The keeper of THE SKELETON KEY - A Conversation with Actress Kate Hudson.

Friday, 12 August 2005

FEARSmag.com BY Joseph B. Mauceri In THE SKELETON KEY, actress Kate Hudson plays Caroline Ellis, a strong-minded young woman who is a hospice worker trying to earn money to attend nursing school. However, disillusioned by the system where she works, she takes a job as a live-in caretaker for an elderly couple who live on an isolated plantation, an hourís drive outside of New Orleans. The mansion and the strange couple are rife with secrets, and Mrs. Violetís belief in folk magic ñ Hoodoo ñ conflicts with Carolineís common sense and way of thinking. As Caroline begins to question her own convictions, she is drawn towards a mysterious room in the attic of the mansion. The moment Caroline uses her skeleton key to open that door she will be entering a world where simple belief becomes deadly reality. Actress Kate Hudson made her acting debut in director Risa Bramon Garciaís ì200 Cigarettes.î In her next film she starred opposite Christina Ricci and Casey Affleck in Morgan J, Freemanís ìDesert Blue.î In 2000 she received critical acclaim for her performance in Cameron Croweís ìAlmost Famous. Over the next few years this talented young actress has worked with some of Hollywoodís most talented directors and starred opposite numerous talented veterans of the cinema. She has been featured in ìPeople Magazine,î ìVanity Fair,î ìVogue,î ìRolling Stone,î ìHarperís Bazaar,î ìIn Style,î and ìCosmopolitan.î Returning to the steamy and sultry New Orleans, Kate Hudson was on hand with her fellow cast members to talk about the strange and mysterious world of director Ian Softleyís THE SKELETON KEY. FEARS: Are you inquisitive like Caroline, and do you want to know whats behind the ìsecret door?î Kate Hudson: No, I wouldnt even set foot probably in the attic stairwell. I probably would have seen that stair way and gone, "Ha, somebody else can do this because you can go get your own trillions or whatever." But no, Im kind of a nosey person. If I could look into nooks and crannies of peopleís lives and find out more about them I would, just because I like to observe people and their weird secrets and tendencies. So if it opened some kind of little box, Id probably snoop around in the box. But not something like a door in a dark room. FEARS: Is this character the closest youve played to yourself? KATE HUDSON: Its funny, I guess I approach all work, no matter what type of movie or character, the same way. Then there are just some times you have to reach into places that are a little less familiar on a day to day basis in certain characters. For this character, it was actually quite accessible to play her. My FEARS were very accessible to tap into my FEARS, very accessible to understand why somebody would move to a city because of music or because of a passion. And shes strong-minded and a little tough and I feel like shes the kind of girl whos okay being alone even though it might be a little lonely. Shes okay with that and Im like that. So there are a lot of things that I really could relate to. FEARS: Were you trying to break away from the good girl roles? KATE HUDSON: Not initially. I wasnt looking for a thriller, but I was definitely looking to work with interesting people. Thats always my hope and desire. But this came along and I read it. I loved the script so much. It was actually one of those experiences where I was shooting ìRaising Helenî when I read the script. I kind of picked it up, it was sent to me with a note saying, ìYou have to read this fast.î I said, ìOkay,î and I picked it up at a lunch break and skimmed the first page. Before I knew it, I was done. Id finished the script in probably 45 minuets and I was shocked at the idea that its basically a four-chapter picture. There are five people in the whole movie, and its a character driven thriller that ends unexpectedly and boldly. I was surprised that a Hollywood studio was going to actually make it. And I thought it was just so refreshing. So, after the initial response to the script, I went, "I have never done a thriller and it will just be really fun for me to heave, pant, run, climb, break windows, and scream every once in a while." And also it lends itself to a lot of heavier work. The scene where I run into the house and the one where Im tied up was a lot of character work that was really fun for me to be able to do. It was a real change and is very different. FEARS: How has this film changed your view of the supernatural? KATE HUDSON: It didnt because Ive always believed in spirits and supernatural and ghosts. Ive always believed in that stuff. FEARS: Do you have a red brick dust line in front of the doorway of your house? KATE HUDSON: No, but I go through my phases. I used to have dream catchers and I carried around crystals. I light candles and I visualize things for protection. FEARS: Do mirrors freak you out now? KATE HUDSON: Mirrors always kind of freak me out when its dark. I dont like sleeping with a mirror in front of me. Its a little weird. I can sleep with a mirror on the ceilingÖ that was just too funny. Now Im just being silly. FEARS: What where you thinking was cause behind the day the cameras broke? KATE HUDSON: There was always a camera broken, which was really weird. And the cinematographer would just be like, "This is the weirdest --" We had three cameras and different ones usually wouldnt work, pretty much every day. FEARS: Do you think maybe spirits were making that happen? KATE HUDSON: I dont know. FEARS: Did you feel any weird vibes while shooting? KATE HUDSON: The only time I felt any kind of vibe was when we were doing the spell scene with John Hurt. I kind of felt a little bit, especially when we were doing the master shot, the whole scene. There was a moment when Ian finally said, ìCut,î and it was kind of like wow, that was weird. It felt like we were calling on some kind of weird energy. When youre making a movie, its like professional and you go this is weird. Its a similar process. Youre really not paying attention. FEARS: Where you surprised that the ending you shot remained intact? KATE HUDSON: I think everybody was kind ofÖ but the only thing is, the only saving grace of that, and knowing, and having a little bit of inkling that it could never happen is thats the whole movie. The payoff for this movie is the ending. If it were any different, it wouldnt be nearly as fun. But it is bold and as I said, yeah, there was a little fear but nothing was changed. FEARS: Is it tough now that youíre a working mom? KATE HUDSON: I dont know if I find it difficult, but it is definitely a challenge. You have to be constantly conscious of it I think. Its so easy to when you have any time to go right into your child. Thats your primary focus, your baby, every day, morning, noon and night. Thereís a constant guilty feeling when you do anything for yourself, when you do anything for your career, when you do anything for your husband, when you do anything with your girlfriends, because its taking you away from time with your baby. But I just have to keep reiterating to myself that its important for me to make sure that my son knows that we all have lives, everybodys lives are important, and everybodys individuality is important. Hopefully theyll grow up like I did realizing that were never the center of anybodys attention all the time or the center of the universe or all of that. FEARS: How different has it been to work with all of those thoughts going on? KATE HUDSON: Its not difficult. Its just exhausting. You just go home and youre just really tired. You have moments where you have to have that release, whether its punching a bag, doing a boxing class, or whether its just to cry. Its not of any sadness. Its just a release of pure exhaustion. Women, when theyre mothers, know even when they dont have careers, they made the career of being a mom. Your energy level is always on. Its the same thing as the first time I went away from Rider a week ago. Im in Europe and I wake up in the morning, or I come home that night after having dinner with everybody and Im having a drink and I came home, and Im like, "Ive got to get to sleep. I have to wake up in the morning and Ive got to get Rider." And I just went, "Rider? Riders not here." And I had that first initial moment of saying, ìWow, thats always on your mind.î So the only time you can really realize how exhausted you are is when youre actually away from it. FEARS: Do you now make career choices as a mother? KATE HUDSON: I dont know if what kind of movie or what kind of character, if being a mother will affect that. But what it does affect for me is time away, absolutely, and location. But as Ive said, I grew up with very, very work-oriented parents and it was really admirable to know that my parents worked so hard. And at the same time, they were always present in our lives, they were always available to us at all times and yet they worked so hard. We got to really see them have their own life and strength. It was a really important lesson. FEARS: Were you able to enjoy New Orleans? KATE HUDSON: Oh yeah. We went out and saw great music. I had the best birthday here. Chris threw me a surprise birthday and a bunch of our friends flew in. I had no idea everybody was coming down. And we went to the Funky Butt and Big Sam and the Funky Nation played, which was great. We did a bunch of stuff. We saw great music. Thats pretty much what we do. We like to go see music, so we had a really good time. Remember, once the babys asleep, mommy and daddy can go out and play. And especially in New Orleans when everything is so close. FEARS: Was your relationship with actress Joy Bryant in this film like your real best friend? KATE HUDSON: Actually, yeah. Nobodys asked me that question. And you know whats funny is Joy and I got on so well so fast, we were so easy together, kind of like comfortable. FEARS: Did you get a lot of beads during your stay here in New Orleans? KATE HUDSON: Are you trying to ask if I flashed? No, only for the shower scene. Well, yeah of course. They have parades and stuff and wed take the baby and theyd throw out beads. Its fun. FEARS: I understand the rowboat scene with the mosquitoes was kind of grueling? KATE HUDSON: Did Ian tell that story? The funny thing about that thing is, well, first of all, Im in the P-row, which is like a slap on canoe. Youre right on the water. Itís right there; youre kind of sunken into the water. There are crocks out in the swamps everywhere. You see them everywhere. Theyre usually smaller. Theyre usually like maybe a little bigger than the width of the table. Thats not so small. So Im on this thing and the whole crews on this pontoon boat. We go out there and its daytime to begin with. Then the sun starts to go down and thats when the mosquitoes come out and mate. And especially at that time of year, it was springtime. The mosquitoes come out and it was just crazy. All of a sudden Im doing the shot and suddenly Im smacking my head. Before I know it, I am literally -- it was like nothing Ive never experienced it in my life. It felt like I was in a beehive. I was covered in mosquitoes. And Im going, "Guys, you know. There are a lot of mosquitoes." I turn around and the whole crew is in head to toe mosquito netting. And Im going, "Thats great. You guys are sitting on the pontoon boat in mosquito netting and Im sitting literally on top of the water with crocodiles and mosquitoes all over me." I said to Ian, "Hey, Im happy to keep doing this, but Im afraid Im going to wake up in the morning looking like I have the chicken pox. So I dont know what to do. I dont know how to act scared." Anyway, we had to call it a day because it got really bad and Ianís like, "I think we got everything we need." ìThe Swampî the movie is what it ended up being. FEARS: Your next film is a comedy, but not romantic one? KATE HUDSON: It kind of has a feeling of a ìMeet the Fockersî type of comedy. Its not about romance. FEARS: Is it more of s slapstick comedy? KATE HUDSON: I guess. You know, the Rooster brothers are directing it, the ìArrested Developmentî guys, so its got that kind of far out element but at the same time itís totally accessible, like somebody everybody knows. You know that guy, and thats Dupree. Im kind of the one whos stuck in the middle of everything and having to deal with him all the time. You know what? Yes, there is some very slapstick comedy that will be going on. It has some really good characters, and every character has its own voice. Every character has a bunch of quirks and is really funny. It was a rare comedy for me to read actually. FEARS: What was it like for you to work with Gena Rowland? KATE HUDSON: To work with people like Gena is one of those experiences where you basically say, ìThis is everything you ever want to be able to experience when youre young and youre in the beginning phases of your career.î And then you get to experience people like Gena who teach you so much about howÖ Heres a woman whos delivered some of the most amazing performances of all time. Itís great to work with her, to see her availability, and her generosity. I keep saying the same words but it is what it is. At the end of the day, weíre just two actors who are just really enjoying some fun scenes that we get to play with each other. And for her to have this incredible career, to be doing it as long as shes done this, and then to still come to work and enjoy it is just amazing. And it just goes to show that when people really love what they do, its usually why theyre so talented. Itís that they really, really love it, and always discovering new things about themselves, new things about human behavior. Gena was just a billboard for that for me. You work with a lot of people, some people who are very difficult and very self-oriented. In order to get to certain places they need to be very -- feel respected and nobody gets into my eye line and this is about me right now. Im not like that. Then you work with somebody like Gena whose not like that. It made me say, "Yeah, you know, I think Im doing okay. I want to be like that because that to me is so honorable and respectable.î FEARS: Was it important to shot this film in New Orleans instead of a backlot? KATE HUDSON: I didnt look at those as difficult conditions. I looked at that as fun and also the total atmosphere of where we were. Thats New Orleans. The mosquitoes and the crocodiles, thats not difficult. That was funny and fun and added to everything we were doing. Everything we did in this movie was so enjoyable, from the rain, the thunderstorms, and the lightning. They had the craziest tropical storms, they would come in and we would use them. It was amazing. FEARS: Is it important for you to mix and match genres? KATE HUDSON: Its always been important for me to do that. Its funny because I guess from an outside perspective is very different from being in my perspective. Im 26. I really havent done very many films. Since ìAlmost Famous,î Ive done five? Six? So I dont feel like -- I dont know. I feel like my age, the roles -- I dont get to walk up to a big bin of amazingly dimensional fascinating characters. I get the young girl whos starting out her life and is cute and perky and falls in love for the first time. And thats great and some of them are really good and some of them are better than others. But for me, I kind of looked at it like thats why Ive taken three years off in my career so far. I dont want to rush anything. I dont want to feel like I have to work all the time. I want to wait until I get to an age where I can play more dimensional roles. I dont know, I still feel young so I dont feel like IveÖ making comedies are so much fun. Hands down fun. You laugh, it takes a lot of energy and boy, and youíre almost even more exhausted doing that than when youre running through forests all day. You have to be so energetic. But I feel like Id be bored always doing comedies and I feel like Id be bored if I was always a dramatic actor. I just want to continually find things about the craft and find things about new characters, discover new things about myself, and through them or in my life bring them to characters. Its just the funniest business to be in. Its the funniest job. When I get to wake up every day and I get to go on set, I have so much fun. It feels like man, how lucky is that? I just love it. FEARS: So what will your next film be? KATE HUDSON: The next movie Im doing is ìYou, Me and Dupree.î Its me, Owen Wilson and Matt Dillon. FEARS: Are you doing ìCan You Keep a Secret?î KATE HUDSON: Thats still in development. Yes, with Lynda Obst. Thats more still in the development phase and is still being written. LINK THIS ARTICLE

 

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