This interview first appeared in Issue 28 of Wonderland, November/December 2011

Artist-writer-filmmaker, Miranda July looks way too delicate for this world, and, moments before we meet, nearly pays the price for her fragility. Stepping down the street to meet Wonderland in her hip east LA, Silver Lake neighbourhood, a man hacking trees nearly snuffs out the leading light of the indie world with a single slice. Sitting down to join me for a light lunch, she’s altogether flustered by her brush with the tumbling trunk of doom, and takes a moment to compose herself and shake off the discomfort.

Not that Ms July, or Miranda Jennifer Grossinger to her writer mum and dad, ever seems spectacularly comfortable in her skin. She seems distracted and a little irritable, her sing-songy LA-twang forcing each answer to rise at the end like a question. “You work across multiple mediums, what would you call yourself?” I ask. To which she replies, “I don’t have to.”

The 37-year-old hasn’t had to answer to anyone for quite some time, forging a distinctly unique, virtually compromise-free path through the arts. It was 15 years ago, in a pre-internet era, that Miranda launched Joanie 4 Jackie, a VHS compilation of short films by women, which were distributed around the States like a chain letter. Fast forward a decade and a half and she’s here to talk about her second feature, The Future, a film narrated by a talking stray cat called Paw Paw who follows a couple as they face their increasingly grown-up responsibilities.

In between, she’s released CDs (her first EP, Margie Ruskie Stops Time, was released in 1996); acted in her own and others’ movies (she wrote, directed and starred in Me and You and Everyone We Know, which won the Caméra d’Or at the Cannes Film festival in 2005); written books (No One Belongs Here More Than You, a collection of short stories, which was released in 2007, and her next project will be a novel); and continues to work on her art (despite promotional duties on The Future, the day after our interview she launched a sculpture show, Eleven Heavy Things, at MOCA Pacific Design Centre in Los Angeles).

Today, tumbling logs be damned, we’re talking to Miranda July the filmmaker on the cusp of the release of her second feature. Salad is ordered, nerves are calmed, and the somewhat stilted conversation begins.

You’ve explained how you don’t have to define your position across the artistic spectrum but do you have a preference for any medium?

No.

Okay. Is filmmaking the spark for what you do?

It’s the thing I wanted to do the longest, since high school, but I’ve been performing the whole time, and writing too. So the spark is the thing that makes me want to make the thing – film itself doesn’t make me want to make something: it’s just the medium. Right now I’m working on a novel so the ideas that I have are for the novel. If they’re not I’ll make a little note.

Where does inspiration strike?

There are so many different things. It can be someone else’s work, it can be something that happened to me, it can be someone I see. I think it’s the same for every artist – there’s not one light.

Is simply being aware of everything around you what’s important?

Yes, and also being aware of what I’m feeling. You end up putting a lot of meaning and emotional content on things in the world, which are not necessarily resonant on their own. It’s just through living: I’m not sitting in a corner with a notebook, observing.

What was the inspiration for The Future?

There are so many feelings before you even sit down, but I remember when I was making the first movie I knew I definitely wanted it to be just about two people. I consciously wanted this one to be sadder and darker, but I think in some way I was surprised by how much of a comedy it is. Sure, I wrote jokes and stuff, but when I was editing the movie I was kind of in a dark place, though I wrote this over six years. You stick with something and stay true to it as it evolves.

How do you stay focused on a project over six years?

Well it wasn’t just the movie the whole time: over those six years I did a lot of other stuff. I wrote a book of short stories, I toured with that around the world, and I made a performance, which eventually evolved into the movie. Then while I was turning it into a movie I did a couple of big art projects too, so it’s not quite as disciplined as it sounds.

So not a solid six years locked in a room with a word processor?

Not at all. For better or worse, I’m not that kind of filmmaker.

Your protagonists in the movie disconnect from the internet. Is this something you’ve tried yourself?

Not for 30 days but I do it every day when I write. It was a very handy way to externalise an internal crisis. We all know that panicky feeling when you lose your phone or your internet isn’t working. I think that feeling predates the internet, it’s the feeling of having too much time, of not enough distraction, of being faced with the void of whatever’s uncomfortable, of what you’re trying to dodge.

That being said, do you think our always-on culture is a good or a bad thing?

It’s both, right? It’s certainly not helpful at all with regards to making ideas out of nothing, which is what a lot of book writing is. New ideas often come from that unknown, empty place, where you’re not sure that something will come and you have to sit with it. The fact is that we don’t really sit with it anymore. I don’t think younger people even know that it’s a virtue. Or maybe it’s not – maybe that’s just an old fashioned way of thinking. But for me it’s not a good thing, because I already have the way I work and it depends on that space.

Having said that, you’re pretty active online, your website/blog is a virtual public journal.

I don’t usually blog but right now I have to blog twice a week for the movie. This is part of the job but it’s a problem as I have a lot to do. For a movie that doesn’t have a huge marketing budget, I’m all there is; it’s a big part of what generates publicity. I get it, and I’m not unhappy about it, but it’s a lot of work.

Things have changed a lot since you had to mail out compilation VHS tapes to a select few.

I know. That’s why I think I’m open to working with it. The internet does feel very DIY; it’s great that I don’t have to go through anyone. I may have imagined back then that to have such a big audience I would have to have sold out somehow. Back then, you would have probably been looking for a major studio to reach an audience.

Does that make it harder or easier to get yourself noticed now?

I think it’s the same thing: if there’s a gap, or you’re fulfilling a need, then it works, only now it works a lot quicker. But there aren’t as many gaps. The chance that you are going to be the only girl filmmaker trying to start a community is small. Maybe it forces people to up their game.

Are you surprised at the kind of success you’ve had?

I’m not totally surprised. The lack of surprise comes from not leaving yourself any other options mentally.

You mean never having a Plan B?

Right. I didn’t know that then but nothing else I could imagine seemed real. I could never even entertain the thought that there might be some other option.

After your success, is there a danger of going mainstream?

No… that all happened after the first movie and I didn’t do it. There is an aspect to it I would love – I would have loved some money because it’s never quite enough to make the movies – but I was nervous about messing up my way of working. They offer you things like “first look”, basically where you’re being paid to write, which is great, but they’d probably want some amount of control. That felt like a move backwards, I’d been free making things since I was 16. Why would I give that up now?

What would you advise people that may find you an inspiration?

I think it’s the same thing. The way my friends and I thought was “yes, you’re making your own work, but you’re also trying to create a community.” So when you have an event, you need all those other people playing, because just your friends is never going to be enough. The people who you think of as your competitors are the people you need the most, and they create a world that’s more fun. Start your revolution together.

Words: Tony Horkins
Photographer: Brigitte Sire

The post Flashback Friday: Miranda July appeared first on Wonderland.

This interview was published in Issue 27 of Wonderland, Sept/Oct 2011.

You know what it’s like with movie stars: no new films for months, then eight come along together. At least that’s how it is for Jessica Chastain, who’s following the London bus theory with her releases; first keep them waiting, then flood the streets.

The 30-year-old redhead, whose captivating looks have been described as “ethereal” just about as often as “pre-Raphaelite”, has a film career you wouldn’t believe if it were a movie itself. This Julliard grad has been busy transitioning from the theatre to movies, landing unbelievable roles in a host of diverse, interesting and award-winning projects… with barely anyone having seen them.

At the time of our interview, only Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life – in which Brad Pitt played her husband and Sean Penn her son – has seen the light of day, but among those waiting in the wings are Wilde Salome, in which her director and co-star is Al Pacino; The Wettest County in the World, opposite Shia LaBouf and Tom Hardy; Ralph Fiennes’ directorial debut Coriolanus, also starring Vanessa Redgrave; The Texas Killing Fields, where she’ll be seen alongside Avatar’s Sam Worthington; The Debt with Helen Mirren and Tom Wilkinson; plus the closest thing to a potential blockbuster in The Help, based on Kathryn Stockett’s best-selling novel, all of which will hit cinemas over the next year. Which raises one question: what’s with the hold-up?

“I think what led to it is I tend to respond to material that is perhaps more difficult to put together,” she says from her home in Venice, California. ”Either it’s because it’s from classical literature like Wilde Salome and Coriolanus, or from an auteur like Terence Malick, so the subject matter tends to be off. It’s not like mainstream movies.”

Most unusual in a sea of fame-hungry performers, Jessica shuns the spotlight, believing the more famous you are, the more difficult it is to be an actor, anonymity the key to creating a believable character.

“Fame isn’t why I became an actor,” she says, believably. “I became an actor because I thrive on the connections I make with people on set. There’s something that happens when I’m acting in a scene with someone else that’s so intimate. It’s indescribable – it’s like this invisible current, and I really feed off it. Everything for me about acting is about connecting to humanity.”

Again this is unusual, in that most actors seemingly prefer to disconnect from humanity, elevating themselves above it all so they no longer have to mingle with the little people.

“Not for me,” Jessica insists. “I have seen when someone has become a successful film actor how society lifts them up and separates them from the group. I’m scared of that happening: if someone takes me out of the group how can I play a regular woman? And how can I meet someone when I’m walking my dog or how do I have a regular conversation at the coffee shop? I don’t want that to go away.”

So by the end of the next year, there’ll be enough Jessica Chastain movies on the market for a box set.

Ha! We could do a retrospective of my career! That’s amazing.

If there’s only one we have to see, what is it? That’s not an unfair question, is it?

Oh that’s totally unfair. Do you realise how many people would call me up upset if I answered that question?

So what’s it been like for you working in this vacuum?

Slightly strange. When I showed up for parts I really felt I had to prove myself. There’s a kind of idea of me out there, of this girl that’s been working on so much, but we don’t know if she really exists. So hopefully that will go away when people start to see my work.

The first one you actually shot was Wilde Salome with Al Pacino: what was your first meeting with him like?

I went to a door, they asked me to wait for a second, and at that moment I immediately felt like I was going to be sick. But he’s a cheerleader: he loves actors and he just wants to see you do your best work.

Of course he’s not your only huge co-star: you got to play Brad’s wife.

That is something in a million years I would never have imagined. The name “Brad Pitt” carries so much weight, but the great thing is, when he came to set and I met him he really is like a regular guy. He doesn’t have a huge entourage, he didn’t show up with this huge team – he just turned up on his motorcycle. He made me feel like I had every right to be there, like we were on the same team.

And in the same movie you’ve got Sean Penn… playing your son!

I know! It’s bizarre – my hubby Brad and my son Sean. But I guess if you’re going from Al Pacino, why not?

When your husband has been Brad Pitt, your son Sean Penn and your muse Al Pacino, how’s regular life been working out for you?

The funny thing is I think I’ve been really lucky because all these people I’ve worked with have been regular guys who just happen to have a lot of fame.

So being in the arms of Brad Pitt just wears off after a while?

It does actually. Also, he was so good in his role, as this closed off, stifled man, that I was just so impressed with what he was doing and I forgot he was the guy from Legends of the Fall.

How was your Malick experience? He famously runs an unconventional and experimental set.

It was exhilarating – I would do any film for Terry. I felt like we never made the movie – we were just discovering every day, and that for me is the goal as an actor. I don’t ever want to feel like we nailed it: I always want to feel like we’re discovering.

You’ve deliberately chosen a lot of non-commercial work – why?

I’ve always been the student, learning about being an actor, and becoming a better actor, so for me it’s about working with the masters of it. It’s not been about ‘this is the film where I’ll get famous’. I’ve never thought like that.

Though you are about to be seen in The Help, based on a huge, commercially successful book that could end up being a breakthrough role for you in the wider sense.

The funny thing about The Help is I look so different in that movie: I gained some weight and I have peroxide hair and a very different voice. I’ve even done press for it where the interviewers don’t realise I played Celia.

How about the spy thriller The Debt?

Well in that I have an Israeli accent and brown hair and I speak German! The fact that I have so many movies coming out this year it’s inevitable my life will change and that I can’t control it. I have to be open to that, but I do have control over trying to live as normally as I can.

Are you already getting noticed?

The wonderful thing right now is so far, so good. I’m getting really interesting scripts and my normal life hasn’t changed at all. I tell you, maybe one person has recognised me when I was walking my dog.

What do you like to do when you’re not working?

Usually I play the ukulele, I cook a lot, I see tons of movies and go to the theatre, play Scrabble and…

Hold it right there. Ukulele?

Yeah! I used to play guitar and I realised when I started working and travelling so much that I wasn’t able to play guitar any more because I felt stupid carrying around a guitar case. With the Ukulele I could just stick it in my suitcase and play it in my hotel room.

And what’s your go-to cooking dish?

I love making risotto, and I love long-term cooking, the type that takes all day where you really smell it in the house, like roasting pears. It’s more than just eating the food.

Has your social circle changed since you’ve been hanging with Al and Brad? Does Sean pop around for roasted pears?

Not yet – it’s mainly old friends. I have very good friends I was at Julliard with, and some live locally – so it’s mainly people I’ve known for 10 years. It’s very rare for me to become really close with people I just meet. I like to hang out with normal people.

How’s your Scrabble game?

I’m so obsessed that during The Wettest Country… Tom Hardy and I would play two games at once on our iPads. Of course I always beat him, though he would deny that. I have used all seven tiles – it’s easy to do if you have an “ing”. You can extend any words like that.

So when you’re not doing wild things like playing Scrabble, do you ever go out and party it up like young actresses in LA are supposed to?

I’m not that girl – I’m the girl that goes to the theatre by herself or with friends.

Shame, because in Venice you’ve got Lindsay as a neighbour.

Ha! No… that’s not happening. I think it’s also because I was always the freckly, redheaded theatre nerd… I’ve never been the cool kid. I got teased mercilessly in elementary school and once I found my group of theatre friends I realised I do fit in somewhere.

That sounds like an episode of Glee!

Doesn’t it?!

Words: Tony Horkins
Images: Danielle Levitt
Fashion: Kris Zero

The post Flashback Friday: Jessica Chastain appeared first on Wonderland.

Chastain’s latest project, the Pacino-directed Wilde Salome premiered yesterday at the Venice film festival. She pretty much steals the show as the titular character, so for those feeling a bit out of the loop, here’s five things you don’t know about Ms Chastain – read the full interview in the September issue of Wonderland.

1. She’s a theatre geek.
“I’m the girl that goes to the theatre by herself or with friends. I was always the freckly, redheaded theatre nerd… I’ve never been the cool kid. I got teased mercilessly in elementary school and once I found my group of theatre friends I realized I do fit in somewhere.”

2. She likes hanging out in the kitchen:
“I love long-term cooking, the type that takes all day where you really smell it in the house, like roasting pears.”

3. She plays the Ukelele.
I used to play guitar and I realized when I started working and traveling so much that I wasn’t able to play anymore because I felt stupid carrying around a guitar case. With the Ukelele I could just stick it in my suitcase and play it in the hotel room.

4. She never wanted to be famous.
“I’ve always been the student, learning about being an actor, and becoming a better actor, so for me it’s about working with the masters of it. It’s not been about ‘This is the film where I’ll get famous.’ I’ve never thought like that.”

5. She’s a Scrabble champ.
“I’m so obsessed that during [the filming of] The Wettest Country in the World Tom Hardy and I would play two games at once on our iPads. Of course I always beat him, though he would deny that.”

Interview: Tony Horkins
Words: Adam Welch
Photography: Danielle Levitt
Fashion: Kris Zero

The post Five Things You Never Knew About Jessica Chastain appeared first on Wonderland.

Clearly not the piece of work he’s been projecting on screen, Gigandet (pronounced jig-AN-day, preferably with a French accent) has been balanced his badass-ness by playing Christina Aguilera’s shy confidante in Burlesque as well as Minka Kelly’s protective boyfriend in upcoming dorm thriller The Roommate.

Not that he’s leaving his signature style behind: this year we’ll see him opposite Nic Cage and Nicole Kidman as a vicious kidnapper in Trespass, and once again sinking his teeth into a vampire role in Priest.

For today, however, Wonderland finds him reflective and refreshingly honest about the brutal here today/unemployed tomorrow nature of his business. Settling down with a light beer (abs like his don’t just happen), the 28-year-old father of one talks nude scenes, nerves and domestic bliss.

So why are we meeting here?
I thought you chose it! I’ve been here a few times but it would not have been my first choice.

You don’t go out much?
At night, no. During the day … no [he grins]. I live in my car, but that’s not really going out – that’s going out to try and find another job. Actually, lately I’ve had to drive around everywhere trying to find suits – we had two weeks of Burlesque premieres coming up and I had no suits.

Are you a clothes guy?
Well … casual clothes. Good jeans I love – my favourite brands are Simon Miller and RRL.

How much is too much to spend on a pair of jeans?
If I see a three at the front, that’s getting there, but $200 I can fork over.

Do you miss partying?
How long can a person do that? I moved out here to LA when I was 19 – I’m 28 now, and was 23 when I met my fiancée … As soon as I met Dominique that’s all I wanted, and having a child puts everything into perspective. I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. It’s exciting and fun every single day. We’ve been together for six years – that’s a long time.

Especially in Hollywood.
Right, Hollywood is like dog years. People always say, “Oh, you have to work at your relationship.” That sounds exhausting to me.

Has the job search got any easier for you?
It kind of goes up and down. Yesterday I had an audition and I got out of the room and realised I’ve been auditioning for seven or eight years, and I still have no fucking clue how to do it. I know all of my problems now, but I just can’t change them.

What’s your biggest problem?
Probably insecurities and nerves. Trying to do it right. It’s just exhausting.

What’s been the best day at the office so far?
So many. One of the coolest things for me was my first day of work on Trespass, that I finished a few weeks ago. We were rehearsing a long scene and it’s with Nicolas Cage and Nicole Kidman. I had such a surreal moment where I was like, “Oh my God.”

How was the whole Twilight experience for you?
That was another one – the premiere for Twilight just blew me away, it was so exciting. There were thousands of people there.

Were you sad not to be able to carry on though the franchise?
No … I would have gotten bored. I had to go with my gut on that.

Now, to Burlesque – is it a Chicago or a Showgirls?
It should be a Chicago – it’s a very fun and entertaining movie. People have said there are clichés – fine. There are clichés in every movie. You take it for what it is – fun entertainment.

How was it filming your nude scene?
You see my butt for three seconds, if that.

Yeah, but with freeze frame and YouTube, that’s a lifetime of viewing.
I know! It’ll turn into a 40-minute video of my ass. But it was OK. It ended up feeling so normal when we were doing it. Just part of the job.

Plenty of butt push-ups leading up to it?
No! I guess I didn’t realise it was just going to be my ass right there. When I watched the playback I realised I should have done something about it. Hopefully people don’t zoom in.

Would you be happy to chubby up for a role?
Are you kidding me? I’d love it. I’d be living at McDonald’s, eating candy. That’s very appealing to me.

Photography: Doug Inglish
Fashion: Martina Nilsson
Words: Tony Horkins

This article first appeared in Wonderland Issue 26, April/May 2011

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