Emma Stone can handle herself during the zombie apocalypse. Zombieland shows how a pair of sly girls can fend off the undead and any living strangers who wander into their place of refuge.
“I play a little girl named Wichita who was a con artist before the apocalypse happened, and is really using the zombie world to the best of her advantage in continuing the con,” Stone said. “Stealing cars and weapons from these boys.”
Wichita’s mind is sharp, but when the undead approach, it’s time to get physical. “I got to butt a zombie in the head with the back of my shotgun. He falls eighty feet to his death.”
Director Ruben Fleischer revealed that Stone actually gave the stunt zombie a gaping head wound. That was news to the actor. “We’re going to talk about that later because I didn’t know that. Oh god. Yeah, so I really butted this guy in the head.”
Perhaps she couldn’t help getting into character. “Well, I think any time you’re holding a weapon, and they tell you to pretend you’re shooting a zombie, it’s cathartic. How often do you get to point a gun at a human being and have it not actually hurt them, but still have the effect of it? I guess it’s horrifying that I said that. Horrifying and terrible. Weird insight into my psyche.”
Stone went to the gun range to prepare for the film. “I hadn’t shot a gun before this movie, before I went to the gun range and learned how to shoot guns. That was pretty interesting, getting to shoot all the different guns and learn the safety of weapons.”
Zombieland opens to theaters on October 2nd.
From CanMag
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Life in Zombieland sucks. Food is scarce, there isn’t much to do on a Friday night, and hordes of fast-moving undead are always hungry for your brains.
But savvy Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg) has concocted a foolproof guide to surviving in the post-apocalyptic world and he’s willing to share it with badass con artist Wichita. Probably because she’s played by Emma Stone, an actress who’s proven she can be both amusing and alluring in “Superbad,” “The House Bunny” and “Ghosts of Girlfriends Past.”
We sat down with Stone—who shed the kohl eyeliner and tight jeans of “Zombieland” for red lipstick and a “Mad Men”-era look—to discuss her own strategies for surviving a world gone mad, learning how to be more badass and locking lips with a nauseous zombie.
Wichita is a really cool character, what was your favorite part of stepping into her shoes?
It was fun to play a grown up. Also, in my life, I don’t feel like I’ve gotten in touch with the badass side of myself. That’s the fun part about acting. I can act like that and then go back to my falling down ridiculous self.
Did that make you want to be more badass in real life?
She did inspire me to be a little bit to be a little braver and a little more unapologetic. When you’re in your twenties, you’re still adjusting to not apologizing for what you need and what you want. She doesn’t. She takes no prisoners. She’s just out to protect her sister [played by Abigail Breslin] and will steal guns and cars to do it.
Did you pick up any tips for surviving a zombie apocalypse?
Like Jesse’s character, I would have to have a big list of rules and follow a specific set of guidelines because I’m too flighty and would not see it coming. I already find ways to hurt myself or spill hot coffee on myself and in a zombified world the last thing you’d want to be is clumsy.
I heard you injured yourself a couple times on set.
I tore a muscle and had to have a physical therapist for two weeks and ultrasound therapy. They wrapped up my leg every day before I was able to run. Then I hurt my hand and got a rash all over my face. Ruben [Fleisher, the director] calls me his delicate flower. I felt like crap being such a pain in the ass.
Jesse’s number one rule for survival is “Be aerobic.” Did you build up your own endurance for all the running you had to do?
I should have! Did I? Not so much. Did I make Kraft macaroni and cheese every night? Yes I did. It was much more delicious than running.
And probably tastier than eating brains. Were you a fan of zombie films before you started filming?
No. I had seen “28 Days Later” and I thought it was a cool movie. But when I read this, I thought of it [more] as a comedy. The heart of it is funny and sweet. It just happens to be set in a world filled with zombies. Ruben did give me “Dawn of the Dead,” the Zack Snyder version, and that’s a badass movie.
Emma and Jesse were on “Attack of the Show” on the G4 network last week! You can watch their interview below or at G4TV.com…
tells the story of two men surviving in a world over-run by zombies.
Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson) is a man ready to slay any zombie that comes between him and the planet’s last remaining Twinkie, while Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg) is a young man who is afraid of just about everything and who has an ever-growing list of rules to surviving the zombies. On a road trip that also includes con-artists Wichita (Emma Stone) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin), the foursome make their way across the country in the hopes of finding a zombie-free zone.
At the film’s press day, co-stars Woody Harrelson and Emma Stone talked about the appeal of making a zombie comedy/action film.
Q: Woody, did you have any input into your character’s wardrobe?
Woody: I’ve never worked so hard on the outfit before. That’s the stuff I usually don’t put so much time into, but there were so many fittings and attempts to get that right. Ruben and I almost endlessly went back and forth on how much color to put in this or that, and I liked the way it turned out.
Q: Was it your idea to have the Willie Nelson reference in the film, or was that already in the script?
Woody: That Willie Nelson section was pretty much the last day and Ruben was like, “You guys sit in the car and just improvise stuff.” So, that was a cool, lucky section. And, also, that stuff about Hannah Montana was improvised. This was a wonderful script, but that particular section was improvised.
Q: Emma, were you attracted to this because of all the action you got to do in the film? Was that aspect of it fun?
Emma: I’m terrible at action. I really am. I’m just bad at action movies. But, it was definitely interesting. It was something I had never done before. I loved the character, but I just can’t run to save my life, literally. I did not limber up, or do cardio. I hurt my muscle. I had to do some ultrasound physical therapy while we were shooting. After every take, I was crying and in so much pain, and it was nice of Ruben to be like, “You’re not cut out for this! That looked horrible!” But, it’s true that I’m horrible at it.
Q: How did you identify with this character?
Emma: I felt more like I was living vicariously through her. I just tried to key into that one part of me that feels brave and like a bad-ass, in a situation where you feel out-of-control, and do that constantly, instead of just as a fleeting feeling in me. There were also parts of her that were vulnerable and scared and human. She wasn’t brave, all the time. There was a lot about her that I could relate to, just as a human being.
Q: Did you think about your character’s backstory at all? Why were Wichita and Little Rock already doing cons, before Zombieland happened?
Emma: We’re both very smart characters. The whole backstory didn’t really make it into the movie, but there was an issue with our father, so we’d been away from home for awhile, before Zombieland even occurred. We needed to find a way to make money, and we both happen to be pretty smart girls, and there’s not much a 12-year-old can do for work, but if she’s as cool as Abigail is, then she can con. So, I think we started, just trying to survive on our own. We had survival instincts kicking in, even before Zombieland.
Q: Can you talk about working with Abigail?
Woody: Not only did she summon the tears, every time we shot that scene, but when the camera wasn’t on her, she still did it. When the camera was on us, she was still summoning tears. It was really amazing.
Emma: We went by Emma-gail. It was just amazing. You couldn’t ask for anybody better to play your little sister. We got along so well. I felt really, really lucky. She’s not just a cool kid. She’s a really cool person. She’s like a small person. She’s incredibly developed, but she also really likes Twilight and the Jonas Brothers, so she’s still normal. Every chance I got to hang out with her was so much fun. It was a blast. I was incredibly lucky.
There has been a new clip from “Zombieland” released that features Emma! You can stream it below or at Shock Till You Drop…
Tomorrow is the day!
Zombieland opens in theatres tomorrow [PST].
Or you could go to a midnight showing tonight and see it before everyone else… Which is better, obviously.
So, go support our dear Emma and go see it!
=D
I’ve added 97 HQ and MQ photos of Emma from the Los Angeles premiere of “Zombieland” into our gallery. You can view all the photos by clicking on the thumbnails below…
