Palm Springs writer Andy Siara says that his original idea for the movie's story was much darker. The romantic comedy follows what happens when Nyles (Andy Samberg), who has been stuck in a Groundhog Day-style time loop at a wedding in Palm Springs, accidentally traps maid of honor Sarah (Christin Milioti) in the same predicament. Palm Springs has gotten rave reviews for its blend of existential humor and romantic comedy tropes, making for an entertaining 90-minute distraction.
The movie is directed by Max Barbakow, who had previously collaborated with writer Siara on the short film The Duke: Based on the Memoir 'I'm The Duke' by J.P. Duke and is produced by Samberg and his Lonely Island counterparts Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone. Palm Springs has some dark, nihilistic moments, particularly at the beginning when Roy (J.K. Simmons) attempts to murder Nyles. Palm Springs even had some darker original endings as well, but ultimately, it is an uplifting movie about accepting one's place in the world, and remaining open to new experiences.
However, according to a Consequence of Sound interview with Siara, the original story for the movie was much darker. The writer says that when he started working on the idea, Nyles was a character who had given up on life and was going to Palm Springs to commit suicide. However, Siara says that as he grew older and matured, getting married and having a family, he changed the story to something more hopeful, and that's when it became the romantic comedy that was eventually released. You can read his thoughts below.
"We just built this story around Nyles. Honestly, the first version of this movie was more of like Leaving Las Vegas, where this guy goes out to Palm Springs to essentially kill himself. And then it just evolved over the years for a variety of reasons. I got married, fell in love, and started a family, and a lot of it is kind of about that. And Max went through sh*t. But it was always, from the beginning, me and Max as kind of acting as each other’s therapists and entertaining each other and trying to make each other laugh."
The wide-ranging interview also covers how the script made Samberg laugh out loud the first time he read it. Samberg also discusses the decision to produce the movie with his Lonely Island buddies, saying that working alongside them created comfort on a set where the writer and director were first-timers. Barbakow also talks about how he and Siara were maybe attempting to be a little too ambitious for their first movie, but that they found the perfect partners in The Lonely Island, who understood their vision and didn't "dilute" the ideas.
Siara's original idea for Palm Springs certainly sounds like a very different movie. What is now a romantic comedy would have been more of a tragic drama, and certainly not the kind of role Samberg likely would have taken on. Siara also doesn't mention whether the time loop idea was part of that draft, but one imagines it wasn't yet, as in the current version, Nyles is essentially immortal.
The way the movie turned out in the end frankly sounds a lot more entertaining than Siara's original vision. If Siara wanted to make his version of Leaving Las Vegas, that means Palm Springs would have been incredibly bleak, if the Nicholas Cage vehicle is anything to go by. Instead, he made a joyous, funny and uplifting movie that seems to have timed its release perfectly, dropping at a time when many feel they are living the same day over and over again thanks to the Coronavirus pandemic.
Source: Consequence of Sound
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