Adam (Erik Griffin) becomes obsessed with getting back their wedding gift: The Everything Pot.

The Everything Pot premiered at Tribeca Film Festival on June 8 and is currently awaiting distribution.

The Everything Pot (2024)

Director

Sherise Dorf

Writers

Sherise Dorf

Cast

Lisa Edelstein , James Wolk , Erik Griffin , Delaney Rowe , Gina Torres , Deja Monique Cruz , Christopher Matias Aguila

Runtime

90 Minutes