Kay Cannon On Directing An R-Rated Movie, John Cena’s ‘Butt-Chugging’ Scene In ‘Blockers’ [VIDEO EXCLUSIVE]

Kay Cannon has produced television shows like 30 Rock and movies like Pitch Perfect 2, but her first stint as a director — and working on an R-rated movie — is on the upcoming film Blockers.

“I’ve never done anything rated R,” Cannon told uInterview exclusively. “So for me, there was a couple of things where I was like, ‘Wow, I cannot believe I am directing this scene. Okay, this is happening. We’re doing this.’”

Blockers is a comedy about a trio of parents who discover their daughters made a pact to lose their virginities on prom night, and they embark on a mission to stop the girls.

Even though Cannon was daunted by a few scenes she had to direct, actors Ike Barinholtz, John Cena, Gary Cole and Gina Gershon were game for anything though — even the film’s butt-chugging scene, which she and Cena talked about in advance.

“We both knew iconic that scene can be and how important it was to the movie,” Cannon said. “I wanted to make sure that we were showing how far a parent would actually go to save their daughter in a hilarious way. I mean, it’s pretty ridiculous. At the end of the day, they could just say, ‘We’re parents, and we’re gonna stop this party and we’re just gonna walk into the house.’ But they’re losing their minds.”

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Cannon said she believes the Blockers story needed to be told because the female market is so underserved.

“We’ve seen countless movies where it’s from the male perspective, especially with comedies,” Cannon said. “So to have a female perspective, where it’s the young women making decisions over their own — having agency over their own — bodies and deciding what and when and how they want to do something, is really refreshing and for me, I couldn’t wait to tell that story. I’m excited for everybody to see Blockers. I am really, genuinely excited for women to watch it because I think it’s a part of our entertainment that has been not represented enough.”

Read uInterview’s full, exclusive interview with Cannon below.

Can you describe the plot of the film?

Kay Cannon: Blockers is about three best girlfriends who are seniors in high school, and they decide to make a pact and lose their virginity on prom night. But really what the movie is about is that the parents find out that they’ve made this pact and they spend the night trying to stop them. Even further than that, it’s really about parents struggling to let their daughters go, or, you know, let their kid go, and kids kind of stepping into adulthood by losing their virginity.

Why did you feel this story needed to be told?

KC: It’s such an underserved story. We’ve seen countless movies where it’s from the male perspective, especially with comedies. So to have a female perspective, where it’s the young women making decisions over their own — having agency over their own — bodies and deciding what and when and how they want to do something, is really refreshing and for me, I couldn’t wait to tell that story. I’m excited for everybody to see Blockers. I am really, genuinely excited for women to watch it because I think it’s a part of our entertainment that has been not represented enough.

Were there any scenes the actors refused to do?

KC: Both Ike [Barinholtz] and John [Cena] game for anything. All of the actors were, like Gary Cole was game for everything, Gina Gershon was game for anything. Leslie didn’t have as many things where she had to worry about it as much as John and Ike did — especially John, as John did. But I have to say for myself, as the director, I’ve never shot anything rated R. I’ve never done anything rated R. So for me, there was a couple of things where I was like, ‘Wow, I cannot believe I am directing this scene. Okay, this is happening. We’re doing this.’

Not even the butt-chugging scene?

KC: Oh, not at all, about butt-chugging. No, I mean, that was something we talked about, you know, well before I started shooting. We both knew iconic that scene can be and how important it was to the movie. I wanted to make sure that we were showing how far a parent would actually go to save their daughter in a hilarious way. I mean, it’s pretty ridiculous. At the end of the day, they could just say, ‘We’re parents, and we’re gonna stop this party and we’re just gonna walk into the house.’ But they’re losing their minds.