Mary
Elizabeth
WinsteadSource

Mary recently did an interview with Details.com about her role in Alex of Venice and The Returned among other things. Click the link to read the full interview. Below are some highlights:

DETAILS: You’re currently on A&E’s resurrection drama The Returned. Do you believe in life after death?
Mary Elizabeth Winstead: I’m not sure if I believe in it. I certainly hope that something like that could be true. But I also wouldn’t quite call myself a believer. I’d say I am open—I’m open to possibilities.

DETAILS: You’re a renowned “scream queen” because of all the horror movies on your resume. What scares you in real life?
Mary Elizabeth Winstead: I’m scared of complacency in my career. I have a real fear of getting too comfortable and not reaching my full potential in life because of that.

DETAILS: What else would people be surprised to know about you?

Mary Elizabeth Winstead: When it comes to people in the industry, I tend to be quite different in terms the goals that I have. I just want to do good work and work with other talented people. I kind of shy away from the sort of eagerness and neediness that is seen a lot around here: People who are desperate for fame. And I’m actually surprised by people who are surprised by the fact that there would be somebody in the entertainment industry who wouldn’t be attracted to those things. I mean, it takes so much work to put yourself out there like that. If your goal is to be famous, it really is a full-time job. You’ve go to sell yourself and make yourself a brand and do all this stuff. But I’ve never been interested in that side of things.

Mary also did an interview with The Mary Sue where she talked more in depth about Alex of Venice, returning to studio films and working with her husband on Faults. Click the link above to read it in full!

As the title reads, Ain’t It Cool News recently chatted with Mary about her upcoming film, Alex of Venice. Below are some highlights from the interview, and be sure to click on the link above to read the full Q&A:

With this film, when you first read this script, what was it about Alex that jumped out at you? Was there an aspect to her life or the upheaval that happens to it that made you think, “I’ve seen that before,” or “I know someone that’s happened to”?

MEW: I think in general, the complexity of the role was really exciting to me and the reliability of it. I loved the fact that you get to see her with her sister and her husband and her father and her son, and you get to see the full spectrum of relationships and how she handles herself in each one. I am really drawn to characters who are trying to be better people and in every scene are striving to figure out what it is about their lives that isn’t working and how they can grow from that and move on and become better. So that was something that really spoke to me about this role, too, is you feel like all the way through the end she’s trying to figure out how to do this. How do I be a good sister? How do I be a good mom? How do I be a good daughter? How do I be a good wife? And I think that that is something for me that is incredibly relatable and universal.

I heard about these crazy long takes that he  did, too. How did you like that experience?

MEW: I loved that. I absolutely loved getting to play. A lot of times he let the camera play out and see what happens, and other times he would stoke the fire. He would go behind the camera and he would just shout stuff out: “Tell her you love her. Tell her you can’t stand her anymore. Tell her you’re sick of her,” just to switch things up and see what happens. I loved that. I really loved that energy when you don’t know what’s going to happen in a scene and if something brilliant can come about that you never expected. I love that.

Don Johnson is phenomenal in this. I’ve seen him in quite a few things in the last few years, but usually they bring him in just for the vibe or comic relief. But here, he’s actually digging in, and just eating this thing whole. What did you learn from him just watching him work and embody this this character?

MEW: He’s a really inspiring person, because he’s just so committed as an actor. He came to it and hit the ground running in terms of wanting this character to feel authentic and doing whatever he could to get it there. He’s maybe not synonymous with a being serious actor, because he’s known for “Miami Vice” and other things, but I think when you go back to the beginning of his career, he was in acting school and alongside really serious actors. That’s always been where his heart lies. To me, I always loved watching him. And I really felt like I was getting to act along side somebody who was the real deal, who has seen a lot as an actor, and experienced a lot, and is someone I can really learn from.

 

With Alex of Venice being released in limited release this Friday and available on Video on Demand on the same day, new interviews with Mary will be released throughout the week. Another new interview with her has been released with Mary and her co-star/writer of the film Katie Nehra. Check it out below:

Following the release of its first clip, a new Alex of Venice clip has been released via Vulture. In the clip, we see Messina’s George on this way out — a cruel acknowledgement that he isn’t getting what he wants from his supposedly happy little family. Alex is blindsided. You can view it by visiting the site here.
Also, a new interview with Mary discussing the film has been posted online via RamaScreen. Here are some highlights:

How challenging was it to work with an actor who was also directing you at the same time? Did that get awkward on the set? Was that your first time experience like that?
Mary Elizabeth Winstead: “It was my first experience like that, but it never really got awkward. I think my fears about working with an actor/director would be that, exactly like you said, it would be that instead of acting with me in a scene, they would be sort of watching and judging me, and then I’d be thinking, ‘Am I doing it right?’ And that’s the last thing you want to be thinking about when you’re acting in a scene, you just want to be connecting and bringing the character to life in the most authentic way. That was never an issue with Chris [Messina] when he was directing, I never felt like I was being judged, or micro-managed in any way. He really was just so open and giving and he just wanted everybody to have an opportunity to be great and to shine brightly, and to let them do that on their own term, he was just lovely in every way.”

So what was it like working with the great Don Johnson?

Mary Elizabeth Winstead: “It was fantastic. He was such a brilliant actor. Remembered so much for “Miami Vice” there are things people remember about that show, and also the personalities. But I think that may overshadow the fact that he’s just flat out great actor and I think he always has been, he’s really about the craft and becoming better and that’s hugely inspiring for me. He was talking to me about writing something. He’s still expanding in terms of who he is as a creative person and I love that, I love being around people like that.”

I’m glad you’re doing all these indie movies and I’ve been enjoying them, but do you miss doing studio movies? When will you come back to the studio circuit?
Mary Elizabeth Winstead: “Ya know, I would love to do studio movies. I think I’m just drawn characters that I find complex and materials that excite me. So ya know, there are certainly studio movies that I talk about and haven’t worked out for one reason or another, I have a film coming out later this fall, it’s for Paramount, so that’s a studio film. So I’m happy to do any kind of movie and any kind of project that speaks to me in terms of the character and the material. I think the main issue for me is that it’s hard for me to find big studio movies, for me, that have roles that are exciting for me, just in the past couple of years, but I’m on the hunt for that for sure.”