His Three Daughtersstar Elizabeth Olsen on why she keeps doing movies about grief and dying.
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Were a little bit out from the release ofHis Three Daughtersin September.
Thats Azas words; Im sure he would have done it beautifully.
But yeah, its been a nice film to talk with other people about.
Aza wrote this movie specifically for you, right?
He hand-delivered you the script.
What was that like?
We were always trying to collaborate, and so I wasnt that surprised.
He didnt know Natasha that well, but he knew Carrie and I fairly well.
Old school.It was kind of that all the way through.
And it really filled up such a more expansive space than just 17 days.
So he wrote something that could be directed and made for so little financially.
And what about the character?
I thought about Carol Kane, I thought about Dianne Wiest, I thought about Diane Keaton.
You could watch Aza communicate with her and say, I dont have reactions or responses.
We had multiple apartments in the buildings that we were working in.
Instead of trucks and trailers, we just took up spaces within this apartment building.
And I could smell what it smells like when McDonalds sits in a car or something.
I fell in love with them.
Thats something that I could relate to on many levels, and I think we all can.
And so there was an adjustment there of us trying to figure out technical things.
But thefeelinglike sisters thing I think its so on the page and clear.
Is this actually who they are?
There is no retreat to someones private space.
There is a real tool in shooting in order, because you really get to build upon something.
Christina wants to distance herself from it more and be a little bit more courteous and empathetic to Rachel.
Natasha had a great quote about you recently.
She said that you specifically are always thinking about how were all going to die.
Id love to know more about that.Yeah, I think about mortality constantly.
Ive met people who are like, Its gonna happen and Im okay.
Or theyre Dead Heads.Yeah!
Were all going to die, and I think about it a lot.
I feel like youve done a lot of projects about grief and dying.Yes, and I dont mean to!
You dont mean to?No!
Its not like some sick obsession of mine.
I think a lot about other things.
Right now its primarily about spiritual higher purpose that predates monotheistic religions.
Can you say more?Im reading a book calledGod, Humans, Animals, Machines.
Im just trying to understand what it means to have a body and a soul.
Can you fill us in when you figure it out?Yeah, sure!
No, I also think about those things quite often.
Ive never been in a physical fight with people in my family!
There was a Stop hitting yourself moment and maybe a couple drownings by my brother, but thats it.
I just wanted to see to it I wasnt doing my impression of that.
When I read the scene, I was like,Oh shit!
This is all Im going to be able to think about because I watched that movie 128 times.
That is so funny.You know that part.
I know exactly what youre talking about.
Are we making sure we have enough time for something thats important?
But never like a real disagreement about anything.
And you lived with Natasha or Carrie?No.
Even when we say, We dont mean literally sharing an apartment.
It has happenedso manytimes!
Carrie will text and be like, They got it wrong again!
Were correcting the record.Were correcting the record, yeah.
And our goal was to be a queen bee every day.
That was something we did every day, the three of us.
Aza was very exhausted by it.
I love being in transition always.
And so thats how I answer that question.
Thats incredibly healthy.I dont know, actually.
What would you do?
Who would I follow around?
Im kind of obsessed with Ariana Grande, so I feel like shes my Grateful Dead.Shes really entertaining.
Shes got a great character that she adjusts for whatever reasons, whatever shes doing.
I love that pop stars get to do that.
Pop stars really just like to be in a phase.
We dont get to have eras!I mean, we could.
Pop stars are important iconic images.
Important might not be the right word, but its nice to have for a distraction from our mortality.
To stop us from staring into the void.
Tell me a little bit about navigating that.
This movie was in theaters briefly.Yes, which is as much as they do at Netflix.
They do two weeks, and I was so grateful that they did that.
They gave us multiple 35-mm.
They took care of this analog nature of the film that we loved.
Was it because of something that you said?It was something that Aza said.
Aza wouldnt have made a deal if he didnt get to have a theatrical release.
They did a 35-mm.
I mean, going to see a film print of something, anything can happen.
Streaming is sometimes the only option for some small films to be seen.
But I just dont have an interest in making something with the intention of knowing its only for streaming.
I do think thats the relationship.
I do think streaming films have become the disruptor within the film industry.
Youre producing and youre going into the pitch rooms.
Theres so many things I could say about that in private.
It really comes down to having really responsible budgets.
But not every movie can be made with favors for crews, right?
You cant ask crews to be paid a really shitty wage.
So I dont know.
I find it all to be really frustrating right now, specifically for film.
I just have to remember that there are studios that do quite a range Searchlight being one of them.
I dont know what the hell the genre is forHis Three Daughters.
I find it funny and find that it has a lot of heart.
Maybe its a dramedy.
What is that even?
I find that that question is part of raising the money, and its so boring.
Can you tell us anything else about the Todd Solondz movie?No.
It seems like in your heart, you prefer to do indie projects versus a big Marvel thing.
How do you think of it in your mind?
Is it One for them, one for me?Im not sure yet.
And returning to Marvel has always felt like a choice, not someone making me do something.
When I say always, I mean the last six years of the 11 Ive been working with them.
Can I ask about your very first acting role?
You were 4, and you were in the music video B-U-T-T Out with your sisters.
I rewatched it and theyre kind of bullying you in it.So it was this constant that happened.
Sometimes they would just say, Hey Lizzie, we wrote you into something.
There was really no more thought than that.
I did love performing as a kid, and did a lot of ballet.
I did a lot of theater camps, I did some acting classes.
I thought maybe I wanted to try it out professionally, maybe because of Jenna Malone inStepmomor something.
So I focused on theater.
I auditioned for Garry Hynes, who does all of Martin McDonaghs plays.
But I do want to do it.
Im really hungry to do theater.
But Ive also had a very terrible experience doingRomeo and Juliet.
It was just kind of a disaster.
I was 24 or 25.
Daphne Rubin-Vega was my Nurse, and she was telling me, Lizzie, this is not every experience.
Dont let this deter you!
So I didnt actually end up having the greatest of experiences in the theater.
It sounds like the direction of your career has surprised you.
It was Bruce Beresford who directed it, and it was Catherine Keener and Jane Fonda.
It was a cool group of people, but it was a terrible movie.
Sorry, it is.
Its like a bad family movie!
So you dont think you were being super-strategic at the beginning?Yeah.
I think its because I just felt so lucky to be there or something.
When did you feel like, Oh, I actually know what Im looking for, Im choosing things.
And it was kind of around then that I was like,Marvel, done.
Can you list a few?Theres maybe like, 50.
And so there have been these clear choices, I think, that have been more about that shift.
This is like a new pop-star era for you.Youre in an era.Im in an era.
I think Carey Mulligan, I think Andrea Riseborough, I think Michelle Williams.
I think theyre always transforming, whether its slight or big swings.
I find them all to be really interesting, and I want to watch them all the time.
Youre doing an Albert Brooksstyle romcom next, correct?Yes.
Can you tell us a little bit about that?Yes.
We filmed it this summer with DaVine Joy Randolph, Miles Teller, Calum Turner, John Early.
Its a romantic comedy with humor and heart.
I get to play a 92-year-old woman whos in the afterlife.
I guess were back to death!
it’s possible for you to play our Elizabeth OlsenthemedCinematrixhere.
