Read
Part 1 here
/ Hugo
Weaving
/ James
McTeigue
It’s
not every day that you get to meet the fantasy woman of many a
fanboy in real life, so excited was I, when I was sitting in a room,
around a roundtable along with a handful of other webmasters,
waiting for the lovely Natalie Portman, also known as Padme from the
STAR WARS flicks, Mathilda from the very awesome THE PROFESSIONAL
and hottie young temptress Marty from BEAUTIFUL GIRLS, to arrive,
rest her rump around our table and respond to questions that we had
for her, regarding the film she was shooting in London, entitled
V FOR VENDETTA.
As
the door to the room opened, I could see a cute, shy 15-year old
razor-head boy standing outside, smiling, and then slowly walking
over to our table. Of course, it only took me about 2 1/2 seconds to
realize that this “cute, shy boy” was actually Sam, the love
interest from Zach Braff’s GARDEN
STATE, aka Natalie Portman!! Yes, she was slight and waify in real life,
with her head completely shaved for her role as Evy in the film, but
still looked quite gorgeous as her perfectly attuned facial features
would attest.
As
she sat down, she looked over at me, winked a big wink, and
gesticulated something with her lips that seemed to say “Meet me
in my hotel room later…room 1411”, but in reality, it was actually
a cough, and something caught in her eye. Anyway, she was in great
spirits and fielded all of our questions like a champ, including the
ones about the firing of a fellow actor from the picture and my
fanboy query about the possibility of THE PROFESSIONAL 2! Here’s
what came out of our 20-minute session.
Note:
This interview took place in June of 2005.
Natalie
Portman
So
what attracted you this script? Did you ever read the comic?
I
read the comic after I read the script and I was just, I really
think it’s, it’s an action movie and a graphic novel that talk,
that make you think a lot about violence, how we categorize
violence, how we differentiate between state violence and individual
violence, and how we define terrorism and all of that, and I think
it’s really relevant issues, and after I read it, it just made me
think so much about all of my pre-conceived ideas about all of these
topics.
So
it’s a comedy then?
<laughs>
Exactly! There are actually comedic parts in it. I think you have
to. It’s a world, and when you’re creating a world, there’s
always light, you’re not gonna feel the heavy parts, unless you
feel the light parts too.
When
you look at the differences between the graphic novel and the final
screenplay, what do you think are some of the improvements that they
made?
I
don’t know about improvements, but it really keeps to the graphic
novel, it keeps the integrity of the story and a lot of the dialogue
is direct. I think probably the really impressive thing that Andy
and Larry did when adapting the graphic novel into the screenplay
was just how to find just 1 story, you know, the graphic novel takes
place in 3 parts. And there’s several different storylines that
are wonderful in a graphic novel, but in a movie, you would have
people sitting around all day, or you can make a trilogy if you
wanted to, but to make it into one movie, I think, the effective
thing with their adaptation had to do with, how to consolidate it,
take out character threads that we distracting, that kind of thing.
But I think it’s pretty true to the graphic novel.
It’s
a very British graphic novel. And it’s sort of more difficult in
its British-ness than something that’s a period piece. Do you feel
that the screenplay has preserved that?
Yeah,
I think it is definitely a British piece, but I think something that
is strong about it, is that it also speaks to
America
, and the American political situation right now, not to mention
everywhere else in the world where there’s politic unrest or
anything of the like. I think it’s important that it takes place
in a specific time and place, and I think with the art direction,
production design, and direction and acting, we are keeping it very
British, in terms of you know where the story take place, but I
think, also trying to give it the feel that it has a universal story
that isn’t specific, that it couldn’t only happen in England.
A
lot of times with movie adaptations of books, the original authors
will say that they didn’t like, but there’s something a little
different happening with this one, as the writer of the graphic
novel doesn’t want the movie to be continued—if he could stop
it, he would. How does that make you feel?
I
have no idea. I really don’t know about that. I know that all of
us making this, I can obviously only speak for myself, we are
obviously huge fans of the graphic novel and want to be as true to
it as possible, and hope that it pleases Alan Moore because all of
us are such fans of his, and obviously we’re so inspired by what
he wrote to work on this.
Have
you read any of his other works?
No,
I’m not a big comic, graphic novel type of person, but I didn’t
even realize so much about that whole world until this film. I never
thought that they actually had…real stories <laughs> I was
completely ignorant about it. It was really impressive to see
something that had such a serious intellectual side that was also,
beautifully drawn and realized.
The
piece is so dark, does it feel like it’s a PG-13 movie right now
or do you think it will be R?
I
don’t know what it will be, but it’s “adult themes”—not
meaning pornography themes, not “adult” that way, but
“adult”, grown-up themes.
The
“shadow gallery” is a really impressive part of the graphic
novel, it’s a surreal place, how was the set in
Berlin
?
The
set is incredible.
Can
you describe it a little bit?
I’m
a moron with architecture terms <we all laugh>, so I’m not
even gonna try, but it’s got these domed ceilings, and all of this
modern stuff back to Rembrandt, with old records, pianos,
chandeliers, this amazing huge world that they made, and obviously
books everywhere, just like the graphic novel.
What
about the character really appealed to you? Evy herself is a pretty
demanding part in the graphic novel.
I
think it’s because she starts off as this passive character, which
is like the “everyman”, who’s just sort of like “the
government’s pretty horrible, but I’m just gonna try and keep my
head down, go forward, go on with my life and let it work”, and
she gets swept up into this by accident, and then slowly learns to
understand the political situation and that she has to become
active. So it’s a really exciting arc, someone getting their
political consciousness. And it’s strange, I mean it’s bizarre,
the way that all comes about.
Did
doing this make you re-examine your own political ideologies or was
it just a movie?
Definitely,
I think the biggest thing for me is, I mean, we have so many ways of
categorizing violence, which I talked about before, look at our
legal system the difference between manslaughter and first-degree
murder or the difference between a hate crime and a regular crime
and what are the differences between these. And then you look at
something like the difference between a terrorist act and George
Washington blowing up, during the American Revolution, fighting
against the British Army. These definitions are such fine-line
definitions and ultimately, for me, violence is “all bad”
<laughs>, and it’s sorta of weird to categorize it, as
it’s arbitrary sometimes and obviously we have “good violence”
and “bad violence”.
And
something that George Lucas was saying when we were doing all the
press for STAR WARS, he said that “Bad people usually think
they’re doing something good, they usually think they’re doing
it for the right reason”, it’s not like they’re like “I’m
bad!” <laughs>, they usually do have their reasons for it.
So if we can justify violence for our reasons, we have to understand
that other people justify violence for their reasons. I think it
ambiguates our whole conception of violence. And for this film, I
re-watched “The Weather Underground” documentary and there’s
an interesting part where a member of “The Weather Underground”
was talking about how in America, we tend to think of state violence
as the only legitimate violence, and any violence other than a
government-Army type violence, we think of as criminal or insane,
only criminals or insane people commit that type of violence.
And
obviously at that exact same time, we have our history is littered
with martyrs that we’ve created, of people who just as our
so-called enemies have right now, people who we say are fighting
against injustice and used violence to overcome injustice. So it’s
at the same time, an accepted means, the most detested means to
overcome injustice.
How
was it for you, as an actress, we all know that the lead actor was
replaced at some point [actor Hugo Weaving replaced James Purefoy
about a month into shooting], to deal with that?
It’s
difficult because James, who was originally playing V, is a
wonderful actor and a really wonderful guy, and Hugo obviously is
amazing as well. They’re both just fine people and fine actors, so
it’s difficult, but it’s been smooth and it’s been a very calm
transition, it wasn’t as traumatic as it was just that stuff
wasn’t working, they were trying to figure it out and it happens
sometimes on movies.
And
for you, as an actress?
Well,
obviously they’re both amazing, but each in their very unique
ways, so it’s challenging and it’s also hard, because it’s
surprising, but, uhhmmm, but it’s been wonderful with both of
them. And also I think the director’s relationship with both
actors is also very good and kind. I mean, it wasn’t like there
was any nastiness involved, they were just trying things out because
it’s so tricky—I mean, the guy is in a frozen mask during the
whole movie, it’s virtually impossible to pull off. I think they
needed to try out different things.
How
was it for you, acting against a mask?
When
you have a great actor beneath the mask, it’s amazing how much can
come through. Also, it’s part of my character that she’s also
dealing with someone in a mask, it’s different then working, for
instance, STAR WARS with a blue screen and an “X” tape, because
then you’re trying to imagine something actually moving, but with
my character in this film, she’s always wondering “What’s
going on behind there? What does he look like? Who is he?”. That
whole feeling is always there, so you use it.
Is
there a lot of CGI in the film?
Not
for me, there was virtually no blue screen in the film. But there
will be a lot of effects but I think a lot of it will be put in
later, there’s some blue screen stuff, but I can say that I only
did about 3-4, shots even, not even whole scenes. There’s a lot of
action, but they’re shooting it “for real”, most of it.
How
did the comic book influence how you see the character and how she
moves?
You
definitely get a sense of her physicality and facial expressions and
all of that, from the comic book. Then again, my character is
probably the most changed from all the characters, first of all,
I’m older, in the graphic novel she’s 16, and now I’m 22 in
this, so that’s one difference obviously. First night as a street
walker in the graphic novel, but in the film, she just has a regular
job at a television station. So I can take clues, but not base it
exactly on her, since the character has been altered somewhat.
It
seems like a lot of actresses after they get Oscar nominations, they
move into more of a genre film. What informed you to take this kind
of role, although you probably signed on to this before your
nomination…
Yeah,
I had signed on to this before the nomination. I just want to do
something different because I get bored really easily and I need to
something completely new and interesting to me, to stay as focused
as I like to be with my work. I always try to do something
different. Every film that I do, I try to make it the opposite of
the last thing I did, or as far as the last thing I did as possible.
Any
truth to the rumors about THE PROFESSIONAL 2? Where’s that at?
No,
but I wish there was! I would love to do it, but as far as I know,
as far as anyone has talked to me about it, it's only from online
rumors. Cause I talk to Luc [Besson] all the time, the director [of
THE PROFESSIONAL] and he has never mentioned it to me. And I tell
him that if he directed it, I would do it in a second, but –
When
is he going to direct again at all?
I
think he’s directing a children’s film right now…an animated
film called ARTHUR AND THE MINIMOYS.
Are
the reconditioning scenes as grueling as they were in the book?
They’re
pretty tough. It’s always hard to say before you see a movie cut
or anything, since I don’t know how much will be left in or
anything like that. But what we shot, is pretty rough.
How
did you like the attention that GARDEN STATE received?
I
was really, really proud of it and was one of the most fun things
I’ve ever gotten to work on, and I mean Zach [Braff] is so
talented, it was all him, obviously—he wrote it, he directed it,
he starred in it. It speaks to his talent that people connected to
it so much.
The
ending is a little controversial, how did you feel about that?
Why
is the ending controversial, because it’s happy? <laughs>
Pretty
much.
Whatever.
If people don’t want to be happy, they can, you know. They’d
also complain if it was sad, because then they’d be like “I’m
sad and it made me sadder”. <laughs>
Do
you know what you’re doing next?
I’m
starting GOYA’S GHOSTS with Milos Forman in September, which is
very exciting. And then I’m doing a film next year which is called
MR. MAGORIUM’S WONDER EMPORIUM, which is a children’s film,
directed by Zach Helm, who wrote STRANGER THAN FICTION, which is
shooting right now. He’s a really wonderful writer.
Thanks,
Natalie!
Thanks,
guys. See you later, nice meeting you all.
V
FOR VENDETTA opens wide on March 17th
Check
out its OFFICIAL SITE HERE!!
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9:45AM on 02/25/2006
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