Simply Abu Dhabi XXXV

8 3 S I M P LY A B U DH A B I A s television star Rick Dalton [Di Caprio] and his long-time stunt double Cliff Booth [Pitt] make their way around a changing industry that they hardly recognise anymore, Robbie plays the up-and-coming actress Sharon Tate, the actress wife of director Roman Polanski, who in real life was killed by followers of cult leader Charles Manson in 1969. Q: Firstly, thanks for joiningus,Margot.Howwas it starring in your first Tarantino film? Margot Robbie (MR): Well, I definitely saw a different side to him. If I had ever imagined myself in a Tarantino film, it was always going to be covered in blood and fighting off bad guys and doing all these crazy cool stunts. Then cut to this film, and we’re looking in a baby nursery or having lunch or we’re shopping or go to the movies. We just had a lot of girl time really! [laughs] Q: How did it come about, getting the role of Sharon Tate? MR: I knew I always wanted to reach out to my idols, Quentin being at the top of the list, at one point in my life and let them know how much their work meant to me and affected my career choices and my taste inmovies. So, I wrote Quentin a letter. But I held off sending it for a couple of years. I didn’t feel like I was really at the stage where I was ready to reach out; I didn’t think I was a good enough actor yet. And then I watched the first cut of “I, Tonya” and I thought, “Okay, I feel like I’ve hit the point where I feel like I’m happy with my acting now, now I’m going to reach out to my idol.” So, I wrote him a letter and fortuitously it was great timing. We met up, we spoke about Sharon and the film, I got to read the script when it was done, and here we are. Q: Itmust havemeant a lot thatDebraTate, Sharon’s sister, approvedof your portrayal? MR: Yes, and she was so gracious with her time. It was really special to have that time with her. She gave me some of the original jewellery Sharon had actually worn. I wore it every day that I was in character as Sharon. It was like a little talisman, it just helped me feel a little more emotionally connected to her. Q: Brad, you spoke earlier of the how the relationship has changed between actors and their stunt doubles. Do you think that any of the relationships actors forge on set now help you connect and understand your characters better? BP: Yes, absolutely. Quentin chose to tell the story of the filmmaking process, the television process, through a stunt man and an actor at that time, which was much closer. But we all here rely on our friends, specifically, to survive this thing, to enjoy this thing, to negotiate our way through it. There’s a lot of down time. More down time than actual action time. And so it was pretty automatic for Leo and myself, because we could just step right into that and as Leo said, our backstory – there’s probably two movies’ worth of prequels in the backstory that Quentin laid out for us [laughs]. It was good fun. Q: You’ve all worked with stunt doubles in your films. But in what everyday situation would you most like to have a stunt double jump in and do the things you have to do? MR: Going through airports! If someone else could do that for me, that would be great. LDC: I’ve heard many people suggest to me when I have paparazzi outside that I should have some sort of double, but that kind of thing never works out. As Lil’ Kim once said, “The paparazzi is gonna get you one way or another”. [laughs] So that would be a great opportunity, but it never works out. BP: I’m going with that as well. That’s a fine choice. Q: How was it, stepping back in time to this period of Hollywood? BP: You’ve got to understand, Quentin is a purist, so that means no computer-generated effects – we’re going to get everything on camera. So to see Hollywood Boulevard, the stretch we did, was incredible. We shot four blocks and then we came back a month or so later to do a few more blocks, to piece that whole thing together so we could get the street. But what was stunning to see was the depth of detail that only comes from Tarantino. And it’s not just the bus stop benches with ads from that time, but even in the store windows, things that you’ll probably never notice, like the pamphlets of some radio show of that time or books of that time. It was that deep in detail, and we just go whizzing by. But it was really pretty special to see Hollywood Boulevard transformed that way. Q: There’s some great music in the film, especially when Brad and Leo are in the car. What songs do you listen to when you’re driving? MR: I actually have a playlist of songs that have been in Tarantino films – I listen to that a lot. He picks some great songs. LDC: I’m tuned to one channel and that’s 1940s music. Really boring. BP: I know someone who listens only to classical and watches everyone on the street and it’s like comedy for them. MR: When I’m in traffic I listen to classical. BRAD PITT: To stay calm? For the LA traffic, I listen to stand-up comedy. That’s my gig. Q: This film is a wonderful homage to film and filmmaking. What do movies mean to you right now, at this point in your career? BP: You know, I love storytelling and it’s an industry that we all appear to love. We wrestle with it at times, but ultimately, it’s all about the storytelling and I would say we all feel very fortunate to be able to do that. Right now, it’s a really interesting time because you see the cinema experience shrinking, you see streaming exploding, but the positive of that is you see this wealth of talent that has been on the side-lines all this time, a wealth of talent, directors and writers and actors. And really gutsy storytelling is being embraced. So that is really fun to watch. What happens to the communal experience?We’ll see. I don’t think it will go away but it’s certainly in a shift right now. But we go with the times, we go with the changes and it’s all right with me. LDC: I don’t think it can ever go away. People will always, I believe, will want to go out to movie theatres and have that experience. It is the greatest art form in the world. I’m honoured to be a part of it and, as Brad mentioned, you know, we’re entering in an era where we’re inundated with not only content and information but new amazing stories are being told, the format of which remains to be seen, whether the two-hour, three-hour format will stay intact or whether things are going to be seven-part series because there’s so much content. But I don’t think we’re ever going to lose that communal experience of being able to go out to a theatre together and feel the energy of a movie we’re excited about. And that’s why this movie was so incredible and awesome, and I’m honoured to be a part of because it’s a big-budget fantastic art film. And that we may see a lot less of. But that’s why people have got to keep going to the theatres and supporting films like this.