"I hope it makes you smile": Comedian Nicole Dubois dishes on creating her new film Magic Carpet Rides (Exclusive)

Comedian Nicole Dubois wears several hats at once. Currently, the actress and social media breakout star is basking in the glory of her newly released romantic comedy Magic Carpet Rides, released on Wednesday, June 14, 2023, on Tubi. She plays the role of Calie, "an anxiety-ridden influencer obsessed with technology and metrics." Her story bodes extremely well for the current scenario.

Nicole is making her film debut as the writer, producer, and actress in Magic Carpet Rides. She has established herself well beyond her social media identity, where she is popularly known for several of her iconic characters, including "Florida Girl," "Suburban Mom," and "Hallmark Girl." With over 1 million followers across all social media platforms, she now embarks on a new adventure.

In conversation with Varsha Narayanan of Sportskeeda, comedian Nicole talks about the process of creating the film and essaying multiple roles throughout the journey. Speaking about what she hoped to achieve, the actress said:

"I hope it makes you smile."

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Nicole Dubois talks about creating Magic Carpet Rides

In a world where almost everything is dominated by social media, Nicole Dubois' Magic Carpet Rides provides the perfect background for viewers to witness what an influencer's life would look like in this day and age. However, what makes it even more special is that it offers a contract between Callie, an influencer, and Leo, a "carefree rebel disconnected from the modern world."

The actress picked the idea from a short film she worked on back in college and created characters inspired by it. She also drew on her own life experiences of being in the "influencer world."

Although Nicole took up the role of writing, producing, and acting in the film, she was able to compartmentalize it really well.

"Well, luckily I did not have to do them at the same time. I wrote, then I produced, then I acted, and then produced a little more. When we were on set I did try to put the writer and producer to the side and just trust Matt and the crew and focus on acting," she said.

While her essaying multiple roles still faced several crossovers, it was more natural for the actress to essay her character based on the material she'd written herself.

"I get to know the character so well during the writing process and I understand the motivation, the beats, the humor etc., because I created it. So I would actually say the job of actress is made easier by the job of writer. That sentence sounds insane, but I’m sticking to it," Nicole continued.

Magic Carpet Rides has Nicole playing the lead role and starring opposite Matthew Law, who essays the role of Leo. The former expressed that they'd made several changes throughout the course of the film and that her co-star contributed a lot of his own ideas to better incorporate his character.

"We initially intended for the story to be equally about Leo and Callie, but as we got further into the process we realized it was really Callie’s story and decided to dive deeper into her world. The story also changes depending on who you cast. Matt Law brought a lot of himself and his own ideas to Leo that changed parts of the story."

The Magic Carpet Rides star recalled that there was a lot of "giggling and overnight shoots" while filming the movie. She opened up about a fun memory she and her cast had while filming a comedy scene on swan boats. Nicole revealed that it was extremely hot, causing her makeup to constantly melt off.

"We were passing sunscreen around the cast and crew like it was liquid gold. That scene ended up being one of my favorites in the movie because it gets to a point where you’re so exhausted and sweaty that you just say “fork it” and get really silly. The improved lines that came out of that day are insane," she elaborated.

Nicole hoped that viewers would have a good laugh and enjoy watching the film. She also wished that people would relate to the variety of characters portrayed and love the stories they've had to share. Speaking about a prominent message that she wanted to convey, the actress said:

"One of the prominent messages of the film is to just do what’s right for you because no one knows what's right, wrong, real or fake. The film is very accepting of all people and human strength and flaws."

She continued:

"Do I think someone is going to watch this film and all of a sudden become accepting, no, they'll probably hate it and turn it off. But for the people who are, I hope it feels good to watch."

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Nicole revealed that she is in the process of writing and creating more projects. The star is also known for her roles in FX’s You’re the Worst and Apple TV’s “The Shrink Next Door. She expressed her desire to continue to create and work with collaborators to "bring loads of stuff to the BIG screen."

Directed by Matthew Thompson, Magic Carpet Rides is available to stream on Tubi.