Paz Vega talks to Live for Films about road trips, Sarah Jessica Parker and teenage rebellion

A stunning Tuscan backdrop provides the perfect setting for second chances, as mismatched lovers Sarah Jessica Parker and Raoul Bova discover that All Roads Lead to Rome – arriving on digital platforms from the 8^th February, 2016 and on DVD from the 29^th February, 2016 courtesy of Signature Entertainment.

Parker (Sex and the City, I Don’t Know How She Does It) makes a much-anticipated return to romantic comedy after a five year break as Maggie, a stressed, uptight single mother and college writing teacher from New York City. In a last-ditch effort to reconnect with her troubled teen daughter Summer (Rosie Day– TV’s Outlander, Misfits), she books them a holiday to a Tuscan village which holds fond memories of her youth. However, the chance for some much-needed mother-daughter bonding hits a road bump almost immediately, as they run into Maggie’s handsome former lover Luca (Raoul Bova – Sorry, If I Love You, The Tourist) – still a bachelor and living with his eighty-year old mother (Claudia Cardinale – Once Upon a Time in the West, The Leopard).

With Luca and Maggie attempting to navigate the ghosts of relationships past, Summer, who is missing her wayward boyfriend in NYC, and Carmen, secretly planning a wedding against her son’s wishes, find a common ground. Impulsively stealing Luca’s car to race to Rome, the pair are quickly pursued by Maggie and Luca – forcing the mismatched pair to spend some ‘quality time’ together, confront exactly what drove them apart the first time, and come to a new understanding while being helped and hindered by reporter – and Luca’s ex – Giulia Carni (Paz Vega – Sex and Lucia, Spanglish, Talk To Her).

Paz kindly took some time to talk to Live for Films recently, and was a delightful person to chat with, full of enthusiasm and great stories.

Hi Paz! I’m Alan from Live for Films. How’s it going?

Hi. Hello! Very god, thank you.

Great! I would very much like to talk to you about your new movie, All Roads Lead to Rome, today.

You saw the movie?

I have. I watched it last night.

Oh, OK… I haven’t seen the movie yet. I hope to see it very soon, but I think it’s going to be a nice romantic comedy.

Yes, very nice. First off, tell me about your character Giulia, and what attracted you to the role?

Oh, yes! My character she is a journalist and she’s… in the beginning of the movie, my character and Sarah Jessica Parker’s character are enemies because I was a previous love of Raoul Bova. I read the script and it was this lovely romantic comedy, and of course I loved the idea of working with Sarah Jessica Parker because I was a big fan of hers in Sex and the City. So to have that possibility to work with her I said “Oh my God, I want to do that!”

Yeah. The first time we meet Giulia she seems to be a bit of a baddie, but then she comes good by the end.

Yeahhh! At the beginning she is bitchy.

I was trying to be nice!

She’s a tough woman. She is the star and a director of a big news programme in Italy, so she’s a tough woman. So when they first ask her for help she says alright – but for herself, but then she realises there is a great love between this couple, and she has a very nice heart inside. She is a good person.

And tell me about your costumes?! All Giulia’s outfits are amazing!

Oh yes! They were fantastic. Lots of colours… a little bit over the top! It was very fun selecting the clothes and the make-up. Costumes and make-up are really important in creating as character, and they really help me to play a character well. That to me is really important.

Did you enjoy filming in Italy?

I like working in Italy a lot. This is my fifth movie that I play an Italian. I love that accent, I love that language, I love the culture, I love Rome, so I thought this was a great opportunity to work in Italy.

You mentioned that you were looking forward to working with Sarah Jessica Parker, so when you did get to meet what was she like and how did you find the experience?

Oh beautiful. Very beautiful. Even better than I imagined. She’s very charming. A really intelligent woman – smart. It was like she was always taking care of everybody. Super professional. It was such an amazing experience to work with her, and I would love to repeat for any occasion for sure. Fantastic, really.

All Roads Lead to Rome features a pair of very eventful road trips. Have you ever had a road trip adventure yourself?

Oh, yes actually! I’ve got some! Yes… I can say one. I had a beautiful road trip with my husband through Costa Rica. We spent one month in a car driving all over the coast, the south, the north, the west. Fo a month and half actually it was.

The film also features Rosie Day as an extremely rebellious teenager. Could you relate to her? Were you a tearaway teen too?

Yes. (laughs) At one point. It’s not a question of being “bad”, just a question of hormones. There is something when you turn twelve, thirteen – your body, your brain change. You can’t do anything to fix that, time will fix that, and you have to have those crazy years and I think it’s good. You clash with your parents, with the people around, with the world – because you think the world is against you – and I think it’s good. It’s a period where you have to learn about your life. I have three girls. One is eight years old, one is six, and the little one is five, so i’m quite close to that moment! I know for sure I am going to have to deal with some kind of problem! I try to prepare but it is difficult to be prepared, but yes – I was a rebellious teenager as well.

All Roads Lead to Rome is out in the UK this February, but what are we going to see you in next? What’s on your radar?

Yeah, the next movie that will be released… I’m not quite sure when… April? It’s called “Emperor”, and is directed by Lee Tamahori, and also stars Adrien Brody – so this is the next movie I have coming out.

Right now, I am in Mexico shooting a comedy with a director named Manolo Caro, and I’m configuring some other projects.

Having worked on films in a variety of countries, what would you say the biggest difference is making films in Europe as opposed to in Hollywood, in movies like The Spirit and Spanglish?

Honestly, I think that… shooting in so many countries, I really think as soon as the director says “Action!” it’s the same, and it doesn’t matter if you are in Hollywood or Bulgaria. Everybody wants to make a good film, every director wants to make a good film, and every actor wants to give their best in every take.

Thank you very much for your time today, Paz. It’s been a pleasure to talk to you.

Thank you, Alan!

All Roads Lead to Rome is released on digital platforms on the 8^th of February and on DVD on the 29^th of February.