Elizabeth Olsen Talks GodzillaPosted by Wilson Morales
May 16, 2014
Coming out this week is ‘Godzilla,’ a spectacular adventure, from Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures, that pits the world’s most famous monster against malevolent creatures who, bolstered by humanity’s scientific arrogance, threaten our very existence.
Cast members include Aaron Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Bryan Cranston, Juliette Binoche, Ken Watanabe, Sally Hawkins, David Strathairn, Victor Rasuk, and Richard T. Jones.
For Olsen, who plays Elle Brody, the wife of Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s character, the film represents the first of many big budget productions she has lined up. After a breakout performance in the critically acclaimed indie film Martha Marcy May Marlene, and a starring role in Spike Lee‘s remake of Oldboy, the California native is poised to get a huge fanbase now that she will be playing Scarlett Witch in the upcoming Avengers: Age of Ultron. Fans got a glimpse of her character at the end credits to Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
While promoting Godzilla, Olsen talks about her first experience with CGI, working with Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Gareth Edwards.
Was this your first time doing CGI?
Elizabeth Olsen: Absolutely. Yeah, it was definitely my first time doing something like this. I didn’t have any green screen to work with, though, it was all just an eye line and imagination.
So when you got on set [of Avengers 2] with Joss [Whedon], were you already like a pro?
EO: No, it’s such a different world. It’s so crazy, you know, because you’re like—the main difference is in Godzilla you’re reacting to something that’s not there, and in something like The Avengers, is you’re approaching and almost interacting with something that’s not there. And so that’s what the main difference is for me right now.
Is there a different way to act in a monster movie compared to an independent, low, budget, do-it-in-two takes movie?
Elizabeth Olsen: Actually, we didn’t do so many takes. I think we did, you know, you have the luxury of time to do lots of angles. But, I don’t know, Gareth comes from the same kind of background understanding as I do, so I actually never felt that odd or out of place. I think my two biggest challenges: one was working with a kid. And then the other was the technical aspects of when your working with special effects—the timing and the camera movement, but finding the freedom in that. So I think those were the two things I learned on the job. And the reason why I thought, you know, doing a movie like this, or any of these kinds of big special effects kinds of movies is the childlike imagination you’ve got to have. I root it in such reality, but, you know, from a child’s point of view, almost.
So, Elizabeth, can you expand a little bit on how that challenge was with the kid? How did you bond?
EO: I think I’ve had a lot of different actors tell me how difficult it can be working with some—because we didn’t hire a six-year-old who looked four. We had a four-year-old who played four. And so Carson (Bolde) and his mother and I started emailing before we were in Vancouver. And then I just kind of hung out with him everyday. I would go to the parks with him. He’s very easy to—he’s a very open child, and so it was very easy to connect with him and we just played a lot. And I think Aaron (Taylor-Johnson) did the opposite, actually, because Aaron doesn’t get to see him often in the movie. And it’s a lot of improvising. And it’s a lot of using another child when it’s your close up. But I would love to do it again. It keeps you on your feet and it’s always going to change and there’s nothing you can rely on to be set, and it’s really fun.
What’s it like playing the wife to Aaron in this film (Godzilla) and then transition to being his sister in another?
EO: It’s awesome! You know, we only did a few scenes together for this film (Godzila), but we spent time together in Vancouver, and I got to know his family, and we spent time together. And to play really tight twin brother and sister, it’s really lucky that it’s not with some guy I jut met or something. I think we both like the fact that we have this other film (Godzilla) in our repertoire.
Moving out of, kind of the indie sect, and crossing over into the big, iconic franchises where you are in The Avengers and Godzilla. How is it on this side of the fence when you meet people who are have history and love these things so much? What has that experience been like?
EO: It’s been amazing to do group interviews with people who are a different generation than me. With Bryan [Cranston] and Ken [Watanabe]. Especially Ken’s point of view, because the way he talks about Godzilla is with so much love, and it’s so part of his country’s culture. And it represents something so much larger than it has for an American culture. But for Bryan it was his favorite thing as a kid. And I feel like I didn’t grow up with a generation that loved Godzilla. Like, I loved Star Wars. That was my Godzilla, I guess. And it’s amazing to be part of the history. Especially for this film, because we are being supported by Toho. And we are being supported by the original production company. It has been collaborative, and we are respecting the whole origin of the reason why it was made to begin with. So I feel like our film is empowered with that knowledge.
What’s your process with these franchise films? Did you go back and watch previous Godzilla films
EO: With Gozilla, not so much. Even Gareth would say that if I wanted to see a Gozilla film, see the 1954 original. In his mind, there’s no reason to see anything else. In preparing for Godzilla, it was largely making sure the family wasn’t stereotyped but broad enough because it needs to reach a world audience. But rooted and grounded enough in a relationship that you can get behind. That was a conversation that never stopped between Gareth, Aaron and I.
How does Gareth work with actors? Because he’s got to deal with so many effects things such as the cameras and cranes and everything else.
EO: Well I think that’s what Gareth’s big strength is. I think a lot of times when you make these big films, action films, anything that has to do with special effects, I think the trend right now—or has been—is to get these really great storytellers, these really great, story-driven directors. And a lot of the time they know nothing about special effects, or they don’t understand the larger picture of everything. Gareth is the opposite. Gareth comes from special effects, but loves story-driven pieces. But instead of working at a production company, he worked for a special effects company. And so he had confidence in that fully, and he had confidence also in working with the actors, so all he really was there to do was to make us feel like he was there for the story. And I never felt overpowered or overshadowed by special effects. And also working with Legendary, as well, they weren’t stepping on his toes. They weren’t a very loud presence, except for support. And that I think is really rare when you make a big studio film.
What was it like seeing Godzilla put all together?
EO: It was amazing. I had such a great time watching it. And I was shocked by—because I feel like I’m usually pretty distant from and critical when I’m watching a film that I’m in. But I don’t play such a huge role that it’s distracting for me, so I got to just like sit and relax and I really cared about everyone and cared about the world and cared about them figuring this thing out, and I loved getting to watch what all the other actors were doing, and how it translated from the script I read to it being on screen and not being there for any of it. And then also, you know, just seeing how all the monsters were interacting and it was just kind of wild and amazing and I really loved it.
