Las Vegas Academy alum Numa Perrier shot her first feature film, 2019’s Jezebel, at a local Budget Suites, inspired by her own experiences living at one of the chain’s weekly motels and working as an online webcam model in the 1990s. “You kind of have two different worlds, and a lot of people really only see one,” she says of the side of Vegas she explored in that film, which was picked up by director Ava DuVernay’s distribution company Array and streamed exclusively on Netflix for three years.
Following its Netflix deal, Jezebel is currently in streaming limbo, but Perrier’s second feature film, the romantic comedy The Perfect Find, debuts as a Netflix original on June 23. Based on the 2016 novel by Tia Williams, The Perfect Find stars Gabrielle Union as NYC fashion editor Jenna Jones, who follows a high-profile breakup and career meltdown by getting a job working for her former rival Darcy (Gina Torres) and starting a romance with the much younger Eric (Keith Powers), who happens to be Darcy’s son. Perrier spoke to Desert Companion about her experience making The Perfect Find and her enduring connection to Las Vegas.
What first drew you to this project?
It was really the book and the script together, the story of a woman who is pretty much down on her luck with a major career disruption and going through a breakup at the same time. When I read that, I really related to that. I had gone through something similar and come out the other side. So I was really connected to it personally. It’s also this big romantic comedy in New York, and I wanted to do something in that genre.
What was your collaboration like with Gabrielle Union as both the star and a producer?
When I met with her, it was such a really great meeting of the minds, because she told me she wanted to do something different inside of this genre, and I also wanted to put my own unique signature on this genre, while honoring all of the great rom-coms that I’ve been in love with my whole life. We both were really in alignment in terms of that. Even for a Netflix studio film, it was still kind of scrappy filmmaking in a lot of ways. She really got her hands dirty with it. We were all just doing everything we could to get the film made as big and beautifully as we envisioned it.
The references to classic Hollywood come from the novel, but was that something you gravitated to and wanted to expand on in the movie?
Oh, absolutely. A lot of my background is in visual art and video art. A lot of work that I’ve done is also about archival pieces or mixing together documentary footage with scripted footage. I’ve always liked having a little bit of mixed media in everything I do. So when I read that in the script, I immediately got really excited. It was important to me to look for those clips and be able to license those and have them be an added layer to the film. Because Jenna loves movies, and Eric loves movies, and they fall in love over their love of movies. Even though there’s this age gap, that’s really what brings them together. I feel like that’s so romantic and so meta at the same time, so I wanted to have those actual layers in there. And also for people to discover some of those films that have gotten lost along the way.
Are you hoping that this movie makes people more aware of Nina Mae McKinney and the other Black stars of classic Hollywood that you showcase?
I definitely plan on continuing to champion all of vintage Black Hollywood. It’s something that gives me great inspiration. I look at those women and the stars from that day as godmothers of mine unofficially, and as mentors of mine unofficially. I look up those quotes, I read about how they got through challenging times, and it gives me strength and inspiration. So to be able to honor them in the film is just a big cherry on top.
How do you make a romance feel authentic within the conventions of the rom-com genre?
I think what people have been missing is chemistry. They’re missing that pull and that excitement, the feeling of falling in love — the goosebumps. That was something I said, “We have to nail that.” It starts with the casting. We had Gabrielle Union, who’s a gorgeous icon. When Keith Powers came on board, that was the main thing I was looking for — how much ease do they have with each other? How much banter do they have with each other? What is the tinder of their chemistry? It was off the charts from their first meeting. Once I knew we had that, I knew we could go anywhere from there.
Are there any updates on Jezebel being made available again?
I would love Netflix to just put it back on the platform. They licensed it for three years, and I can’t believe how fast that three years went by. I’ve been actively doing what I can, because I would love it to be available right next to The Perfect Find as a double feature option. But we’ll see how that turns out.
Do you have any Vegas-related projects in the works?
I hope so. I have a TV series that’s set in Las Vegas that I’m hoping to get made after we get on the other side of this (Writers Guild) strike. There’s so much more that I’d love to do there. There’s still so much more to see. I have more stories to tell, more experiences I’d like to share from my stint there. It’s called Toxic, and it’s an erotic thriller series. We’re still deep in the development of it. It’s gone through a lot of twists and turns, but it is set in Vegas. It’s everyday working people in Vegas. It’s people who are in Vegas, but it’s not about the Strip.