Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney did not go to the Oscar Isaac school of press tours. If they did, they wouldn’t openly admit to weaponizing their red-carpet chemistry to stoke dating rumors while marketing Anyone But You. They played opposite each other in the enemies-to-lovers romp, a surprise blockbuster and one of the pair’s attempts at gaining movie-star status. “The two things that you have to sell a rom-com are fun and chemistry. Sydney and I have a ton of fun together, and we have a ton of effortless chemistry,†Powell said in an interview with the New York Times. “That’s people wanting what’s on the screen off the screen, and sometimes you just have to lean into it a bit — and it worked wonderfully. Sydney is very smart.â€
Sweeney was incredibly involved in the press-tour marketing and brainstorming process, apparently. “I was on every call,†she told the Times “I was in text group chats. I was probably keeping everybody over at Sony marketing and distribution awake at night because I couldn’t stop with ideas. I wanted to make sure that we were actively having a conversation with the audience as we were promoting this film, because at the end of the day, they’re the ones who created the entire narrative.â€
The thing is, we were having fun imagining that Sweeney and Powell didn’t let their partners get in the way of a romance between co-workers. The salaciousness! The drama! That’s the best part about press tours, watching actors pretend to give us a taste of their own reality, whether it be a romance or some other weirdness, and licking the plate clean. Like, remember when Isaac sensually caressed Scenes From a Marriage co-star Jessica Chastain’s tricep? I’m sure you do, because neither ever pulled back the curtain. Isaac might as well have said he and Chastain are as close as flatworms whose cells communicate and reproduce independently.