When British actress Emma Thompson arrives for our interview she doesnt look anything like her frumpy character in Stranger than Fiction. The bad hair is gone, as are the ill fitting clothes, and theneurotic, chain smoking author Kay Eiffel (who Emma Thompson plays) is no where to be seen. Instead, in her place is a very blond, very tanned and very fab looking 47-year-old. The two time Oscar winner might have complained about her body weight and her varicose veins (which she had removed) in the past, but she looked stunning at the Toronto International Film Festival in a sexy figure hugging leopard print cocktail dress and a pair of Jimmy Choos.
Gaynor Flynn sat down with the actress to discuss her latest film, in which she plays a cranky author with writers block who is trying to figure out how to kill off her latest protagonist, an IRS auditor called Harold Crick (Will Ferrell). The only problem is that Harold actually exists. When Harold begins to hear the authors voice in his head narrating his thoughts he becomes worried. When she predicts his imminent death the mild mannered tax man desperately tries to do something about it.
Gaynor Flynn: What made you say yes to this role?
Emma Thompson: Oh so many things, but working withDustin (Hoffman) was a huge plus. Hes so funny. Heshould have done stand up, and his character in thisfilm has an incredible sweetness hes a reallyincredible, marvellous man, we use to have these sortof six hour conversations when we were shooting, andwed sit over an expensive bottle of Saki and getquietly pissed and just talk and talk and talk he canjust do that. Its true what I said in the pressconference, he really needs to disguise himselfbecause people stop him in the street and they reallykind of glom to him. Its not just I really enjoy yourwork Mr Hoffman its like will you come and bear mychildren or be with my family on this very special dayand you just want to go leave him alone I get veryirritable. Id say hes working very hard you knowat the moment hes a mess, he needs something to eatand I said Dustin I cant walk around with you anymoreIm turning into a child minder, which he does needbecause he cant make his way back from anywhere toanywhere, he has no sense of direction at all. He gotlost going around the corner to my hotel and then hadto ring up someone and say I dont know where I amyou know and hes the only man Ive ever known wholikes shopping. Its extraordinary.
Gaynor Flynn: So people dont glom to you?
Emma Thompson: No, theyre very respectful. I thinktheyre frightened of me actually (laughs) you knowwhat happened I went out the other day desperatelytrying to look like a film star I had an enormous pairof sunglasses on great big diamond necklace and thenthese reporters said, oh look I think its Emma Sands. Emma Sands, do you know who that is? Dynasty Ithought ooh, its hysterical, they were talking aboutme.
Gaynor Flynn: You play the voice in Will Ferrellshead, is getting the tone right on narrationdifficult?
Emma Thompson: We did work on it a lot and I did thenarration over many, many times because the first timeI did it we did it before we started shooting becauseof course we had no idea how the things were going toplay so I think that first narration was a bit uppityand a bit la la so we changed it an awful lot when webegan shooting and we had to discuss the complexity ofwhat she knows while shes narrating and whether shesnarrating during the film at all or whether its oldnarration and you cant get into all that because itsso complicated. So the work on tone occurred over along period of time before we started shooting, duringthe shoot and then after the shoot, I did the wholenarration at least 3 or 4 times and that was the onlyway we could get it to work and in the end thenarration is so moving that I would cry every singletime I did it and I had to do it not crying becauseits just beautiful, the way she says all these thingswe think accessorise our lives and they are there infact to save us.
Gaynor Flynn: Your character only meets Will Ferrelltowards the end of the film, was that the same for youin real life?
Emma Thompson: No, wed been farting around like theold sort of whores of comedy that we are for hoursbefore that but that scene is so powerfully writtenand so well written that we didnt need to rehearseit. The idea of someone coming towards you who youhave imagined in your head is so extraordinary that itacted itself. Her reaction, the fact that she justgoes down onto her knees is not a normal reaction, itcouldnt be because to her hes not real and yetsuddenly hes real so its the same sort of wonder andawe and of course shes thrilled actually but alsofrightened and in awe. Its an incredible moment Ivenever had to act anything like that before.
Gaynor Flynn: Youre a writer as well, do you like tosee your characters come to life, unlike Kay?
Emma Thompson: I love it thats why I writescreenplays. I love the fact that I know one day Illmeet the people [who will play them]. Now novelistslive in a much more private world I think. Its notsomething they would want I dont think, the novelistsI know anyway certainly wouldnt. Theyre notgregarious, theyre not outgoing so people write fordifferent reasons and they work stuff through in theirwriting, I certainly do that
Gaynor Flynn: Do you suffer as a writer like yourcharacter does in the film?
Emma Thompson: Sometimes I do, and there have beenreally, horrible, horrible moments when you findyourself curled up in a foetus position weeping underthe desk, you know thinking I cant do this. You justthink youre not going to be able to get it out youknow like child birth there comes a point in childbirth when you say, okay jokes over, get it out, getwhatever it is out I cant do this. Its very bizarre.I remember that moment so clearly, just dont beridiculous I cant do this, I cant get a whole babyout of there and its the same thing with your mind,you just go its not there I cant a do it and funnilyenough I think thats the moment when sometimes youhave your big breakthroughs its very odd.
Gaynor Flynn: Theres a great scene where youre inthe rain, smoking, suffering, trying to work out whatis going to happen next in your novel. Was that adifficult scene to do?
Emma Thompson: It was, but I trusted Marc Foster [thedirector] because I think hes a good filmmaker. Hesa young filmmaker but hes a filmmaker and theres abig difference between a director and a filmmaker.There are thousands of directors and very fewfilmmakers. Ive worked with Ang Lee luckily who wasa filmmaker and I think Marc has that so you dontquestion it, you really dont unless you have a bigproblem with it. So I sat there, I was so cold, Icant tell you how cold I was and I was so proud ofkeeping that cigarette going. She could smoke in ashower that woman and I loved that scene. [Marcs]very subtle and he knows whats what. Hes like one ofthose Chinese surgeons who just puts his handsstraight into your body without cutting he can go inand just go, can you just move your kidneys slightlyto the left and you do it.
Gaynor Flynn: I understand that Will Ferrell is veryshy and introverted?
Emma Thompson: He is shy, but hes also so goodhearted and nice, and open hearted and we just did geton and we did have a lot to talk about because wereboth comedians so wed just wiff on people wed met orsome ridiculous thing and I think hes a very subtleman. I know the stuff he does is so broad sometimesbut hes a bit like Christopher Guest you know. Thosepeople that he gets periodic version of human beingsbut so close, like Anchorman you know there weremoments in that which were just oh, they were soterrible and yet so accurate so its not reallysurprising that he can pull it back and be real. Ithink hes wonderful in this. I had no idea he was sogood.
Gaynor Flynn: Did you jump at the opportunity to playthis woman?
Emma Thompson: I did because shes not intentionallyfunny but shes funny and I love her and shes soawful and shes rude and suicidal and funny and Ithink thats a very unusual combination especially forwomen. You know I was asked whether I get cross aboutAmerica and there not being any roles for women my ageand all of that and then something like this comesalong but its very rare that you get something sooriginal. Always now I get asked to play motherswhich is fine if it is a very brilliantly writtenmother thats no problem but thats the point you knowto get out of the formulaic stuff to be not virgin,angel, whore, mother, sister, wife you know suddenlyto come along and be given a suicidal very rude writeris heavenly.
Gaynor Flynn: As a screenwriter, is it important toyou to create interesting roles for women then?
Emma Thompson: Oh definitely and I try to write themwith real depth but Im writing about parents at themoment and theres a mother but shes a completelyoriginal person, a fully developed human being withstrange habits and peculiarities as everybody has. Ifind mothers are so often portrayed as just sort ofsingular, like theyre only mothers. What mother isonly a mother? Doesnt exist. But weve made it likethat in our stories.
Gaynor Flynn: Will you be acting in your story?
Emma Thompson: No because Im committed to NannyMcPhee I cant do both that would be bad.
Gaynor Flynn: Did you know this role was written foryou when you were given it?
Emma Thompson: No I didnt, Lindsay [Doran theproducer] was really discreet she just sent me thescript and said see what you think of it and I readthe first two pages and said Ill do it because Ijust wanted to be in the service of that writingbecause that never happens. Because people will writethings for you and you think ooh Im so excited andyou read it and think oh this is terrible and Ive hadthat happen before well you either think that or itsjust very bad writing or boring writing and they justwant you to act it but it was like it had been writtenfor me because the way in which she speaks has myinflections and my strange sort of arcane ways ofspeaking that I sometimes have.
Gaynor Flynn: So whenever anybody says they wrotesomething for you, now you become incredibly wary?
Emma Thompson: Oh yeah you do, well you know what Ihave to be wary of? I have to not ever say to someonethat Im writing something for them because Ive donethat before and then the studio says no but we dontwant that person and Ive had to ring up that personand say Im so sorry and I feel like such a cow sothats what you have to watch out for.
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