Matthew López on ‘Red, White & Royal Blue’s’ R-rated sex scenes and nailing the “moment of insertion”

Matthew López
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Sound the trumpets and roll out the imperial carpet: The reign of Red, White & Royal Blue is imminent.

Based off the best-selling novel by Casey McQuiston, the gay rom-com centers on Prince Henry (Nicholas Galitzine) and “First Son” of the United States Alex Claremont-Diaz (Taylor Zakhar Perez), two longtime frenemies from across the pond, who gradually come to realize they have the hots for each other—and more in common than either ever expected.

As anyone who’s read that book can tell you, if a movie adaptation was going to do it any justice, it was going to need to include lots and lots of gay sex. And, thankfully, it found a director who understood that—one who was ready to stand by it no matter what.

“There was no conversation whatsoever after the R-rating came to us about changing it,” reveals Matthew López, the Tony-winning playwright behind the The Inheritance who makes his feature directorial debut with Red, White & Royal Blue. “I couldn’t tell this story without telling that part of the story.”

Ahead of the film’s August 11 premiere on Prime Video, Queerty sat down with López to delve into the already-buzzed-about sex scenes, opening up about how he was able to capture them so authentically (hint: he’s had “a lot of experience”), why he chose to focus on what he calls “the moment of insertion,” the studio’s response to that R-rating.

The following interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

QUEERTY: Before we get into Red, White & Royal Blue, I’m curious if…

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