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Mysterious Skin Part I
Here's the first part of Michelle's interview about her new movie Mysterious Skin. |
MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG
Contributed by Michael J. Lee, Executive Editor
for Radio Free Entertainment
May 24, 2005
Mysterious Skin tells the story of Neil (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and Brian (Brady Corbet), a pair of teenagers whose lives are tragically altered by an experience they shared when they were eight years old. The incident imprints itself differently upon each of them, and their paths take divergent downward spirals: Neil ends up turning tricks as a local hustler living in denial, while Brian becomes obsessed with the notion that he was abducted by aliens.
Though the subject matter is unsettling, the movie is beautifully shot and the story is told in a compelling fashion that never resorts to cheap sensationalism. The entire cast turns in strong performances--especially Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Brady Corbet in the lead roles. Based upon the novel by Scott Heim, Mysterious Skin is directed by Gregg Araki (The Doom Generation) and also stars Elisabeth Shue and Michelle Trachtenberg.
In this interview, Michelle Trachtenberg, who plays Neil's close friend Wendy, discusses the making of the movie.
The Interview
MEDIA: What attracted you to doing a film like Mysterious Skin?
MICHELLE: I just loved the script. I had been looking at independent scripts for a long time. I had been offered some really cool roles, but nothing that I ever really connected with. And then Mysterious Skin came along, and I thought, "Well, this is a sweet way to just sort of slide into the world." And it's very shocking, but it just read so well and it felt so beautiful on the page, and I immediately wanted to do it.
Having done films for all different types of audiences, in what direction do you see your career headed?
I guess I'm a little schizophrenic in my choices. I feel that in order to truly be an actor, you have to differentiate yourself and your roles, and you have to constantly challenge yourself. I'm not interested in just doing glitzy movie after glitzy movie and being on the cover of Us Weekly every day (or every week--whatever, right?). That's not something that's appealing to me. I think anyone can make the choice to do that, but I always have strived for longevity, and so I feel as though, when I read different scripts, I will never play the same character again. Each of my characters have been very different. Although some people might find great similarities in certain characters, I don't, and that's the point that I always try to go for. I don't ever want to get pegged into a particular spot. It's boring.
What is your take on Wendy's relationship with Neil?
It's actually a lot like my own relationship [with Joseph Gordon-Levitt]. We're not as screwed up, thankfully. [laughs] But Joe and I are sort of like an old married couple. We have great conversations, we love each other, we're very, very comfortable just being around. It's all very organic. And I think the world of his acting abilities. And in the movie, Neil and Wendy are very, very close. She's the only one that knows all of his secrets. She is really just his cornerstone, his rock. And she's everything to him, and that is very special to me. And it was just sort of miraculous kismet that Joe and I just got along so famously. Actually, everyone...this morning, when we all saw each other, we're all like running over to hug and everything. It's really hard to find that on the set, where every single person just likes seeing the other every day.
You've been excited about Mysterious Skin for a while. Is it because of the subject matter being so "in your face"?
I had been a fan of Gregg Araki's for a long time, and I think the world of him. It was absolutely divine working with him. So I knew that he wouldn't make a pointless movie just to make one of those "I want to do an independent movie now, and I'm going to have naked people, and there's going to be a rape scene!" It was going to be respectful to Scott Heim's novel. I think Gregg and Scott really blended their worlds together seamlessly. I actually don't think the movie is in your face. I mean, to each their own opinion, which is cool, but to me, it's actually quite beautiful and very melodic. We don't sugar coat anything, but it's not harsh. It really isn't. It's just all the way it was filmed, the cameras that they chose, the angles and everything. It all just sort of flows, and there's never any like, [dictatorial yelling] "Now you do this!" It's not as jarring. It's shocking, completely, and you don't expect things to happen. But I hope that everyone walks away feeling something.
What sort of research did you do for your character's accent?
Joe went to Kansas to visit some of the people where the story is sort of based and brought us all back CDs, which was awesome. We got to hear the dialects, and I can pretty much pick that up. I have a pretty good ear for dialect, and we all just read the script and started talking like that without really noticing that we were doing it, which was great. Very organic. And I'd read Scott's book, but not in great detail--I didn't want to have everything spelled out perfectly. So I sort of just combined it with everything.
Did you maintain the accent even between takes?
I'm so not method. I think it's probably in the Eurotrip outtakes...we're doing one scene where we're eating brownies and we're all laughing and they're like, "Cut!" I'm like [feigns exhaustion]. I was really tired that day. I'm like a light switch. Method doesn't really work for me.
Thanks to Melissa for sending the Interview.
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