Special
interview: Renée Zellweger
Holmes Place – 17 October 2016
The star of Bridget Jones talks about work, life,
women’s role and feminism in a special interview.
WHAT WERE YOU UP TO FOR THE PAST SIX YEARS? WHAT MADE YOU COME BACK?
It was time. I was ready. I missed it. It’s
a creative medium that means something to me, that is inexplicable. And
I definitely felt a longing for it. And when I heard about the new Bridget
Jones movie I got excited about the prospect.
DID YOU ENJOY YOUR BREAK FROM HOLLYWOOD AND ACTING?
Yeah. I did. I learned a lot. I did not retire and go somewhere on the
beach or anything like that. I was just exploring another skill set I
wanted to develop and interests that I wanted to see if I had an aptitude
for. I developed two shows, created a TV show and filmed it. And other
things, school. I lived life. I kept some promises that I made to myself a
long time ago.
DID YOU FEEL LIKE YOU HAD TO REAPPROACH THE CHARACTER BECAUSE THE CONTEXT
IN VIEW OF FEMINISM AND POPULAR CULTURE HAS CHANGED A LOT SINCE THE LAST
FILM? WAS IT A FAMILIAR PLACE OR DID YOU HAVE TO REDISCOVER IT?
Both. It was really familiar for a lot of reasons and the process of
preparation was the same except there was a lot to explore in terms of
decided how to animate her evolution to this period of time. How
she has changed, how she has grown, most importantly how she hasn’t.
AND NOW CULTURE SEEMS TO HAVE CAUGHT UP WITH FEMINISM... BRIDGET, WHO IS
IN HER 40S, HAS TWO MEN RUN AFTER HER AND IS STILL DESIRABLE, WHICH SENDS
A POSITIVE MESSAGE TO THE WOMEN IN THAT AGE. DID
YOU THINK ABOUT THAT?
It’s hard for me to say. If
I thought about it in that way. I guess
didn’t. Not at the time. I
was just picking up and catching up with this character that I love. It
never occurred to me to see where she fits in with that conversation. It
never occurred to me that she would not be vibrant and would not look her
best. Or that she might not be desirable.
BUT IT IS A POSITIVE MESSAGE... YES, DEFINITELY. AND IT IS A FRANCHISE ABOUT A WOMAN’S LIFE.
Yes. I am happy about that. And we have a female writer, female director,
female producer and a female-centric film. And it makes me smile that
people have been responding to it so positively because I think there is a
message in that. That these stories are valuable. That women do want to
see stories about themselves on screen. Stories that they relate to, human
stories. Hopefully that is something that the powers that be and the
tastemakers will recognize and not necessarily – or maybe be more
supportive but not challenge so much with the conversation or the question
whether or not it is valuable. Not question whether or not it is valuable,
just recognize: Yeah it is.
IN WHAT WAYS CAN YOU RELATE TO BRIDGET?
Oh Gosh. Mostly at her failures. Mostly with her awkwardness and that she
gets back up. She is inspiring, but no matter how much she tries to meet
her own personal ideals or standards, she always comes full circle to be
okay with whatever it is that she is as an authentic person. I find that
inspiring.
DID YOU HAVE ANY HESITATION?
Yes, absolutely. I wanted it to matter and if you make a third film based
on a character that is beloved to so many people, you want to be careful
with it, and I feel a responsibility to Helen Fielding that we make
something that does not matter with her characters and her world. I wanted
to know in the process that the story that we told was based on something
substantive. And that it was true to the tradition of this character and
what she represents.
DO YOU LOOK FORWARD TO THE RED CARPET? THE SUPERFICIAL ASPECT OF IT?
Well, if you put it that way. But there are things about it that are
really fun. If you look at it from a human perspective and not a business
perspective, that night is about celebrating something that you shared
with your friends. So you are all meeting at this spectacular place that
you would never be able to go by yourself, if you rang up and asked for
wherever the event is. They usually have beautiful spots. Where else are
you going to wear a dress like that and jewelry like this? It’s festive
and celebratory. I do look forward to that. And there is another element
that I try to steer clear of, which is the commodification of the actor in
terms of scrutiny and what kind of story you can write that is salacious,
that will sell magazines or get people to tune in to whatever it is. That
revolves around diminishing the person in some respect. That part is not
fun. But I only get smatterings of it, because I don’t
focus in on it, I don’t look for it and I do my very best to pretend
it’s not there.
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