Seth Rogen and Reese Witherspoon Monsters vs Aliens Press Conference
Reese, since you're 5'2" how was it playing a woman 49 foot tall person for a change?Reese Witherspoon: [Laughing] "It was an interesting sort of challenge because my character goes from being a regular-size girl to being this giant superhero kind of girl. They wanted me at the end of the movie to kind of talk with an action star voice, which is not a voice I know or have in my repertoire. So they kept trying to coach me to be more like Arnold Schwarzenegger or Sylvester Stallone. 'I am Ginormica!' And they were like, 'No, that sounds like a robot.' 'I am Ginormica!' 'Can you drink some tea? That doesn’t sound very good.' So that took me a long time. That was probably the hardest thing for me to do."
Seth, you've proven you're a very funny guy. Does it change for you when you're just using your voice?
Seth Rogen: "I think it’s actually a lot easier to be funny when you have like hundreds of geniuses who are paid to animate your every facial expression with painstaking thought and minutiae. I just kind of mosey on set most of the time and spit out the lines and pray something good happened. These guys really put a lot of thought into every second of the movie that winds up in front of you guys, and I think they add a lot of the humor that’s in it. You know, I actually didn’t even know a lot of the stuff that Bob does until I’d seen the movie. I would watch it and say, 'Man, this is hilarious. I wish I was that funny.' But no, it’s them."
What did each of you enjoy most about playing your character and what was the biggest challenge you faced?
Reese Witherspoon: "Well, like Seth was saying, I had no idea that… It was such a different movie when I actually saw it. They put together a rough cut, and I had to go in and animate all the 'effort' noises and that kind of stuff, so that is always so disorienting and strange. I guess this was the first movie I ever did that had this much action in it, so I think I was sort of surprised about that and kind of thrilled, because I can’t imagine any other world in which that opportunity will present itself to me. So it was kind of awesome to realize I was creating a female superhero. It feels like a unique opportunity for me and my daughter who was really into this movie. I was with my son and my daughter, we were walking, and I was like, 'Who’s your favorite superhero?' And my son was like, 'Well, there’s Batman, there’s Spider-Man, there’s Robin, there’s…' And I was like, 'Well Ava, who’s your favorite superhero?' 'I don’t know. The girl who’s in the Justice League? I can’t remember her name.' So it’s cool to be able to create that kind of character."
Seth Rogen: "Oh, I just enjoyed the whole thing, you know? It’s fun to see yourself kind of thrown into these worlds and hear your voice coming out of these hilarious creatures. It’s a great movie. I just enjoy watching it. There was nothing really that difficult about it. Some of the effort stuff, like trying to verbalize what it might sound like to get stretched out by a monstrous shoe or something like that, can become — it’s not that difficult. It’s not that bad. It’s a lot of fun, I’ve got to say, and I enjoyed every aspect of it."
If you could be Ginormica at will, what are some of the things you would do?
Reese Witherspoon: "The first thing I’d do is put on that cat suit and never take it off."
Seth Rogen: "Me too!"
Reese Witherspoon: "No working out, no dieting. She just looks hot all the time. I was like, 'I’m into this.' My girlfriend and I saw the movie together and she brought her kids, and she turned to me halfway through the film and she was like, 'You look really hot!' [Whispers] 'I know. It’s not me! It’s awesome.' That’s probably the first thing I’d do."
Your character comes into her own in the movie. What would you hope little girls get from this?
Reese Witherspoon: "I think it’s got an incredible message about finding yourself and your identity. I think everybody - not just girls but guys, too - struggle with who are you. Are you a person who lives in the shadow of another person just so you don’t have to be alone or afraid or find your own strengths? Or are you someone who is willing to take a chance on being a little scared of the unknown and maybe possibly accomplishing great things in your life? [Whispering to Seth:] That was good!"
Seth Rogen: [Laughing] "Really good! I’m going to take a moment from that. I’ve been leading my life all wrong, guys."
For both of you, what was the best part of making this movie?
Seth Rogen: "Best part of making it… I like watching it. I’ve got to be honest, I’m kind of an end results kind of guy. To me, it’s cool to be able to sit in a movie theater and see the movie in 3-D and have people for once in my life of all ages laughing at the content of the material. To me, that’s the most fun part of it."
Reese Witherspoon: "Probably getting to take my kids to a movie that I’m in and having them really enjoy it and having them think I’m actually kind of cool, because usually they think I’m a really big dork. They’re like, 'Mom, stop singing in the car because you’re really annoying me.' But now they’re like, 'Hey Mom, can we go see your movie?' So that’s kind of good."
