Q&A: 'Cake' with Jennifer Aniston
The KCET Cinema Series was pleased to feature the independent drama, "Cake", starring Jennifer Aniston alongside a stellar cast including: Anna Kendrick, Sam Worthington, William H. Macy, Felicity Huffman, Chris Messina, and Adriana Barazza.
Aniston's performance in the film has been receiving critical praise and buzz as a potential Best Actress Oscar contender. Following the screening, KCET Cinema Series host Pete Hammond had a lively Q&A with Aniston, where she discussed how she approached her dynamic role of a woman suffering from chronic pain and her relationship to the character, Claire.
To listen to the full conversation between Jennifer and Pete, click here:
Audio Q&A Transcript:
Pete Hammond: Well, congratulations on this movie. I saw it in Toronto. I did not know what to expect when I went to Toronto. It got a standing ovation, which must have blown you away when you saw that reaction for the first time.
Jennifer Aniston: It certainly did. Just showing the movie at all, it was the first time we showed the movie to more than eight people at a time. I think the real terrifying moment happened before they let the film roll. To get that reaction was quite stunning and moving.
PH: What was it about the script? I know Daniel Barnes directed it, I know it was a script that was a part of a screenwriting contest that he was judging, and he just stumbled on it.
JA: It was, Patrick Tobin, this is Patrick's very first screenplay. He is in his mid to late forties. He is having his own overnight, wonderful, 'what is happening', 'this is like a speeding bullet' experience. It went from the competition, and then he decided he wanted to make it and then all of a sudden they are making it and now this is happening. I just really connected to Claire, the beautifully layered character that she was and the excruciating unimaginable trauma that she is forced to walk through. Seeing her take the journey and discover that she in fact wants to continue living.
PH: I have seen many afflictions played on screen but I do not think I have seen one that dealt with chronic pain before. I cannot remember one.
JA: I cannot either
PH: Everything you do in this movie is so natural; you just believe every kind of thing physically.
JA: I had a good six weeks of doing some intense homework. I have a mutual friend of the director Daniel, who was a stunt woman, who actually had a horrific accident. Her leg was shredded by a boat propeller and she literally lived twenty two surgeries in excruciating chronic pain and became addicted to pain meds as a lot of people do in this country. I spent a lot of time talking with her, talking with doctors. Then Daniel and I, tried to figure out what was the accident, where was the injury, what was shattered, what was broken? How would that manifest itself in the way I would walk or the way I would even speak, that was another thing we worked hard on. Speaking to doctors about oxycodone mixed with vicodin mixed with a bottle of booze. She was certainly having a cocktail or two there. Incorporating the emotion or deadened emotion of her character but the reason I fell so in love with her was this insanely acerbic wit, kind of razor sharp quality about her that I found quite endearing.
PH: You know the thing about her too is that you were not afraid to let her be unlikeable at different points. The audience has a hard time warming up to her at certain points. She is acerbic.
JA: She is pretty unlikeable and she has alienated herself from pretty much everyone except her beautiful, angel, caretaker, guardian Silvana played by Adriana Barraza.
PH: She was so great, she was extraordinary, and she was in Babble. She was nominated for an academy award for Babble.
JA: She is just divine, quite a partner in crime to have in this, we took good care of each other. We really did a lot of that kind of research. It is fascinating when you see what people are doing, I honestly had no idea, the amount of people that are addicted to pain meds and suffering through what she is suffering through.
PH: I am curious too, since the film has started to screen around town and you have gone to these kinds of screenings, what kind of reaction have you gotten?
JA: That's actually been one of the most beautiful compliments that I have received is hearing people that live with chronic pain: "I have shrapnel all down my right side," "I can barely get out of bed but I did everything I could to get here," and just saying that we did it, that we nailed that in it. We wanted to be as honest in portraying this person as possible; we kept saying that this has to be bulletproof. I don't want to have a false moment here, that was our main concern.
PH: This is an independently made film. Did you have time to rehearse? These things are shot on the fly essentially.
JA: No, we actually had more time to rehearse than we did to shoot. We were lucky enough to shoot in Los Angeles, which is yay!
PH: Yes, very few films...
JA: Very few films get to shoot in LA. I discovered many nooks and crannies of Los Angeles that I did not even know existed. Daniel and I live in the same city, we were able to get together for quite a few weeks before we were shooting and really hone her in and get the scars correct. It is literally in your face, so we went through a couple tests. Our amazing dear friend who got started who is a special effects makeup artist gifted us his talent for zero cents. Many of those beautiful angels gave us favors for this film.
PH: Was it a relief to not have to wear a lot of makeup and really be raw?
JA: Yes, it was quite freeing. No makeup is just a by-product of what she had gone through. If she had any makeup it wouldn't have been true or it would have taken away from the scene where she tries to fancy up a little bit for her date night with Sam Worthington.
PH: Such a great supporting cast in this too. William H Macy shows up.
JA: Just shows up so I can beat the crap out of him. Thank God, they gave me a stunt double with a big old brace on so I can really beat the shit out of him because I would have really hurt Bill. Chris Macina shows up, Felicity Hoffman. I mean we really had a...Marnie Gummer, I mean really across the board we were just sprinkled with fairy dust.
PH: You've done several independent films, the Good Girl and Management, a whole bunch of them. The big studio movies I mentioned like Horrible Bosses 2, is opening tomorrow, it is a big huge promotional thing. What do you like doing the best as an actor? What turns you on as an actor?
JA: Different things access different parts of my brain and excite me in different ways. I mean this was certainly more digging deep into my tool box from acting class as opposed to say Dr. Julia which is just about being extreme.
PH: In Horrible Bosses 2, she is a sex-addicted dentist. That is great by the way and it has changed my life, I must say. After I saw the movie, I went and my other dentist, this guy just sort of disappeared but then I found a female dentist because of that.
JA: That is great! See, even she made a difference in the world, wonderful! Both characters are approached from the truth. You start with this woman, she has a sex addiction and that is what she does and she will talk about her sexual experience as a chef will talk about a meal that he's about to create. It is common for her; it is an everyday thing for Doctor Julie.
PH: You really do not look at it differently? When you approach a character whether it is a comedy, a drama, or that sort of thing?
JA: No, you just approach it depending on the part of your brain that needs to be accessed more, I mean it all depends. I am up for whatever, I love it all, I really do. You did not leave this film going " Oh God I got to get out". Physically it was trying on my body.
PH: You had a brace.
JA: I had many pinched nerves from being in that physical space for five weeks straight. I missed it when it was over we had so much fun together. We were like a little theater group, this wonderful crew. Somehow getting these crazy sets, creating wonderful Tijuana out of wonderful LA.
PH: So you didn't go to Mexico?
JA: No, no budget for that.
