In addition to McDonald, the film stars Paul Rudd (‘Ant-Man’), Nick Jonas (‘Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle’), Jack Reynor (‘Midsommar’), and Havana Rose Liu (‘Bottoms’).

Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Peter McDonald about his work on ‘Power Ballad’, developing the screenplay with director John Carney, creating his character, working with Paul Rudd and Nick Jonas, putting the band together, and the film’s open ending.

Related Article: Movie Review: ‘Power Ballad’

Peter McDonald as Sandy and Paul Rudd as Rick in ‘Power Ballad’. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Lionsgate.

Moviefone: To begin with, can you talk about the process of developing the screenplay with director John Carney?

Peter McDonald: The film came about because me and John have known each other for a long time. We worked together when we were younger, and we’ve always wanted to make a feature together. So, that was the initial drive to make the film. We both played in bands when we were younger. I play the guitar as I do in the film, and we wanted to set a film in the world of the musicians that are in that wedding band. The characters that are in that world, the slightly over the hill rockers that still have the swagger and are still making a living out of playing music. So, we focused in on our lead guy, and came up with the idea that what if this songwriter who never had a hit song, wrote a song that got borrowed from and becomes a hit. Thus, kind of proving to him that he always had it to write a hit song. But then he has the problem of proving that it is his.

MF: What was it like finally getting to make a with John and being directed by him on set?

PM: It was Joy. I mean, writing screenplays is a long, painstaking, two steps forward and one step back process. At the heart of John’s films people express something very deep within themselves through music. The song was the trick of the story. That sometimes artists express something in art, and they don’t even realize what they were expressing until later. That’s what happened to Rick.

(L to R) Nick Jonas as Danny and Paul Rudd as Rick in ‘Power Ballad’. Photo Credit: David Cleary.

MF: Can you talk about finding, “How to Write a Song (Without You)”? I imagine that song was pivotal to the film working.

PM: We wrote the screenplay, but we didn’t have the song. So, we really set ourselves up for failure because it had to be believable as a hit song. It had to be an earworm, but also because you hear it so many times in the film, you don’t want it to be torture. So, the composition of that song was also a long and painstaking process. Gary Clark co-wrote the song with John and wrote on ‘Sing Street’. He’s such a brilliant songwriter. He just brought a killer song. Thank God because the film wouldn’t have worked without it.

MF: Can you talk about putting the band together? Were you looking for actors who could play instruments, or musicians that could act, and did you have time to rehearse together before shooting?

PM: We were looking for actors who could play a bit, but we know those guys in the band very well and we had them earmarked for those parts. We knew roughly where we would end up because the chemistry of the band and who they are is very important to the film.

(L to R0 Keith McErlean as Kyle, Peter McDonald as Sandy, Paul Rudd as Rick, Rory Keenan as Binzer, and Paul Reid as Bernard in ‘Power Ballad’. Photo Credit: David Cleary.

Did you always know you would play Sandy and what was it like creating that role for yourself?

PM: We didn’t know initially. We didn’t make any decisions on that, but as we went along, we were like, you know what, I should probably play that part. But it’s co-written between us, so all we were doing at the beginning was writing a screenplay.

MF: How would you describe Sandy and Rick’s friendship and what was it like creating that on screen with Paul Rudd?

PM: Sandy is the kind of character that John and I would intimately know from growing up. We didn’t have to discuss him too much. We know what kind of a wild card he is and a bit of a wrecking ball. But also, he sees the world with a complete freedom of spirit. Therefore, he’s able to see a complicated situation in much simpler terms, which is probably what Rick needs the most. He’s as loyal as a dog. We used to say he’s your best friend and your worst friend. He’s your enabler but he’s the guy you want there if the chips are down. Rick’s character needed somebody who looked him in the eye and said, “I believe you wrote this,” and he means it. Then creating the chemistry with Paul and that feeling of that lived in friendship. I knew Paul from before because we did a series called ‘Moone Boy’ in Ireland and he did an episode, so I got to know him there. We got on great. Paul is very similar to me and John. We have the same interests, same sense of humor, same approach to working, and he absolutely loves music. So, we just felt like we’ve known him forever, and working with him, it just feels like we grew up with this guy, and he just totally fits in with us and we fit in with him. So, whatever was working between me and Paul in the film, it’s just what was there. But also, He’s such a good actor. It’s the performance that makes that chemistry work. I hope he gets property recognized for it because he must fulfill so many roles in this story. He kind of has a midlife breakdown and he must get you into a place where it’s quite emotional, and he must keep that tension right till the end. But at the same time, and this is why Paul’s such a great actor and has had such a successful movie career, because he’s able to entertain you all the way through that and make you follow him. He is an everyman who you could believe is a star. That’s a very specific quality. It’s a James Stewart thing. Tom Hanks has it too. You could see him next door mowing the lawn, but you would follow him to the ends of the earth in a movie because there’s just something about him. That’s movie stardom, I think. All those people I mentioned are as good as it gets.

(L to R) Nick Jonas as Danny and Havana Rose Liu as Marcia in ‘Power Ballad.’ Photo Credit: David Cleary.

MF: Did you have Nick Jonas in mind when you were writing Danny and what was it like working with him on set?

PM: The hardest role in the film is Nick’s role, and he did such a brilliant job on it. We were so lucky to get him because he’s a very compromised character but he’s not a villain. We want you to understand why he may be behaving the way he does. When we do things that may seem to benefit us, we kind of don’t add everything in and think about what we’re doing. We are under pressure and we’re trying to survive. Being a young singer in the pop world, which is a fickle business. It’s so hard to survive. He makes decisions that he’s not fully sure about and we wanted to show you the pressures behind those decisions. But if you don’t cast it right, you’re sending mixed signals. The brilliance of Nick is that he is such a fine actor, but he is also a pop star. He is from that world. So, you just completely accept that he’s trying to survive. The gray area of the story is that he turns that song into a hit, but Rick hadn’t finished it. In fact, he didn’t really know what it was. He didn’t understand the greatness of the song until this genuinely talented guy came along and went, that’s good. So, it’s a collaboration between the two and neither could have come up with it on their own.

MF: Finally, the film ends on a cliffhanger where Rick’s daughter finds proof that he wrote the song. Then we see in an end credit scene where Rick is suddenly wealthy. Can you explain what happened or are you saving that for a sequel? Did Rick get the credit he deserved? Did Danny come clean publicly and how did that affect his career?

PM: I think, given what we know about Rick’s personal financial standing in the world, I don’t think he has a few thousand spare dollars to go up and give to a busker, unless a windfall has come his way. So, people can make of that what they will, but we did want the end to be suggestive of some brighter day having happened. But the balancing act there is we don’t see it, and when we reach the crescendo in the movie it is not about the money. It’s about something else, it’s about the family, and we see that.

‘Power Ballad’ will be available on digital June 23rd.

What is the plot of ‘Power Ballad’?

When Rick (Paul Rudd), a past-his-prime wedding singer, meets fading boy-band star Danny (Nick Jonas) during a gig, the two bond over music and a late-night jam session. But when Danny turns one of Rick’s songs into the hit that reignites his career, Rick sets out to reclaim the recognition he believes he deserves – even if it means risking everything he cares about.

Who is in the cast of ‘Power Ballad’?

• Paul Rudd as Rick Power
• Nick Jonas as Danny Wilson
• Peter McDonald as Sandy
• Marcella Plunkett as Rachel Power
• Beth Fallon as Aja Power
• Jack Reynor as Mac
• Havana Rose Liu as Marcia
• Sophie Vavasseur as Amanda

Paul Rudd as Rick in ‘Power Ballad’. Photo Credit: David Cleary.

List of Paul Rudd Movies and TV Shows:

Buy Tickets: ‘Power Ballad’ Showtimes

Buy Paul Rudd Movies on Amazon