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Skateland

Coverage by Nobuhiro Hosoki

Story : Dramatic events in Texas force a skating rink manager to look at his life in a very different manner in the early 1980s.

Opens May 13, 2011

Runtime:1 hr. 25 min.

 

Interview with Actress Ashley Greene

 

(Q) : Does it feel like a long time since this movie has supposed to have been out? Are you excited about it?

(Ashley Greene) : I am excited about it, yeah. It has been a long time coming, but I'm very excited that it's finally coming out. I didn't get to go to Sundance. I was bummed. But, yeah, of course I'm really excited about anything that happens with it. It was a passion film for all of us, and so to see anything happen is very exciting.

(Q) : What was it about the script that really attracted you to it?

(Ashley Greene) : I think that we've all gone through having to make the transition from adolescence to adulthood and we've all kind of gone through loss and love and hurt and kind of having to grow up and let go of the past and adapt to the future. So it was kind of something that instantly related to and Michelle Burkham in particular is a very…she's a really strong character. She still has vulnerability to her and relatability, but she's very strong, very level headed and kind of a go getter, a no nonsense character. As a female that's something that really attracted me.

(Q) : How close are you to that?

(Ashley Greene): Pretty close. I'm actually pretty close to her.

(Q) : Now you grew up in Jacksonville, Florida?

(Ashley Greene): Yes.

(Q) : So, was Clark or Orange county, Florida similar to East Texas in terms of growing up?

(Ashley Greene): I definitely went to roller skating and ice skating rinks. Jacksonville, it keeps growing, but growing up there was a little southern, a little redneck. It had kind of a small town mentality. So I could definitely relate to it. I wouldn't say that it was exactly as small as what we were dealing with in 'Skateland', but there was a little bit of relatability, I guess.

(Q) : How did you like all the '80's details in the film, particular your hair and costumes?

(Ashley Greene): They were very fun, certainly a departure from anything I've ever known. I'm very I think simple in my fashion, my hair and makeup and all of that stuff. I mean, it was fun. I looked exactly like my mother which was the funny part. I sent my mom pictures and her and my dad were like, 'This is crazy and uncanny.' So it was fun to be able to do. Honestly, when else am I going to be able to wear blue eye shadow.

(Q) : Your character is the kind of music aficionado in this movie. What kinds of music did you end up appreciating and liking as a result of this movie?

(Ashley Greene) : As much as I hate to admit I didn't really know who The Cure was. I know, I know, but I do now. I do now. The director made me a compilation. I think that I had twelve CD's of '80's music. So The Cure was definitely one. I think Joy Division was another big one that I kind of now have an appreciation for. But I was sadly not well versed in '80's music before I did the film.

(Q) : It wasn't the 'Totally '80's' compilation set was it?

(Ashley Greene) : No, was it. Can you imagine, like, 'Thanks.' No. It was a bunch of burned CD's.

(Q) : In what ways was Michelle, your character, like you and in what ways do you think you're different from her?

(Ashley Greene) : I'm definitely hardheaded and I think of myself as a strong girl. I'm kind of no nonsense as well. I'm driven. Right out of high school I moved to L.A. to kind of pursue my dreams and do what I wanted to do, and of course had the plan and path to go to college like everyone else and then decided that if I didn't do this I was going to regret it. So I kind of bit the bullet and did it. I think there's a lot of similarity there. I think differences are probably how much she's into music. I don't know that I would've had as much patience as she did with Ritchie Wheeler. I think that might not be one of my strong points. So that's kind of a difference between she and I.

(Q) : Can you talk about working with Shiloh Fernandez? You two have great chemistry in the film.

(Ashley Greene) : It was really, really fun working with Shiloh. It was fun and easy. I kind of knew from the chemistry read that it was going to be great and easy from the second that we started bantering and working back and forth. We butted heads a few times on set, but I actually have an appreciation for that because we're both artists and I think that we both, in the same scene, sometimes have different views on our characters and what we would do. I actually really appreciated that because we'd butt heads and then we'd come to an understanding and go from there. I think that we actually learned some things about ourselves and our characters in the process, but he's still a very close friend of mine and it was a really positive thing that I took out of the film.

(Q) : Are you familiar with movies like this, 'American Graffiti' or 'Dazed and Confused'?

(Ashley Greene): Definitely 'Dazed and Confused' I've seen. I think that's the only one. I wasn't a well versed '80's girl.

(Q) : Did you look any other '80's movies, any teen comedies?

(Ashley Greene) : No, I didn't really. The thing with this one, like, there's a lot of films where I'll do research on things, but this was more something that I sat down and talked to Anthony [Burns] and they did a fantastic job, I think, of really capturing the essence of it with the hair and makeup and the music and the set dressing and stuff like that. But for some reason I didn't feel like I needed to watch those films to kind of grasp the things that we were trying to capture with the film because I think the themes are so universal and I think the themes are something that are undying and everyone is always going to go through for the rest of time. So I didn't really think that I had to do so much research to kind of capture those things.

(Q) : After doing an '80's film did it make you think of current trends and styles, maybe look at them in a different way, that maybe ten or twenty years from now we might look back and think, 'Why was my hair so big'?

(Ashley Greene) : No. I think the '80's was a time when it was very extreme because…you never know. I'm sure that my kids are going to look back and go, 'Mom. What were you wearing?' Unfortunately mine is captured on the internet for the rest of eternity, any kind of fashion mistakes that I make. So I'm sure that they'll say something, but the funny thing that I always see is that we went through a stint, like the '80's are kind of reintroducing themselves into our fashion. Fashion always goes back around. You always see things come back around. So that's not too surprising.

(Ashley Greene): There are some parallels to the early '80's and the economic hard times to what we're going through now. In the film Skateland was closing. It wasn't really referred to in the film outright, but did you talk about that with the director at all?

(Ashley Greene): Yeah, definitely. I think you definitely had a sense of a little bit of a depression. We actually didn't really address the subject a lot and talk about it a lot, but you definitely see it I think in the Wheeler family and with Skateland closing. But, yeah, it really wasn't something that we touched on.

(Q) : At what point did you film 'Skateland' in the 'Twilight' series? Was it before or after the second one?

(Ashley Greene) : It was before, right before 'New Moon'. It was a while ago. This is something that I filmed like two years ago.

(Q) : The after-effects of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan temporarily halted filming of "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn" in Canada’s Vancouver area. What’s the latest update on the filming?

(Ashley Greene) : Everything kind of got turned upside down and inside out. We got the least of the brunt of things. We have to be thankful for that. But really, it’s more about that we had to pick up and move to a different location and switch scenes around, but we are certainly moving forward and carrying on. It’s not really going to affect the film too harshly.

(Q) : Do you have any comment on the disasters that have hit Japan?

(Ashley Greene) : I’ve certainly voiced my opinion — as have a lot of my other friends — about raising money for Japan and being with them and praying for them, because I think it’s something unpredictable and horrible and unexpected and really unfortunate and heartbreaking. I certainly send out my prayers and my thoughts to the people and to their loved ones and lost ones. And hopefully, we as Americans are going to do everything we can to help them rebuild.

(Q) : Did you and Shiloh ever get a chance to talk about working with Catherine Hardwicke, even though he made 'Little Red Riding Hood' long after this film, what she was like?

(Ashley Greene) : Yeah. Shiloh was actually one of the frontrunners for 'Twilight' and so whenever we were doing 'Skateland' we certainly had discussions about her and I think that we kind of have the same opinion on her, that she's just fantastic. She's wild and crazy and eccentric and very fun to work with. He kind of after the 'Twilight' process remained friends and in contact with Catherine and I know that she really did like Shiloh for the film and he didn't just quite fit. So I think it's really cool that it did come back around and that he was able to work with her on 'Red Riding Hood'.

(Q) : Have you seen the film?

(Ashley Greene) : I haven't seen it, no. I really want to. I mean, it looks very cool and beautiful. I'm going to see it, absolutely, and kind of support him. I'm very excited for him that he finally got to get out there and do something.

(Q) : What about working with a writer/director on this film. Does it make it easier when you have questions on the film, working with Anthony Burns on this?

(Ashley Greene) : Definitely. He kind of had all the answers and because it was kind of based on their adolescence and they grew up in this small town. Some of these characters, the character that I played is actually a person that exists that they know, who I met while I was filming 'Skateland'. So, yeah, that's definitely helpful and they know everything.

(Q) : What did you think about those skates? You probably think of in line skates.

(Ashley Greene) : I have a vast appreciation for anyone who can do that because I was terrified. I actually didn't have to end up doing it because Michelle was more music based than roller rink based, but Shiloh had to learn and I give him props because I would just bust my butt and kill myself. So I lucked out in that part.

(Q) : Is there anything that you learned about yourself while you working on this character during the film, something that you took away?

(Ashley Greene) : I think I've learned that I will always continue to keep learning about myself and everyone is always changing. It's so funny, I still have the same morals and values and I think foundation of who I was growing up, when I was in Jacksonville, Florida, but it's just so funny to me that I'm such a different person than I was from seventeen to twenty one and from twenty one to twenty four. And I'm sure from twenty four to twenty nine I'll be completely different because you live and you learn and experiences affect you. I think you kind of grow as a person.

(Q) : What advice would you have given to yourself back then?

(Ashley Greene) : It's not the end of the world. That would be my advice for everything. Everything is the end of the world and parents know nothing.

(Q) : So, you got to meet the real Michelle Burkham?

(Ashley Greene) : Yeah.

(Q) : Did she go to the University of Texas and move on like your character in the movie?

(Ashley Greene) : I ended up just meeting her. I mean, we filmed in Shreveport and she was in Shreveport whenever we were filming and so I just said hello to her.

(Q) : Have you thought about going to college?

(Ashley Greene) : Definitely. I think at this point it would be kind of silly for me to just halt and stop everything with all the opportunities that are coming, but I think down the road I definitely…I don't know that I'll go to a campus. I could take online courses, but I think that I'm never going to want to stop learning and growing. The funny thing about this profession is that virtually anything you learn and any experience that you go through you can use in this profession. So I was very interested in law and I was very interested in psychology when I was in school. I actually had a magnet program high school for that. So I think that psychology is still something that I'm very interested in learning about.

(Q) : How does it feel to be nearing the end of the 'Twilight' saga?

(Ashley Greene) : I think it's a bittersweet thing. I think at this point we're not…we've been filming for I think four and a half months all ready and we have another month and a half left, but we are currently filming two films. So we're going to have stuff coming up for the next two years and the press tours are intense and then the premieres. So I think it's kind of like high school. It's like you're excited to graduate, but at the same time you know that you're going to miss your friends. I think we kind of know that we haven't seen the last of each other, that we still have a few years.

(Q) : How do you think you would've spent your free time as a teenager in the '80's as opposed to how you would've spent your free time now as a young adult?

(Ashley Greene): I mean, probably a lot more personal contact and bike riding and ice cream. I just think that one of the huge differences that I noticed from filming 'Skateland' was the technology and the electronics and the internet and instant gratification and cell phones and text messaging. I'm just as addicted to those things as anybody else is in this room, but I think there was something kind of nice about seeing how people communicated whenever we didn't have all these things.

(Q) : Are you interested in doing a play in the future?

(Ashley Greene) : I'm reading one right now. I think it's certainly something that interests me. It's terrifying to me because it's an unknown territory, but I think it's definitely something that I'll embrace eventually. I have a huge respect for people who do plays. I just saw 'Les Mis' not too long ago and I think it's incredible.

(Q) : Can you talk about some of the projects that you're graduating onto, especially the one with Olivia Wilde and you even have Miley Cyrus in there and some other people to talk about music with?

(Ashley Greene) : The one with Olivia is called 'Butter' and it's a comedy about butter carving and everyone in the cast is incredible.

(Q) : From skating to butter carving?

(Ashley Greene) : Yeah. I'm doing it all, but that one was my first comedy, and so again, I took the part and then after I took the part I was like, 'Oh, my God, what did I just do? What did I sign myself up for,' because I'd never done it before. But it was a really fun learning experience and I had people like Ty Burrell who I think is a comedic genius and Jennifer Garner and Olivia and a lot of seasoned actors. It was really fun to be able to get to know them and work against them and kind of learn from them. Then 'LOL' is another comedy that was a French film and I actually really liked the French version and that's why I decided to do the American version.

That one I think was just me kind of wanting to depart, I think, from…as much as I love Alice Cullen I think it's a kind of big departure because it's playing kind of the high school bad girl, kind of bitch essentially. She's kind of a little snarky and she's definitely not the purest. So I just was kind of like, 'I want to play the bad girl.' I hadn't done it yet and it was the same director that directed the French version. He also did the American version. So, I did that and then 'Apparition' is a thriller that I did. It was my first studio lead which was really exciting for me to be able to do. That one is kind of about a girl and a guy who move in together into a house and weird things start happening and kind of supernatural activity and the character, Kelly, has to deal with that and also the fact that her boyfriend isn't necessarily who she thinks he is.

(Q) : Aren't they all?

(Ashley Greene) : Yeah. I was like, 'Which guy is?' No. They're all very different things that I'm really proud of. So I'm excited to see them all come out and people be able to see a different side of me that they haven't seen.

(Q) : What advice would you have for actors and actresses who become famous quickly because they’re part of a huge franchise such as the 'Twilight' series?

(Ashley Greene) : I think probably through the chaos of it all is you really have to stay grounded and remember who you are and where you came from, because that’s a really big thing. I have a really solid, core group of friends and family that could care less what I do, who I am [as a celebrity]. My mom’s like, "Go do the dishes. Go make your bed." And I really appreciate that, and I think that’s key, because at the end of the day, this is a job, not a life.

(Q) : What goes through your mind when see all the "Twilight" merchandise?

(Ashley Greene) : When I see the merchandise, it’s exciting. To be able to say I have a doll [Alice Cullen] is pretty amazing. I have an action figure. That’s awesome!

(Q) : Out of all the people in the "Twilight" cast, with whom do you share the closest bond?

(Ashley Greene) : Kellan [Lutz, who plays vampire Emmett Cullen in the "Twilight" series] and I have been very, very close friends for little over five years. We knew each other before the whole process started. And now we have to spend all of our time together at work, so it’s really nice.

(Q) : I want you to learn more about The Cure, but you did pick two of my favorite bands, Joy Division and The Cure.

(Ashley Greene) : Then I'm doing all right. I made friends then.

(Q) : Can I ask you about the prom dresses since prom season is coming up. Did you start this?

(Ashley Greene): I didn't start the company, no, but I became involved with them about a year and a half ago. I got approached to be their spokesperson because of a prom story that I told in one of the magazines and how important it was to me. They told me about their organization and it was kind of a no brainer because I think part of it, one of the really positive things about being a celebrity and having people know who you are is that you have a voice and that people will listen and you kind can kind of get these things out there. So, I jumped on. It's basically a really easy, simple charity that encourages girls to donate their dresses that they've already worn so that girls can come to one of the local chapters and pick up a free prom dress.

Sometimes I'll do, as often as possible, they'll actually get girls to drop off dresses, but then meet the fans. So they'll come drop off and I'll sign and meet the girls and then every so often I get to actually go and surprise these girls and give them a dress. It's just something that a lot of people don't understand because they go, 'They're sixteen and it's prom,' and nobody cares. But I think it is a kind of rite of passage for girls sometimes, something that they look forward to as soon as they get into middle school. So I think it's really heartbreaking whenever they can't go because they don't have money to get a dress. I think it's sweet and it's something that I care about. It's really fun.

 

End.