Larry David, Evan Rachel Wood, and Patricia Clarkson Press Conference
Can you talk about working with Woody Allen? He works in a very quiet way, where apparently he doesn't interfere with what you're doing. As an actor, do you want more from him or do you like the way he works?Evan Rachel Wood: "I almost had a panic attack the first day. I was certain I was going to get fired because I just wasn’t used to it. You ask him, ‘Was that okay?’ and he says, ‘Yeah, that was fine.’ I don't know what that means, but I guess it's good. I ended up liking it, and I kind of get what he was going for after watching the movie. I don't think he wants to distract you or make you think about it too much; he wants it to be as natural as possible. His favorite takes were when we messed up."
Patricia Clarkson: "I think his genius, his craft, he has such trust in you as an actor, it’s a beautiful thing. You walk in and he doesn’t feel the need to say much, and I like that because he steps in at just the right moment."
Larry David: "Yeah, you’re doing something wrong, he lets you know about it."
Patricia Clarkson: "He lets you know it, but he lets you go. And I think also indirectly you have to know your character so well with Woody, because you really have to... It's like theatre, you have to be able to do very long takes. You have to be prepared, you cannot be lazy. You have to know how to improv. You have to know all of it – and so it really prepares you in this very deep, subtle way for the journey."
Larry, do you feel the same way because you said you were a little insecure when you started? Did you want more input from him?
Larry David: "Well, I was waiting to get fired. I was expecting it for a couple of days. I would go to the set like, 'I can’t believe I'm still here.' No, I just felt like if I did something and he didn't say anything to me, that it was okay."
Evan Rachel Wood: "You were much braver than I though. You would just walk right up to him and start talking. I couldn’t do that. I was too shy."
Patricia Clarkson: "But he'll say, ‘That was good.’ And that’s huge praise. ‘Okay, that was good, that was good for me.’"
Evan Rachel Wood: "And every now and then, ‘That was really funny,’ and you’re like [breathing a sign of relief], ’Ahhhh.’"
As an actress is it liberating to play a woman who is experiencing a sexual awakening and where can we see your thumbprint on the character?
Patricia Clarkson: "Yes, characters who undergo transformations are always yummy because you get to make a journey and get to have two different looks. But I think I brought – I was born and bred in the South and I think I infused my Southern manner, my demeanor, my tone into her. I think it is there. And Woody let me kind of put little things here and there in. And I know big hair and I know tight clothes, and I know really bright colors. And although Woody is so specific about wardrobe, remember our wardrobe fittings?"
Evan Rachel Wood: "The camera testing."
Patricia Clarkson: "The camera test, which is again another way of preparing because as you’re doing all of these wardrobe fittings [and] things start to happen to you. No, it was thrilling playing this character. I mean, come on, it was alive and sexy and fun, and sometimes very nerve-wracking."
Larry David: "I have a question. Are you critical of non-Southerners when they do Southern roles?"
Patricia Clarkson: "Yes."
Larry David: "Are you hyper-critical?"
Patricia Clarkson: "Deeply."
Larry David: "Because when I see gentiles playing Jews I don’t like it."
Patricia Clarkson: "And that's the beauty of this part. Woody is a very Northern man. He’s a big old Yankee, but he got this character very right in so many ways. And yes, I’m very sensitive about Southern characters. But women like this do exist, and so you have to embrace it."
How are things going in the Spider-Man world?
Evan Rachel Wood: "I love that question. They're going great. I just spoke with Julie [Taymor] today, actually. We’re still looking for our Spider-Man. But it's going to be incredible. It's going to be a crazy, rock ‘n roll circus show. Julie is doing what she did with The Lion King to this. She’s just taking it to a whole ‘nother level."
You’ve been rehearsing it a lot, right?
Evan Rachel Wood: "No, no, we actually haven’t started. I did the workshop and then I worked with U2 and Julie and learned the songs and stuff. But we don’t start rehearsal until October. And just wait until you hear who’s playing the villain. I know and I wish I could tell everyone!"
Patricia Clarkson: "You can tell me later."
Evan Rachel Wood: "I will."
Are you also doing True Blood?
Evan Rachel Wood: [Laughing] "Yeah, I just got fitted for my fangs."
Patricia Clarkson: "How often do you hear that? 'I’ve just had a fitting for my fangs.'"
Larry David: "What a statement."
Evan Rachel Wood: "Yes, yes, I’m playing the Vampire Queen of Louisiana, 400 years old, and gay, so it’s going to be a good one."
And once you get those teeth on...
Evan Rachel Wood: "They just take over. You can’t help but just snarl and be evil. It's great."
Larry David: "Have we ever been through a period like this before where we’ve been fascinated by vampires? Is this new?"
Evan Rachel Wood: "No, it comes every now and then."
Larry David: "Has this ever happened before, this vampire craze?"
Evan Rachel Wood: "I have always been into the vampire craze, okay?"
Your vampire on True Blood versus the Cullens from Twilight – who'd win?
Evan Rachel Wood: "Considering I’m a real vampire, probably me."
