We sat down for a chat with Abbie Cornish this week at the 62nd annual Cannes Film Festival to chat about her role as Fanny Brawne in Jane Campion’s latest work “Bright Star“. The movie is about the life, love and work of the famous English romantic poet John Keats.
As she draws near the table, she sits down slowly exhales. She is wearing a dainty lace top that looks delicate and light atop a darker black under shirt. I noticed immediately she is back to a lighter hair color as she was dark haired for the movie. She smiles as we start to chat about working with Jane Campion, what it meant to her to accept this role and what she expects on the set of her next movie with Zach Synder which she starts shooting in June.
Q: Welcome, so, how is the festival? Having fun?
A: A lot of fun. It’s been a lot of really exciting. Showing the film the other night was the best feeling.
Q: Is this your first Cannes?
A: It’s my third. The first time in competition. The first time I was back packing throughout Europe. Laughter. I had a film that was being sold here. I got myself a little badge and would sit in the theater and watch three films a day all week. Then I went and travelled through Europe. The second time was for Summersault which was in Un Certain Regard.
Q: How is this different that from the first time when you were a backpacker?
A: Well, I remember being on the Croisette and I remember watching Cate Blanchett walk down the red carpet. (Laughter). So it’s a little bit weird that I did that.
Q: Have you heard from your friends and family back home? They must be tremendously supportive?
A: Yeah. The Family is pretty proud.
Q: Did you love any poetry before going into this project and did you already know about John Keats ?
A: Actually I didn’t know them about John Keats. I had heard his name. But I didn’t know about his poems, I didn’t know about his life. After I read the film I remember jumping onto he net and checking it out. And when we made the film it was quite beautiful to be exposed to this incredible poet. I mean he really is amazing.
Q: Can you tell us a little bit about your approach for selecting a role? What are the elements, whether it’s the story or the director or the cast?
A: Well it’s important to me it’s always the story and the character. And the director. Those are the three most important elements… then the cast and whose producing it also plays a part. You have to want to play that character. You have to want to put that story on screen. And you have to be in safe hands. It’s really important.
Q: Can we talk about that scene towards the end of the movie when Fannie breaks down when she hears of Keats’s death. Up till then she’s been very repressed since she is a 19th century girl, but that’s a very impactful scene. Can you talk a little about that?
A: I think anyone who has ever lost someone that they love in their life understands that and I don’t think, I don’t feel like I need to explain it.
Q: Was it hard to prepare for or anything?
Then we experience a long, pregnant and quite pause. It’s as if she was contemplating how to best respond without being evasive.
A: No. No. It was difficult to do. But now, I didn’t prepare for it.
Q: What did you find was most surprising about working with Jane or what did you find most surprising that you didn’t expect to learn or have drawn out of you?
A: For me it was the rehearsal process. I was really frightened about how long it was. Three weeks of rehearsals is a lot. I was like how do you rehearse this for three weeks? After week one I was ready to go shoot the film. I think I had thought about the film so much and [processed it already. I didn’t want to sit in a room and over talk it and over analyze it. As an actor I like to just go it as long as the research is all there. So I kind of thought, gosh three weeks. During that time we learn a lot of each other. We went through every single scene in the movie. By the time we shot I know all my lines even the whole movie. You knew exactly what Jane wanted and what she was searching for and what she wanted to explore and she wanted to get across on to the screen. You kind of let go then of over analyzing the script or the dialogue. That was a difference experience for me but that is unique to Jane. That is how she likes to work. She likes intensity and focus and concentration.
Q: So what’s coming up next for you?
A: My next film is going to be “Sucker Punch.” Directed by Zach Snyder. He did ‘300′ and the ‘Watchmen‘. It’s totally different to anything I‘ve ever done. It’s going to be a little wild and a little crazy.
Q: Have you started already?
A: No, I start in June.
Q: Who will you be playing?
A: I play the character of Sweet Pea. Essentially it’s the story of five girls in the 1950’s who get together and try to escape a psychiatric ward. They are all in this thing and they are all like let’s get out of here. The interesting thing to me is that the films Zach has directed he hasn’t written. They haven’t been his concepts from the beginning. This is the first time he’s ever made a concept film that he wrote. I am interested to see what he does with it. I think he has an incredible talent in regards to contemporary cutting edge cinema. I think he is a bit of the master at the action sequences.
Q: So that is the secret behind your character? What’s your angle?
A: (Laughter) Well, she is actually sane. (More laughter) Even though she is in a psyche ward. She’s in with her younger sister. They ran away from home but her younger sister got into trouble and chucked in. So she went in with her to try and look after her and get her out. My character is in there just looking to surviving and looking after her. And so it’s kind of cool to have this same girl in this totally wacky world. She is pretty strong. She is like the mother of the gang. Like she is the one who looks out for everyone. She is like the gang leader in a way.
Q: So it comes out next year? Yeah.
A: I think yeah, end of next year. But it’s going to be fun and it’s different. It’s going to be very physical. The film kind of switches in and out between reality and this kind of dream like world. So we have to train for it and learn martial art.
Q: So were those hands embroidering?
A: You know on the close up? Their not my hands. I said to Jane I don’t know if I want the pressure. I could have done it but also I didn’t want the pressure of having to make the perfect stich. That close up and so we’ll just get someone who is an expert to do it.
Q: Was is different to play with dark hair. Did it affect your play?
A: In a weird way, yeah. If I leaned forward what I would see and my peripheral vision was dark. And it makes a difference. It does. Even though hair styles and everything is slicked back. It’s not me.
Q: Will you be going to Comic-Con this year? Zach is typically down in San Diego in July.
A: (Laughter) Oh I don’t know… right… well we’ll probably be down there.
Q: Who are the co-stars?
A: Jenna Malone, Emily Browning, Jamie Chun and Vanessa Hudgens.
Interesting assortment.
Well, we look forward to seeing some behind the seeing some behind the scenes action as soon as it becomes available.
With that our visit with Abbie was over. We wished her all the luck with “Bright Star” at the festival and we look forward to seeing her in her next new film ‘Sucker Punch‘. This next project is expected in theaters in 2011.
Check out tons of production stills from Bright Star at the Sitelet, as well as our video coverage of the press event.
Loading ...