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We're Hangin' With..... The cast of MONA LISA SMILE! by: Lynn B.
The early '50's was truly the era when young women went to university to get their "M.R.S." degree. There were even classes in poise and how to serve your husband's boss a martini! But these girls were bright and could have made it without a man. Julia Robert's art professor character comes along to let them know they have choices. It
was a very spicy, feisty group-yak with the girls last week in L.A. They
all looked fantastic. Here's the dish; Julia in short blonde streaked
hair, pink hoodie and crystal necklace, Ginnifer is a black stylish jacket
and pink tank, Kirsten in a black lace top (we understand that she got
her longer blonde hair cut very short right after the press interviews)
and Maggie, her hair up, in a simple black turtleneck. JS:
No, I wouldn't because I think that what I learned from making this movie
was that women didn't really have choices and they were under appreciated
and didn't have a voice. I wouldn't trade with them for the world. GG:
I certainly hope that my performance is embraced because my goal is to
continue every day of my life to support myself doing this. In being able
to be completely emotionally vulnerable and open and step into someone
else's skin, I can't really think about the final product, and so it certainly
was not a goal. I wanted to step up to the challenge of working with these
women who I have admired forever. And in that way, I definitely challenged
myself to keep up, frankly. JS:
[looking shocked] Oh, that's so nice. Wow. One of the things that I think
is amazing about Julia is that she doesn't adopt an intimidating attitude.
We've been asked a lot if we were nervous about meeting her. I learned
so much about acting with her. I learned so much about how to exist in
the public eye and maintain your integrity and sense of self and keep
a strong head on your shoulders. She's so dedicated to the work that she
does, and all the power that she's accrued in Hollywood, she's used to
tell stories that are meaningful to her. And she manages to have a sane
life and she does that with a sense of humor. MG:
Oh, come on. That is not true. That's like regressive thinking. We're
so much beyond that. I guess it depends what movies you go and see. But
I think there are a lot of movies being made that include maybe romance
and sex and all that kind of stuff, but don't demand that the woman has
to have a boyfriend or a husband in order to do something interesting.
I really don't think that's true. JS:
We did a lot. We had etiquette training, elocution lessons, dialect coaching,
dance lessons. And then on my own, I watched a ton of movies from the
early 1950's and also looked at almanacs to see what was going on in the
world and brush up on my history. But I thought the most helpful thing
was the dance lessons, not so much learning dance steps but the actual
psychology behind ballroom dancing because I really had to let go of my
modern aggressiveness and let the man lead me. And I feel like that was
what was going on with the psychology of my character.
JS:
Yeah, I really responded to Joan immediately because I was surprised by
her choice and she was a nice contrast to the other journeys the characters
go through. And I thought the danger with a movie like this was that we
would all come away from the movie thinking that the message is all women
have to have careers. I liked that Joan really makes an individual choice.
I met Mike [the director] and read for Joan because I really wanted the
part. KD:
My grandma grew up on a farm with 10 brothers and sisters and was the
youngest and a total tomboy and this wasn't her life at all. So we watched
movies and just like looking at the pictures. People don't change their
emotions I don't think. With my character, [it was just] how closed-minded
and restricted she was. But there are people like that today too, just
not living with a bunch of girls. Instead they're like boob jobs. So it's
like just a different form of a girdle. We're still being lied to in America.
Things are actually regressing in a lot of ways like with the environment.
We're totally not paying attention to anything. Our leadership is ridiculous
and it's just really sad I think. KD:
I scream a lot less in this one. She's definitely more on the track of
a more independent woman but then look at her family and what she came
from. This abusive male in the house and this mother who's an alcoholic.
So I don't think Mary Jane was the most secure woman to begin with so
she was a little bit more like a Damsel in Distress. Now she has her own
place in New York and she's getting married. She's working and doing her
own thing. MG:
No, I think Giselle for most of the movie, is doing what I think most
human beings do which is even if you're in a situation that's constricting
or complicated or hard, they try to survive. Giselle is doing a pretty
good job of it. Her way of surviving in this weird place that she finds
herself in is to fight for life wherever she can find it. Things that
taste good and feel good and sound good, and I think that she's pretty
good at it most of the movie. I think that scene is just a moment where
some of the stuff that's underneath that pretty successful fight just
comes to the surface. I think she just wants to be near him. It would
be too much if she was pregnant. GG: I weighed all of about 137 pounds in the movie, which I can't believe many women in this room weigh less than. I did need to be a little bit healthier and I was that size before, so no weight was gained. I did slim down afterwards only because I want to live as long as I possibly can and be seen in different lights. I really relate to Kate Winslet and other actresses who've had to put up with this commercial media magazine bull. [asking Ginnifer about young women and body image after this group chat led to her saying that she's never experienced any condescension or judgment about the way she looked when she was slightly heavier. It's something the magazines have created. The media portrayal of the "perfect body" has made young girls feel they don't have a choice. She feels that not being a stick thin model hasn't kept her from working in Hollywood. She hopes young women will think for themselves and ignore the ad images.] AGW: What about your strange hairdo? GG:
Wasn't that the worst haircut you have ever seen in your entire life in
that movie? I understand that it was a quintessential 1950s look and god
bless anyone in my family who had it. I certainly didn't feel as confident
walking around New York City in it. JS:
What is a chick flick? It's weird because like Master and Commander's
not a guy flick, is it? I guess that just has to do with the demographic
that you're appealing to, but women are a huge percentage of the movie
going population, so I think it's an enjoyable movie and I don't see why
men wouldn't want to go see it. JS:
I have weird taste in music. I'm constantly changing the things that I
listen to. I guess I went through a weird rap phase. In junior high school
I asked my parents to get me a Los Angeles Raiders hat because I really
liked NWA. Then I got over that and I really liked music form the 1960s
that was more political and maybe folk-musicy. Then I went through a rock
phase like Led Zeppelin. Now I'm interested in music from other countries
like salsa and Cuban music. JS:
We had a dialect coach but I watched a lot of movies from the early 1950s
because I'm like, "Did people really speak that way?" And I
know that the movie stars of the 1950s aren't maybe the average person,
but they did. I modeled a lot after Grace Kelly, the way that she spoke,
only because she would've been brought up in the same way that my character
was. She went and took elocution lessons and went to a finishing school.
GG:
I didn't have any sort of politically correct issues about the things
that we're representing. How are we going to continue to learn and grow
if we don't have these constant reminders of how far we've come and how
much things have changed? We couldn't have told our story in any other
time or in any other place. We could not have treated it in any other
way because it wouldn't have served the fact that we were trying to be
accurate in our representation of something very historic and real. We
had to rebel from something.
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Julia
Stiles, Kirsten Dunst and Maggie Gyllenhaal, three of the hottest young
actresses today, got together with talented newcomer Ginnifer Goodwin
to play coeds in the early 1950's at prestigious Wellesley College in
Mona Lisa Smile. Julia is the ultra-bright one, Kirsten the by-the-book,
getting married student, Maggie, the free-spirit seductress and Ginnifer,
the sweet good girl afraid she'll never get a boyfriend. 
KD:
Well, I had never played a role like this before in a bigger movie. I
felt like mostly a mass audience has only seen me as a cheerleader or
like Mary Jane. This girl is the most restricted in the time and the society
of all and I really could see a lot of pain in her and trying to be alive
and wanting to enjoy her life, but she's so held back and so juvenile
in the way she acts out against the other girls. So she's this little
girl who is trying to be this woman and she's 21 and only recently has
this woman [Julia Roberts] come into her life. It's like 'change your
thinking' and of course your first reaction is 'no, no, no. It's scary'.
So I just saw more than just like the traditional bitch of the film.
MG:
I just got a really good Talking Heads compilation with four CDs. I'm
listening to that.