In a new interview with Film School Rejects, Mary talks about Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, the appreciation fans have for Scott Pilgrim Vs the World and her role in Roman Coppola’s A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III. As always, posting a few snippets on here, but click the link above tor read the full interview:
So, when you read a passage detailing a vampire throwing a horse, is that the sign-me-up moment?
Oh my God, that scene is insane [Laughs]. Most of those scenes I had no concept of what they were going to look like, since I wasn’t even there when they were shooting them. I was blown away when I saw that for the first time. You do think, “I have no idea how they’re going to do that and I have no idea how that’s going to look,” but that’s kind of exciting. There’s a mystery factor to it.
You do have the makeup challenge, though. To what degree do you have to readjust how you act?
You do have to do that a little bit. It’s harder to be expressive, because you got so much stuff on your face it can be hard to make facial expressions. That’s a bit of a challenge. At the same time, it added so much for me, because I didn’t know how I was going to play someone about 20 years older than me. As soon as they put the aging makeup on, it became easier and made more sense. Naturally it just became easier.
Roman Coppola made A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III sound pretty surreal. How do you describe that movie?
It’s basically about this man going through a bit of a crisis, and it’s shown through his perspective and what’s going on in his head. He’s quite imaginative. It takes place in the 70s, but it’s highly-influenced by 1930s musicals. There’s a lot of musical numbers, fantastical set pieces, and things like that. It’s very whimsical and sweet.
Did all that call for a more heightened performance?
Well, it’s always different, and it depends on what it is. This one was so heightened that you had to go over the top and have fun with it. I’m in a fantasy sequence where I play this dominatrix military type of office, calling out commands to other women. In his head, that’s what he thinks women are like when men aren’t around. Of course, he’s totally wrong and it’s totally ridiculous. You just have to go with it and chew the scenery.