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Mary Elizabeth Winstead sits in a back cabin at Hollywood Laugh Factory, opposite the infamous circular scene where so many comedians have made their name. In her new film, screenwriter and director Eva Vives & # 39; All about NinaOn September 28, Winstead plays one of these actresses, Nina Geld, a rising star who discovers everything on stage but who, because of past trauma, will leave no one behind in her life.
When she goes to L.A. to audition for a Saturday Night Live-the adjacent series, Nina meets Rafe (played by Common), a man who makes her want to deal with her past abuses and solve her privacy problems. The film is romantic and disturbing, tragic and, yes, funny. Regarding this last part, Winstead, back at the factory of Laugh this afternoon, no longer wants to go on stage and make a very good quarter, but is content to return to the public.
"Now, I'm like, no, I did that," Winstead laughs, flipping back into the red vinyl. "I paid my dues and now I arrive at do not do it again. "Instead, she could soon put on purple leather like the Huntress superhero alongside Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn in the Suicide team spin off, Birds of prey. AND sat with the actress to discuss All about NinaUnforeseen opportunity, #MeToo's biggest move and why she wants to be part of DC's super female team.
ET: What attracted you the first time you read this script, which made you want to be part of this movie?
Mary Elizabeth Winstead: My attention was really drawn to the first page. It's sort of different in the movie now, but in the script it's open with, for example, a three-page stand-up routine, which reads like a monologue, you know ? So I thought, D & # 39; AGREEMENT! It's not just the woman or the girlfriend, it's something of interest, potentially. And on each page, it was more and more complex and elaborate and intriguing and, of course, in the end, just [an] emotional punch. I knew it was something I would be lucky to be part of. And then, after meeting Eva and hearing her story and hearing her vision of the film, artistically, it was just one of those things, for me, as an actor, I had the ## 147 ## Impression of not being able to say no. You have so rarely the opportunity to be challenged at this level and to be part of something meaningful at the same time.
Have you felt any anxiety seeing these three pages of stand-up? I tend to think that stand-up comedy is something, to a certain extent, that you are born to do it or that you are not. It takes a certain type of person. What is learning to do?
It's hard because I have the impression that it's probably true, and if it's true, I do not feel like one of those people who was born with it. It's a skill set that takes a lot of time to master, so I had to truncate that mastering time and try, in my own way, to bring together what it would be to be somebody. a good comic. For me, it is someone who is able to take an audience and really guide him, to guide his emotions and to make them laugh, feel, be a little sick or whatever else. They are trying to do to get an answer![[[[Laughs]It was something I was afraid to do on stage and try to do it. Absolutely terrified.
Have you had any kind of stand-up comedy training camp?
I have watched a lot of shows. I went to a lot of shows. I have listened to a lot of stand-up. Eva and I got together to go to as many shows as possible. It's here that we met Jamie Loftus, who is this great young comedian who also survived. She was our consultant on the set whenever we did comedy. We went to see his show. We went to LA's more underground shows with lesser-known comedians, beginners, to get an idea of what c & # 39; like, so these are not just famous and famous names.
But at the end of the day, I realized that it was a bit difficult for me to try to imitate someone else, especially because I think I could never be them because they are incredible. So, I just had to find out how to do it myself and after what I think is funny, otherwise, if I do not think it's funny or that I do not think I'm funny, it will not really work. . I can not just copy the pace or style of someone else. I have to try to find it myself. So, somehow, I ended up focusing more on that and focusing more on who Nina was as a person and let her comedy get out of there.
I'm not sure of the final amount of Eva's screenplay composition in relation to collaboration and improvisation on the set, but at the other end, playing a comedian, getting immersed in that world. your own life, in terms of the point of view through which you see the world?
Yeah, I guess so. Really, Eva wrote all the stuff of stand-up. There are surely moments of improvisation and jokes that we collaborated on, but the real structure of it was written by Eva. But that's one point of view that I think most women can approach, especially if you're sitting around other women and you're playing games. So we all had a good time and we were sitting in the green room, making us laugh, the most rude, nasty, kind of comedy that hates the man we could possibly find. [Laughs] I think for women right now, a lot of us can get there or can join or get a little mean or bitter because we certainly have a reason to do it. So, I felt that. I looked at this aspect of myself, for sure.
What do you think it means that this movie will be released now, after the rise of the #MeToo movement, and this week the hashtag #WhyIDidntReport was broadcast on social media?
It's a bit incredible, the timing, because we had no idea when we were doing the movie that this move was going to explode as it did. It's really special. Now, it's not just a voice that comes up. It's like we're part of something much bigger and, hopefully, this film will be part of the legacy of this time and this movement. We are all very enthusiastic about this, be it such a symphony of experiences and voices that come and hope we can make a part of it that will not go unnoticed. If the story can connect with anyone who needs to see it, I really hope that they will be able to see it and connect to it.
Even the film that comes out this week, in particular, amid accusations against [Supreme Court nominee] Brett Kavanaugh. I watched this terrible video of women saying that they did not believe her accuser …
I think I saw a little.
And iron it saying, "It was 30 years ago!" I think this film shows how this trauma stays with a person. That's what it might look like, but many years later, even though she never reported it.
Absolutely. I mean that the shame that women wear when such things happen to them is very real. I think the fact that we have these discussions is really important and really incredible, that it's something that people are forced to recognize, that it's a reality that people do not talk about what happened to them do not report what happened to them because of the way our society is created to shame those who have lived these things. I think now we are going, Wait, no, we do not have to wear that shame. As, In fact, you are supposed to wear this shame, the people who committed these things. By changing this dynamic, there is discomfort in the air because of it, because the change is difficult.
But necessary
But necessary And really exciting! I have the impression that this film is sometimes felt. There is discomfort about this because of what she's struggling, and I think it's a good parallel to what's going on right now.
In terms of Nina's trauma, is this the kind of role you would do for research? Or are you able to draw from what is in Eva's script?
We had Jamie and, of course, it is Eva's story. So, I had it there every day. I tried not to over take her brain, because I did not want to exploit her and what she had lived, but I thought that there was something wrong with her. Inauthentic in what I was doing, she would be there to guide me and tell me what I needed to hear. Of course, knowing what she has gone through and knowing what the character has gone through, my empathy in this regard is huge, so it was pretty easy to log in and go emotionally. Your heart breaks, knowing that no matter who has experienced something like this. And having Eva there, this connection was always there for me, so I did not have to try very hard to feel that. But I had a bit of the weight of really wanting to do it justice and to make sure it was what she wanted.
"I think now we are going, Wait, no, we do not have to wear that shame. As, In fact, you are supposed to bring this shame."
After Nina shares her story publicly, she becomes viral online and she is forced to navigate this field and what it means for her career. I consider you to be a particularly private person, but some aspects of your personal life have been subjected to a very close public scrutiny …
Right.
How did you navigate this?
I do not want to get into my personal life, of course, but I think that staying focused on what's important and what you know is true and the parts of your life that are real and authentic, which can be difficult to to do in social media of today, Instagram, Twitter world. I'm really lucky to do something that I love, so I focus on my work and the people of my life that I love, which are important to me and I let in somehow that all of remain either noise.
Speaking of work, you are playing Huntress in Birds of prey.[Warner Bros. and DC announced this week the Margot Robbie-fronted superhero movie will open Feb. 7, 2020.]
I am! Yeah, it's something that's just one of those things in the air and you just see what's left over. It would be really fun to be part of, I think. I think it's a big group of people that I really admire.
Are you a fan of superhero movies? Did you see Margot in Suicide team?
Yeah yeah yeah! I think they're really fun and this one, in particular, is really exciting because it's a female-only distribution run by a woman. There is not much in this world that is so focused on women, and the way they seek to do it and to do it is really interesting, new and exciting, so that's Is very much interested.
Is there anything in the character of Huntress in particular that intrigues you?
I should not go because these things are so secret![[[[Laughs]It's for the best that I do not mention any details. But yes. Yes absolutely.
Although you have already worked on larger studio films, I tend to associate you with smaller, character-focused projects. Something like that or like Breeze. As an actress, what do you get by making a big budget franchise movie like that?
It may be a challenge that I welcome, trying to bring the same feeling as on these types of movies and transfer them into this kind of movies. Because it's just harder, that's the case. They are so much bigger, which means that they take a lot longer to shoot. In a film like this, you do 10 scenes a day and you just live as a character, and it's very easy to keep things alive and real. On a bigger budget film, you can do a scene in two days, so you end up, like half of the stage, in one day. You do not really have the same momentum, so the trend may be to become a little lazy and not to try too hard. For me, it's always a challenge to always try to keep this feeling alive.
When you can go to your trailer and just order lunch.
Yeah, when you sleep just half of the day and you're like, Uhh, call me when you're ready! It was something, in the last movie that I did[leWillSmithenvedette[TheWillSmith-starring[leWillSmithenvedette[theWillSmith-starringGemini Man], it was a big part of that. It was a great action film, but it was directed by Ang Lee, who expects absolute authenticity and the truth of your performance. So you do these action sequences and those scenes where you play so slowly, and it's so hard to keep your creativity alive and moving, but you know that this amazing artist is directing you to you.[[[[Laughs]It was a really rewarding experience for me at the end of the day, to know that I made him happy, you know? Everyone has a different challenge, I guess. I can find something exciting about each of these challenges.
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