Easy A - Emma Stone interview

EMMA Stone talks about the appeal of smart teen comedy Easy A and how she tackled her Meg Ryan ‘orgasm simulation’ sequence and singing in front of her peers. She also talks about her career to date, playing Gwen Stacy in the new Spider-Man reboot and working with people like Andrew Garfield and Stanley Tucci on various projects. This was a telephone interview.

Q. Easy A is one of the smartest teen comedies I’ve seen in a while. I’d imagine that was part of the appeal?
Emma Stone: Thank you. It was, but you never know how it’ll turn out. So, I’m glad this one came out so well.

Q. And what was the appeal of the character of Olive?
Emma Stone: I thought she was really interesting. The story took her in a different direction to what you’d normally expect from these types of comedies. Once this rumour spread, she perpetuated it instead of squashing it. She is a confident, bold girl and that’s nice and rare to see in this kind of movie.

Q. You were home schooled, so did that present any extra challenges in getting into the high school dynamic?
Emma Stone: Well, I think this story could have taken place at any age. Her predicament stems from the fact she’s lying about who she was, so that could have taken place anywhere, and could happen to anyone. I didn’t need to tap into a high school mentality for that, per se. But it was nice because all of the extras in the movie actually went to the high school we were shooting at, so it was nice to be able to make use of the dynamic that existed between them.

Q. How was Will Gluck as a director? I gather he likes to swear a lot?
Emma Stone: [Laughs] Yeah, Will’s a real pain in the arse! I’m kidding of course. We have a very special relationship in that we are bullshitting each other almost constantly. He doesn’t need to cuddle me. So, in that sense he’s fantastic to work with. He knows me completely and he calls me on my crap all the time.

Q. So, how would you describe your crap?
Emma Stone: Well, I might be in the middle of a take and I’d be like: “Shit, that was awful!” And he’d say: “Yeah, it was! Do it again!” But that’s refreshing. So many directors want to cuddle you and look after you, but he’s really good at making you feel special while not being afraid to call you on something you’re not doing or bringing to the scene. I mean I’m not a baby, so you have to grow some balls. And that’s nice.

Q. I’d imagine the idea of having a rumour being spread around the Internet or something you’ve said being taken out of context is especially resonant for an actress in your position?
Emma Stone: Definitely… but not just in my profession. I think anyone can relate to that problem. I don’t think there’s one person out there who hasn’t had something false written about them, whether it’s on something like Facebook or other Internet social networking sites, or gossip blogs. So, it’s a very relatable part of the story.

Q. Have you ever had anything written about you that’s untrue?
Emma Stone: I’ve not read anything too bad yet. I’ve been misquoted or had something misconstrued, but I’ve not had anything that’s been truly made up from nowhere… yet. I’m just lucky I guess.

Q. Do you think that might get harder to avoid as your profile grows following roles in future films such as Spider-Man and possibly 21 Jump Street?
Emma Stone: I’m going to cling onto the hope that I’ll stay lucky. I know that in this day and age, they can latch onto someone and write whatever they can about them. But I’m counting on human decency that they won’t make up any crap about me or follow me with a camera all the time. That’s such an awful thing to have to cope with.

Q. In Easy A, your screen parents – Stanley Tucci and Patricia Clarkson – are the kind of parents I think anyone would love to have! What was it like working with them?
Emma Stone: It was unreal. And you can actually tell what it was like to work with them just by watching the movie. It was that great. They’re so funny and smart, and such fantastic people that they were my favourite days to be on the movie whenever they were around.

Q. And how was your Meg Ryan moment, faking the orgasm during the party? How was that to film? And how many takes did it involve?
Emma Stone: [Laughs aloud]. I approached that with caution… and a lot of well timed breathing. And yes, there were so many takes – too many takes, Will Gluck! Although, I just want to point out that I really do love Will and there’s no hard feelings between us [laughs]. But yes, it was a hard scene to do because it did involve a lot of takes. Believe it or not, there were a lot of angles required, which meant it seemed like we were jumping up and down on that bed for a very long time.

Q. And how was your John Hughes movie moment, singing in front of everyone?
Emma Stone: Oh my God, if you can imagine what dressing up in lingerie and singing in front of 400 of your peers might feel like, that’s the best way to describe it. It was wild.

Q. Looking ahead, congratulations on landing the part of Gwen Stacy in Spider-Man! Are you looking forward to working with Andrew Garfield and did you do anything to celebrate?
Emma Stone: I’m really looking forward to working with Andrew. From the little I got to do with him during the audition process, he’s already one of the best actors I’ve gotten to work with, easily! And that was from working with him for only a couple of hours, so I can only imagine what it’ll be like during the course of shooting the movie.

Q. And were there any celebrations?
Emma Stone: I jumped up and down a little bit [laughs].

Q. What does landing such a plum role in Spider-Man mean for your career? Do you feel like you’re joining the A-list, given the amount of projects you have coming up and just how in-demand you are right now?
Emma Stone: That’s a hard question to answer. I think you might have to ask someone else that. I don’t really know what it means at this stage. I’m just really excited to be able to get to do it and to even be a part of it [Spider-man]. So, as far as what it means to me… I’m getting to play Gwen Stacy and that alone is unbelievable!

Q. Does it bring any added pressure? Are you aware of the box office expectations that are placed upon stars?
Emma Stone: No and I think that if I started to think about that too much I’d throw myself out of a window. Some people do, I guess, but that would just flip me out. I just want to do a good job with each role that I take and continue to better myself as an actress because that’s what I love about this job… being able to act and work with so many different people on such a wide range of projects.