By Maggie, the post-apocalyptic zombie drama starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival. As we noted in our review of Maggie, the film features a surprisingly emotive and vulnerable performance by Schwarzenegger, as well as a very strong showing by Abigail Breslin.
Flixist was present at the New York press conference for Maggie yesterday at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, which featured Schwazenegger, co-star Joely Richardson, and director Henry Hobson. Below are some of the photos from the event as well as some highlights.
Arnold Schwarzenegger on playing his character in Maggie:
“We focus so much on the people, and the dilemma that this man is in—this strong farmer that normally can handle anything. And also the baggage I bring to the movie of being the action hero; all of a sudden, I cannot handle this challenge, and I become very vulnerable as a character. So that’s what appealed to me in the first place.”
Arnold Schwarzenegger on physical action roles vs. dramatic roles:
“The brain takes much more energy than the body does. Just look at it. When people do something mentally draining, and when you have to do a lot of thinking and negotiating— I remember when I was in the Governor’s office, I was totally wiped out in the evening with the kinds of responsibilities I had and all this. The same thing here [making Maggie]. It’s tough but at the same time it’s not tough because you’re having such a great time doing it.”
Henry Hobson on keeping Maggie human and grounded:
“The art direction, the costumes, the makeup; everything was very real and raw, and that allowed for the setting and space to feel as real as possible, [to make it easier as a kind of transition point] to really live and breathe in that grounded world.”
Joely Richardson on the challenges of performing on Maggie:
“Okay, weird comparison, but say [you’re acting] in 101 Dalmatians, and you’re playing with little puppies, and it’s a life or death situation; and then you’re doing a zombie film and your stepdaughter comes in covered with blood. They’re not everyday emotions, you know what I mean? It’s just going with the premise, but I my most difficult scene winds up being my easiest, and vice versa.”
Arnold Schwarzenegger on working on a small, independent production:
“I think there’s something to be said about working on small movies, because the camaraderie and the way we worked together and the way we really got into it was different than on a big action movie. It was quite unique. Whatever performance that I delivered I have to credit to everyone around me, because they acted so well that it brought out the best in me.”
Arnold Schwarzenegger on shooting quick, fast, and spontaneous:
“We were shooting a scene in front of the house and all of a sudden [Henry] saw the lighting going a certain way and he felt, ‘Oh, this would be a great shot out in the field; let’s burn the field!’ It was like from one minute to the next. What I thought was so fascinating was not how quickly we responded and ran with him out into the field, but how quickly the camera crew did. There was no one screaming ‘I have to change batteries!’ or ‘I have to get a cable!’ or ‘This is impossible!’ da-da-da-da. ‘I need someone to carry the camera so I can roll again.’ There was none of that that you normally hear on sets because of union rules and all this stuff. Everyone got their stuff together within seconds, and we all ran out in the field and shot that scene, and it was really the perfect lighting and it was very quick the way [it was done] because he’s such a visual person. That’s what you need to do in these kinds of movies, but it’s that kind of spirit that you don’t see in big movies.”
Henry Hobson on the challenges of shooting in Louisiana:
“The difficulty with Louisiana for Maggie is that we wanted a farmhouse, and Louisiana, when you’re smack dab in the middle of New Orleans, is that there’s just water all the way around, and then there’s plantation houses. We ended up using four different houses to make the one house. It’s a combination of the backroom, the bathroom, the other bedroom—all in different places—the porch in another place. It was a way of creating this kind of Everytown house. What we wanted was a relatability, so people couldn’t quite place where it is in the country but felt there’s some kind of connection to it.”
Joely Richardson on working with Henry Hobson:
“He gave us all very specific notes, exactly what he wanted. And he had the balls— If he didn’t like what Arnold was doing or I was doing or Abigail, he would say how he wanted it. That takes courage and vision.”
Arnold Schwarzenegger on working with director Henry Hobson:
“People ask me, ‘How do you trust [Henry]? He’s never done a movie. He’s done a lot of commercials and graphic design and stuff.’ But to me it’s not so much ‘How many movies have you done?’ but ‘Do you have a vision?’ [Henry] had a really clear vision. He had this album with all these photographs of different looks he wanted in the movie, and the way he interpreted the characters. It was very clear that I would be in good hands. There was never even a question there.”
Arnold Schwarzenegger on how he helped Henry Hobson as a first-time director:
“I just wanted to make sure that he’s protected as a director, and that I can be a producer and let that be my responsibility, to make sure someone doesn’t come in and say ‘I want you to shoot this differently’ or ‘We want to have a different ending’ and stuff like that. First-time directors need to be protected so that they can do their work. James Cameron doesn’t need to be protected, you know? [laughs] I want to make sure that Henry can really put on the screen his exact vision. That’s why he was hired, that’s why he was put together with this project, so now let’s have him do that.”
Arnold Schwarzenegger on co-star Abigail Breslin:
“Abigail was so good and made it feel so real. I never felt that she was acting; I always felt that she was dying. That’s how skilled she is in her profession.”
Arnold Schwarzenegger on if he sees a future in smaller films and dramatic roles:
“25 ago, 30 years ago, I would not have been able to do that. First of all, I wouldn’t have had the time, because there were so many big projects then. I was chasing the big money, and working my way up to being the highest paid actor. Today that doesn’t mean anything to me because I’ve made a lot of money and I’m in a different place in my life. So when I get an offer to do Terminator 5, I’m very excited about that. When Universal calls me and says ‘We’re almost finished with writing the script for a new Conan movie,’ I’m excited about that. But I’m also very excited when I read a script like Maggie, and I believe that I can be that character and then work with the director and work with the actors together like that. So yes, I will be looking for dramatic roles.”
Arnold Schwarzenegger if working on Maggie reminded him of being Governor of California:
“I think movies are movies and politics is politics, even though they have a lot of similarities.”
Arnold Schwarzenegger on if we could take photos at the end of the press conference:
“If you’re nice.”
