“I Love Boosters” Cast on the 'Exhausting' Experience of Making 'a True Indie': 'It Was Hard' (Exclusive)
“I Love Boosters” Cast on the 'Exhausting' Experience of Making 'a True Indie': 'It Was Hard' (Exclusive)
Jack SmartTue, May 26, 2026 at 8:52 PM UTC
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(Left-right:) Naomi Ackie, Taylour Paige and Keke Palmer in 'I Love Boosters'
Credit: Neon
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Naomi Ackie, Taylour Paige and Keke Palmer talk to PEOPLE about their roles in the provocative new movie I Love Boosters
The trio recalls long days on set and working with writer-director Boots Riley in “true indie fashion,” as Palmer says
“We put in a couple 18-hour days,” says Paige, who recalls sleeping on the floor between takes
When Naomi Ackie callsI Love Boosters “a true indie,” that's both a badge of honor and a sign of its challenges.
Boots Riley's colorful new comedy (in theaters now), starring Keke Palmer, Taylour Paige and Ackie, 34, as a trio of shoplifters of luxury fashion, required rolling with the punches and all-in commitment from its cast, they tell PEOPLE.
“We were worked hard,” quips Palmer, 32, recalling filming long days in Riley's native Bay Area, where the story is set, and Atlanta. Made in “true indie fashion,” I Love Boosters often had its actors “just catching our breath,” she says.
Keke Palmer in 'I Love Boosters'
Credit: NEON
“When we were in between stuff, we would either be together talking or try to get a moment to sleep or nap,” recalls Palmer.
“You were in your chair, passed out,” Paige, 35, tells her. “It was exhausting… We put in a couple 18-hour days.”
A scene involving Paige swapping places with an uncredited Robin Thede — as a temporarily lighter-skinned version of Paige's character, able to get away with stealing a store's clothes — saw the actress ducking out of frame for hours on end. “I swear I slept like four hours,” the Zola star recalls, “on the floor.”
Yet at the same time, a movie with such ambition and big ideas — about capitalism, labor, the power of solidarity and creative theft — sparked “lots of thinking, lots of laughing,” as Paige says. “Deep talks, delirious talks.” (Or, as Palmer puts it, “gossipy.”)
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“I peed on myself a couple times because I was pregnant and laughing,” recalls Paige, who welcomed her son in May 2025. “I say they all helped to raise him in utero,” she quips. “He's so happy. And I swear it's because of you girls. It was so much love and joy [on set].”
The cast and crew of Boots Riley's 'I Love Boosters' at SXSW Film Festival on March 13
Credit: Brynn Osborn/Deadline via Getty
Riley's quirks, on camera and off, set the tone of the filming experience. Ackie recalls “little rubber unicorns” that the filmmaker apparently left around the indie film's set. “I stole one,” she admits.
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Ultimately, I Love Boosters also proved to be a true indie in that traditional Hollywood studios likely wouldn't greenlight Riley's wild ideas. “Hopefully afterward, you go have discourse, go have disagreements,” says Paige of what she hopes audiences take away from the film.
“We have to bring back critical thinking and the ability to hold multiple truths and the ability to agree to disagree, but with all due respect,” she adds. “We need to bring back flaws, bring back getting it wrong, bring back growth.”
I Love Boosters, costarring LaKeith Stanfield, Poppy Liu, Eiza González, Will Poulter, Don Cheadle and Demi Moore, is in theaters as of May 22.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
