(Photo by Tom Sorensen/Moovieboy Pictures)
During Oz The Great and Powerful Red Carpet event, I had the opportunity to interview the beautiful Rachel Weisz. She plays Evanora in the new Oz movie. As she walked into the interview room, it lit up with her beauty! All 25 of us mommy bloggers welcomed her with an applause! As she started to speak, she has this awesome English accent that I would just LOVE to have!
:Spoiler Alert Below:
Rachel is viscously evil in the movie! When asking the Sam Raimi (director), who his favorite character was in the movie, he said “Evanora”. She knows what she wants (the throne) and wants to do what it takes to get it. Rachel not only plays the part so well, but as you can during the interview, she LOVED playing the part.
Question : Hello.
Rachel : Hello. Oh, my Lord. [LAUGHS] So, we’re gonna change the world together? [LAUGHS] I feel like that. Yeah, I feel that way.
Question : So, you were so deliciously evil. [LAUGHS] Um —
Rachel : She’s bad, isn’t she? What did you like slipping into more, the costumes or the character, ’cause they’re both so —
Rachel : You know what? It’s weird. They were kind of the same the thing. When I put that costume on I became that character. I couldn’t have played her without that corset, and sequence, and feathers, and lashes, and lips, and pushed up boobs [LAUGHS], and, you know, the whole thing, yeah.
Yeah, the costume was huge, huge part of the character, and it was very fun to be so nasty. [CHUCKLES]
PR Rep : And so beautiful.
Rachel : Thank you.
Question : Because you were so nasty, how did you feel about, you know, knowing this is a children’s film and yet you’ve gotta be pretty badass out there.
Rachel : Well, I think fairytales traditionally have really, really evil characters. Like all the Grimm’s fairytales, got bad people in them, so I think kids are used to evil characters. And I, I think she’s, she’s dark, but she’s having a lot of fun being bad. So, I didn’t think it’s like — I think it’s like, I think it’s like Disney bad. I don’t think it’s really, really [LAUGHS] bad. Yeah.
Question : What was your most memorable moment while filming? What, what was your favorite part?
Rachel : Evanora really enjoyed torturing Glinda when she was chained [CHUCKLES] in the Emerald City and I do, too. It was just really fun. I mean I get along brilliantly. Michelle a fellow mom and she’s a lovely lady, but that was just a really fun scene being that bad. And then just pure fun without being evil was flying. Flying is really fun, kinda a little scary and quite exciting like having a good rollercoaster ride.
Question : Speaking of flying, how much flying and stunt work did you actually do?
Rachel : All of it.
Question : Are you in all of it?
Rachel : Yeah. I didn’t think there was any flying that isn’t me. Yeah, they didn’t head replacement or anything. It’s — yeah, it’s me all the way. [LAUGHS]
PR Rep: You don’t really fly.
Rachel : I don’t. [LAUGHS] Yeah.
Question : What helped you prepare the most for your role in the film?
Rachel : How did I prepare?
Question : Yeah, what helped you prepare the most for your role?
Rachel : Really there was nothing that could help me prepare. Obviously, there’s no witches I could interview or talk to, and, uh [LAUGHS], it’s just pure fantasy. So, the costume, as I said, was a huge part of finding the character, and it’s just, just pure make belief. It was — there was — absolutely no research, just make belief, just like being a kid basically, yeah.
Question : I have a lot of readers asking about age appropriateness for the movie.
Rachel : Yeah.
Question : And I’m saying around eight or so, but as a mom, yourself, what age would you think is appropriate to take your children?
Rachel : Oh, God. I don’t know. I mean it — every, every kid is different, and I think every mom knows their kid. And, I don’t know — I don’t know that they have to pre– I don’t know. [LAUGHS] I don’t know. I mean some kids are really, really sensitive, and — I don’t think there’s any too scary for little kids. I’d probably say — I’d probably go a bit younger than eight, but then I think it’s up to a mom to decide. Yeah.
Question : Did you feel nervous at all accepting this role, or did you do any odds in the l– the Oz legacy and embracing them? Were you a little bit nervous jumping in there?
Rachel : I’m nervous at any role that I do [CHUCKLES], because, you know, there’s the fear that you might, you know, suck. So [LAUGHS], so, and I wouldn’t really do a role unless I wasn’t nervous about it, because that’s what’s exciting is trying something new, and I’ve never done anything like this. I’ve never played a fantasy character. You know, of late I’ve been doing very kind of gritty, earth-bounds, you know, gals with no makeup and very different kinds of things.
So, for me it was scary, ’cause it’s a new thing, but that was a plus for me working on a …, yeah.
Question : What was your reaction to the film the very first time you read the script?
Rachel : I loved it. I loved it. I just — I loved the idea of — I didn’t know about that Frank L. Baum had wrote ten books, and the Wizard of Oz film is just, you know, one-tenth of the whole, the whole cycle of stories, and I loved it. You know…we all know the Wizard of Oz so well, and this is the story of how the Wizard came to be the Wizard. So, I loved it, and I loved the character of Evanora, and I loved how mercilessly horrible she is [LAUGHS]. And, yeah, it was really fun, really, really fun, yeah.
Question : Now, that you’ve played the — an evil, magical, make believe character would — did you enjoy it enough that we can hope to see you in similar roles?
Rachel : I don’t know. I’d have to read something. I’m not, I’m not planning on it, but, yeah, I’m open to other bad girls, yeah. [LAUGHS]
Question : What was your favorite part of making the movie?
Rachel : Um [SIGHS], my favorite part? I guess flying in terms of just sheer, silly fun. You know, it was just really fun being hoisted up really high on a wire and you know, zoom — you know, zip it — like we’re on a zip line.
Question : What’s your personal relationship with Oz? I mean did you watch it as a kid? Did your kid watch it? You know, personally?
Rachel : I saw — I remember going to the cinema to see it when I was about five, and I, and I vividly remember the seat, you know, in front of me and trying to see over and hiding. I mean witches really terrified me. They seared into my mind as properly terrifying, but I don’t know.
I mean I think it’s to teach children about good and evil and morality, and I think there’s a reason why there’s been for hundreds of years the tradition of children being — seeing scary [CHUCKLES] things. I don’t think it’s damaging, fairytales. I think they’re kind of like important, archetypal stories, but, yah, I remember vividly seeing it. It’s one of those movies you never, you never forget, yeah.
Question : Besides your character initially, which character was your favorite besides Evanora?
Rachel : God, it’s really hard for me to pick. I just think it’s like the whole big, you know, big family of characters. I thought Theodora was just delicious, and the Wizard is great. I guess the most surprising for me was the China Girl and the Monkey, because I never got to work with ‘em, and, of course, it was the animated…very surprising, and they’re really delightful characters. Yeah.
Question : How was working with the rest of the cast?
Rachel : Really great. I mean I did most of my scenes with Mila, my sister, and a few scenes with James, and then a few scenes with Glinda and yeah, it was real– and then, of course, with my monkeys, with my, [LAUGHS], with my army, with my army of monkeys, and that, that was really fun, the army of monkeys. So, I really got scream orders at them.
They’re like my [CHUCKLES] — they’re my soldiers. It was, it was, it was — really fun. It was really fun with all of them, yeah.
Question : The sets were amazing. Did the sets kind of inform your character, and did you fall into that world when you were in those amazing places?
Rachel: Yeah, definitely. I was really not on that many sets. I was in the throne room, my character really loves the throne a lot, so she love– I love being there, ’cause she, you know, she wants that throne by herself. She wants to sit in it.
PR Rep : Perfect. Well, thank you so much.
Rachel : Thank you.
Do you want read more interviews? Be sure to check out all of my Oz posts during this Red Carpet Premiere! MORE COMING SOON! –> Oz The Great and Powerful Red Carpet Experience, Interviews, and MORE! https://www.enzasbargains.com/category/movie-deals-reviews/oz-the-great-and-powerful-premiere-event/
Oz The Great and Powerful lands in theaters March 8th!
Check out the newest clip from the movie below:
Disclaimer: Disney paid for all trip expenses to send me out in LA to have these unique experiences!