All photos courtesy of Luisa Opalesky.
The new romcom One Night Only—set in a dystopian future where premarital sex is illegal, except for an annual 12-hour bacchanalia—is ostensibly all about Monica Barbaro and Callum Turner’s characters falling in love. However, the real romance plot on set turned out to be between Barbaro and her castmate Este Haim. The pair became fast friends while making music together, improvising, and freezing their butts off in sub-zero New York City weather. That camaraderie bubbled over into a lengthy conversation about the film and their lives, where the pair touched on everything from bad exes and sexiest locales to being “no-bra Nancies.” But most importantly, they settled the eternal argument of the pros and cons dating in New York versus Los Angeles.
FRIDAY 1:00 PM JULY 17, 2026 NEW YORK CITY
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BARBARO: Thank you for doing this, first of all.
HAIM: Any excuse, are you kidding me?
BARBARO: Where are you? You’re in L.A. You’re coming here [to New York] tomorrow.
HAIM: I heard it’s orange where you are.
BARBARO: It’s not as smoky today. It’s a lot better. I feel so much trust in your hands. In fact, this is a great segue into it. The fact that you got me from, “Oh my God, I can’t do this. Please don’t ever make me sing again,” to—
HAIM: To, “Let’s go on.”
BARBARO: One of my favorite moments filming this movie was when you, me, and Andrew Burnap were in the set that was the recording studio, but it felt like we were in a real recording studio, just trying out harmonies, throwing spaghetti at a wall and seeing what stuck. To get to do that with you, for one, is unreal. I still pinch myself because you’re such a legend. I think I said, “This is literal heaven.”
HAIM: I could be in that room with you guys every day just singing. Also, yeah, it was just so much fun to do arrangement stuff and have it really feel authentic. And when you guys did it live, that was real shit in real time. That’s not easy.
BARBARO: Yeah, but I think you really set us up to win that moment.
HAIM: Well, honestly, anyone reading Interview right now that wants to hire me to just be on set and sing to them and hype them up, I will take that job. [Laughs] No, but dude, you kill it. You’re also so much fun to be in the studio with.
BARBARO: Thank you so much for saying that because I feel like a debilitating lack of self-confidence in those spaces, and I’m working on it. Eric Vetro, man, he’ll lecture me all day about it.
HAIM: Oh my god.
BARBARO: Also an absolute legend and a confidence boost. He took me from a strep throat to belting notes I didn’t know I could sing in one session.
HAIM: He’s a wizard.
BARBARO: Yes. But to hesitate in that way and to know that can interrupt the creative process, that’s the last thing on earth I want to do. So it means the world that you actually enjoy that process with me.
HAIM: I’d make a record with you tomorrow.
BARBARO: I’d die to do that. Oh, by the way, King Princess and you singing “Love Is in the Air” is so perfect, so brilliant.
HAIM: Thank you. Will Gluck had a lot of notes on that one. Let me tell you. Will’s basically a musician, and he was like, “It feels too vacation.”
BARBARO: In what way?
HAIM: I wanted to make it like we’re going to party, one night only. And he was like, “No, it needs to be sexier.” And I was like, “Vacation is sexy.”
BARBARO: Vacation is when people have the most sex. [Laughs] But he wanted it to be sexier. And what did you do to create that?
HAIM: More guitar.
BARBARO: Let the record show, you’re swiveling your shoulders more as well. [Laughs] More guitar and grooving and a little bit of tongue across the teeth.
HAIM: But I put a lot more percussion than he wanted. I mean, I’m a fucking drummer. When we make our record—
BARBARO: There’s going to be a lot of drums.
HAIM: We just want people to dance.
BARBARO: Exactly. It’s like the day that Nick Braun came in and made the entire crew burst out laughing mid-production, and suddenly we were like, “Oh no, have any of us been funny enough?” Because that’s what happens when someone’s truly, deeply funny. Similarly, musically, it’s like, “Este, we got to put a cap on you because other people are going to sing in this movie.”
HAIM: Yeah, you’re really taking people to Sandals with this. [Laughs] But again, he’s right. That’s why he’s brilliant. In my mind, I was like, where do I like to get romantic and sexual with my partner—
BARBARO: In warm weather on a beach.
HAIM: And instead of on a beach, we did it in a giant city. And at the time, it was two degrees, but we were supposed to make it seem like it was 100 degrees.
BARBARO: Hats off to you for filming that night. You, me, Ziwe, Callum [Turner]. The windiest night, so cold, and watching that scene, you truly cannot tell that it was that freezing.
HAIM: Thank you.
BARBARO: The bloopers sell us out because Callum could not remember to say the word “why.” And we were standing there just begging him to say it, just standing there in the freezing cold.
HAIM: Like, “Come on, my guy.” I couldn’t feel my eyeballs. I had warmers in places where they say on the packaging, “Do not put warmers in these places.” I basically was wearing hand warmer underwear because I wasn’t wearing pants.
BARBARO: Knees knocking together, shivering. Also, you and Ziwe, I would watch the spinoff of you guys at the door.
HAIM: I fell in love with her the minute I met her, in the same way that I did with you. Everyone on set was so fun and nice and cool, it reminded me of kids I went to high school with. Can you tell me when you met Callum for the first time?
BARBARO: It was a rehearsal day with Will and, I mean, Will’s such a nerd. He had a computer hooked up to the TV so that we could see in real time how he was editing. We were making so much fun of him. But again, it’s like that high school camaraderie, familial, gentle ribbing at every turn in just the sweetest, most wholesome way.
HAIM: One hundred percent. And I feel the same way about making records. You know how you can hear when people are having fun on a record?
BARBARO: Yeah.
HAIM: Any Talking Heads record, you’re like, “They were just jamming and having the best time in the studio.” I felt the same way about being on set on One Night Only. The vibe was just people playing around, being silly with one goal in mind, which was to make people laugh and, hopefully, get a little horny.
BARBARO: Always. I couldn’t agree more. I’ve screened this movie twice now at different stages of post. Both times, I remember feeling this surge of energy and feeling like I want to hang out with these people more. And I hope that translates for people who aren’t in it, but I think what you’re saying is so true. You were like, “Oh, I kind of want to live in that world without the mandate.”
HAIM: Without the mandate, for sure. [Laughs]
BARBARO: That’s an absolutely miserable mandate, but these people find a way to live their lives and have fun in spite of it.
HAIM: Exactly. I mean, I had a self-inflicted mandate. I did celibacy for two years, which was—
BARBARO: To prepare for this role?
HAIM: Yeah.
BARBARO: You’re so dedicated. [Laughs]
HAIM: You thought Callum was method with his, “I’m going to be an American” accent.
BARBARO: He’s got nothing on you.
HAIM: He’s so sweet. And talking to him about football, he’s so passionate about it.
BARBARO: I know, he’s especially great in that he’s a cinephile, but also doesn’t take himself too seriously. You’re not fighting his ego to get him to listen to you. He rolls with the punches. Just put a game in front of him.
HAIM: Then you’ll get the best performance. It’s not wearing the clothes, it’s—
BARBARO: You want deep love? Yeah. It is not Tits McGee, it’s sports.
HAIM: I mean, I’m Tits McGee right now. I realize we’re both sans bra today.
BARBARO: How did you know that? I’m not even in frame.
HAIM: Oh, babe, I can tell.
BARBARO: [Laughs] You can just feel it.
HAIM: I know another no-bra Nancy. I hate bras. I want to let them out. I want the puppies to be out of the cage forever.
BARBARO: Same.
HAIM: There was a lot of that in the movie, by the way.
BARBARO: There was.
HAIM: There’s so many different elements to rom-coms that I love. There’s obviously the falling in love part, the meet-cute, but I also love movies that give us not a normal rom-com story.
BARBARO: [Will] really threaded the needle of having it be just sexy enough, just wholesome enough, and also ridiculous but grounded. It still feels like a rom-com, but it feels just dangerous enough. It’s absolutely rated R, but you don’t feel like you’re being pummeled with it. It turns you on, but it’s more titillating than it is just overt sex.
HAIM: Correct. It’s romantic.
BARBARO: It’s romantic, at the end of the day.
HAIM: I think New York is also such an amazing place to set a movie like this. I mean, I met my husband in New York.
BARBARO: Aw, sweet.
HAIM: I’m trying to get all my girlfriends to move to New York because dating there and meeting people, the second you walk outside the door, you’re in it. You’re in the flow.
BARBARO: You’re possible.
HAIM: It’s different from L.A. because the second you walk outside, you’re in your car. Like me, myself, and I listening to my tunes, which I love. But if you’re a single guy or gal, it’s tough. Is there a favorite city for you to go out?
BARBARO: The most fun nights out have been in New York. I sometimes wonder if that’s because I always dream of coming back and living in New York. I actually go through depressive withdrawals every time I leave. I felt that way in December when we finished filming. It’s a super romantic city. It’s so fun to go on dates in this city.
HAIM: I was with my friend Nicole in New York a week and a half ago. I’ve never seen this happen in L.A. Literally, a guy got off the subway and she was walking past him. They both break their neck to look at each other. We keep walking and I’m like, “Nicole, do you think that guy was hot?” And she was like, “The guy’s so hot.” And I literally turn around and I go, “Hey!”
BARBARO: Amazing.
HAIM: “Do you think my friend’s hot?” [Laughs]
BARBARO: We all need an Este with us.
HAIM: I am a relentless wing woman. Relentless.
BARBARO: That doesn’t surprise me in the slightest. I actually am, too.
HAIM: Well, he turns around and he goes, “Yeah.”
BARBARO: And?
HAIM: “Oh, you guys should exchange numbers.” And he goes, “Okay.”
BARBARO: Incredible.
HAIM: They literally start talking. They’re both in film. They have so much in common. They do the little bumpy thing with their phone.
BARBARO: You’re like, these two losers airdrop with a bump. That’s how compatible they are. [Laughs]
HAIM: If that’s not sexual, I don’t know.
BARBARO: To live in a world where that is possible is so exciting. It just makes life a little bit more of an adventure, to have something like that happen in person.
HAIM: I felt like I was watching a rom-com. This is a meet-cute and I’m seeing it in real life. I was the quirky sidekick. But again, I’ve never really experienced that in L.A.
BARBARO: It feels more serendipitous too in New York because I actually weirdly run into friends here more than anywhere else. It just feels really tapped into the universe, telling you you need to see or meet this person. I feel like that quality is also very real in the movie. I mean, Callum loves to say that it’s this cosmic joke that they keep running into each other over and over again.
HAIM: I call that people being on your subway car.
BARBARO: Wait, what do you mean?
HAIM: Well, if there’s someone that you keep running into, I’d like to think that it’s the universe not letting you let go of this connection, doesn’t mean it’s romantic.
BARBARO: Amazing.
HAIM: I’ve had two breakups where I never want to see the person again.
BARBARO: Yeah, same.
HAIM: Everyone else was chill.
BARBARO: Mostly totally fine. What a gift.
HAIM: You know what? I think that’s really a testament to how sweet, nice, and kind you and I are.
BARBARO: See, this is an Este conversation. I walk away feeling so much better about myself and everyone. I like you more, I like myself more. I like my exes more. [Laughs]
HAIM: And the world is new.
BARBARO: It’s all going to be fine.
HAIM: And I’m going to fly to New York tomorrow.
BARBARO: And we’re going to go to a game.
HAIM: I think we should go into New York and recreate some meet-cutes. I think that we need to have our own version of what happened to my friend Nicole. Listen, I’m married, but just because I’m vegan doesn’t mean I can’t look at the whole menu. You know what I mean?
BARBARO: [Laughs] Just setting up individuals. We terrorize the city. “You guys should date!” They’re like, “This is my brother.” “Oops, so sorry—”
HAIM: I do think there is this really amazing energy about New York where you run into the people that are supposed to be in your life. Same as in the movie, it’s like you guys cannot stay away from each other. Try as you might, try as you may, but there’s something that keeps bringing you guys back together.
BARBARO: I think that’s also just a beautiful part of love too, is realizing when you’re apart from a person how much you miss them and how things make you think of them, and just wanting to hang out with them again.
HAIM: Dude, that’s how I felt when I met my husband and we were doing long distance.
BARBARO: It’s a sad feeling, but also it’s a great feeling.
HAIM: It is. Also, by the end of the movie, your guys’ chemistry is just so palpable. It’s like you want to jump into the movie.
BARBARO: I feel that with friends too, I want a deeper connection with people.
HAIM: Yeah, dude. I’m like, “Tell me about seventh grade.” That’s usually my first question. A traumatic time of your life. “What happened to you?”
BARBARO: Let’s draw a bond right away.
HAIM: Oh yeah, my mom didn’t let me shave my legs. So boys would get the free razors in the nurse’s office and throw them at me and tell me to shave my legs.
BARBARO: [Gasps] That’s horrific.
HAIM: And they’d yell, “Get a Schick.”
BARBARO: Oh my god.
HAIM: Anyway, go see One Night Only.
BARBARO: And keep hanging out with us. We’ll do episode two another time.
HAIM: Coming next summer.
