INT: Sarah Michelle Gellar
When I was told Sarah Michelle Gellar was making a horror film, I assumed that meant she was doing another movie with Freddy Prinze Jr. Well, I’m happy to report that, though there are plenty of scary-ass people in THE GRUDGE, Sarah’s off-screen beau isn’t among them.
Based on a seminal Japanese film (or series of films, actually), THE GRUDGE brings to the States a unique take on the horror genre from the mind of filmmaker Takashi Shimizu. Intent on doing justice to the original films, producer Sam Raimi convinced Shimizu to direct the American version. Gellar stars as Karen, a young American nurse living in Japan with her architecture student boyfriend. During a routine visit to a house-bound mental patient, she inadvertently stumbles upon a gnarly curse and the mayhem begins.
Gellar stopped by the Four Seasons last week to talk about
her experience living in Japan and making THE GRUDGE, opening today.
Check it out.
SARAH MICHELLE GELLAR
Was there any reluctance to take on this role knowing the cultural differences of the material, etc.?
It was the main reason I took the project. The idea for me to first of all be able to spend three months in Japan to be able to be part of the first film ever to be made with the original Japanese director, they were all of the reasons why I chose the project.
Had you seen the previous Ju-On?
Yes, I did. I’ve always been a fan of Asian cinema. I think that it’s really daring. I love the idea of nonlinear filmmaking. I love the idea that it’s not a beginning, middle and end and it’s not a neat package. And I thought the shots were so interesting. I think that sometimes in American films, we get bogged down by trying to make our days and huge crews. In Japan, we would have had triple the amount of crew members in America making this film. And I just love the idea of being part of it. I love the idea of being part of the first Japanese film ever made for American audiences.
Were
you hesitant to do horror again?
If it was horror, in my opinion, in the American sense, yes, I would have been. But I think that Japanese movies are much more thriller-oriented. And, you know, people ask me that question a lot. I definitely did think about it beforehand, but women still have a long way to go in this industry in terms of roles where we can really sort of lead the film and drive it. I was thinking, look at past Oscar winners. Right after Halle Berry won, she did Gothika, and Charlize Theron is doing Aeon Flux, and why is that? Because that is the big roles where women can really drive them and be successful in them.
What
challenges did you face developing your character and maintaining
the mood Takashi Shimizu was trying to create?
You know, usually that would be the case, but it really wasn’t in this film, and we spoke a lot beforehand about each character and why we were there and what our reaction was to being in Japan, because it’s important to keep that and it was the first time I really did an experience like that where it was important but of course the surroundings and situations make it that much easier to sort of create a character.
Did you have a lot of
“culture clash” moments while in Japan?
It’s interesting, being you don’t realize how literal a language is until you’re in a place like that, and in America, and someone sent me this great email the other day, English makes no sense. Why do we park in a driveway and drive on a parkway? It just really when you think about it, someone sent me this genius email and it was two pages of those things, but Japanese is a real literal language, and sometimes the conversations don’t make sense, like, you know, someone says in Japanese when translated to English doesn’t sound right, doesn’t make sense, so you’re constantly have those experiences because of the language.
And also, we say things very quickly. We abbreviate everything in English, so literally in the movie where you see that scene where the director is talking and talking and talking and she says, “Be happier,” that would happen constantly and it would take me a little while to understand it. I kept thinking, ‘is that really all he said? I know there’s something you’re not telling me, the part about where I suck, or the part about how I had toilet paper stuck to my shoe…
How lonely was it
being in Japan for several months?
It’s very hard to be lonely in Japan. Clearly you miss your
family, your dog, your home, but Japanese people are incredibly
welcoming. The best advice I got before I left was someone said the
best thing you can do is just learn the basics of the language. And
a lot
of times when you go across, especially when it comes to Europe,
I’m so embarrassed because it’s like I bastardize the language
and I feel like everyone’s laughing at me, but in Japan they’re
so honored you’re taking the time to learn even the smallest bit
of the
language, they open up their homes to you and they’re so gracious.
They invite you to dinner, and on top of that I had this great cast
that was so interested in everything Japanese and Japanese culture
and Japanese society, so…
Director Takashi told us you taught him how to say, “Do it again, but suck less.”
You know, there was a big mistake I learned early on. You always have fun teaching people you know, bad things to say, like, you know, “I hate her,” or “I hate him,” or “suck less” or any of those things, and I remember it was really funny to all of us. We thought it was funny. So in the morning Jason would come in and it would be all “I hate him,” until the first reporter came out to interview us for CNN, and we did this interview, and Shimizu was like, “Aaah, Sarah Michelle, I hate her. She’s crazy. Jason, nuts,” and said all of the thing we had taught him, and oh my gosh. That’s one of those things where your heart stops, because while it might be very funny to us, it might not necessarily again translate in this kind of sense that “that was a joke,” so, yes I did teach him a number of those things. And Jason’s like the worst influence. I think the first thing Jason took Shimizu to in America was Krispy Kreme.
Any
cultural faux pas?
Oh, I mean constantly, but I commit faux pas in America, but that’s like, you know, nothing new for me. You know, things like taking off your shoes every time. Sometimes you just forget and it’s very difficult to remember... I didn’t ever forget going to people’s houses, but it’s a set. It’s not a house, but you still have to take your shoes off before you go in every time, and that was hard for me in the beginning, until I realized how much fun it was to steal everyone’s shoes.
Was
it hard to say goodbye to Buffy?
Oh, I mean, the most difficult thing I ever experienced.
It’s all I knew. I mean, I got that show when I was 18 years old.
It was a character I loved. It was a challenging character, and that
crew, I mean that was my family, and those are people that I saw
nine months of the year for eight years of my life. It was
incredibly difficult.
Are
there any talks of a Buffy movie?
I have a lot of hesitation about it. It was a movie, I spent
the first year of the show constantly explaining to people, “No
no, it’s not like the movie,” because there was such a bias to
the movie, because it didn’t work as a film. And that’s my
initial hesitation and the other is that clearly you’re going to
disappoint people. I mean, I was very happy with the finale, but I
still believe that it should have been two hours, I believe there
wasn’t enough Xander, I believe that certain things get left out,
and when you make a film you’re setting your self up to disappoint
people and part of the reason I believe the
show worked was because the story’s an arc and you felt fort this
character’s experience, and it wasn’t a beginning, middle and
end and I don’t believe she worked like that. And I say that now,
and if in a year they could send me the script and I could think
it’s great and we could be at the junket a year and a half from
now, but I will say that I have a lot of hesitations about it and it
is not something I particularly want to do at this time.
Have
you found time for your personal interests since the show finished?
You find a lot more time for everything. Weekly television is the most incredible grind and I remember, before I left for this project, one of the producers called me and said, “Now, Sarah, this is not going to be what you’re used to. This is going to be really hard hours and really early calls and you’re going to work like five days in a row.” And I’m like, “What? I’m from television. What are you talking about? Doing a movie and you have dinner afterwards?”
Tell
us about anything about Southland Tales?
Goodness, it’s so hard to describe. The only thing I can sort of say is could you imagine trying to explain Donnie Darko to people before they saw it? Okay, it’s about a guy and there’s this six foot imaginary bunny. Richard Kelly to me is just a genius and part of the things I want to do is be able to work with interesting people and have different experiences and having such an amazing time on this film just pushes me to want that more and more and more. I had seen Donnie Darko and thought this guy is so different and he has so much to say and it would be such an honor to meet him. That’s just how it all started.
Will
you sing in it?
No, you can all rest assured that I will not.
You’ve
sung before on Buffy.
That was the most miserable experience of my entire life.
Why?
I am a perfectionist. I don’t do anything unless I can train for months and months and months. And we got that script three weeks out. And I had no days off. And I would leave work and take a singing lesson and go to the dance class and to me that should’ve been the first episode after a three month hiatus when you could’ve been ready and I’m done with that, boy. So no, I will not be singing in Southland Tales.
What
stage is it at?
Just sort of gearing up. We’re hoping to start at the
beginning of the year.
Is
it less surreal than Donnie Darko?
It’s less strange than Donnie Darko. It’s a lot more character…yeah, that’s kind of an obvious statement. It’s a lot more characters, a lot more interwoven story, but again, it’s all in Richard Kelly’s head and I would not do it justice attempting.
Were
you ever freaked out on the set?
Not really. It was more a jovial set than that, but I’ll
tell you though, that scene where they drowned that kid in the
bathtub, when I saw that the first time, I was like, “Oh my God,
they drowned Yuya.” In America, again, it would be a dummy. That
was a kid in the bathtub being drowned.
Would
you do a sequel?
Well, I would go back to Japan in a heartbeat for anything.
Have
they talked about a sequel?
No, we haven’t really. I mean, knock on wood, but let’s wait until it comes out.
Do
you want to work with your husband again?
Not really. I don't think that audiences particularly love it. I know as an audience member, I don’t really like seeing couples together. Scooby was a great project for us because at the time I was on Buffy and I was very limited in what I could do and when he would go away to make films and I was on Buffy, I couldn’t go. I never had time. I would wrap at six a.m. Saturday morning and be back at work six a.m. Monday morning. And it afforded us the opportunity to travel together, to be together, to spend that time, but at the same time, I don't think that movie was hinging on Daphne and Fred’s relationship, clearly. It’s a movie about a talking dog. So that was a great experience, but we’re not looking to make Eyes Wide Shut Part 2, I can tell you that right now. I know you guys were all waiting and I’m really sorry to disappoint you, but…
What
kind of concessions did they make knowing you were American actors?
Well, the first one is Japanese actors come when they start filming the beginning of the day, no matter if their scene is the last of the day. Yet you try to get an American actor to do that one. The fact is American actors wanted to do sight seeing in Japan, so that was the first concession that was made, was that your call time reflected what scenes you were in. Action, they- - in America, we slate, we clap the board and then action is their cue. In Japan, the cue is actually the slate. But to an American actor, that is the most jarring sound. I’d be like [frozen] and they were all waiting. I’m like, “What’s everyone waiting for?” So we taught Shimizu how to say “action” and “cut” and so they worked off action and cut. So I think there’s a fair amount of concessions for American actors. There would have to be.
Any
future projects?
We joke that I’m a professional commitment-phobe right now. Eight years of my life, I knew what I was doing and it was very planned. I chose my movies based on hiatuses. I didn’t choose them based on I was dying to do it. The first thing that I’m learning right now is that I can really wait until there’s something I really want to be a part of and I want to do. I don’t want to have to work nine, 10, 11, 12 months a year and I can wait.
Will
you produce or develop something?
Sure, that’s absolutely something that I would love to do.
I don’t want to direct. I have absolutely no desire to direct. But
I think the idea of finding material, something that you love and
seeing it to fruition; I think that’s got to be the most
incredibly rewarding. So I’m hard at work on Eyes Wide Shut part 2
and, you know.
How
did you enjoy ComicCon?
You know what? I had never been so nervous in my life. Hosting the MTV Movie Awards, hosting Saturday Night Live. Ask Jason. I was so nervous going out there and I don’t…I think it was just the amount of people because everyone was like “56,000 people, 56,000 people.” But everybody was so kind and so excited and I had a great weekend too.
Questions? Comments?
Manifestos? Send them
to me at thomasleupp@joblo.com
Source: JoBlo.com
