British 'Skin' actress Sophie Okonedo

Sophie Okonedo has spent the past twenty years building up a stellar reputation as an actress, and this reputation is certainly well-merited: the RADA graduate was nominated for an Oscar in 2004, after all, for her role in Hotel Rwanda. And her latest project is based on real life as well: the upcoming movie Skin recounts the life of one Sandra Laing, a South African woman born during the apartheid era to white parents but forcibly classified as colored. In this interview she and I discuss preparing to portray Sandra, the importance of accents, and... vampires? Enjoy the article!

Hey, it’s great to meet you. How are you?
I’m fine, thanks; how are you?

I’m good! So I wanted to know—what attracted you to playing Sandra in Skin? Did they have you in mind specifically, or…?
I was sent the script and asked if I was interested in attaching myself to the film. And I read it and I thought it was a really extraordinary story; I just thought, “Oh my god, I can’t believe this is a true story,” and so I was initially attracted just by the content of the story, really.

So you didn’t know about Sandra or her life before—
No, I didn’t know anything about her at all. Everything was totally new to me.

Did you get to meet her while working on the film?
I got to meet her the night before we started filming, and then she came down to visit us a few times while we were filming. She’s really, really shy, so I didn’t research through her or anything like that.

But did you try to base your portrayal of her off of real-life accounts of her as a person or did you approach it like any other character?
Yeah, I just—exactly the second. I approached it like I normally would: just from the script and using my imagination. I didn’t try to do any sort of copy of her or mimic her in any way. I didn’t know her; like I said, she’s really shy, and so if I had just played it exactly as her it might have been less interesting to watch because she’s less vocal than the character in the script. I didn’t really do a hell of a lot of research, actually. I just knew the script really well and turned up and sort of just did it!

Well, in general, how do you go about getting into character for roles?
I just do it completely differently every single time; I don’t really have a set way. Like it all depends on how long I’ve got and what the part is, because most of the time I’m doing really, really low-budget movies and there’s no time; it’s like, “Okay, we’ve got the money, we’re doing it… we start next week!” [laughs] So I just run there and I do costume fittings and I just—shoot; action; go. You know. So I don’t really get a lot of time to think about what I’m doing, which I think is sort of a good thing. I think if I had to think about what I did too much I’d probably not be very good; I’d end up just thinking it through too much. So I just think on my feet. I just think in action. I just get raw gut visions about things and have a go, and if it’s not right then people will tell me, “Oh, don’t do it like that,” and I’ll do it a different way! [laughs]

Although recently you have had more of an opportunity to explore characters in movies with slightly higher budgets; I mean, you were in Secret Life of Bees recently.
Yeah, but that was really low-budget as well.

Oh, it was!?
Yeah. We shot it like in 35 days! [laughs]

Wow. I remember when the book came out it was like a huge deal and everyone I knew was reading it, so I just assumed…! [laughs]
Yeah, no, it was really low-budget. It did well, but it wasn’t made with that expectation. The thing is, I was talking to Gina [Prince-Bythewood, the director] on that for quite a long time because I knew it was probably going to happen, so I was actually doing some research on that one a while before. You know, just reading stuff and making sure I understood the context. I don’t know, maybe I’m selling myself short; maybe I do more than I let on. I don’t know. But I don’t really… when I read other actors talk about what they’re doing I’m like, “Oh my god, I’m really not doing much!” [laughs] You know, when they say, “I went off to upper Mongolia and became a monk for three months for the role.”

[laughter]
I mean, Jeez, Louise, I really don’t do anything like that! I just think about it a lot. But then I just carry on with my life, because I’m a mom and I’m doing all that sort of stuff. But then I’ll read through the script at night and I’ll just think about it. I try not to make any decisions about how I’m going to play those things; I just go there and then I just work off of everybody else, see what everybody else is doing, and see what the sets are like, what the costumes are like! [laughs] You know. But it would be fun to do something where—like I’m playing Winnie Mandela [in the upcoming TV film Mrs. Mandela] and that one required quite a lot more research because… she’s such a political person, and if I didn’t understand the politics of South Africa I’d kind of look like a moron! So I had to, like, get with it. So I did quite a lot of reading for that. But at the same time I really tend to just read, and then all this sort of just cooks in my imagination. I don’t really… I don’t think it’s that I’m lazy; I just don’t really… know what to do more than that! [laughs]

Well, if you try to force it, that’s going to come across. If you work better just by sitting and mulling it over, then…
Yeah! Although, for one, the accents do take time; you can’t just sit down and do an accent, you actually have to learn it. And it’s a long process. Although with The Secret Life of Bees I think we got that down in about three weeks or four weeks, so it wasn’t so long, but I had a really good dialect coach on that and he was there every day. But things are getting really bad now, and very often there aren’t any dialect coaches now on films; they can’t afford to pay for one. So instead you’re just… making it up! [laughs] I had to do that once; it was terrible. It was awful! But, yes, I had a dialect coach on Skin and she was really good.

I mean, I’ve never really had a very good ear for accent quality, but here in the States, especially in the South, they get so worked up if somebody gets the accent wrong. You should hear people talk about True Blood.
Really! [laughs] What is True Blood? I haven’t seen True Blood; is that out in America? Maybe it’s not out here.

It’s a vampire show set in a fictional town in Louisiana.
Oh, I think that’s just come out here! I haven’t seen it; my daughter is mad about vampires but I think that looks too adult for her.

Is she a Twilight fan?
Yeah, she’s a Twilight tween. She is a complete Twilight person.

You should introduce her to Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I think that’s a little higher-quality.
Oh, she loves Buffy. She’s seen it. That’s where it started, with the Buffy thing.

Yeah. I think Buffy is a bit higher-up in vampire quality.
Yeah. Yeah. Well, she loves Twilight—she’s read all the books and everything.

Yeah. …I mean, I have my own misgivings about Twilight, but this isn’t really the right…
[laughs greatly] Yeah. Well, I watched it for her. I know what’s going on.

Skin opens in theatres this upcoming Friday.

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'Free Style' actor Corbin Bleu

Corbin Bleu made his name doing Disney but he thankfully has the maturity of someone his own age, if not somewhat older, rather than an age more typical among fans of his early work. He seems to be doing a good job navigating Hollywood post-High School Musical; he was, after all, cast in Ashton Kutcher's racy television series The Beautiful Life (it was canceled after two episodes, sure, but the role was nevertheless a valiant attempt at departure for Bleu). His latest film Free Style sees a return to more family-friendly fare but, perhaps due to his brand-new influence as a producer, this project is set in a slightly more realistic world than that of your typical Disney Channel franchise: in once scene his character Cale attends a party at which there is (gasp!) drinking that neither constitutes a major plot point nor sets up an overwrought Aesop. And Bleu is down to earth and realistic... which is exactly what makes him such a pleasure to talk to.

Hey, how’s it going? I just heard The Beautiful Life got canceled—that sucks.
Yeah. It’s… you know. Yeah. [laughs] It happens; you move on; you go to the next thing. It was fun, though! I mean, I had a wonderful time working on it. It was perfect.

And it was a different sort of project for you, too.
Very, very different. Yeah. It was great to be able to let my fans see me in a different light—let all the audience see me in a different light. It was good! I got a chance to be out here in New York.

You like the city?
I love the city. I was born here in Brooklyn.

Really? Get out! I’m a Brooklynite.
Are you really? Where in Brooklyn?

I live in a neighborhood like right next to Park Slope. It’s right next to Prospect Park.
Cool! You know where Sunset Park is?

Yeah!
That’s where I grew up.

Nice, nice. I imagine that it’s nice coming back and visiting.
Yeah, it’s great. I love it. And, I mean, all my family’s out here. I have a lot of family out here.

So let’s talk about Free Style! What attracted you to this movie in particular?
Well, the script came in, and we read it… you know, it seemed like a wonderful project. Really what was fascinating was the motocross; I had never ventured into motocross before the film, and I started doing my research and I went to see—there are a few films that have come out that really sort of glammed up the sport, and we wanted to show the heart of it a little more. We wanted to really dig deeper and show it with authenticity, you know? You didn’t want to have the sound of a two-stroke when you watch a four-stroke going by; we wanted that to be real, and once—I got into it myself; I started going to all the races and really became a fan. And then… you know, also it’s a family film. You go to these races and all these families are there. It takes a lot of people to get these guys out there; it’s a very expensive sport and—

Well, yeah, you’ve got the bikes and the—
The gas—everything! Everything. Everything. And then transportation! I mean, you have to get those bikes from one place to the other, and it’s a lot.

And it’s a dangerous sport! It’s dirty and it’s noisy and people get hurt!
I know. So, on top of that, medical bills! [laughter]

Right, exactly! So I imagine you got to try it out yourself as you started preparing for the film?
I do; I started—I have a bike now and I ride all the time. I go to all the races, yeah.

That is too cool. And, you said it yourself, there have been quite a few films recently made about the sport and I imagine that you’ve seen them.
I have. And, you know, I think what makes us different is not only just the real bare-bones of the sport but also—the backdrop is motocross; it’s also really a story about this young guy and his pursuit and his persistence, and there are all these obstacles in his way; like I was saying before, this is an expensive sport and you have a lot of family there. And this guy whose father left him when he was a kid, who works two jobs just to put food on the table—he’s taking care of his mom and his younger sister, so for him to actually make it in the sport, I mean, it’s a lot. Then there’s a whole other layer of—obviously it’s an interracial mother and father. And he ends up getting introduced into the Mexican culture of his new girlfriend. So there’s another layer of that, playing into a little bit of the race factor as well, and—oh, race and race. [laughs] I just caught that.

[laughs]
No, but there are a lot of different layers to it and those layers also came about more so—they weren’t in the script originally and they developed the more we dove into it. And this is the first time I got to work behind the scenes; my production company was behind the film, so I was involved in casting, and once we cast Sandra Echeverria [who plays Cale's new girlfriend Alex] it turned out she was from Mexico and we got a chance to bring that into it; we wrote stuff into it for that, so it was a whole… you know, a whole organic process that just continued to build.

Yeah, I imagine it would be really cool to get to actually work on something behind the scenes after spending most of your time thus far working in front of the camera.
Yeah, it was great! One, you have a better grasp even on what you’re doing because you’re not in the dark.

You know how all the pieces fit together.
Right! You know how it all came together. Sometimes with an actor you only have your script and what the director might talk to you about, which isn’t even always the case—sometimes you don’t have a director that communicates that well. So for me to be on that end of it… I got a little insight into the project.

And I think, for people who really love movies and are already involved in one capacity, that’s the motivating factor that drives them to become multi-hyphenates: because that way they get to play more of a role in fitting the pieces together and get a better sense of what you’re doing for each job.
Yeah. Very true. Very much so. The more you work on any profession—you learn a lot about it as you go along, and the more you learn about it the more you want to venture into it and learn even more and bring what you can to the table. And this is something that I… I got a chance to bring some of my own thoughts into the project and I’m looking forward to future projects with my production company and taking the reins even more.

I know there are a lot of actors who become producers primarily to have more control over the projects they’re in, but do you have any interest in producing projects that—
That I’m not in? Absolutely. Absolutely, yeah. It’s all about the work. [laughs] It’s all about the part that gets put out. I mean, I love acting and I love getting the chance to be in films, but I might not necessarily be right for some of the films I want to put out there as well.

For this film you mentioned Cale and his sister being biracial and there being little touches like that. I thought it was really nice how this family film touched on such things, as well as showing Cale at a party where [laughs] people are probably drinking without hammering it over the head!
Yeah, right! Right, right.

It was just like, “Yeah, it’s there. Whatever! Moving on!”
[laughs] Yeah! I mean, you know, we wanted to make it a family film. We wanted to make it a family film. But. This stuff exists. Just because it’s a family film doesn’t necessarily mean that, you know, people don’t get angry. He does go to a party where there are people drinking. It’s more so about—even though he might be in these situations or have these things happening around him—it’s more a story about his work ethic. And I think that’s what’s going to speak out to the kids especially.

I did like when, at the party, [Cale's soon-to-be-ex-girlfriend] Crystal goes up to his best friend saying “Hi!” and she’s so obviously plastered. I cracked up.
[laughter] Awesome. Cool little insight: the guy who plays my best friend and the girl who plays her are brother and sister.

No.
Yes. So they had to… that whole scene where they’re kind of dancing with each other and she’s all over him… that was definitely some acting right there. [laughs]

Ooh. That is awkward. That’s awkward. But—not to make the obvious segue into High School Musical talk, but one thing that I always wondered about those movies with Ryan and Sharpay is… I mean, they’re related… how…?
[laughs] A little incestuous! Yeah, it's a little incestuous!

Not that the movies aren’t fun, but unfortunate implications much, Disney? Are you sure about that?
[still laughing] That’s the fun part about it. All those little… the things that go over most of the kids’ heads.

Parental bonuses.
Yeah. [laughs] They have to have something to watch there.

Exactly! There’s a page on this website TVTropes.org—it catalogues devices and tropes used in media and entertainment, and on the page for 'Parental Bonus' I’m pretty sure High School Musical is on there.
Is it? Is it really?

I think it is!
[laughs] That’s funny. That’s funny; I gotta check that out.

What else are you working on?
There are a few things. There’s actually a horror film, which is pretty cool. It’ll be fun. Nothing’s set in stone, but there are a couple projects, one for our production company and then a couple other films with different people that I’m looking into. And of course music. You know, always going to continue following the music. At this point in my life I only want to do music if it’s right. I don’t want to have to—

You don’t want to force it.
No. I don’t want to have to force it; I don’t want to have a deadline for an album to be out; I just want to go and make music at this point.

I read somewhere that for most Disney-affiliated actors they’re given the option of being able to explore music if they want to, so I imagine that’s a really cool opportunity.
You know, I had been doing music before I started with Disney, and the opportunity came along to sign with their record label. It definitely made it easier, definitely, because they do have that synergy. But everything just worked out. At the moment I just know the type of music that I want to do is not necessarily coinciding with that. We’ll see.

What kind of music are you—
I’m a huge rock fan. I want to explore rock more and really… just make good music! Just make music, yeah.

Like get a couple guitars and set up shop in the garage?
Yeah! You know, you look back and listen to the old recordings of the legends and you go “What about this has made it stand the test of time? Why?” Because they’re just playing. There’s so much soul in there; there’s nothing layered over it; there’s no electronic sounds and all that. As much as we’re in this new age where that’s the sound—and I think you need to use that because that’s what the ear is accustomed to now—

And there’s easy access, so there’s no reason not to if it can enhance what you’re doing.
Exactly! But I think the bare bones needs to be just the true, raw sound.

I have a question; have you ever listened to the Monkees?
Yeah! Of course!

Really!?
Yeah!

I love the Monkees. I grew up on them. The first TV show I ever watched was an old VHS of their show.
That’s so funny. Yeah, yeah! Of course. Absolutely.

Any other—the Beatles, of course, I’m assuming.
Mhm.

What else? Costello, maybe?
I’ve always been into… I mean, Michael Jackson, obviously. Prince—I’m a big fan of Prince. But I like old Guns ‘n’ Roses and Whitesnake… Metallica. I like a lot of hard rock.

Like AC/DC?
[in unison with me] I love AC/DC!

All right, it looks like they're kicking me outta here. But it was great talking with you.
Oh, likewise!

Free Style is now in theatres.
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'Jennifer's Body' writer Diablo Cody

There are very few writers in Hollywood who command name recognition. Perhaps the newest person to join their ranks is Juno scribe Diablo Cody, who has since gone on to helm the excellent TV show United States of Tara and pen the recently released horror-comedy film Jennifer's Body. Herein we talk about Bust magazine, being on Showtime, and the beauty of Heathers. Enjoy; it's a treat!

Hi, Diablo. How are you?
Oh, I’m good! I’m so excited to be talking to you.

Oh, this is great! You are?
Yeah, I think this is super cool.

Awesome. First of all, I’m thrilled that you’re psyched to speak with me, and I also wanted to say how thrilled I was when I found out you were on the cover of that recent issue of Bust.
[laughs] Thanks! Yeah, I was excited about that too. I’ve been reading Bust for so long; I had a subscription in college, and I was like, “I can’t believe I’m going to be on the cover.” I was so psyched. It’s good to have my interview sandwiched between, like, the erotica and the knitting instructions.

[laughs] I noticed your interviewer for that was somebody who writes with you on United States of Tara, so I imagine that was cool.
It was pretty cool! The funny thing about that is it was an entire coincidence: Jill [Soloway] had contributed to Bust before and they called her and said, “Do you want to interview Diablo Cody?” and she was like, “You mean Diablo who I work with?” And they were like, “What?” They didn’t even know that we work together and share an office.

[laughs] That’s awesome.
It was really strange, yeah! It was a happy accident.

So I know the second season of United States of Tara is coming up in January; what sorts of changes are there going to be in tone, in storyline…?
You know, I’m so glad you’re asking this, because actually I’m so incredibly excited about the way the show has grown and developed in the second season. We’re all happy with the first season and we’re all thrilled with Toni [Collette]’s Emmy nomination, but we wanted to really… to really kick things up a notch this season. And I thought last season the family was really isolated. They stayed in their house a lot; they didn’t really interact a lot with other people, which was necessary at the time, but I wanted to see—how does somebody with [Dissociative Identity Disorder] function in society? What are her outside relationships like? Do her alters have outside relationships? And also all the while Tara is pursuing radical new therapy; she’s on a new medication; she’s trying to suppress the alters, which may cause them to resurface in unpredictable ways… we’re dealing with Marshall’s sexuality, Kate’s sort of transition out of the house and into adulthood, and it’s just—it’s thrilling. I am more satisfied with the second season of Tara than with anything else I have ever written. I am so happy with it.

The way you’re describing it is kind of like how, with Sims 2, you’ve got the families all established in their houses and then Sims 3 takes them out into the neighborhood.
Yeah!

I’ll… be honest. I don’t have Showtime, so I watch the show online, and—
[laughs] You know what, the fact that you watched it at all I admire! [laughs]

I don’t like watching TV online, but I make an exception for you. So you should feel very, very flattered.
Yeah, I certainly do.

And I’ve really loved it, especially the character of Marshall. I think it’s really nice that there’s a show with a gay character that addresses it but doesn’t make a big deal out of the fact that he is gay. I mean, it’s not as if coming-out arcs don’t reflect what people really go through, but it’s interesting to find different ways of having a gay character and falling back on that.
Right. And that was in part how—we felt like the family was dealing with enough that we don’t think they would really be that razzed over their son being gay. [laughs] And, you know, we wanted to show them as a progressive, loving, supportive family. In season two I didn’t want to approach his sexuality in, as you said, this clichéd way where it’s a stupid big deal; at the same we did realize, as a teenage boy being gay in Kansas, he’s going to have some questions about… he’s going to start having relationships, and we have done some of that. Stay tuned!

Yes. It’s just nice to see that the confusion isn’t coming from the family for once.
Thank you for noting that. I appreciate it!

Speaking as a viewer, I appreciate that there’s a show like that in general! By the way, what were some of the influences in terms of tone or atmosphere or writing for this show?
It’s kind of a challenge because Tara is a half-hour show. Which… means it’s a comedy, pretty much. At the same time, it’s obviously not like a multi-camera sitcom where it’s a laugh riot. You know, it’s about a woman with a very real mental disorder. So… honestly, there weren’t a lot of textbooks for us. We always joke that we’re making the first traum-com. Traumatic comedy.

That’s good. I like that.
[laughs] So, honestly, I wish I could have plopped down with some other shows and gleaned some inspiration but it was a challenge. I think probably Weeds is our closest cousin… but, yeah, I think we struggled with tone more than anything on the show.

It’s good that you’re on Showtime, too, because networks like Showtime and HBO seem to give even more play room than other networks—I mean, out of necessity, but still.
Oh, you have no idea. We are so lucky to be on Showtime; it’s wonderful.

And you’ve got great company, too; there are some fantastic shows on Showtime—that I unfortunately don’t get to watch, but… [laughs] maybe someday.
Someday. Yes. Someday you will be a Showtime subscriber.

Yep. Counting down the…
[laughs]

I’ve got a non sequitur: did you ever watch Daria while it was on the air? Because you seem like you would have—
Yes, oh my god, I love Daria! I watched Daria religiously.

Are you psyched it’s coming out on DVD in 2010?
I’m extremely excited. Weren’t they having issues with the music rights and things? I even looked this up because I love Daria so much.

That’s what I thought it was because I… don’t know what else it could possibly be. But I’m so excited. I’ve been watching bootlegged episodes on YouTube for years.
[laughs] Yeah. I’m totally a fan of that show. I was in love with Trent.

Ah! I was so sad he and Daria never got together. I didn’t like Tom that much.
Yeah, I know. I think everybody feels that way.

What are some other TV shows that you like?
Oh, man. Well… here’s the thing, and it’s really shameful, but I really like reality television. I know that it’s bad and I know that it’s mindless. It’s a very nice way for me to relax my brain… and I also have this thing where I tend to really avoid scripted television because I’m afraid of being influenced. And it also makes me so incredibly insecure. [laughs] There are so many incredibly brilliant people out there working in TV right now! I think if I sat down and watched True Blood I would probably get a complex because I’ve heard it’s awesome.

It is awesome! It is awesome.
Yeah? Maybe I should just bite the bullet and go ahead and watch it.

Just give in.
I know! I mean, I’m telling you, I’m such a wiener. I constantly feel inadequate. Let’s see, what have I watched lately?

Look, there’s so much vampire-related stuff out right now that if you don’t watch True Blood you might have to make up for it by watching Twilight and nobody really wants that.
You know what’s so strange? I know Jennifer’s Body is not about vampires or anything, but it’s so odd to me that there’s this huge surge of interest in bloodsucking and all that stuff because, I don’t know, we just kind of fell into the record somehow.

And can I just say—I know, I know, I’m late to the game—but I just watched Heathers for the first time several weeks ago.
Isn’t that just the most wonderful movie ever?

It’s phenomenal! And I have such a crush on Jason Dean now, by the way.
Everybody does. Honestly, it’s so disappointing that he blew up at the end because… it’s such a… it’s such a waste.

I know, right? But while I was watching the film it occurred to me that it was probably a major influence on Jennifer’s Body.
Well, Heathers has been a major influence on my life. Heathers influenced Juno; Heathers influenced my wanting to be a writer; it’s influenced everything I do. Heathers influenced what I ate for breakfast today. [laughter] Which was not a brain tumor like the line in the movie. But—yeah. And talk about a movie that would really be able to walk the line between hilarious and horrific—it was masterful.

Yeah, it’s fantastic. And do you know—the when the international poster for Jennifer’s Body came out, with the title written across it like with lipstick or crayon or something, the first thing that came to my mind was “Oh! That looks kind of like the cover of Heathers! I bet everybody behind the film totally loves that!”
Oh, you want to know something? I actually haven’t seen the international posters! [laughs] I can’t wait to see it. I can’t wait to see it, and I wish I’d had a personal hand in art direction—I swear to god, the funny thing about doing this big studio movie is there’s so much happening all around me that I can’t even process all of it. Like I haven’t even seen all the marketing materials. I hear about commercials; I haven’t seen them. It’s funny that this is all being rolled out and I’m just like— “…Okay.”

You’re like, “Wait. Wai-wait—wait. The trailer premiered before which movie? Wait, there are posters where?”
Yeah! It’s like, I’m over here writing Tara, which is what I do every day, and meanwhile this Jennifer’s Body machine has come out. It’s pretty funny.

Well, the international poster looks like the poster of a future cult classic. It’s awesome.
Oh, I’m so excited. That’ll be the one that I get for my house. [laughter]

Do you have one of Juno up in your house too?
I don’t have one up in my house. I do have one in my house but it’s rolled up somewhere. I have something else from Juno up on my wall that’s sufficient. I have a record plaque of the soundtrack. It makes me feel like I’m on Cribs.

[laughs] And in case you aren’t up to date on the trailers, either, there are two: one is more focused on the horror and one plays up the comedy.
I’ve seen that. I prefer the funny one.

I saw both of them around the same time and the horror one looked interesting but I got the sense there was enough comedy in the movie that it might be a little misleading.
Absolutely. It’s not a straight horror movie. I’m okay if people think that because that generally means there’s an audience… [laughs] I’m fine with misleading the public!

[laughs]
But it is not a straight horror movie. It is not a Final Destination.

Yeah. It seems like a campier, more intimate kind of…
Campy and intimate are the perfect words to describe it and I want people to know that it’s the crux of the movie. The director Karyn Kusama and I both love camp and there are moments that—I hope people recognize that tone.

It’s an entirely different film from Juno but I’ve heard some of the dialogue and it’s still got a similar style even though it completely jumps genres.
Yeah, it’s kind of… it’s weird because in focus audiences half the audience says “Oh, this reminds me of Juno,” while the other half says “This was nothing like Juno! I was shocked.” So I really don’t know which it is.

What made you decide to go write a horror film after writing Juno and then working on Tara? I mean, it’s a complete departure, it seems like.
You know, I wrote Jennifer’s Body right after Juno. A few years ago. And it’s just… I love horror movies and I had finished Juno and I thought, “Alright… well, that was my first screenplay; I finished it… now I guess I can write screenplays!” [laughter] “What do I want to do?” And I wanted to do a horror film more than anything.

Are there other things that you kind of want to branch out and try or do you think you’ll stick to the fields you’ve already sort of dipped your feet into?
I wouldn’t mind writing, like, an intimate family drama. You know, I love dysfunctional families, and I adore The Royal Tenenbaums and all those kinds of movies. And I would definitely like to write another horror movie—maybe even something more hardcore.

Maybe even something super-low-budget, with bad special effects on purpose and dialogue so corny it has to be heard to be believed? Something like that?
[laughs] I think I would enjoy that, yeah. But other than that I think I’m probably going to stay in the black comedy area for the most part.

Jennifer's Body is currently in theatres.
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ROUND-TABLE: 'Bright Star' actress Abbie Cornish

In the past two weeks of Bright Star content I have already spoken glowingly about the film and the efforts of those who worked on it; I have spoken on its brilliance as a period piece that transcends the period in which it is set and I have remarked on the truly magnificent performances that populate this work. Perhaps the most incandescent such performance in the film (and, as I have by now made clear, this is no light praise) is that by Abbie Cornish, who plays Keats' beloved Fanny Brawne with some of the most incredible deftness and honesty I have seen in a very long time. Her portrayal of Fanny is truly an incredible feat of acting, as is consistent with many of her previous film performances, and it is an honor to have gotten to speak with her about Bright Star.

How did you get into this gorgeous piece?
I read the script and instantly I was swept off my feet. And I was lucky because I did my audition with Jane [Campion] which was about two hours long.

What was the audition?
Oh, the audition for Bright Star. It was about two hours long and it was just myself and Jane and the composer of the film, Mark Gretcher, and he’s a young guy: he was about twenty-five at the time, so the same age as Keats and so it was that energy, and it was a really nice day. It didn’t feel as though it was a heavy audition; it felt more like a workshop than anything else. And I was the first person Jane saw and then she went around the rest of the world and auditioned people and then she came back to the beginning and gave me the job.

I think she was impressed with your Australian-ness! She was saying something about Australians being raised to be less submissive. Do you find that to be true?
Yeah, I guess so. A lot of Aussie girls—I don’t know why, though. I grew up in the country, I grew up on a farm and with a brother two years older and one two years younger, so I was riding horses and driving motorbikes and cars when I was eleven, twelve years old. Racing around the alley track behind the house. Frees your, uh, your spirit, y’know? [laughter] And even city girls, a couple of my girlfriends who are from the city, they are definitely sure of themselves and know what they’re doing. I don’t know what it is.

How much of that did you bring to Fanny?
I mean, you bring as much as you can of yourself to a character, I think, and there’s always so much to figure out that you don’t know and so whenever you can bring things that you do know it’s like “Whew!” It makes it a little easier. Each day at work when I was looking at scenes, some of them you understand them, they just make sense, they don’t require much work. And then there’s other ones where you sit there and are like “Okay, how am I going to do this?” You scratch your head and you have to read and you have to research and talk to people. You have to sympathize with scenarios like it and it just takes a little more work.

It’s actually so interesting that Fanny is so headstrong independent and sure of herself just because she grew up in a time that encouraged people to be docile. So how did you really see her in the context of her society?
Well, I think I first studied that whole world and historically what it was like and then I went on the journey of exploration of the character and found Fanny Brawne, regardless of that time. I jut found her and who she was and then put her in the context of that time. And that was kind of the fun part, having this girl and putting her in this scene with her mum and her mum saying “No, you can’t do this,” and it’s like—how does she feel, how does she react to that? Because for me, there’s so much integrity in her character and she just understands what’s going on around her. She’s not stupid, and she knows what she can’t do and why she can’t be with Keats but it doesn’t mean that she won’t be with him. It’s not going to stop her. And I enjoyed her journey because it’s just one that was so pure and full of love and so compelling but at the same time there were all these things being thrown at her. And she just keeps going, and I love that about her.

You have to express so much and there’s so much passion and so like a touch and just really chaste kisses and so I’m wondering if there were notes you took or the way you looked at each other and how you expressed that passion in as minimal ways as possible.
I don’t feel like we overanalyzed; I feel like that stuff just was. And because everything was in its right place, you know, the set, the crew, the costumes, the hair, the makeup, all of that seemed so real. And Ben [Whishaw] became Keats, he was Keats from the very beginning, and I felt like Fanny Brawne, and so when you put that together those moments just come organically. And we knew in the script if it said “Keats reaches for Fanny Brawne’s hand,” that was such a simple direction.

Ben was saying something about sitting next to each other and just naturally putting your hand on his knee and Jane saying “…No.”
Yeah, there were one or two times—because Ben and I just loved each other, as well, so it was easy to… plus, the intensity of the love story between them. But that was in the scene where he’s just about to leave for Italy and they’re having tea and they’re discussing his trip and they’re sitting in the windowsill and I felt really strongly about having my hand on his knee. I still did it, I think! [laughter]

So do you have a favorite line or piece of Keats’ poetry that’s in the film or even not in the film?
‘Bright Star’. I just love that poem. And I spent so much time learning it and investigating it, and it really took on its own life within me, and still today it’s such a gorgeous piece of work. And I really love the sixth verses in ‘Ode to a Nightingale’, but my favorite poem as a whole is ‘Bright Star’.

The process of getting into this film, as a period piece or even as a film in general—how did that differ from other, maybe modern set films?
Each film that I’ve done seems to be a journey in itself, regardless of whether it’s a contemporary film. So if I compare it to Elizabeth: The Golden Age, which was also a period film, it’s so different. Even when I compare contemporary films I’ve done they’re different. And so Bright Star was a whole thing of its own, but it was very… The making of this film was very intense; it was very gentle, sensitive, full of life. It was a pretty amazing experience, really.

Is that something you find—you’ve worked with some amazing female directors who’ve raved about you, and so I’m wondering if there’s a comfort level in working on the female set.
I love working with females but I love working with males too.

Is there a different energy?
I think, yeah. You’re working with female energy, which is just different somehow, it just is. But I know working with Jane on Bright Star, she’s an incredible person. Very sensitive. So intertwined with what was going on. I know there’s a couple of scenes that Ben and I did together and I think the first AD called cut because Jane was glued to the monitor, just totally tears dripping down her face… [laughter] And so the first AD would call cut and Jane was just, like, in the scene with us. You know, the invisible person in the scene. It was so amazing. It’s so nice to have a director that invested in what they’re doing.

Do you find that more with females than with males?
Yeah, well, I’ve never seen a guy crying at the monitor! [laughter] No, Shekhar Kapur reminds me of Jane because of how incredibly visual he is and wise and also such an awareness of what’s in front of him and what’s going on to the most minute detail. And, again, he’s male, so it was different, but similarities in direction.

I sort of adore the cat in the movie. [laughter] Between the cat and the butterflies you kind of have these scenes where you’re just completely over the moon. Was there anything that sort of surprised you about the results? Because it seemed as though it came from a very quiet place.
I'm sorry, anything about—

Seeing it onscreen, like, with that little scene-stealing cat. [laughter]
Well, you know that scene where Fanny Brawne’s, like, threatening to take her own life with the… little knife? [laughter] And just the cat’s there. So I think that was the second take and the cat just started trying to kill this butterfly on the wall! [laughter] and it got to the point where it had this butterfly in its hands and I’ve got to do something, because I’m an animal lover and I’m not having this butterfly die on set with me! And then I’m sort of like “No, Topper!” [laughter] And we finished the whole take and it was kind of fun too. I love stuff like that, the things that you don’t expect. Working with Heath Ledger [on the film Candy] was like that. He was always in the moment, capturing whatever it was that was around him. But, yeah, when we finished the take we giggled for a while and then Jane was like “That’s it, we’ve got it, sit down.” And there he stole the show, totally.

Well one of the things I like about Fanny is you see the layers to her; she’s not just this spunky, free spirit. She’s a teenager. And sometimes she gets stalkerific over Keats and petulant and bratty, and… I wonder, what were your notes for her in those sort of younger, more spoiled bratty moments? Was that you as a teenager, like, “I’m not leaving this guy alone”?
I think it was a number of teenagers. Parts of me, parts of my little sister, parts of friends, friends’ kids, Jane’s daughter, Jane. I don’t know, little bits of everything, but also too I think a key for me to Fanny was just to let it be. Don’t judge her, don’t let her judge herself, let her just act and react and feel. You know what I mean? Because I think a teenager can be like that. It’s just however I feel, whatever’s happening, it’s like “Blah! This is how I feel! This is what I want! This is what’s happening to me.” And as we get older we learn to understand how to react in a situation, how to think about it, contain our emotions, try to process things in a certain way, and so I kind of just removed that whole adult aspect of it.

It’s very interesting to see her come up against Brown, who is so protective. I’ve been asking everybody “What’s your take on that relationship?” because you can read it so many ways. And to be a teenager with this guy who’s just defending him, how did you deal as Fanny with that?
Well, that’s sort of a tough question to do also because there are lots of teenagers who wouldn’t know what to do in a situation with a guy like that. Especially when he sends her the Valentine’s letter, that strange sexual tension, which is really weird. Particularly for a young girl who hasn’t had sex before, who’s barely probably held a hand with a guy or kissed a guy on the cheek. It’s kind of really strange and weird. But I liked—and Jane was adamant about her charisma and her sort of vibrancy in the beginning of the film and really wanted to put that in there, and for me too as an actor I knew that I had a limited amount of time to show that because once the love becomes painful, once Keats starts to get sick, I don’t have time to show that side of her! At all. And so that was important in the beginning too but, yeah, I think she was just like that. I think she was really strong and really knew who she was.

Do you think teenage girls will sympathize with Fanny? Do you think they’ll empathize?
Yeah, I think they’ll sympathize and empathize. I can’t wait to show my little sister this movie.

How old is she?
She’s fifteen. And I can’t wait to show my mum and my dad and everyone, but just particularly for young girls I really hope that they can watch it and see it and get a sense of what love is about and maybe it will allow them to be who they are and understand themselves, because I think in this world today it can be confusing for a young girl. And I think it always is, it can be confusing going through that phase, but the accessibility, and how everything on the internet and the television, there’s so many choices. Do you know what I mean? It’s sort of like, “Well, which way do I go?” and at the end of the day there’s a strong purity and a core that I think the film explores. So I hope that that’s what young girls will get out of this.

Well, I think that—I mean, I’m sixteen and I thought that is was very accessible.
Are you sixteen?!?

Yeah.
No way! [laughter] That’s crazy!

Yeah, I felt it was really accessible and I keep on commenting about how modern and relatable it feels because it really did—a lot more than any sort of period film I’ve seen.
Oh, wow, that’s great!

Before you go away, what about future projects? You’ve got a very male project coming up. [laughter]
Yeah, male in direction but full of chick characters!

How is that, is it fun?
It’s so much fun. Yeah, Vanessa [Hudgens] is such a sweet girl. I love her. She’s so self-possessed. She’s gorgeous. It’s a film called Sucker Punch; Zack Snyder’s directing it.

It’s superhero-ish, right?
Yeah—well, it kind of has its moments. It’s drifting out of worlds, so it’s the story of five girls who try to escape a psych ward in the sixties and then the film goes into this kind of sub-reality kind of burlesque world and every time they try to escape it goes into a dream world. So it’s really trippy, you know.

Bright Star is in theatres now. Run, don't walk, to your neighborhood cinema.
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