{"id":6925,"date":"2017-01-04T22:20:38","date_gmt":"2017-01-05T06:20:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.westsidemommy.com\/site\/?p=6925"},"modified":"2017-01-18T21:29:12","modified_gmt":"2017-01-19T05:29:12","slug":"felicity-jones-a-monster-calls-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.westsidemommy.com\/site\/felicity-jones-a-monster-calls-interview\/","title":{"rendered":"Roundtable Interview with Felicity Jones – A MONSTER CALLS opens Nationwide Jan 6"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

A few months ago, I was part of a select group of mommy bloggers who attended an advance screening of “A Monster Calls<\/a><\/strong>” and interviewed the lovely actress Felicity Jones<\/strong><\/a>, who plays the Mom (or\u00a0Mum<\/em>)\u00a0<\/em>in the movie. Felicity Jones<\/strong> most recently starred in\u00a0Inferno<\/em><\/strong><\/a> alongside Tom Hanks<\/strong><\/a>, and shooting down Storm Troopers in\u00a0Rogue One: A Star Wars Story<\/em><\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Mommy<\/a><\/p>\n

In\u00a0A Monster Calls<\/em><\/strong><\/a>, Felicity Jones<\/strong> takes on the role of\u00a0Mum<\/em>, the very ill mother of Conor, played by young Scottish actor Lewis MacDougall<\/strong><\/a>. In this emotionally charged role, Felicity’s performance brought tears to my eyes. [Click here to read my previous post about\u00a0A Monster Calls<\/em>]<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Here are some excerpts from the roundtable interview:<\/h1>\n

What was it about the script that appealed to you, and spoke to you?<\/span><\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

It was a combination of reading the script and then I read the book<\/strong><\/a>.\u00a0 <\/span>I actually read it when I was on holiday and I was on holiday with a couple of friends.\u00a0 <\/span>I was so overwhelmed after I’d finished it, I said, “Just going to be two minutes,” and then I sort of crept off and went into the sea and just like burst into tears.\u00a0 <\/span>‘Cause it just hits you in that gut level, and I just thought, “Well, if-if the book can be that, then-then hopefully the film can, too.”\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

How was\u00a0it working with Sigourney Weaver<\/a>?<\/span><\/h2>\n

She’s fabulous.\u00a0 <\/span>I just watched Working Girl recently.\u00a0 <\/span>And I just remembered\u00a0how kind of-of fantastic she is.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Sigourney<\/strong><\/a>‘s a real hippie, as well.\u00a0 <\/span>So I really empathize with her on that level.\u00a0 J<\/span>ust again like Lewis, (she is) very focused.\u00a0 <\/span>I think that’s the thing I find with people, particularly’ve stayed the course, you know, survived the business for as long as she has.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What was it like working with Lewis MacDougall<\/a>?<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

He’s such a wonderful young actor.\u00a0 <\/span>He takes it very seriously.\u00a0 <\/span>He works incredibly hard, and he’s really bright.\u00a0 <\/span>He just had it.\u00a0 <\/span>I mean, it wasn’t like we had to do anything special for him, or do, you know, we were just all in awe of him really, and he gave it everything.\u00a0 F<\/span>rom the very beginning, he just always came out with the most kind of insightful, credible things and ideas about the character and the script.<\/span><\/p>\n

What drew you to this particular movie?<\/span><\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I think it was the authenticity.\u00a0 I<\/span>t just felt very real.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>It felt honest, and it didn’t feel like it was, trying to pretend that things are more easy then they are in reality.\u00a0 <\/span>It felt very truthful.\u00a0 <\/span>I was very close to both my parents, but I grew up with just my mother, and she was, a single parent, and I guess some of that resonated when I was reading the script, and that sort of touched me.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Not everyone lives happily ever after.\u00a0 <\/span>It’s messily ever after<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

I love the fact it depicted real life.\u00a0 O<\/span>ne of my favorite lines throughout the whole movie was “Not everyone lives happily ever after.\u00a0 <\/span>It’s messily ever after.”\u00a0 <\/span>And it’s true.\u00a0 <\/span>Life gets messy and you’ve got to make the best out of it.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/h2>\n

How did you prepare yourself to play a chronically ill patient?<\/span><\/h2>\n

I like to do a lot of research.\u00a0 <\/span>I like to kind of get really stuck in and understanding what that person is going through, and so I met with women who had cancer, and luckily had survived it.\u00a0 <\/span>I spoke to a woman (who) was very open about the emotional side of it, as well as the physical side of how chemotherapy affects every bit of your body.<\/span><\/p>\n

So it was a very very open dialogue, and then I spoke to her doctor, and her oncologist about the specifics, the kind of medical facts of that.\u00a0 <\/span>So, I just kind of attack it in every different direction, and try and find the absolute honesty of that experience.\u00a0 <\/span>But also at the same time, I found these women just didn’t want to be defined by it. The thing that appears always the same, is people just want to go back to being normal.<\/span><\/p>\n

Do you have a preference for\u00a0a particular\u00a0type of movie or role?<\/h2>\n

It’s like, it’s nice to do the mix, really.\u00a0 <\/span>And it depends on the character, and if I feel engaged by it.\u00a0 <\/span>You always know when you sit down and read a script, and you don’t move, that it’s something good.\u00a0 <\/span>When it’s not good, you just, you’re like, making tea, or you’re going “All right, ugh, I can’t believe I’ve got to read this.”\u00a0<\/span>Variety’s the spice of life.<\/span><\/p>\n

A Monster Calls<\/h1>\n

In theaters Dec. 23, 2016<\/span><\/span> (select cities); Jan. 6, 2017<\/span><\/span> (nationwide)<\/h4>\n