The first thing I noticed about Monaghan, a former model turned actress, is her natural beauty. But once I had finished swooning like a teenager, I was immediately infected by her upbeat attitude and bubbling personality. She beams a perpetual smile and exudes a certain enthusiasm you rarely see from Hollywood talent, especially in the midst of an ongoing press tour, and it was refreshingly honest.
We riffed about the difficulty of reinventing and reliving a role that repeats itself, the science behind the source codes, what sort of movies she enjoys watching and making, and a bit about her upcoming films,Machine Gun PreacherandBetter Living Through Chemistry.
(Stay tuned for our interview with Vera Farmiga, Jake Gyllenhaal, screenwriter Ben Ripley, and director Duncan Jones!)
Did you see the movie last night for the first time?
Michelle Monaghan: It was not my first time. But it was my first time with an audience, which was so awesome. You know, it makes a world of difference. It’s so great, because when you watch it on your own, of course you know the story and the jokes aren’t funny to you anymore because you did them a thousand times. Maybe they weren’t even funny the first time. But last night was so great because the audience was really enthusiastic. It was a really warm reception. I really felt like the audience got it and it was great. So I was really excited.
Can you talk a little bit about what it was with the script that really attracted you to the project?
Monaghan: I think, initially I was really struck at what an original idea it was. From an actor’s point of view, the role of Christina, I thought it was just gonna be a really cool exercise and performance, and a real challenge. It felt really daunting to me initially and then I got really really intrigued. I especially became more intrigued after I spoke to Duncan. We Skyped and for meit became very apparent that he wanted it to be character driven more than anything. I haven’t really ventured into sci-fi as a genre. I’ve done a lot of other things, but sci-fi was not one of them. So I really thought,“Wow. Why not go on this endeavor with somebody as cool, young and energetic as Duncan Jones?” He’s great at telling a story. So I thought if anybody can do it… I don’t necessarily think it could work in anybody’s hands, it was difficult material for all the actors I think. It was a really fun. It was a really fun experience. It felt like we were making a student film a lot of the time. Because we were just sitting in this commuter train, that one car, and we would huddle and work it out, each source code, and it was really fun. It was really cool.
You basically had to do the same scene 12 different times or something like that, what kind of challenge did that bring?
Monaghan: That was the challenge. The first source code was the most challenging source code. Fortunately we got to shoot them chronologically. That was a luxury you don’t have in any film. So that was cool. But the first one was really really important because everything was going to be set in stone from that point on. So working out the choreography for that for all the actors on the train was really long and hard.
Also, Jake’s and my character and I are really disconnected at that point. So from a performance standpoint that wasn’t something that I had ever come across, where you’re not supposed to connect with the actor.
So that was hard, but then it was just a matter of Duncan and I during the rehearsal process coming up with an idea of how I wanted each source code to be tonally. Out of example, the first source code I really wanted her to be a bit mysterious, almost more like Hitchcock. So there was a certain posture, a certain voice. There’s a certain direct eye contact that was sort of unwavering. Then everything started to kind of loosen up as they started to connect a little bit more. Duncan and I were always talking about it to make sure we were always on the same page. So there would be an arc by the end of it.
It’s amazing at the beginning of each source code you still manage to have the same smile and deliver the same line the same way. Was that difficult for you, did you have a mirror you would look into?
Monaghan: No, because, you know, for continuity. I mean, there was always like“Yes, my leg was here. Yes, I took that.” That’s why the choreography, the technical stuff, is really challenging, and if you go back there are little different variations of“I took your advice, it was very good advice” and then there’s another one. I don’t want to do line reads, but it was like“It was good advice” and then I left out very or it was“very very good,” just little different things that would help, because that was the one line that kind of then made the whole rest of it come together. So always trying something subtle. That was the thing, the challenge of doing something subtle and nuanced, but not too much that it kind of threw the audience.
Did you do any research into the science behind it?
Have you ever been to South by Southwest before?
Monaghan: No, and this is awesome. It’s so funny, I meant to go. My friends and my husband have been down here, and I meant to come down here, this trip, as a fan. Then the movie came down here. So now I’m not. I mean I’m down here as a fan, but I don’t have time to see anything, unfortunately. So next year I’ll be down here as a fan.
But as a filmmaker how’s the vibe for you?
Monaghan: Oh my God, it’s amazing. Seriously, I’ve been to a few film festivals and this has got much energy and it’s really young. We just did a Q&A and I was so excited because there was an editor there asking questions and a composer. There was a writer. An actor. Everybody was sort of in their own creative field and everybody’s here really representing film. Everyone’s real appreciative of it. It’s not real critic heavy, I don’t think. I don’t know maybe their hiding out there somewhere. It just feels like a nice supportive environment. It’s a nice festival.
As an actress do you get to watch a lot of movies just for fun? Is that a way you unwind or do you do other things?
Monaghan: Yeah, you know, honestly I really like documentaries a lot. I’m really a big fan of documentaries. So it’s really a big toss up when I go to the movies because, first of all, I have a kid so we don’t go to the movies that much anymore. It’s usually between this movie or a documentary, and probably 7 out of 10 times the documentary wins.
What have you seen recently that you liked?
Monaghan: Inside Man, I love. As far as a documentary. {I believe she meant Oscar winnerInside Job.} As far as a film, my favorite film of last year was the Aussie film,Animal Kingdom. LOVE that movie. LOVE. I want to work with that director very badly.
Now that you’ve done science fiction are you getting a lot more science fiction scripts? Are you open to doing more science fiction movies?
Monaghan: Yeah, I’d be open to doing it. Definitely. I don’t think I’ve received any. Oh, I just did receive one, I haven’t read it yet. But I’m excited to read it. And it’s very sci-fi. It’s kind of a sci-fi love story. Oh, I haven’t done that before, have I? But yeah I’m always open. I always just wanna do stuff that’s kinda new and interesting and challenging. You know, just depends on the material. If it’s a drama, if it’s a little indie, if it’s studio, comedy, action, any of that stuff, I’m down for it.
We were talking to Ben {Ripley} earlier about infusing humor into the script, and balancing the characters. You’re part of the group that had to keep doing it over and over, how difficult was it on set to keep it fresh, to keep it funny, but keep it from going Groundhog Day?
Monaghan: Do you know what it was? It was so important. Duncan was really smart. It’s a film that knows it’s a movie, so it doesn’t take itself too seriously. The improvisation became easier as the source codes moved on because we were able to free ourselves up from the story once the puzzle pieces started to come together.
I think there was one day, it was the end of the source code, and there’s this scene in the movie where Jake’s like,“Do you wanna go get a coffee?” It’s the profile shot. And we were just like,“Oh my God, this is so ridiculous, get her a coffee already!” It’s like it’s the same thing. And we were like,“the audience is gonna buy this?” Then he’s always like“I’ll be right back” and we’re like“this poor girl.” That long suffering girl. 
But those are those sorts of things, but that actually worked. But last night, people laughed at that! And I was like,“Oh my God, they got our joke.” So it felt really good, because they got the moments of levity. We knew by that time, people would be clued into the facts. The instincts were right. So that’s really encouraging. So Duncan had those instincts from the very beginning and so did Jake. There are very subtle things where just the way he moved or the delivery… he’s a very smart actor. I think I answered your question, but maybe not.
Had you familiarized yourself with Duncan’s previous work, Moon?
Monaghan: Oh yeah, that was a movie that I had saw, I think, right when it came out, and I was just blown away. Like really blown away. And Sam Rockwell, holy cow. I mean he’s just amazing. He’s just amazing in everything. He’s a phenomenal actor. So I was really excited. That was definitely one of the ingredients that drew me to this role for sure.
Did he meet your expectations of did he surprise you?
Monaghan: He totally surprised me in the sense that he’s such a great collaborator. And I say that in the sense like he had the technical aspect down. He definitely had a vision for it. For me, you can tell me something is gonna explode and you look at the green screen, so you do that and there’s a big explosion, you’re like“ahh!”
Speaking of special effects, how did it feels to see your face basically get melted off?
Monaghan: No, but that really happened! You know when you see that scene where I’m like… That really happened cause they put a wind thing on me. This thing where it’s like really fast and it shoots and it fits like this… {mimes a cover to her face}. It was the last night of filming and they brought in the special effects to do that and they were like “you don’t want to do that do you?” I was like “of course I wanna do that, that’s awesome!” So they did it. We probably did it 4 or 5 different times and they used it. I forget how slow they played it back. It was seriously the ugliest thing. Everybody was like“Ohhh my God” cause it was like my lip was like over my nose, my gum was like that. Then they paused it and I was like “holy shit I need braces.” I need braces, I had no idea. It was the craziest thing. I must have been red for like 2 hours. But it was a really fun effect to do, I’m glad they asked me to do it. Then when I saw it in the movie I was like, “wait a second, I didn’t think they were actually gonna use it.” I thought there were going to fix my lips, you know? But it was cool that they left it like that. It’s neat cause that’s really how we shot it. It was cool. It was really really cool.
What’s up next for you now?
Monaghan: I’ve got a film coming out in the fall which I’m really excited about. A drama, based on a true story, Mark Forster directed it. It’s starring myself, Michael Shannon and Gerard Butler and it’s amazing. So excited.
Is that Machine Gun Preacher?
Monaghan:Machine Gun Preacher, yeah. It’s great. I just saw it couple weeks ago and I’m really excited about it. Then I’m gonna shoot a little indie with Jeremy Renner in the fall, or in August, summer, calledBetter Living Through Chemistrywhich is a small little, cool, awesome, indie. Jeremy is awesome.
What’s your advice to actors?
Monaghan: Perseverance, man. From the beginning to someone at my success, or lack thereof, whatever it is. I’m such a firm believer in that. You have good days and you have bad days, and just let it roll right off your back. You can’t dwell. I don’t dwell. Maybe if people were booing last night, I might not be over it today. But tomorrow I’d be on the plane back to my daughter and my husband and I’d be ok. But perseverance, in any field, but especially in any creative field.
Since you have a kid now, do you have any interest in doing a children’s movie or animation?
Monaghan: Big time. Big time. I just found out that I might actually get to do Sesame Street with Elmo. Honestly I think it might be one of the best days ever because, if I get to bring my daughter, it will just be the coolest thing ever. Anytime she gets pissed off or upset I’ll just push“play.”
Комментариев нет:
Отправить комментарий