Category: Gallery Updates

Smashed will be opening in Boston this upcoming Friday and The Boston Globe did an interview with Mary (and director James Ponsoldt) about the film. Here’s what Mary had to say:

“I grew up in a dry county in Utah,” Winstead (“Scott Pilgrim vs. the World”) says. “And my family was pretty strict, Southern Baptist. So I never experienced alcoholism firsthand. I mean, I drink now. My friends drink. But I’ve never been close to anyone who drank to excess. So preparing for this role and understanding Kate’s frame of mind and her struggle meant talking to people who have struggled with substance abuse and simply exercising my craft and thinking hard about how I work through my own issues, compared to Kate.”

She also talks about the types of roles she’s looking forward to:

“I don’t have a dream role or a dream type of role,” she says, joking for a moment that “Smashed” is the third consecutive film in which her character is named Kate. “That’s as close as I want to come to typecasting. But I acknowledge this role will probably open doors for me. And really what I want most from that is the ability to keep working with directors like James, and the ability to pick roles just because I love the character and the script and not because I need the role to raise my profile or for a paycheck.”

She does, however, vow to keep seeking roles that help her “better understand myself and how I relate to the people in my life.”

Also, head to the gallery (or click on the thumbnail) to see a new photo of Mary and James from the interview.

A couple of new interviews with Mary discussing Smashed have shown up online and you can now check them out below. First in her interview with Red Eye Chicago, Mary talked about her night out with Aaron before filming, Megan Mullaly, and more. I’ve also added a photo of her from the interview and Melanie made some caps. It’s a really great interview, so be sure to see it!

Interview with Red Eye Chicago

Interview captures

Second, here’s an excerpt of an interview Mary did with James Ponsoldt for Hollywood Chicago. Click on the link above to read it in full where Mary also talks about Scott Pilgrim and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter:

HollywoodChicago.com: James, given that this production was a nineteen day shoot, what was the most important element in the pre-production that contributed the most in making that shoot successful?

Ponsoldt: Probably the most valuable thing was casting great actors, the bulk of your work is done once you get great actors with great imaginations, and allow them the autonomy to be collaborators, and the script on the page is a blueprint with beats, that they could say and do whatever they wanted. Mary was one of my biggest collaborators, because she is the center focus for 98% of the movie. We spent a long time developing the character.

Winstead: James and I spent several hours a day talking about her back story. Even though in some films you feel pretentious doing a back story, but with this I needed the details to flesh her out, because it was a complex role. Everything was going to be useful to me as an actor. Also it was valuable to talk about my own life and history, and to compare how Kate felt when something similar happened to me in my life. It was marrying all those small details, so by the time I was on set I felt I was Kate, or understood he enough to feel I could be her.

Finally, below is another new interview video Mary did with VelvetRed TV talking about Smashed

More press for Smashed continues! The L.A. Times talked with Mary, director James Ponsoldt and co-writer Susan Burke about the film, and here’s what Mary had to say:

“It’s just that things sort of shifted for me,” Winstead said in an interview at an L.A. cafe. “I was always really fulfilled by working in whatever capacity I could. I just loved being on set and working. And then one day it just sort of stopped being fulfilling… and if I have this amazing opportunity to work in this awesome industry and I’m bored, that means I’m doing something wrong. I’m not taking advantage of the opportunities that have been given in the right way.”

Ponsoldt viewed Winstead’s experience in genre films as a plus. Drawing a connection to her previous roles, the director said, “In a lot of ways, that goes perfectly with a person who’s struggling. If the character felt fragile or weak you would pity her and she would feel broken. You would feel sorry for her and you’d never see yourself [as] that person. It was really important that when this person gets knocked down, you’re willing to believe she’ll get back up.”

That said, I added a new photo of her with James to the gallery.

Also, I’ve added a new photo shoot with Mary taken last week when she was interviewed by the NY Daily News. Thanks to Dominika for the pics. Be sure to head to the gallery to see the full shoot:

Also, below is a video of Mary being interviewed at the Hamptons International Film Festival: