When we first met seven years ago, Evan Rachel Wood was a mere 13, on the cusp of success.
Now at a confident 21, the beautiful young actress has survived adolescence, the prying eyes of the media and early fame, as she continues to take on challenging roles, such as Mickey Rourke’s estranged daughter in “The Wrestler”.
She also completed a starring role in Woody Allen’s latest comedy opposite Larry David and is about to play MJ in “Spider-Man” - on Broadway. Wood talked exclusively to PAUL FISCHER.
Question: Evan you only had basically two scenes in The Wrestler, but they’re obviously very, very important, and powerful. Was it the opportunity primarily to work with Darren that drew you to this, or was it the nature of the character?
Wood: Both really, but mainly Darren. He was in my top five directors that I really wanted to work with, I met with him, and he said - if Mickey did it, he really wanted me to do it, because he thought our chemistry would be good together. But if Mickey didn’t, he wasn’t sure who would, and if it would work or not, so I wasn’t getting my hopes up. Then I heard Mickey wasn’t doing it, so I was crushed and then all of a sudden out of the blue, it worked out, and we both did it.
Question: What surprised you the most about working with Darren and Mickey?
Wood: Really, just how spontaneous everything was. There was no rehearsal. I had a really close relationship with Darren, in working on the character’s back story and Darren kind of works by getting to know who you are, and then putting that to the character. So we talked a lot before hand. But I didn’t talk to Mickey before it was shot.
HIGHS: The climactic scene in “I’ve Loved You So Long,” the candlelit procession in “Milk,” the bar scene in “The Wrestler,” Ludivine Sagnier’s delivery of the line “He’s my son” (”C’est mon fils”) in “A Secret,” the breakfast scene in “Revolutionary Road,” Jean-Claude Van Damme’s monologue in “JCVD,” this year’s very Eurocentric Venice Film Festival and Criterion’s 10-disc Rialto Pictures DVD set.
MOST IMPROVED: Jean-Claude Van Damme and Mickey Rourke. Both written off as has-beens. Both the butt of jokes. Van Damme came back with “JCVD,” which showed that time and adversity had turned him into an actor. And Rourke came back with “The Wrestler,” which showed that time and adversity had turned him into a great actor.
MVPs: Danny Glover in “Honeydripper,” Evan Rachel Wood in “The Life Before Her Eyes,” Vera Farmiga in “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas” and Olivia Thirlby in “The Wackness.”
Top 10 The Wrestler: He has long blond hair. He’s 20 years past his prime. He lives in a rented trailer, and he can’t even pay the rent on that. Yet there’s something beautiful about the title character, as played by Mickey Rourke, an essential kindness, a hard-earned compassion. This is the ultimate example of an actor meeting a character, and of each redeeming the other.
The Life Before Her Eyes: Vadim Perelman’s metaphysical thriller was a genuine original, a film whose true quality and sophistication only fully revealed itself later, upon reflection. The more you think about it, the better this one gets, and Evan Rachel Wood, as the teenage heroine, is nothing short of extraordinary.
Marilyn Manson made the following announcement on Wednesday (December 24) regarding ex-girlfriend Evan Rachel Wood:
Ladies and gentlemen, I’d like to make an announcement. the rumors that I found a ‘replacement’ for Evan, or that I have a new girlfriend are absolutely not true. I am finishing up my album, and I also have never even met Ne-Yo. I can assure him that he would not want to be associated with something this godless. Get over the holiday so I can happily ruin the new year for anyone that assumed music was going to stay boring and sweet.
Evan Rachel Wood is one of Hollywood brightest young talents, with the ability to access a depth of emotions and demonstrate poise well beyond her years. Since her role in the critically acclaimed drama Thirteen, written and directed by Catherine Hardwicke (Twilight), the 21-year-old from North Carolina has worked with some of the biggest names in the business. And, she counts Darren Aronofsky, her director for the Fox Searchlight drama The Wrestler, starring Mickey Rourke, among the best.
Wood recently spoke to MediaBlvd Magazine about making The Wrestler, trying comedy for the first time with Woody Allen, and taking on Broadway in 2009 for the musical version of Spider-Man.
MediaBlvd Magazine> You’ve worked with some very distinguished directors. What was it like to work with Darren Aronofsky?
Evan Rachel Wood> Amazing! He was on my Top 5 list of directors that I wanted to work with, so I would have been an extra. He came to me and said “It’s not a huge part, but all the scenes are really important for the story and for Mickey’s character, so I need somebody to really bring it. And, we don’t have a lot of money. It’s going to be handheld. I think you can do it.” It was great! He was wonderful. He really worked very closely with me. He bases the characters off of who you are. He wants to get to know you and where you’re coming from and work on a back story, so when the day comes, he knows how hard to push you, and when to stop and let you breathe.
MediaBlvd> What was your favorite movie of his, prior to doing this?
Evan> Requiem for a Dream. The first time I saw that, I was in the middle of filming Thirteen, and I’d just never seen a movie like that. It made me up my game, definitely.
We’ve been hearing quite a bit lately about the love-it-or-hate-it “Spider-Man: The Musical” — from news that it will be the most expensive Broadway production in history to Bono describing his score to the stage production as “a hallucinogenic experience for theatregoers” — but little has been heard from Evan Rachel Wood, thus far the only cast member announced for the show.
That said, Sci Fi Wire recently caught up with Wood, and let’s just say that her silence wasn’t for lack of excitement about the musical. “I’m doing ‘Spider-Man’ on Broadway, starting in June,” said Wood in the Sci Fi Wire story. “I’m really excited. It’s Julie Taymor, who did ‘The Lion King’ on Broadway, and she’s really kind of doing the same thing. [She] takes it to this whole other level. It’s awesome! It’s really spectacular. They’re using new technology and wirework.”
Meanwhile, Wood dropped plenty of hints about what fans can expect from the show.
“It will pull some things from the films, but it’s based more on the comic book and the origin of Spider-Man,” she said. “There’s going to be old villains and new villains. Wait until you see the villains. I wish I could tell you who the villain is. There’s one [new villain] that is more of a Greek mythology kind of thing.”
And as far as seeing the Friendly Neighborhood Wall-Crawler belting out showtunes while wearing the costume, “Spider-Man never sings in tights, only as Peter Parker,” Wood said. “A man does not sing in spandex, so that was a big deal.”
- Source:Splash Page MTV
She broke up with Marilyn Manson last month, but Evan Rachel Wood insists she’s not ready to wade back into the dating pool.
“I’m not really looking for any kind of guy now,” she told PEOPLE Monday night at the premiere of her new film, The Wrestler. “I just got a new boy cat. He’s the only man in my life right now.”
What’s his name? “Nicodemus, after the king of the rats in the Secret of NIMH,” said the actress (who recently denied rumors linking her to costar Mickey Rourke). A cat named after the King of the Rats. He’s all I need right now.”
Wood also had nothing but kind words for her rocker ex – and says she has no regrets about the relationship.
“I’ve learned so much about myself and even had deal with the outside world,” she added. “I’m just so much stronger. … I’m ready for the next chapter.”
- Source:People
The 21-year-old actress says she hopes one day to move behind the camera to further pursue her hobbies of writing and photography by making her own films.
She said: “I write short films. I’ve started trying to get some practice in by trying to adapt some short stories, and things like that, into short films.
“I’d like to become a film maker, eventually. More than one person - more than one director has kind of told me that I have to, or they’re going to kill me. I feel like I could do it.
“I’m starting to really get into photography, and starting to get visual about things. So, we’ll see. I don’t think it’ll be soon though.”
Evan also admitted she is nervous about having to sing on stage when she appears as Mary-Jane in a Broadway production of ‘Spider-Man’ next year.
She added to movie website Moviehole: “I think it’ll be scary the first night, but I’ll probably just want to cry after the first time I sing alone on stage.
“I haven’t done that since I was - I started off in musical theatre, and I haven’t done that since I was little.”
- Source:My Park Magazine
Evan Rachel Wood will play Mary Jane in Julie Taymor’s “Spider-Man” on Broadway!
“I start rehearsals in June and will be on Broadway for a year,” she said Wednesday at a press junket for “The Wrestler.” She’s already learned the songs, written by Bono, and did a run-through for Marvel.
But that’s not why she recently colored her hair red, like Kirsten Dunst’s Mary Jane movie character.
“No, I didn’t even think about it,” she insists. “After I got it done, I looked in the mirror and went ‘Duh!’ I emailed Julie the picture!”
Who will be Spidey?
“We’re trying to convince Jim Sturgess (her “Across the Universe” costar). We did the workshop together, but I don’t know if he can commit to a whole year.”
How about the villains? “There will be some new ones and some old ones,” she said cautiously.
And will she have to do wire work?
“Yeah, I’ll be dangling from buildings and things. It should be fun.”
But she insists that Spider-Man will never, ever sing in tights. “That was the deal. He never sings in Spandex,” Wood says.
And will she have to do that upside-down kiss?
“Everyone keeps asking me that! I think there might be one at the end. I’m gonna have to have a talk with Julie. I can’t remember if there is one. But people will be waiting for it so we might have to make that happen.”
And make sure it takes place in the rain too OK?
“Spider-Man” fans everywhere will salute you!
- Source: LA Times
Don’t worry hardcore Spidey fans, Evan Rachel Wood is not replacing Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane, Peter Parker’s girlfriend. However, according to the actress herself, she’s signed on to play Mary Jane in Spider-Man: The Musical, which begins rehearsals in June, 2009, and will most likely arrive on Broadway before the next big-screen sequel in early 2010.
We’ve known for awhile now that the musical’s director, Julie Taymor, has been championing her Across the Universe stars for the lead roles in the musical. Now that Wood has nabbed the co-lead, will Jim Sturgess play Spidey? According to Wood, who spoke with IESB at a press junket for The Wrestler, they’re “still trying to convince him.” It’s important to note that both Wood and Sturgess have workshopped the musical with Taymor recently, so chances are good both will open the show in New York. Remember, music and lyrics have been provided by U2’s Bono and The Edge — and with two pretty movie stars in the starring roles, this thing could take off. Whaddya think? Will Spidey ruin his superheroic kickass appeal by deciding to belt out a tune or three on Broadway?
- Source: Cinematical
ACROSS THE UNIVERSE
THE WRESTLER
"UNTITLED" PROJECT
BRONTE
