Movies – Page 48 – MaryEWinstead.net

New Video Interviews with Mary Talking About Smashed, Upcoming Album, and RS Reviews Smashed

on October 11, 2012 by Jessica Comments Off

Ah! Such good interviews and reviews to post! First, in an interview with Celebuzz, Mary revealed that her upcoming ’60s French pop album that she’s working on with Dan the Automator will hopefully be done by the end of the year and that there’s no pressure for her: “It’s mainly for fun,” Winstead tells Celebuzz. “I don’t consider myself a singer, so that takes the pressure off.”

There’s also a new video interview with Mary done by Made in Hollywood which you can see here.

And Rolling Stone gave Mary an amazing review for her performance in Smashed:

Addiction dramas are as common as reality shows and often just as rank. The standard bearers for movies about alcoholics range from The Lost Weekend and Days of Wine and Roses to Leaving Las Vegas with Nicolas Cage at his staggering, Oscar-winning best. Smashed joins the ranks of the winners, mostly because of an unmissable and unforgettable performance by Mary Elizabeth Winstead. Her character, Kate Hannah, is married to Charlie (Breaking Bad’s exemplary Aaron Paul) a wannabe composer who likes to get wasted as much as his wife. Charlie, who basically hangs out with his buds all day, believes he can handle his drinking. Kate, who teaches first grade at an L.A. school, is soon disabused of that notion. After projectile vomiting in front of her class, she tries to get off the hook by lying to the principal (a very fine Megan Mullally) and claiming she’s pregnant. It’s only when the school’s vice principal, a recovering alcoholic played with deeply affecting restraint by Parks and Recreation’s Nick Offerman, gets Kate to an AA meeting that she sees the need for a change. Kate gets help from a sponsor (The Help Oscar winner Octavia Spencer in a lovely turn), but finds herself increasingly estranged from Charlie. She needs to do this on her own. Smashed covers a lot of familiar ground, but writer-director James Ponsoldt deftly dodges gooey sentiment. Winstead and Paul are dynamite, artfully walking the tightrope between pain and denial. And Winstead, too often relegated to the action-horror game in The Thing, Death Proof, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, is a revelation. With resonant intelligence and healing humor, she reveals Kate right down to her nerve endings. Don’t forget Winstead when making a list of the year’s Best Actress contenders. Yes, she’s that good.

Film Reviews Interviews Smashed

New Interviews and Reviews with Mary Discussing Smashed

on October 11, 2012 by Jessica Comments Off

A couple of new interviews with Mary, as well as some reviews about Smashed have been put online. Here’s a review from the NY Daily News where they gave the film 3 stars:

Mary Elizabeth Winstead (“Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World,” “The Thing”) is amazing in an intimate, unexpectedly weighty drama about a young woman whose alcoholism pushes her to seek treatment. Kate is a first-grade teacher whose hangovers make her sick in front of her class and whose life is making her sicker.

After one night too many of booze and drugs, Kate halfheartedly tries therapy — partly out of curiosity, it seems, but also out of an inchoate sense of desperation — even as her husband (Aaron Paul) lazily holds back his support. Winstead and director James Ponsoldt add something gripping and modern to the cinema of recovery, a well-mined genre that can still, it seems, yield thoughtful surprises.

Moviefanatic has a great video interview with her where she also discusses about playing different characters and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.

Hypable gave Mary’s performance in Smashed a great review:

Winstead is an utter revelation as Kate, with a truly phenomenal and engrossing performance that is one of the best I’ve seen in some time. Going from warm, charming and relatable to terrifyingly uncontrollable at the flip of a dime, Winstead masters all asked of her character in an absolutely wondrous display of talent from a true up-and-comer. Paul is perfectly placed against this dynamic performance, as Winstead works marvelously against him, making for a believable pairing throughout.

There’s also a brief interview with Mary on Backstage.com:

Continue reading New Interviews and Reviews with Mary Discussing Smashed

Gallery Updates Interviews Movies Smashed

New Photo Shoots and Interviews

on October 10, 2012October 11, 2012 by Jessica Comments Off

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:

Interviews Movies Smashed

Interview Magazine Interviews Mary About Smashed

on October 10, 2012October 11, 2012 by Jessica Comments Off

The interviews keep on coming! Check out this just released interview with Mary featured on Interview Magazine. Click the link to read the interview in its entirety:

KEELY WEISS: How has the journey of this film been for you? The hype has been building steadily ever since Sundance.

MARY ELIZABETH WINSTEAD: I mean, even getting into Sundance, I was screaming and jumping around the room because to me that really was just the pinnacle of everything we were trying to do. We just hoped people would see the movie in some capacity, that it would find some audience and maybe at least a small distribution company would pick it up or something, and every step of the way it’s just been growing to bigger and bigger proportions than I expected. You end up doing more press for a little film like this than you do for the really big ones, which is not quite what I expected, but I’m happy to do press for a little movie that you’re really trying to get people to see. I’m not one of those actors that hates press and gets really groan-y about it—I always like talking about films—but it’s just been a really refreshing experience to get to promote this film because it’s very easy to talk about.

WEISS: This film is pretty much entirely focused on your performance, and I imagine that must have been a lot of pressure, but it also must have been very liberating.

WINSTEAD: Yes, yes, both. When I got the part I had the realization that, you know, I’ve really never done anything like this before and I’ve got a lot to prove to others and myself, so it was a little bit scary. It was a huge challenge. But everything about it was so liberating, just playing a part where there’s no makeup and I didn’t have to be pretty at any moment—or anything other than whatever was most truthful for the character.

WEISS: How do you see Kate as a character?

WINSTEAD: I love Kate. She’s a good person who makes mistakes, who picks herself up again and continues to try to be a good person and continues to make mistakes [laughs] and continues to pick herself up again. I think those are the kinds of people that we all root for and that we all love because nobody’s perfect. Anytime I’m given scripts where I’m sort of the fantasy girl, it’s hard for me because that’s not real and I don’t think it’s a great thing to put out there consistently.

Interviews Movies Smashed

Screen Crave Interviews Mary About SMASHED and Acting Drunk

on October 10, 2012October 11, 2012 by Jessica Comments Off

It’s no secret that in Mary’s upcoming film Smashed, Mary’s character is an alcoholic. Screen Crave sat down with Mary and discussed playing a drunk and working on the film. As always, click on the link above to read the full interview:

Can you talk a little about playing drunk and not overdoing it?
Mary Elizabeth Winstead: It’s really daunting. Even the best actors – it’s just really hard. The whole thing about being drunk is that you’re out of control. If you’re acting you’re in control because you want to know what looks right and believable. It defeats the whole purpose of making it authentic. James (director/co-writer) found a book called The Power of the Actor, which is just a great book on acting. It has an entire chapter dedicated to playing drunk.

I used the author’s method and it worked really well. It’s almost like hypnoses, in a way. You take yourself through all the steps of what it feels like to be drunk and it plays a mind trick on you. You feel loose and out of your body. It helps me let go of the fear of worrying about whether it feels real or not. I felt really loosened and buzzed for sure. One of the author’s tricks is that you pretend that your left leg doesn’t work or your tongue doesn’t work. Something about you doesn’t work and you’re trying to compensate that and hide it.

When Smashed debuted at Sundance, the big buzz about it was you. Did you ever think, ‘God I should’ve done this sooner’?

Mary Elizabeth Winstead: (Laughs) Yes and, well, a similar thought. I always wanted to go there. I wanted to get one of those indie movies where you can really get a great performance and it goes to Sundance. That’s what I wanted. I rarely got those scripts and when I did, I didn’t get the part. I just think I wasn’t meant to do it sooner. I don’t know if I would’ve been able to play a role like this five years ago. I just don’t know. Back then I would like to have thought that I could, but maybe I couldn’t. And if I tried, it might’ve not worked out as well as it did this time. The years of working and growing as an actor – it all just came at the right moment for me. I felt like I was confident enough and ready enough to do it.

What was different in your preparation for an indie?

Mary Elizabeth Winstead: Not just it being an indie, but it being such a complex character and such a real person more-so than anything I had played before. Typically I’ve played things that feel more like they’re in the fantasy realm in some way. The preparation was much more exhausted for this because I’m playing a real person that’s going through something real. I can’t just pretend or wing it. It just wouldn’t be respectful to the material. It was a lot more prep work.

Movies Smashed

Mary to do a Q&A Post-Smashed Screening This Weekend in L.A.

on October 10, 2012 by Jessica Comments Off

If you live in Los Angeles and plan to check out Smashed this weekend, Mary will be doing a Q&A with the cast. Below is the information:

Friday (Oct. 12th) at The Landmark director James Ponsoldt, star Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and co-writer Susan Burke will participate in a Q&A after the 7:50 show and introduce the 10:15 show.

Saturday (Oct. 13th) at the Sundance Sunset Cinema director James Ponsoldt, star Mary Elizabeth Winstead, co-writer Susan Burke, and actors Megan Mullally, Nick Offerman and Octavia Spencer will participate in a Q&A after the 4:35 show and introduce the 8:00 show.

Saturday (Oct. 13th) at The Landmark director James Ponsoldt with actors Megan Mullally, Nick Offerman and Octavia Spencer will participate in a Q&A after the 7:50 show and introduce the 10:15 show.

Sunday (Oct. 14th) at the Sundance Sunset Cinema director James Ponsoldt, star Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and co-writer Susan Burke will participate in a Q&A after the 4:35 show and introduce the 8:00 show.

Film Reviews Interviews Movies Smashed

New Smashed Review and Interview with the NY Daily News

on October 10, 2012October 11, 2012 by Jessica Comments Off

The NY Daily News recently caught up with Mary and talked to her about the research she did for Smashed, how she hung out with Aaron Paul and her career. Click the link to read the full interview.

It’s a major career leap for Winstead, who’s been acting since she was 13. Now 27, she had a breakthrough playing the love interest in 2010’s “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.” But despite major roles since then in big-budget studio flicks (“Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter” and the remake of “The Thing”), she was unsatisfied with the films being offered her.

“When I was younger, I was just excited to have any work at all,” Winstead says. “To be part of making a movie was mind-blowingly exciting. And I don’t want to lose that feeling.”

She insists she’s not jaded. “But I wanted to demand more of myself and the people around me so I can keep growing. Rather than just going from job to job, I wanted to force myself to be better,” she says. “It’s great to work, but I’d like to do something more challenging.”

For research, Winstead attended A.A. meetings with the film’s co-writer, Susan Burke. Winstead found that while she didn’t have a substance-abuse problem herself, the lessons of the 12-step program were nonetheless invaluable.

Winstead has a couple more films coming up, including a reprise of her role as Bruce Willis’ daughter from “Live Free or Die Hard.” And she wants to develop films of her own with her husband, writer-director Riley Stearns.She’d also like to try her hand at the stage, where she admits she has little experience.

“It definitely terrifies me,” she says. “So I’d love to try my hand at it.”

A new Smashed review has been released via Village Voice:

Continue reading New Smashed Review and Interview with the NY Daily News

A Good Day to Die Hard Interviews Movies Smashed

Collider Interviews Mary About Smashed and Upcoming Roles

on October 10, 2012October 11, 2012 by Jessica Comments Off

Collider.com interviewed Mary about her role in Smashed, A Good Day to Die Hard and The Spectacular Now. I’ve posted some excerpts below, but click on the link above to read the full interview where she goes more in-depth about Smashed and her other roles.

Collider: How did you come to this film? Were you sent the script and then pursued it, or were you offered the role?

MARY ELIZABETH WINSTEAD: It was a unique situation. I knew, at that point, that I really needed to do something small. And I had been saying, for a long time, that I wanted to do something small, but it’s one of those things where it’s not really heard unless you say it really loudly. You don’t make any money, so people aren’t actively trying to find you those projects, unless you come out and say, “This is what I want you to do. This is what you have to do.” So, that’s what I said to my team. I was like, “I’ve been having a lot of fun. This has been great. But, this is what I have to do now. I want to do something small and intimate. Just send me those scripts for awhile because my next project has to be something like that.” And this was one of the first scripts that I got.

Are you also in the new Die Hard film, A Good Day to Die Hard?

WINSTEAD: I am, yes. It’s another brief supporting role, but it was also fun. I got to go to Budapest and hang out with Bruce [Willis] for a couple of days. It was nice.

Is it fun to get to be a part of such a big franchise, like that?

WINSTEAD: Definitely! It’s always been a lot of fun for me, just to be in films that people see and they connect to, bit or small. The big ones tend to reach a wider audience, so it’s exciting to feel like you’ve got fans in countries, all over the world, who are watching what you’re doing. That’s really great! The older I get, the more I’m drawn to the smaller films, but I still hope to keep those bigger films in my repertoire. It’s just maybe going to be a shift in focus, but I’ll definitely still hopefully be kicking around in those.

A Good Day to Die Hard Interviews Movies Smashed

I Am Rogue Interviews Mary on Smashed and Die Hard 5

on October 9, 2012October 11, 2012 by Jessica Comments Off

Like the headline reads, IAmRogue interviewed Mary about her role in Smashed and A Good Day to Die Hard (AKA Die Hard 5). In the interview, Mary discusses her new movie, how she related to her character, her research, her character’s co-dependent relationship with her husband, working with actor Aaron Paul, acting drunk, and the mood on set, as well as returning to the Die Hard series, shooting her brief role in the film, sharing a scene with Bruce Willis, meeting her brother (Jai Courtney) for the first time, not seeing much action this time around, and the possibility of a spin-off featuring just the McClane children.

Such a good interview and Mary looks great!

A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III Interviews Movies Smashed

NextMovie Interviews Mary about Smashed, Justice League Role and Aubrey Plaza

on October 9, 2012October 11, 2012 by Jessica Comments Off

In another new interview with Mary talking about Smashed, Nextmovie asked Mary about how character driven and focused her role is in the upcoming movie. Read the full interview by clicking the link above:

For your first small, character-focused movie, there’s a lot of you in it. Your character is completely the centerpiece. You, you, you. That has to be intimidating.
It was terrifying, definitely, when I actually got it. Because it’s one of those things, you get a script and you’re like, “Yes! I’m going to make them consider me for this, I’m going to put myself out there!” And then when they go, “Yeah, sure, let’s do it”, you’re like, Oh… you sure you really want me to do this? Because I know I said I could do it but I’m not actually sure if I can do it.”

A few years ago, you read for Wonder Woman, for the “Justice League” movie that never quite happened.
It was like six years ago, but yeah.

It looks like the project is finally getting off the ground. Is that something you’d still be interested in?
I don’t know. Even back then, it was one of those things… there was no script, you sign onto it under the cover of secrecy. I definitely couldn’t do that anymore. At that point in my career, I was like, “Sure, sign me up, whatever the role is.” Now I’m much more careful about that kind of thing. Especially, you know, they want you to sign up for seven movies, even though you have no idea what it is that you’re going to be doing in those movies. That kind of thing is just scary for me. I very much enjoy my freedom going film to film, being able to choose what I do. It would take a lot for me to be able for me to sign on for the role.

I’m not totally sure that that’s the role for me. I feel like part of me would want to do it, to see if I could bring something interesting to it, but part of me would be scared that I wouldn’t be the right person for it. If I were to play a superhero type, I would want that person to be human — I’m not really interested in playing perfection. If it is to be this sort of perfect role model for the world, that does everything right all the time, that saves the day, it’s just not interesting to me as an actor.

You’ll be appearing soon in another movie with [“Scott Pilgrim” co-star] Aubrey Plaza — “A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III” — has it been brought to your attention that you two have a crazy strong resemblance?
Yes, actually when I was promoting “Scott Pilgrim,” I had several people coming up to me going, “Aubrey, Aubrey!” They had just seen the movie and was like, “I played Ramona Flowers,” and they were like, “No, you didn’t, that’s Mary, you’re Aubrey.” I had them actually arguing with me over who I was.

Identity crisis! Maybe you should just give in and play sisters.
I think we could, I think we would be totally believable as sisters. I would love that, it would be a lot of fun.