Breathe In

The actress has continued to hone her craft since then. Jones nailed it as Ruth Bader Ginsburg in “On the Basis of Sex,” released on Christmas. This film illustrates how and why the U.S. Supreme Court Justice has earned her nickname: Notorius RGB (check out the 2018 documentary “RBG” starring RBG).

On The Basis of Sex

1
Before I screened “Breathe In,” I loved Jones in “Hysteria.” Since then, I was wowed by her role in “The Theory of Everything.”

Hysteria

The Theory of Everything

“Breathe In” is a beautiful film, directed by Drake Doremus. I walked in for the exclusive interview and Jones looked even more stunning in person. But more importantly than her looks, she was warm, kind, open, and smiled a lot.
 
Dorri Olds: How was it working with Guy Pearce?
Felicity Jones: Fantastic.! I’ve always admired his work I think he always chooses really interesting directors. He’s always about the acting. He’d never done a film where he was improvising before and I could see him relishing the challenge. He’s an actor who always pushing himself. He really loved the process of making it.
Was there a lot of improvisation?
Yeah, a lot. Some things were scripted but most of it was how we made “Like Crazy.” We had an outline and then there’d be thoughts about a character and what happens in the scene and then we’d bring dialogue in on the day.
How did you become involved with film?
This was really unusual, it never usually happens, Drake asked me to do it because we had worked together on “Like Crazy” and he had this idea. In many ways this film is like a twin to “Like Crazy.” He said, “Do you want to come back and see what we can do this time?” So, that was quite nice that I didn’t have to audition. Auditions are really, really frightening. After a while you get used to them but they can be really quite intimidating.
What type of research and preparation did you do for this role?
I felt like Sophie was a very troubled young woman. There was a play called “Master Builder” by Henrik Ibsen and there is a character in that called Hilda and she was a real inspiration. I felt like she was a good foundation for understanding Sophie. There was a French film, “Le Casse” that had a similar kind of thriller mood. With any part you look at other films. There is a fairytale quality to Sophie. She was coming into a family that was heightened by her and her presence. I think that the main thing to me is the back-story for both Anna and Sophie. What was she like? What was her house like? What did her parents do? Having a really sure understanding of the character’s background is so important.
After playing beside Hugh Dancy in the light comedy, “Hysteria,” is it strange to see him playing such a dark character in “Hannibal”?
I think that’s what we always want as actors, to be able to move between different characters and take on different personalities. For me, that’s part of the joy of doing it and I imagine he loves that too.
Do you have a favorite role?
I did a play called, “The Chalk Garden,” which is an amazing play by Enid Bagnon. I played a 16-year-old who was obsessed with fire, a pyromaniac. She was a very troubled young girl and I absolutely loved the play. I was with two fantastic British actresses.
Did you ever forget your line?
Sometimes you do and you panic and look to the audience and hope for the best. That’s why it’s so brilliant to do it. You literally freeze onstage and think, ‘Why the hell am I doing this to myself?’ But it’s really exciting as well.
What’s it like watching yourself on film?
Less fun than being onstage. It’s an odd experience. I think we humans tend to be quite critical of ourselves and it can be a hard process. You watch yourself and think, ‘I could’ve done that differently.’
Did you always know you were beautiful growing up?
[Laughs] Oh, that’s a nice compliment! I guess I don’t think in those terms. I try not to think too much about what how you’re perceived on the outside. That’s not good.
Have you ever had any bad experiences with fans?
Do you know what? I’ve been really lucky. I have really nice fans. They come up and they’re always really, really respectful and I’ve never had any aggression. They’ve always been really polite and nice.
Do you Facebook and Twitter?
No, I don’t.
Do you have staff that does that for you?
No, I don’t. It’s not something I engage in. I like to see other people doing it but no, it’s not really my thing.
Do you have a favorite movie you’ve done — “Like Crazy,” “Hysteria,” “The Invisible Woman”?
I like doing them all. My focus is always the character. That’s always my way into something and I try not to patronize the character depending on when they lived. I feel like as human beings we all have the same emotions, feelings we’ve had for hundreds of years. The forces upon us are slightly different. I love period dramas as well as more contemporary films. I grew up watching “Howard’s End” and “Room with a View,” so I do like doing period work but the hook is always the character and the director.
Was Ralph Fiennes a controlling director in “The Invisible Woman”? Did you have to stick to the script?
It was a very different process from “Like Crazy” and “Breath In.” He was always just wanting to explore and he pushed me. It was always just about trying to get to something truthful about that about my character.
What’s next for you?
I have a film coming out late this year called “Theory of Everything,” which James Marsh directed. It’s about Stephen Hawking and Jane Hawking and their relationship, first meeting and falling in love and then Stephen being diagnosed with motor neuron disease, and it spans their meeting when they were in their early 20s to when they split up in their 40s. Also “True Story” with Jonah Hill and James Franco and I was in “The Amazing Spider-Man 2.”
“Breathe In” opens in New York City on March 28, 2014. It is available now On Demand. Rated R. 98 minutes.
Trailer:

The post Felicity Jones Interview appeared first on Award-Winning Writer and Graphic Designer.

The post Candid Interview with Rising Star Tye Sheridan appeared first on Award-Winning Writer and Graphic Designer.

The post Dorri Olds Interview with Ray Liotta appeared first on Award-Winning Writer and Graphic Designer.

ASJA PANEL • Saturday, May 2, 2015 • 2:00–3:30PM

Editors love to get exclusive interviews with top people in the field their publication covers. Writers who can deliver interesting Q&As or profiles continue to get assignments. The challenge is that the bigger the name, the harder it is to get to the celebrity/leader. The panel will explain how to get assignments to cover the famous, convince their gatekeepers to give you access, get fascinating answers, and write a sizzling profile.

SCOTT S. SMITH, ASJA
Scott S. Smith has had been published 1,300 times in 175 media, including interviews with high-achievers such as Bill Gates, Stan Lee, Meg Whitman, Quincy Jones, Kathy Ireland, Lee Iacocca, and Dean Koontz. His Extraordinary People: Real Life Lessons on What It Takes to Achieve Success was published in 2014.

DORRI OLDS, ASJA
Dorri Olds writes movie reviews and interviews celebrities for many outlets, including The Forward and TheBlot Magazine. Her Q&As have been with such notables as Steven Spielberg, Susan Sarandon, Julianne Moore, Angela Bassett, Daniel Radcliffe, Ryan Gosling, Patrick Stewart, James Franco, Evan Rachel Wood, and Kirsten Dunst. She has also been published in The New York Times.

BEVERLY GRAY, BOARD MEMBER, ASJA

Beverly Gray writes the popular showbiz blog “Beverly in Movieland” and has written extensively on theater for The Los Angeles Times and on movies for The Hollywood Reporter. Among her many interviewees have been Gwyneth Paltrow, George Cukor, Charlton Heston, and Beau Bridges. Her books include Roger Corman: Blood-Sucking Vampires, Flesh-Eating Cockroaches, and Driller Killers and Ron Howard: From Mayberry to the Moon…and Beyond.

The post ASJA Writers Conference: Secrets of Interviewing Famous People appeared first on Award-Winning Writer and Graphic Designer.

Academy Award-Nominated Actress Vera Farmiga is now a Director. Her career has taken off. In 2009, Ukrainian-American actress Vera Farmiga, 38, was Oscar-nominated for Best Supporting Actress for “Up in the Air” in a role that gave her the upper hand to George Clooney. That same year, she also starred opposite Peter Sarsgaard in the dark thriller, “Orphan.” Her first big studio film was 2006’s “The Departed” where she played love interest to hunky leading men Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon. This year Farmiga has joined that very small world of female movie directors with“Higher Ground” (release date: August 12th). Not only was she directing for the first time, she was also four months pregnant when the project began. The movie premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival and was included in New York’s Tribeca Film Festival.

The film asks if it is possible for faith and doubt to coexist. Though the story is centered on a Christian fundamentalist religion, “Higher Ground” is not about the rights and wrongs of different faiths. “The film is about the moments in life where you lose sight of who you are,” Farmiga said, “and what you believe in, and where you are going. It’s about finding your footing during those moments of stumbling in life. ‘Higher Ground’ shows that it’s okay to fall short, to be inadequate. It’s okay to be afraid and have doubt because there will be a path through. You possess all you need to draw yourself up to a higher ground, to your highest self.”

The movie embraces the gray area within the black and white rules of religion. Farmiga’s character, Corinne, struggles with relationships—her parents, friends, husband, children, God, and herself. “The examination of these relationships,” Farmiga said, “proves how porous and murky a spiritual path can be at times. It explores a notion I’ve experienced my whole life—that spiritual life is hard to master. Great faith requires great striving.”

Farmiga walked into our Soho meeting looking even more beautiful than I expected. She seemed right out of an Ivory soap commercial, with little makeup and the look of a farm girl with a complexion of fresh air, good food and innocence. Her azure eyes were ethereal and her smile natural. She exuded kindness and grace and appeared eager to talk about the film.

Dorri Olds: When did you first decide you wanted to direct ‘Higher Ground?’

Vera Farmiga: I had a deep affection for the story and became attached to the movie first as an actress. A man named Tim Metcalfe introduced me to the script. He had co-written it with Carolyn Briggs. But when the project wasn’t going in the direction that I wanted it to, I removed myself. Metcalfe didn’t want me to back out so he suggested I take more control and make it the movie I envisioned. So I did.

DO: What is the main message of ‘Higher Ground?’

VF: The film is about yearning on the deepest level. Yearning for a sense of a genuine self, a good self. It’s about holiness.

DO: Did you draw from any other films when you directed it?

VF: ‘The Apostle’ was a good reference for me. I have a deep respect for many faiths and have no axe to grind with any. I was not interested in proselytizing or trying to convert anyone. Nor did I want to make fun of any religion.

DO: The movie depicts a religious fanaticism though.

VF: Yes, the religion in the movie has a fanatical fundamental approach.

DO: Was it a strange transition to go from actress to director?

VF: It was a challenge compressing the book’s 20 years of life down to movie length. I also learned that ego must be kept in check, both on the set and with your audience. It’s an interesting balance not to take audiences as dunces. You don’t have to spell it all out. I decided to use the novel as a springboard. I was intrigued by creating a representation of the book’s strong female friendship. I had the right actress for Annika. Dagmara Dominczyk played the kind of strong woman you want to be—seductive, Mother Earth, voluptuous. The character made no apology for who she was. She was just Annika.

DO: Was it difficult to make the toe-sucking scene between your character Corinne and her best friend Annika?

VF: It was hard to keep a straight face! We used pink frosting from cupcakes which tasted great. We were acting out Corinne’s sensory fantasies. They were therapeutic during her pregnancy. My pregnancy progressed as it did for the character. I was five months pregnant when we wrapped. We shot the whole film in 26 days.  It was amazing. But it was hard enough for me to never want to do that again!

DO: Were you concerned about how to handle the touchy subject of religion?

VF: I love to see spirituality in films no matter what religion. Right now there is a surge of this topic. It’s like a Y2K feeling around 2012. The economic crash of 2008 forced people to reexamine themselves. Movies I’m most drawn to are about awakening—like Alice in Wonderland falling down a rabbit hole and meeting a whole new world.

DO: How were the actors chosen for ‘Higher Ground?’

VF: I was able to get every actor I wanted. I had tremendous control over casting. I knew I wanted to be surrounded by the right people; that it would make my job easier. I wanted people around me who had a commitment to artistic integrity. During the time of filming my sister Taissa was 15. She’s the runt of us 7 kids. Taissa wasn’t looking to be an actress. Another one of my sisters had a cameo at the beginning. In the scene in the nursing home I used our real grandma who has dementia and speaks in Ukrainian gibberish so she was perfect to play the part of a woman in a nursing home with dementia.

DO: Many of the women in the movie seemed very passive, unliberated. Was that intentional?

VF: It was the 1970s so the characters dressed like progressive hippies but it was not a progressive time for women and equality. In the 70s women were just beginning to become pastors. During that time both men and women put women in a box—it was a certain black-and-white thinking and it wasn’t specific to faith. My character, Corinne, felt oppressed from an early age in her relationship with her mother, who was limiting and controlling. Her relationship with her best friend Annika was so delightfully opposite. When Corinne took up accordion playing it demonstrated how Annika had inspired her to take up more space in the world.

DO: What did you want the audience to know about Corinne?

VF: That she grew up with that oppression plus a huge disappointment in her parents’ love. She felt so much sadness, a yearning in her life. Always looking for a savior she was drawn to her husband Ethan and their kids, and to God and religion. But Corinne continued to feel lost and full of doubts.

DO: How was it directing your younger sister, Taissa, in a sex scene?

VF: [Vera’s face lit up] My sister is bold with moxie and she’s a very good friend to me. There’s a 21-year difference in our ages and I’ve been obsessed with photographing her since she was a baby. I love her face. It can express so much. I don’t know if she’d ever had a kiss before the movie. She’d definitely never acted before. I didn’t know it then but my producers were freaking out that I cast her without auditioning her or putting her on tape. During the filming of that sex scene there were like 40 people on set but Taissa is so open she wasn’t scared. Honestly, it was easy to direct her and pure joy for me.

DO: Who was the girl that played your toddler daughter?

VF: My son!

DO: Was it difficult to get Taissa to agree to be in the movie?

VF: She was reluctant at first but I talked her into it and now she’s signed with a big agent! My other sister in the film, Wendy, worked out great. For a lot of the cast I used local people who were perfect for their roles. I wanted to use as many locals as possible. If you are going to use non-actors it has to be because you are in a 100-mile radius from union actors and we were in the remote Mid-Hudson Valley Ulster County area of New York where I live.

DO: What are your opinions about the religion depicted in the film?

VF: I don’t want to talk too much about that. I don’t want to affect people’s experience of the film. I grew up in a household that started out Catholic then turned Christian. I don’t want to tell people what religion means to me. It’s about a fictitious character based on the book.

DO: How do you think atheists might feel about the film?

VF: I would hope they have the openness to look at the script and replace whatever opinion they have about God and religion. The story is about yearning for intimacy—with your husband, your mom, and your kids—and about a thoughtful relationship with your life and a respect for individuals who are also searching. I believe that all paths lead to God. But that means something different to everybody. Even atheists have some type of god—be it money or something else to put their faith in. They have to deal with the same issues of being real with themselves, about their life, their yearnings, disappointments and relationships.

DO: How was it working with George Clooney in “Up in the Air”?

VF: George is such a delight to be around. It is endearing that he isn’t jaded. His fame began in his 30s and yet he still acts grateful to be on a movie set. He’s always in a good mood and puts everybody else in one too. He doesn’t have a big ego and loves putting the spotlight on others. He is the epitome of how every actor should be.

DO: In the recently released sci-fi thriller, ‘Source Code’, you share the screen with Jake Gyllenhaal. How was that experience?

VF: It’s funny, we weren’t actually filming together even though it looked that way on screen. Our characters were in two different physical realities so we shot our sequences separately. But I know Jake, he’s a friend of mine and I can tell you that he is charming, sweet and generous.

DO: What’s ahead on your horizon?

VF: I take different jobs for different reasons. I’m especially drawn to Indie films. I very much enjoyed working on the recently released ‘Henry’s Crime’ which stars Keanu Reeves. And I want to direct again. Instead of waiting for the right scripts to be offered, I’ve made the choice to stop asking for permission and create the projects I want. It’s important not to take anything for granted. I count my blessings.

The post Moving To Higher Ground: Academy Award-Nominated Actress Vera Farmiga is Now a Director. appeared first on Award-Winning Writer and Graphic Designer.