Interview by Elliot V. Kotek
(from the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival)
Moving Pictures chats with Emma Roberts and Rory Culkin about Lymelife.
Moving Pictures magazine: How did it feel being reunited as a family after spending so much one-on-one time onscreen together while you were shooting this?
Rory Culkin, to Emma: How did it feel?
Emma Roberts: He makes me answer the questions. It was fun. It was cool. A lot of us hadn't seen each other since the movie ended, so it was cool to see everybody again.
MPM: Did you get to spend a lot of time in rehearsals before the movie?
Culkin: Not so much. It was a 22-day shoot with maybe three days of rehearsal. Everything was kind of rushed.
MPM: How does it feel playing brothers onscreen with your real brother?
Culkin: It was cool. It was fun. I mean, he had no problem slapping me in the face on camera and all that, so a good time.
MPM: It seemed like he was taking extreme joy in that.
Culkin: Yeah, definitely. I get slapped around a lot in this.
MPM: Did you two know each other before the shoot?
Culkin: No, actually.
Roberts: Not even, no. We just met each other for a couple days of rehearsal and then went in and started shooting.
MPM: And you just felt comfortable around each other?
Roberts: Yeah.
MPM: What was it like working on this project? It's a smaller project with a really great cast. Did you feel it was cool going back to the '70s? Did you listen to music from the '70s, or anything?
Roberts: Well, our outfits in the movie that we had to wear were very '70s. I had to wear really funny outfits, like that hat. That was really embarrassing.
Culkin: Oh yeah, a huge beret.
Roberts: Yeah, my beret. We had to dress like the '70s, for sure.
MPM: Does that help you get into character?
Culkin: I'm sure it does. I never really put much thought into it.
MPM: Did you create a playlist for yourself, music-wise?
Culkin: I also try to avoid listening to music, at least right before I go on set, just because it gets you amped up and then you come to set and everything's silent and it's not as - the energy isn't there anymore. I just try to avoid that.
MPM: When you first read this script, what about it interested you?
Culkin: Actually, I read it maybe five, six years ago, so I couldn't tell you. I mean, all I remember is, I was really into it, and I had been.
MPM: It took that long to come together?
Culkin: Yeah. We were in pre-production about four years ago and money fell through, so...
MPM: Did the script change much in that time?
Culkin: He just tightened it up a little bit; just cut the unnecessary.
MPM: Did you have a little bit of improv going on there?
Roberts: Derick [Martini, director] would always come up to us separately and whisper things in our ears, so then we'd both be doing different things in the scene and messing with each other. That got interesting. It was funny.
Culkin: Yeah. He would give me a goal in the scene, and then he would tell her to make sure that I don't reach my goal. It was a whole bunch of awkward moments in-between.
Roberts: Yeah.
MPM: It definitely seems like you were almost the adults in the equation, and that you almost had to take care of business because the adults were so inept. Is that how you felt?
Roberts: Yeah. All the adults in the movie - their lives were falling apart. And we were just kids starting to grow up and become adults.
Culkin: Yeah. Derick did want an innocent feel to it. It's an adult story told through the eyes of children. So, you know, we tried not to be adults.
MPM: You saw it with an audience for the first time last night, here in Toronto. Was the audience reaction what you expected?
Culkin: I was really nervous, but everyone laughed at the right moments. It seemed to get a good response. [I'm] very grateful.
MPM: What's it like doing all this press - 20 interviews in a row? What's the question you get asked the most, and that makes you go, "Ugh"?
Roberts: I don't know. I'm thinking. It's all just the same; I don't know. It's fun, though. It's fine; I'm kind of used to it. A couple months ago - weeks ago, actually - I did a press tour for another movie, so this was, like, the same thing.
MPM: Do you enjoy it at all?
Roberts: Yeah; it's fine. I don't mind it. It's fun, I guess.
MPM: What was it like working with Alec Baldwin? He's had such a resurgence in his career over the last few years. Obviously, his character on "30 Rock" has become somewhat iconic.
Culkin: Honestly, I was - I don't know about you, but -
Roberts: I was only in one scene with him. He [she points to Rory Culkin] was with him more than I was.
Culkin: I was just very intimidated. You know - it's Alec Baldwin. I just kind of had to put on a poker face and struggle to hold my own.
MPM: I think you did a little more than that. I mean, your character was so proactive and so aggressive and in control. Is that reflective of you at all?
Roberts: I think so; yeah. I mean, I could relate to my character. Definitely. She's kind of sarcastic, I guess, and I think I am, too, sometimes. I don't know.
MPM: There doesn't seem to be any real distinction between studio films and independent right now. Is there a different feel when you're shooting it, though?
Roberts: Well, the bigger movies take longer and there's more prep work. The smaller films are cool, because it's just - you go in, and you do it, and then it's done. You kind of get more real moments, because there's not a committee of people over-thinking the whole entire scene. It's just one person.
MPM: What kind of a director was Derick?
Roberts: He was great. I mean, he really told us what he wanted us to do. He was really encouraging, and let us try whatever. It was great.
MPM: Can you handle seeing yourself onscreen like that, especially all those scenes of you facing yourself in the mirror?
Culkin: Oh, man.
MPM: Did that make you cringe?
Culkin: Everyone else kind of laughed. I mean, if they didn't, I would be very embarrassed. But I was happy with it. -MPM
Photo of Emma Roberts by Scott McDermott.
Click to see MPM's video interview with co-stars Emma Roberts and Rory Culkin.