Category: Scott Pilgrim Takes Off

Filed in Interviews Scott Pilgrim Takes Off Scott Pilgrim Vs The World TV News

New Podcast Interview

Posted on Written by Jessica Comments Off on New Podcast Interview

A brand new podcast interview Mary did with Awards Radar has been released & you can hear it by clicking HERE! In the interview, Mary talks about stepping back into the role of Ramona Flowers for Scott Pilgrim Takes Off and some of her favorite TV shows. Below are some highlights:

When you first played Ramona for the film, did you feel her story was incomplete?

I don’t think I ever felt it was incomplete in terms of wanting to know desperately what was going to happen next or anything like that. I did think that there was a lot more to her that I would have loved to explore. Obviously, when you’re making something that’s based on a book or based on a series of books, there’s going to be a lot more in there than you’re able to capture in one film. So I think I always felt it would be fun to be able to explore all these other little bits and pieces that we didn’t get to see of her in the film.

But I wasn’t exactly wondering what’s going to happen next because I thought it was such a lovely ending, the way that that film wrapped up and I thought it was really perfect. So whenever ideas about sequels were bandied about, I was sort of like, oh yeah, that’d be great. But I didn’t really ever take it too seriously because I thought it was kind of like the perfect, you know, full circle that the way it was handled in the film.

So what was your first reaction when, or your initial reaction when you found out that Ramona was going to be the front and center for this series?

You know, it was really unexpected and lovely. I think I thought it was going to be amazing, but I don’t think I really realized what it was going to feel like until I was there doing it. And I didn’t realize how much it was going to mean to me.

It really meant a lot to me to be able to have Ramona kind of telling this story in her own way and to be kind of taking the reins because I think for a lot of the film, she was a bit passive, you know, she’s sort of watching all this happen around her and because of her, but there’s only a few kind of points in the movie where she gets to actually kind of take charge. And now in this series, she’s doing it throughout the whole series. And that was incredibly cathartic and meaningful for me to get to do that.

What was it like to explore her and like to really dig deep into what caused the pain and how she dealt with it? 

I was just so grateful to have the opportunity to do that because, you know, I think it was all kind of there when we were doing the movie and I kind of felt all of these things for her. I really felt a lot of empathy for her in terms of how she was feeling and that vulnerability that she was covering up and that she was afraid of and all of those things.

But I think, you know, it wasn’t really her story. So we didn’t really get to see so much of what was underneath that guardedness. So I felt really grateful to get to kind of unveil that a little bit more and people behind that curtain and to get to see her have that realization about herself.

You know, I think in that scene with Roxy is when it really kind of clicks for her, what she’s been doing her whole life that she’s just runs away when she gets scared or when people get too close to her and, you know, and feeling regret for that. And so it was great to get to humanize her in that way, that there are, that she is vulnerable and that she is a loving person, but that she’s afraid. And so I was just really thankful to get to show that because I love her so much as a character.

Share
Filed in A Gentleman in Moscow Gallery Updates Interviews Scott Pilgrim Takes Off TV News

Mary and Ewan Interviewed for Variety

Posted on Written by Jessica 2 Comments on Mary and Ewan Interviewed for Variety

Mary and Ewan got interviewed and photographed for the latest issue of Variety‘s extra edition. Below are some highlights of their interview. Along with the Q&A, the couple were also photographed and you can view their new photo shoot in the gallery. A motion cover edition was also uploaded on the Variety account.
The pictures are both HQ! 🙂

At this point, McGregor was already attached to the project as an executive producer, but he wasn’t sure the role would be big enough for Winstead. Plus, she wanted to make sure that they were actually interested in it for her — not just because he was suggesting it. Once discussions began and they found a way to elevate the character, she was in.

“I’ve been dying to do something properly together since we did ‘Fargo,’” she says. “I really didn’t expect it to be as great of a role as it ended up being. I just felt so lucky.”

Mary on taking the role of Anna Urbanova and how her prep for roles has changed:

“We’re very similar. I’m always really nervous in the beginning, like leading up to it and then having that impostor syndrome moment where you’re like, ‘Oh, my God, I thought I was gonna be great in this role and now I’m regretting taking it because I don’t know what I’m doing!’ And then you get swept away and it becomes enjoyable,” she says.

By the time the day is over, “everything’s so frantic having a baby at home,” that that’s completely where her focus goes. “When you’re off set, you’re just a parent. You don’t really have time to think about how you feel about the character right now. You’re just thrown into bath [time] and dinner,” she says. “I don’t analyze things nearly as much as I did. You don’t have the time to sit and overanalyze and stew and worry and all of those things. You just have to show up and kick yourself into gear.”

On recording Scott Pilgrim Takes off & filming AGIM:

“It was really interestingly cathartic,” she says of diving back in. Since she was already so invested in “Gentleman in Moscow” when she took it on, Winstead had no idea how unique it would feel to step back into the universe in a whole new way.

“As we started getting more and more into the episodes, it was just such a joy. They did such an amazing job — so beautiful and profound, what they were talking about and where they were taking the characters. So, to be doing that with a role that’s formative for me was unexpectedly emotional. It meant so much,” she says. “I tried to reach back into my brain and go back to my 24-year-old self and find that voice again.”

Share
Filed in Interviews Scott Pilgrim Takes Off Scott Pilgrim Vs The World TV News

Mary Elizabeth Discusses ‘Scott Pilgrim Takes Off’ in New Interview, Cast Release Thank You Video

Posted on Written by Jessica Comments Off on Mary Elizabeth Discusses ‘Scott Pilgrim Takes Off’ in New Interview, Cast Release Thank You Video

In a brand new interview with Indiewire, Mary discusses how the animated series came to be and how it felt stepping back into the world of Scott Pilgrim and playing Ramona Flowers once again.
Be sure to click the link above to read the entire interview:

I was first introduced to the world of “Scott Pilgrim” through Edgar Wright, who met with me about the role of Ramona and slipped me the books by Bryan Lee O’Malley— probably a couple years before we ever made the film — and I completely fell in love with them. I couldn’t imagine doing any other project; it was actually really difficult to go on auditions and take meetings because I kept saying, “No, I’m just going to do this movie. I don’t really want to do any of the other ones.” So, I was pretty obsessed with it.

Then at some point, when things started to become a bit more real, Edgar created all these parties and events with other people involved in the project and, very quickly, we became pretty close as a group; all of us would hang out and go to dinners and go to movies and to Edgar’s parties, and it became almost like this college experience. We were all majoring in “Scott Pilgrim” together. That’s where I met Bryan, who I always remember being the quiet guy, the shy guy, which was funny considering he was the person who started it all. But I always remember and respected that he didn’t need to show off how talented and smart he was. He let the work speak for itself — and it did. We all just loved it so much.

So did BenDavid. I first met BenDavid at a party about a year after “Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World” had come out. He came up to me and my then-husband at the time and gushed about “Scott Pilgrim” — just kind of nonstop about how he was the biggest fan of it in the world. Then he became one of our closest friends, and through us, became one of Bryan’s closest friends. I’m basically taking credit for the two of them, but this amazing kismet happened, and they found each other and were able to collaborate.

There’s also something that just pops off the page when you’re reading Bryan and BenDavid’s scripts. You can see so clearly what the story’s going to be. We had Science Saru, these incredible animators, bringing it to life — basing it on the comics but obviously adding their own twist to it, so there was definitely an element of surprise for me watching the show. But at the same time, there’s something really visual about the writing and the comedic visual cues Bryan and BenDavid put into the scripts. You know how it’s going to play out visually, which is fantastic.

On “Scott Pilgrim Takes Off,” it was incredibly cathartic for me to get to play this version of Ramona; to get to see her go down this road and to have so much agency, for her to be making so many choices for herself and propelling the story forward herself. I was so happy to get to go through that with her. Bryan and BenDavid pulled it off in such a profound and beautiful way.

In related news, the Scott Pilgrim Takes Off cast also released a thank you video to the fans for their continued support of the series and books, having allowed them to make the show in the first place after its cult status for the film grew over the years. You can view the video here.

Share
Filed in A Gentleman in Moscow Interviews Scott Pilgrim Takes Off TV News

Latest Interviews with Mary

Posted on Written by Jessica Comments Off on Latest Interviews with Mary

Below I’ve decided to add a couple new interviews Mary has done lately promoting ‘A Gentleman in Moscow’ and the Netflix anime series ‘Scott Pilgrim Takes Off’. First up is an in-person interview she did with Ewan in Los Angeles for the Los Angeles time. The event took place at the end of April and a few photos from that event can be seen here.

Secondly, Mary also did a lengthy interview with the SAG-AFTRA foundation discussing her work on the animated Netflix series, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off as well as working on AGIM. This was one of my favorite interviews with her! She’s so humble and I just loved watching this as a whole. Very lovely.

Mary also did an interview with Town & Country Magazine talking about playing Anna Urbanova in the series. Be sure to click the link above to read it in full:

What made playing Anna something you wanted to do?
It was such an amazing opportunity. Every aspect of it just sang with potential to be the best thing possible, beginning with the novel, which I had read already, and knowing that Ewan was attached to play the Count. I knew that that was going to be something magical. It felt like a real no brainer to want to be involved on top of the opportunity to play an incredibly fabulous character. Also, I got to be with my husband for six months and work on something that excited us both. There’s nothing better than that.

To create the character, did you use materials beyond the script or the book that inspired it?
The book, of course, was an amazing starting place; Amor Toles wrote such incredibly wonderful characters. In addition to that, I wanted to have something that I could hang my hat on in terms of the history of real actresses at that time, and the real Russian women of that day who were in her position. It’s a bit difficult to find a lot of information, but I did find a few. One was named Alla Nazimova, and I felt she resembled Anna the most—she was also the most fascinating to learn about. She had an incredible backstory that was quite heartbreaking, and I held onto that for Anna.

Is there anything about the production—which has these incredible sets and costumes—that you hope audiences notice? Any kind of Easter eggs we should be looking for?
There are subtleties, especially in the wardrobe, hair, and makeup. Obviously, we go through different eras, which is fun to see, but for Anna, I thought it was so lovely to have not only the evolution in terms of time but also of her as a person. She becomes so much softer, and we see her wearing knits and flat shoes; she’s letting herself get softer, and the clothes reflect that in a beautiful way.

Share
Filed in 10 Cloverfield Lane Ahsoka Interviews Scott Pilgrim Takes Off TV News

SPTO Wins Critics Choice; GLAAD Nomination and New THR Interview with Mary

Posted on Written by Jessica Comments Off on SPTO Wins Critics Choice; GLAAD Nomination and New THR Interview with Mary

Apologies to all for the lack of news on here lately! Been feeling under the weather & while I’m still not feeling totally great, I thought I’d update you all with the latest round of news. First up, during last week’s Critics Choice Awards that took place on Sunday, it was announced (during a moment in the show they were going to commercial) that the Netflix animated series Scott Pilgrim Takes Off won best animated series! Congratulations to the whole team on that and everyone involved. It was well deserved!

In related news, GLAAD just came out with their list of nominations for the 35th annual GLAAD Media Awards and  SPTO is nominated in the ‘Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series‘ against shows like Netflix’s Bodies & The Fall of the House of Usher. The awards ceremony will take place in Los Angeles on Thursday, March 14, 2024 at The Beverly Hilton and in New York on Saturday, May 11, 2024 at The New York Hilton Midtown.

Finally, Mary gave a brand new interview with The Hollywood Reporter this past week discussing her roles in both Ahsoka and returning to the role of Ramona in Scott Pilgrim Takes Off. I added some highlights from the interview below, but as always, click the link above to read the interview in full.

You had these two exciting projects that you couldn’t talk about for the longest time, and that’s something you’d never really experienced. A big part of the job is talking about the job. So did it feel pretty isolating? Did it make you anxious?

I suppose it came along at a good time for me because life was so busy anyway. So I didn’t really mind having the opportunity to do the work and letting it speak for itself. There was something liberating about it. That’s not to say that it’s stressful speaking to you, but the thought of promoting something is often another layer of stress. So, in that sense, it was a little bit freeing, but in another sense, the lack of celebration was a bit hard, particularly with Ahsoka. It was unfortunate to not really be able to get together with one another and celebrate all the effort that went into it. So it was nice once the strike was over, as we were able to get together and just have a meal and say, “Oh my God, look at what we made.” Those kinds of things are special, and I’m happy that we’re able to do that again.

When the Ahsoka offer came in, did you walk down the hall and say, “Hey, you! What should I know about this? What’s the deal with the volume? Is C-3PO cool?” Did that conversation happen [with Ewan McGregor]?

(Laughs.) Definitely. We talked a lot about what the experience of being a part of that world is like. Of course, we had those conversations before that as well, but it became a different conversation once it became a reality that I might actually be stepping into it. And I also had a familiarity with the project from being around on the Obi-Wan set. I had a familiarity with some of the people involved, not in a super close sense, but in the way that someone might be a friend of a friend. So you’ve heard about them and you’ve heard how cool they are to work with.

And just being on the Obi-Wan set and getting to see what a positive environment it was, there was something incredibly moving about that. I got to see people working on Star Wars who were such big fans of Star Wars, and that’s something that you can’t really feel and know until you’re there and you feel that energy and what a special thing it is to be a part of. There’s something really infectious about being on a set where everybody really wants to be there. So having had that experience when the offer came through, it made me even more excited than I would’ve otherwise been. Obviously the prospect of being in Star Wars is exciting regardless, but knowing what it feels like to be in that community made it something that I would never want to turn down.

I hear stories all the time of actors calling other actors to vet directors and producers, so who better to ask, right?

Absolutely. It was great to have a direct line to what this experience was going to be like, and it was nothing but positive.

From 10 Cloverfield Lane and Gemini Man to Birds of Prey and Kate, you’d done five years’ worth of jobs that really put you through the wringer, physically. So was part of you glad that Hera didn’t have to get too physical for the time being?

Yeah, it was really perfect for me just in terms of where I was in my life at the time. It was my first job back after having a baby, and I was still feeling my way back into my body in terms of my physicality in the role and in my roles, in general. So it was perfect for me to feel strong and like a warrior, but in a way that didn’t require me to wreck my body, which was still in some level of postpartum recovery even at that stage.

Everyone sounded pretty on point, but it was almost eerie how well you recaptured Ramona. Do you partially credit the inflection or tone you chose for her way back when?

Yeah, I thought it was a really great opportunity to go back and recapture that tone, but also bring some new shades to her, which I really appreciated getting to do. I got to do more scenes with a bit of a smile or a bit of warmth or a bit of cheekiness or things that the film didn’t really have time to explore. The focus of the film version of Ramona was really this deadpan personality. That tone suited the film, but it was nice that the animated series gave me several episodes to explore her and bring those other shades to her. So it was a cool challenge to find that voice, but then also open her up in new ways.

Share
Filed in A Gentleman in Moscow Ahsoka Interviews Scott Pilgrim Takes Off TV News

Mary Discusses Latest Projects in New Interview

Posted on Written by Jessica Comments Off on Mary Discusses Latest Projects in New Interview

Mary recently sat down with Collider where they mostly spoke about her current project, the Netflix animated series ‘Scott Pilgrim Takes Off’ and returning to the character of Ramona Flowers over 10 years later. In the interview, she also speaks about wanting to explore the character of Hera more in the Disney+ series ‘Ahsoka’ and her upcoming project ‘A Gentleman in Moscow’, which she’ll star alongside her husband Ewan McGregor. I added a few highlights where she talks about it all, but be sure to click the link above to read the entire interview.

What was the best part about getting to play Ramona again? Were there challenges in returning to her, so many years after playing her?

WINSTEAD: It was a huge experience for all of us, making the film, and that comes with all the history of your old self. There were a lot of things that came flooding back for me, of just the person that I used to be, and having to go back to that and be in that body again. It was definitely more emotional than I expected it to be. I was like, “Oh, God, I’ve been taken back in time and I’m being myself at 24.” There’s just a lot of feelings around that. It was amazing to get to go on this journey with that version of myself and that version of Ramona and get to grow with her in this truncated time frame. It was almost like experiencing being myself at 24 and myself at 38, and in a few months’ time, I went through all that time with her, which was just amazing. It was a deep process that I totally didn’t expect. I just expected to go in and have fun, and it ended up being more powerful to me than that.

I would imagine this character was already special to you because of the following it’s had, and then it gives you all that self-reflection to come back to it. That must have been such a surreal experience.

WINSTEAD: It was absolutely surreal and unexpected. I think the reason why we’re so game to always come back to it and it has stayed with us for all these years is because it was really an influential thing that happened in our very formative years. There’s a lot to say around playing these characters and being a part of this project, and it means a lot to all of us.

Have you thought about what you would want to explore with Hera, if you get to do more of Ahsoka? What an awesome character that is.

WINSTEAD: She’s such an amazing character. There’s such a wealth of experiences that we could bring to [Hera], in terms of either going back and showing a bit of her backstory, of what led up to the moment where we see her in Ahsoka, or at least just feeling it through getting to know where she’s at now in her journey. It’s so hard to talk about without giving away things that might have been discussed in the past. All the fans of her and of Rebels know that there’s so much that can be done with that role, so I would be really excited to get to go down that path.

You also have A Gentleman in Moscow, which sounds like a very interesting character exploration. What appealed to you about telling that story and playing that character? What are you excited for fans to see with that?

WINSTEAD: It’s an incredibly beautiful, sweeping epic story. It just encompasses so many universal themes of love and loss and war, in a way that really pulls on the heartstrings, but it’s also funny and odd. I think it’s a brilliant book, and I think people who love the book will hopefully really be excited to go on the journey with these characters. To get to be in that time period, from the twenties through the fifties, and to get to play it out with my husband and do these really fun, passionate scenes together, was just so exciting. It was really a dream come true.

Share
Filed in Ahsoka Interviews Scott Pilgrim Takes Off

New ‘Ahsoka’ and ‘Scott Pilgrim Takes Off’ Interviews

Posted on Written by Jessica Comments Off on New ‘Ahsoka’ and ‘Scott Pilgrim Takes Off’ Interviews

2 brand new interviews are out, one with Mary discussing SPTO and the other with Dave Filoni on what we could see with Mary’s character Hera in Ahsoka should the series get picked up for a season 2:

“We set up Captain Pellaeon in The Mandalorian, and that’s a character that goes with Thrawn, so I’d love to see the two of them together,” Filoni teases. Plus, he points out, a fellow figure from Ahsoka has a long-standing conflict with the Grand Admiral. “His foil throughout Rebels was Hera,” Filoni states. “Pitting the two generals against one another is something that I find interesting.”

So looks like we’ll definitely be seeing some very cool battles between the two characters & of course this means more screen time for Mary, which I’m sure we’re all excited to see when that time comes.

In other news, Mary did another interview promoting Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, which is currently streaming on Netflix. You can watch that below.

Mary on returning to the character of Ramona Flowers years later:

“I always had this huge love and connection to Ramona, but I always kind of wanted to do a bit more with her. So to get to come to this point, to be able to explore her further and to get to have different sides of her and different shades to her and kind of flesh her out into this very full person was like, it meant a lot to me. You could feel that Bryan and BenDavid (series co-creator BenDavid Grabinski) really wanted to give her that as a character. And that was really, really special.”

Share
Filed in Gallery Updates Scott Pilgrim Takes Off

Ewan Facetimes Mary at Tokyo Comic Con

Posted on Written by Jessica Comments Off on Ewan Facetimes Mary at Tokyo Comic Con

During a moment at Tokyo Comic Con today, Ewan facetimed Mary and an official pic was released. There’s also a quick video someone took which you can view below:

In other news, I forgot to upload this video, but a behind the scenes video was released of the Scott Pilgrim Cast came out recording some lines for the Netflix series. All episodes are currently streaming.

Share
Filed in Ahsoka Interviews Scott Pilgrim Takes Off TV News

New ‘Scott Pilgrim Takes Off’ and ‘Ahsoka’ Interviews

Posted on Written by Jessica Comments Off on New ‘Scott Pilgrim Takes Off’ and ‘Ahsoka’ Interviews

Now that the SAG-AFTRA strikes are finally over, celebrities can go back to doing interviews to talk about their shows and films. First up, Mary spoke with Collider in a brand new interview about Ahsoka and how she hopes she’ll get a chance to return to the character of Hera:

“She’s such an amazing character. “There’s such a wealth of experiences that we could bring to her, in terms of either going back and showing a bit of her backstory, of what led up to the moment where we see her in Ahsoka, or at least just feeling it through getting to know where she’s at now in her journey. It’s so hard to talk about without giving away things that might have been discussed in the past. All the fans of her and of Rebels know that there’s so much that can be done with that role, so I would be really excited to get to go down that path.”

Mary on working with Dave Filoni (the new creative chief of LucasFilm):

He’s pretty open when it comes to things he would like to do. He lives and breathes Star Wars and there’s an infinite amount of things that he would like to do, that he could do, and his brain is firing on so many levels. I just try not to get too caught up in it because you never know what’s really going to be able to be accomplished and what’s going to make sense within all the storylines. I just wait until they call for me, and then I’ll be like, “Oh, cool, they’re actually going with that idea,” or “Oh, I guess they decided not to.” I just try to go with the flow. But it’s great to get little hints at his process and his frame of mind. It’s really cool.

Mary also did brand new video interviews with her ‘Scott Pilgrim’ co-star Ellen Wong who played Knives Chau. In the two interviews, they talked about getting to revisit their characters and how the Netflix anime series differs from the 2010 film. The transcript for the ComingSoon interview can be found on their site.



Share