Filed in Faults Interviews Scott Pilgrim Vs The World The Returned

More ‘Faults’ Interviews and Stills

After posting several new interviews early yesterday afternoon with Mary talking about her film Faults and The Returned, more new interviews are also online. First is one with Rama Screen where they discuss the film and the possibility of a Scott Pilgrim sequel:

Rama’s SCREEN: This movie was your husband’s feature directorial debut and he wrote it as well, so your having worked with many directors before, did you give your husband any input or advice along the way, during the filming process?

Mary Elizabeth Winstead: “A little bit, but he knew what he was doing, which I was really impressed by, he’s kind of a natural born leader, which I think is the most important thing in a director. And he’s also spent so much time on set with me just hanging out, and he’s learned so much in just by kind of observing, so I didn’t really have to give him that much advice, which was nice, it was really wonderful to be on set and to watch him in his element doing something that he’s really good at, it was awesome.”

Rama’s SCREEN: I was rooting for you guys, “Scott Pilgrim” back in 2010, but “The Expendables” and “Eat Pray Love” came out on the same weekend and you guys got beaten by those two films. So do you think Edgar Wright will come call you and say ‘Hey, let’s do SCOTT PILGRIM 2!’ or do you not see that happening at all?

Mary Elizabeth Winstead: “I don’t see that happening, I think because the film didn’t make a lot of money, I don’t really see the studio backing a sequel for that reason. But I don’t think it needs it either, I think it’s such a great movie on its own, and it will always be there, it will always exist, this great movie that we all made, and that’s certainly enough for me and I think enough for everybody involved. So ya, hopefully we’ll all get to work together again in some capacity because it was a really amazing talented group of people that I’d love to work with again someday, but I highly doubt it will be on the set of Scott Pilgrim 2.”

Next is an interview with ShockYa:

ShockYa (SY): You play Claire, a young woman whose parents are desperate to be reunited with her after she falls under the grip of a mysterious cult, in the new thriller, ‘Faults.’ What was it about the character, as well as the script, that convinced you to take on the role?

Mary Elizabeth Winstead (MEW): Well, I was a bit biased from the start, because my husband wrote the script and role for me. So I instantly knew that this was a character I was most likely going to play. It helped that I loved the script so much, and thought the role was so smart, exciting and interesting.

But I did have doubts about whether I’d be able to do the role justice, which was one of my main concerns throughout the process. I wanted to make sure I brought a lot of complexity to the role, and keep the audience engaged in the character. But once I got over those doubts and we were on the set, shooting, I knew I loved this character so much. I had so much fun playing her.

SY: Besides films, you have also starred in several short films and television series throughout your career, including the upcoming supernatural drama series, ‘The Returned.’ What is it about television that you also enjoy working on? How does it compare and contrast to making films, particularly indies like ‘Faults?’MEW: Ultimately, I like to do good material, as well as work with people I like. When I go back and look at all the things I’ve done, I typically chose my roles, based on the scripts and people involved. It doesn’t really matter what type of platform it is, whether it’s a short film, play, TV show or feature; it’s all the same to me, as long as I’m enjoying what I’m doing when I’m there.

The platforms all have their differences. TV is different, as actors are usually closer to the writers than we are on a film. We’re typically closer to directors on a movie than on television. So that’s a bit of a changeover we have to do in our minds, and get used to the different ways of working.

But at the end of the day, it all stems from the script and the material, which you have to be passionate about. That’s what really matters to me.

SY: Speaking of plays, since you’re primarily known for staring in feature films, as well as on shorts and television series, would you also be interested in performing in theater?

MEW: I would love to do theater. There have been a couple scripts that have come my way, which I have tried to get but didn’t, or have been offered to me, but I couldn’t do them because of scheduling. I’m certainly intimidated by theater, but the more people I meet, and the friends I make who are in the theater world, the less scared of it I am. They all tell me I’ll be fine, and it’s all the same, so I should give it a try. They’ve all been encouraging me to do it, so I think I will try it one of these days, whenever I can, and find the right project.

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Filed in Faults Interviews The Returned

Lots of New Mary Interviews; New Faults Clip and Stills

Several new interviews with Mary have come online in anticipation for her new film, FAULTS (you can pre-order it on iTunes or Vimeo), and her upcoming show The Returned, debuting on A&E Monday night at 10pm. First up is Mary’s interview with Carson Daly which aired Tuesday night:

Next is a video interview of Mary appearing on KTLA discussing her show The Returned:

Also, Indie Wire has posted a new Faults clip which you can view by clicking on the link along with some new stills which you can view in the gallery.

Finally, BadAss Digest also caught up with Mary to discuss both projects. Click on the link to read on the interview in full. Below are some highlights:

Faults is your husband’s project, but did he intend for you to play the role of Claire from the beginning?

Yeah, I think it was always this unspoken thing. He told me the idea for it and I loved the idea. And then every ten pages or so he would kind of show it to me, and for the first thirty pages or so, my character doesn’t come into it at all, but I immediately loved it. I was like, this is going to be an amazing movie and I can’t wait to see what role I’m going to be playing in it and what it’s going to be like. It was always kind of understood that I would play it, although when I started reading it I wasn’t really sure if I was the right person for it, and I would get worried about that. But I kind of just trusted him in that he trusted me, and I kind of had to have faith in him, and it all worked out.

Is it easier for you to find those roles in indie films versus bigger studio movies? 

Oh definitely. I think everybody gets bogged down in what they think will sell, and for whatever reason, people have decided that movies about women don’t sell, or that women who are not exactly the perfect archetype of the girl next door don’t really sell. There’s all these sort of things that we hear all the time about what sells and what doesn’t sell, but it doesn’t really make sense to me. Obviously there’s a lot of great, female-led franchises right now with young women that are selling great and doing really well. So I think we’re all just kind of, like, wondering when that tide is really going to change, or when that dialogue is going to change because I feel like they all keep saying that, but that’s actually starting to prove to not always be correct. I’m hoping that’s eventually going to change.

Were you a fan of the original series before you signed on for the U.S. version?

I had heard of it and I had a lot of friends who told me about it, and I knew that it was good because those friends are people with some good taste. I was intrigued because of that, and I was sent the first two scripts and I loved them. And I loved the role and how emotional it was and how kind of haunting it was. So I’m drawn to it immediately, and I’m kind of one of those people who, if I like the material, I’m kind of hooked from that point on. I then went and watched the first episode of the original immediately and I thought it was so beautiful, and so I stopped watching it because I knew if I watched any more I would be, like, scared to do it or I would get something in my head about the way the original actress performed the part and all that stuff. So I decided not to watch it, but I went back and watched it after we finished shooting our first season. I thought it was really beautiful, but I was kind of relieved to see how different ours actually was at the end of the day.

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Filed in Gallery Updates The Returned TV News

New The Returned Video

I have screen-capped Mary’s scenes in a behind the scenes video detailing the world of The Returned, which I previously posted about here. You can check out the caps by heading to the gallery. If for some reason the video doesn’t work because of where you live, view it using the Youtube vid below. Mary’s new show will debut Monday, March 9th at 10pm on A&E.

 

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Behind the Scenes of The Returned

A&E has posted a behind the scenes video detailing how they created the world of The Returned. You can check out the video below. And while you’re there, be sure to see the bio for Mary’s character, Rowan.

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Filed in Faults Gallery Updates The Returned TV News

New Faults Stills and Trailer for The Returned

The Film Society Lincoln Center’s 15th edition of Film Comment magazine has announced it’s new film festival line-up and among the many movies is Mary’s latest film, Faults. The movie will play Monday, February 23 at 8:30 pm. Tickets are available on the site which you can purchase here. New stills have also been released which you can view in the gallery.

Also, IGN has premiered a brand new trailer for Mary’s new show, The Returned, based on the French series Les Revenants. View the trailer below and head to the gallery to check out the full set of trailer screencaps.

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New The Returned Clip

Below is a new featurette on how artist Dirk Dzimirsky created the character drawings for the A&E series The Returned. The show will premiere next month, March 9, at 10pm. You can see Mary’s drawing as her character Rowan in the gallery. Incredibly beautiful drawings.

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Filed in Gallery Updates The Returned

First Teaser Trailer for A&E’s The Returned Hits!

This. Looks. Awesome! The first teaser trailer for A&E’s upcoming series The Returned has hit the web and it looks so good! The show is an adaptation of the International Emmy Award-winning French series Les Revenants. You can watch the teaser footage below and check out the full set of screencaps in the gallery.

(source)
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Filed in Gallery Updates The Returned

TCA Winter Event Photos; First Returned Stills!

The first promo stills from Carlton Cuse’s upcoming mystery drama The Returned have hit the web and I’ve added the stills featuring Mary to the gallery. You can view them by clicking the thumbnails below:

I’ve also added pics of Mary featuring her, Carlton Cuse and her co-stars at the TCA panel from today.

Additionally, The Returned‘s executive producers Carlton Cuse and Raelle Tucker emphasized that they weren’t out to fix or amend the French version of the show. “The starting point is similar, but our show becomes quite different around episode 6 where in the French version it becomes quite genre and incident heavy at episode 8,” said Cuse. He further mentioned that the FremantleMedia French series is “working independently on season two currently.  Our show going forward will be wholly original.”

When asked about The Returned‘s similarity to Lost in its mysterious intrigue, Cuse said, “The show is a mosaic like Lost. We’re filling in tiles but not in a straight order. The weave of the characters is how the projects are similar.”

Those who did watch Les Revenants will find that the plot line is somewhat similar, since the characters are near carbon-copies from the original. Mark Pellegrino portrays patriarch Jack (Jérôme in the French version), Sophie Lowe plays Lena (versus Léna), Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Rowan (versus Adèle), India Ennenga as Camille, and Sandrine Holy as Julie. (The latter two have the same character names.) “I do think that their performances are quite different from the original French series,” executive producer Raelle Tucker says. “I feel that each one of these people brought the essence of the character. I think over episodes, you will see how those characters are quite different and shift a lot.”

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Filed in Faults The Returned TV News

Indiewire Names Faults One of the Best Films of ’15; Returned Update

A quick update for all of us looking forward to seeing Mary in the new A&E series The Returned: According to Twitter, tomorrow A&E will be at the winter TCA to present the upcoming show with some of the cast in attendance. Hopefully we’ll get a teaser trailer out of this! 🙂 *Fingers crossed.*

Also, Faults was among IndieWire‘s top ’25 best films of 2015 we’ve already seen’ list. Here’s what they said about the film:

“Faults”
Director: Riley Stearns
Cast: Leland Orser, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Beth Grant, Chris Ellis
Synopsis: A washed-up TV guru/cult expert decides to de-program a young girl from a cult called Faults, in order to pay off the remainder of his debt.
Verdict: Riley Stearns writes and directs his first feature like a man who’s been making compelling, darkly funny, and unpredictably twisted films for years. Films about cults tend to either veer towards undiluted horror (“The Wicker Man,” “Children of the Corn”), eerie drama (“Martha Marcy May Marlene,” “The Master”) or strict genre-fare (“Kill List”), so it’s a testament to Stearns’ talents that he manages such a formidable balancing act of a spooky genre story masquerading as a suburban drama of horrors. Crumbling societal values and power trips with identity make for some of the blackest humor we’ve seen recently, and with the underused Leland Orser absolutely ripping it in a spectacular lead performance, followed so closely by the excellent and instinctive Mary Elizabeth Winstead, “Faults” is likely to end up as one of the year’s very top directorial debuts.
Our Review:
Here’s William’s B grade review from SXSW
Release Date: March 6th

The Austin Chronicle also praised the film:

Sharing much of the cast with one of my favorite gonzo action/slasher hyrbids ever, The Guest, Faults could not be more tonally different. Leland Orser plays a washed-up cult deprogrammer named Ansel Roth, hired to get a young woman (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) back with her family. What quickly and disturbingly unfolds is not just a battle of wits, but a Beckett-meets-Mamet descent into interpersonal darkness. Orser gives one of the year’s best performances, while Winstead’s aura of blank innocence gives director Riley Stearns space to take the movies to incredibly dark places. As I wrote during SXSW, “Stearns’ graduation to the feature leagues may be the most quietly impressive since Craig Zobel opened up the Great World of Sound.”

 

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