Reel life: 'Mistress' cast-igates sexism, script ad-libs
Actress Greta Gerwig, most famous as the figurehead of the "mumblecore" film movement, has evolved into an actress-producer-writer hyphenate with filmmaker Noah Baumbach. Their new movie "Mistress America" opens this weekend, featuring a stellar debut by British-born actress Lola Kirke. I spoke to Kirke and Gerwig during their recent visit to Chicago.
<span class="x BTO fact box text bold">Q. </span>Greta, you had a say in casting this movie. What attracted you to Lola as the lead character?<span title="charref:8"></span>
<span class="x BTO fact box text bold">GG. </span>I saw her audition tape. I thought she was magnetic and funny. She just drew me in. I kept going back and watching her tape. After that, we made her audition another nine times, just to affirm what we eventually knew. And she's so beautiful without being over-the-top. She's the sort of girl that boys at 18 might overlook, the ones that will become great beauties later.
<span class="x BTO fact box text bold">Q. </span>Lola, do you remember how you felt when they said you got the part?
<span class="x BTO fact box text bold">LK. </span>It was pretty terrifying. It was also fun. As much as I was intimidated, they were so invested in the craft. It was important to them, and it was important to me.
<span class="x BTO fact box text bold">Q. </span>You both share an amazing chemistry on the screen. Did it take a while to achieve this?
<span class="x BTO fact box text bold">GG. </span>It was pretty instant. Movies lend themselves to bonding quickly. because you're together for 14 hours a day. Pretty soon, you feel like you've never not known this person, you know? And we genuinely like each other, don't we, Lola?
<span class="x BTO fact box text bold">LK. </span>Yes. I really like you, Greta. I really do!
<span class="x BTO fact box text bold">Q. </span>Was there any part of your screenplay that had to be jettisoned for time or other reasons?
<span class="x BTO fact box text bold">GG. </span>We spent a lot of time on the script. We don't do improvisation and we don't let actors experiment with the lines at all. We make them say the lines exactly as we write them. We worked very hard not to shoot anything that wouldn't wind up in the movie. Also, we took as many days as we needed. We shot this film in 60 days, which is a long time.
<span class="x BTO fact box text bold">Q. </span>Lola, you speak with a perfect American accent in the movie. What happened to your original accent?
<span class="x BTO fact box text bold">LK. </span>I had a British accent at a young age. Then I had a very confused accent until I was about 15. At that point, I decided I was more American than British. I actually like American accents. I think they're charming.
<span class="x BTO fact box text bold">Q. </span>Will "Mistress America" pass the Alison Bechdel test for sexism in movies?
<span class="x BTO fact box text bold">GG. </span>For sure. With flying colors. There are tons of female characters in this movie and they all have names and they all talk to each other about things and nobody is pursuing men. We wanted to do a movie in which the central question was not about romantic intrigue.
<span class="x BTO fact box text bold">Q. </span>Are women better off now in movies than they were before?
<span class="x BTO fact box text bold">GG. </span>It's a constant battle. There are incredibly talented female actors, writers, directors and artists, and all of them are making noise. and that's really important. They need to keep going in the direction they appear to be going in.
<span class="x BTO fact box text bold">LK. </span>It's invisible how much entrenched sexism goes on in our culture. It's not impossible to change. It takes time and continued effort.
<h3 class="briefHead">Critics notebook:</h3>
Former Naperville resident Joe Swanberg's "Digging For Fire" begins a run at Chicago's Music Box Theatre Friday, Aug. 21, with Chicago Film Critics Association member Patrick McDonald leading a post-show "MBT Talks" discussion. Then, on Saturday, Aug. 22, Swanberg and star Jake Johnson will do in-person Q&As following the 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. screenings of "Digging For Fire." Go to musicboxtheatre.com.
The After Hours Film Society presents "The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared," 7:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 24, at the Tivoli Theatre, 5021 Highland Ave., Downers Grove. A Swedish comedy with a slapstick twist by director Felix Herngren. General admission $10. Go to afterhoursfilmsociety.com.
<h3 class="briefHead">Tom Holland speaks!</h3>
Before he wrote the impressive horror sequel "Psycho 2" then directed and wrote the horror hits "Child's Play" and "Fright Night," Tom Holland, 72, spent a year at Northwestern University trying to make movies even though the school had no film department yet.
Holland dislikes horror conventions as a rule, but he was lured into hosting his 1985 signature feature "Fright Night" this Saturday, Aug. 22, at Bruce Campbell's Groovy Fest, part of the Wizard World Comic Con Chicago at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, 5555 N. River Road, Rosemont. Go to wizardworld.com for schedule and tickets.
I chatted with Holland by phone.
<span class="x BTO fact box text bold">Q. </span>Why do some horror movies stand the test of time, and others, even when successful on their original releases, don't?
<span class="x BTO fact box text bold">A. </span>I don't know if there's an answer to that. It's a miracle that "Fright Night" has lasted. So has "Child's Play." But "Child's Play" is not as strong as "Fright Night" is. "Child's Play" was huge at the time, but "Fright Night" has lasted longer.
<span class="x BTO fact box text bold">Q. </span>Why?
<span class="x BTO fact box text bold">A. </span>I think "Child's Play" has stayed around because of all the sequels, and they have diluted the original. "Fright Night" is intergenerational. I'll have a guy tell me he watched that movie with his father and he's now showing it to his children. None of my other films have done that.
<span class="x BTO fact box text bold">Q. </span>Yet, "Fright Night" was released with an R-rating wasn't it?
<span class="x BTO fact box text bold">A. </span>Now, it would probably be a PG-13. By today's standards, it's almost a family movie. It's about loyalty. It's about friendship. It's about love. It's about people who have flaws rising to the occasion! It's got family values!
<span class="x BTO fact box text bold">Q. </span>What was your year at Northwestern University like in the '60s?
<span class="x BTO fact box text bold">A. </span>I was a theater major. I was bored to death. It was a time when they didn't have a film school. I was interested in film, but I couldn't find any place to study it. The film department there was one room and two guys. I don't remember them, but they helped me shoot my first 16 mm. film.
<span class="x BTO fact box text bold">Q. </span>Did your experience at Northwestern help when you shot "Child's Play" in Chicago?
<span class="x BTO fact box text bold">A. </span>Yes. I got to know Chicago and the Loop really well. It has this gritty exterior and great buildings. Chicago is very rich where locations are concerned. What I didn't count on was having one of the worst winters in years. We had nights we had to keep switching out cameras and putting them into the trucks. It was so cold the oil was freezing up inside the cameras.
<span class="x BTO fact box text bold">Q. </span>"Child's Play" has reaped a fortune in dolls, T-shirts and other Chucky paraphernalia. Just wondering, do you have a piece of the merchandising profits, since you created Chucky?
<span class="x BTO fact box text bold">A. </span>No, I do not. I have never forgiven my representation. I made the worst deal. Both my agent and my lawyer should be flayed alive.
<i> Dann Gire's Reel Life column runs Fridays in Time out!</i>