Rebecca Hall Video Interview On Woody Allen, ‘Vicky Cristina Barcelona’

Rebecca Hall discusses her Golden Globe nomination for her role as Vicky in Vicky Cristina Barcelona.

Full transcript below:

Q: Was there a moment while filming Vicky Christina that really symbolized what making the movie was like?

A: That’s a good question. There were a lot. There was a strange moment on my first day actually. It sort of sunk in for various symbolic reasons that I was in a Woody Allen film. We were shooting the scene where I am walking through the back of a restaurant looking at things… there was a large pot of lobsters being cooked that was part of the shot… I just remember catching Woody [Allen], who I barely knew at the time- and was quite scared of – he’d gone into his own world staring at these lobsters, nothing was getting through to him… it just reminded me of that moment in Annie Hall with the lobsters. Seeing Woody Allen stare at these lobsters in a slightly more sad, poignant way.

Q: There was such great star power in the movie with Javier Bardem, Scarlett Johansson and Penelope Cruz, what was it like working with all of them?

A: Initially pretty formidable. They are massive movie stars. They are incredibly good at what they do. This was my third film or something ridiculous. I was scared they would find out I didn’t know what I was doing and chase me out of the building. It’s leveling when you are making a film. It doesn’t matter how big the stars are or what they’ve done before, all of that goes out the window and becomes secondary to getting the job done… quite often that means treating each other like equals, which they did to me. So they quit being scary and started being people, and I’m proud to say friends.

Q: What was your experience like working with Woody Allen? Did he give you any specific advice on how to play your role?

A: No, I think he employs actors and expects them to arrive on set with their character prepared and all of that work done and all of those choices made. He’ll tell you if you’re going in the wrong direction but otherwise he employs actors to do their job, turn up and do it. I found out two months prior to shooting that I’d got the part, so I spent two months preparing finding the right kind of voice for Vicky, the right kind of accent, all that stuff that actors do. I turned up half expecting him to sit me down and say, Vicky is this kind of a person, but nothing, absolutely nothing. All I got was, Welcome! Let’s do this scene. Say what you want, put it in your own words. Move where you want and I’ll shoot it. Ready to shoot? Let’s go.’ I’ve never been more terrified in my life. [Laughs.] He never did any of the conventional things that directors do but I have to say it’s hugely liberating and it’s massively confidence-boosting when someone quite as legendary and talented as Woody Allen trusts you to do what you want and approves of it.

Q: Ultimately Vicky has to decide between passion and practicality. What would you have done?

A: I’m not remotely practical. I’m not at all like that. But I understand what she does.

---