I’ve added lots of new photos (over 100) of Mary at the Tribeca Film Festival premiere of her new film Alex of Venice. Head to the gallery to check them out.
Also, I’ve added the first poster to the gallery as well.
Additionally, the Tribeca Film Festival Q&A with the cast of Alex of Venice is now online:
Yesterday was the world premiere for Mary’s new film Alex of Venice which was held at the Tribeca International Film Festival. Head to the gallery to check out over 60+ photos.
Also, if you missed Mary’s interview with Huffington Post, you can view it below:
Finally, The Wrap caught the premiere of Alex of Venice and had lots of praise for Mary’s work in the film. Click on the link to read it in full.
But this is Winstead’s movie – and while her performance is understated, it reinforces what “Smashed” suggested two years ago: She is a terrific, underappreciated actress adept at bringing life, heart and humor to stories of women trying to cope in difficult circumstances sometimes of their own making, sometimes not.
Messina claims he can’t take credit for Winstead’s performance – “that’s what she did, and we were smart enough to roll the cameras and capture it” – but he also said that he was determined to create the kind of acting enviroment that he finds most satisfying – one that’s not exactly what he’s asked to do on Mindy Kaling’s sitcom “The Mindy Project” and Aaron Sorkin’s drama “The Newsroom.”
Even more interviews with Mary have been posted online discussing her new film Faults. With Shockya, Mary, Riley & co-star Leland Orser talked about the run through process of pulling the project together, the real-life cult deprogramming practices that inspired the film, “Faults” star Jon Gries’ experience in participating in an actual deprogramming effort, the three stages of Winstead’s character, the challenge of shooting a good portion of the movie in a single location, and more. You can view the interview below:
Secondly, Daily Actor caught up with Mary & Leland and you can read some of their interview. Click the link to read it in full.
Can you guys tell me about the movie and your characters real quick?
Leland Orser: Well, I think it’s a black comedy is what I’m saying it is, although at first I thought it was a thriller. I play a down on his luck cult deprogrammer psychologist. I think. And I am… essentially when you meet my character, Ansel Roth, I’m so down on my luck I’ve lost everything. I’ve lost my family, I’ve lost my house, I’ve lost my career, and I’m essentially living out of my car. And that’s when you come into the picture.
Mary Elizabeth Winstead: Yes. Well, I play a character named Claire who’s in a cult and my parents come to Leland’s character because he is, as I think he’s already said, a sort of… an expert on cults and mind control and deprogramming. And even though he hasn’t done deprogramming in quite some time, they convince him because they’re gonna pay him to kidnap me and deprogram me. She’s sort of mysterious and I don’t really wanna give too much about it away. So I’m gonna keep that part simple.
Did you sort of research anything cult like people or people who have been in cults?
Mary Elizabeth Winstead: Yeah, I think Leland and I both read Ted Patrick’s book, or one of Ted Patrick’s books, which was Let Our Children Go. Is that what it was called?
Leland Orser: Yeah, yeah.
Mary Elizabeth Winstead: Which was great. And he is sort of one of the people in this time period of the 70s kind of cult boom that loosely inspired Leland’s character. So that was a great book to read. And I tried to watch a lot of videos on YouTube, whatever I could find, specifically from that era of people in cults or people who had just gotten out of cults because there was something I think about that time period that was so specific the way people were just sort of falling like flies into these, you know, cults and sort of the youth particularly why they were so attracted to that idea was interesting to me.
I’ve rounded up quite a few new interviews Mary has taken part in and reviews for her new film Faults. Hit each link to read them in their entirety and check out the rest after the jump. Also, check the gallery for new pics taken with some of the interviewers.
THR review:
But Faults is not what it seems. Though a black-comic atmosphere persists, the debut feature is serious about manipulation and brainwashing, and a quietly commanding performance by Mary Elizabeth Winstead (the director’s wife) helps establish that seriousness once the main plot — in which the failed expert is enlisted to deprogram a couple’s daughter — gets underway. Sure to turn heads at fests, the picture should find enough support to justify an arthouse run. Winstead has plenty of emotional ground to navigate in the ensuing action, pointing viewers down some false paths in our assessment of her state of mind and relationship to those around her.
Winstead provides great innocence and an equal curiosity; she quickly flips between being childlike and being strong-willed without it feeling obvious. But the real standout is the calm demeanor Orser has throughout and the way we slowly find kinks in his armor.
Final Grade–B
Interview with CineSnob:
Mary, in your performance, you get to show a lot of sides and a lot of different emotions. What was it like playing a character where you could change from scene to scene?
MEW: It was really great. It was simultaneously really exciting for me and really scary for me because I just didn’t know if I would get it right or not when we were working on it. It seemed really daunting to me to get all that right without going into some sort of culty territory. I was really afraid of it coming across as spacey or cliché. But as soon as everything came together and the cast came together and the costumes and the sets…as soon as I walked into that environment I was like, “Oh. This is just what it’s supposed to be.” And the rest of it was so stress free and fun. I enjoyed every moment of it and got to revel in this character. It was one of the best set experiences, acting experiences that I’ve ever had.
Yesterday in Texas, Mary premiered her new film Faults at the 2014 SXSW Festival alongside Riley Stearns and co-stars Leland Orser, Beth Grant and actor Jon Gries. Head to the gallery to check out the pics in HQ and also check out a new video interview Mary did with We Live Film discussing the movie.
Examiner recently caught up with Mary to talk about her new cult film, Faults. As always, click on the link to read the interview in full. I’ve posted some highlights below:
Tell us about your role in Faults.
I play Claire, a young woman who has been indoctrinated into a cult. When her parents hire someone to kidnap and deprogram her, we learn a lot of things about her that I’d rather not give away!
What was the most challenging aspect of working on this film?
I think the character was incredibly challenging for me. She has so much going on inside of her, but doesn’t show any of it. On top of that, I knew that Riley wanted it sort of dead pan and underplayed and I wanted to hit that style he was going for, while at the same time hint at the emotions trying to get out underneath. Not an easy one!
Tell us about working with director Riley Stearns. What was that process like?
It was horrible and I refuse to work with him again.
Truthfully, it was pretty awesome. We are married, and were warned by many people that working together might put a strain on our relationship, but it was really the opposite. We know each other so well that we always know what the other is thinking and going for, and so it makes for a pretty easy going working environment. I’m forcing him to write a role for me in everything he does from now on.
What new projects do have coming up that you can mention?
I have a couple other films coming out this year: Alex of Venice, which will premiere at Tribeca next month, and Kill the Messenger with Jeremy Renner that will come out later this year. Very excited about both of those projects and currently reading and looking for the next project to jump into.
Mary is at SXSW for the next few days premiering the film, so check back often for tons of new updates & pics!
The full screening schedule for Mary’s new film Faults has been released and the film will be playing at the following dates/times:
* March 9, 2014: The film debuts at 6:45 at the Stateside Theatre.
* Monday, March 10
2:00PM – 3:33PM
SXSatellite: Alamo Slaughter
* Wednesday, March 12
9:30PM – 11:03PM
SXSatellite: Alamo Village
* Thursday, March 13
9:30PM – 11:03PM
Topfer Theatre at ZACH
Also, Mary will be attending a Paste interactive party during South By Southwest, which will feature interviews with Pete Holmes, Todd Barry, Mark Duplass, Alia Shawkat, Josh Lucas, Mickey Sumner, Jason Ritter, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, John Gallagher and many more. The event will be held at Austin’s Swan Dive, located at 615 Red River St., on March 9 and 10. All interviews during the event will be recorded for the new Paste podcast.
Mary sat down for an interview with her skin-care expert and celebrity esthetician Renée Rouleau where she dished on her favorite skin products, red carpet rituals and upcoming projects. Click here to read the Q&A in full:
Renée Rouleau: What three beauty products can’t you live without?
Mary Elizabeth Winstead:“One of my beauty addictions is Dior Lip Glow — it enhances your natural lip color and it’s the best thing to brighten up a tired face. Also, I love dry shampoo (usually Oribe Texturizing Spray) and a good BB cream.”What’s your favorite beauty treatment to indulge in?
“I took a trip to South Korea last year, and became obsessed with their beauty products — particularly their sheet masks. Now, you can find them anywhere, but at that point they seemed very new and exciting to me. I love putting one on at home and terrifying my husband. But it’s great, because it feels like a real at-home professional beauty treatment.”What beauty prep do you absolutely do before any red carpet or premiere appearances?
“Before a big appearance, I’ll do one of the sheet masks I mentioned before, and also apply some Shiseido Retinol Eye Treatment Masks to take any puffiness down. Exfoliation is great for brightening up the skin for a big night. I always use the Renée Rouleau Mint Buffing Beads.”Tell me about some of the exciting projects you have in the works.
“I’m juggling a few things at the moment — I just wrapped a pilot with Logan Marshall Green called Quarry. I also just wrapped a film with Jeremy Renner called Kill the Messenger that I’m very excited about. I have an album coming out this January with Dan the Automator. We call ourselves Got a Girl and you can follow us on Twitter @Got_a_Girl. We’ll be releasing some singles this fall.
Yesterday in Beverly Hills, Mary stepped out onto the red carpet to attend the Max Mara And W Magazine Cocktail Party To Honor The Women In Film and Max Mara Face Of The Future Awards Recipient Hailee Steinfeld. As usual, Mary looked totally flawless on the red carpet. Head to the gallery to check out the new pics!
So great to see Mary out and about again! Feels like it’s been a while. 🙂
Update: WWD caught up with Mary where she revealed a little about her upcoming projects:
“I’m working on two indie films this summer and my first album,” she said. “We just made our first video with all women producers, directors and actors, which isn’t the norm in the music world.” Produced by Dan the Automator, the album will be released by EMI in August.
A new video interview of Mary during the Dallas International Film Festival has been posted online via What The Hell Did She Say. In the brief Q&A, Mary talks about how she and the Scott Pilgrim cast are close and how she prepared for her role in Smashed. Check it out below: