OZ The Great And Powerful – Evanora – Interview With Rachel Weisz – #DisneyOzEvent

THIS IS PART OF A SERIES OF ARTICLES. HERE IS THE COMPLETE LIST OF INTERVIEWS PUBLISHED SO FAR.
Interview with James Franco – OZ
Interview with Mila Kunis – Theodora
Interview with Mila Kunis – Theodora – OZ Spoilers
Interview with Rachel Weisz – Evanora
Interview with Director Sam Raimi
Interview with Michelle Williams – Glinda
Post on the OZ Premiere at the El Capitan Theatre in LA
While in Los Angeles for the #DisneyOzEvent the first person we interviewed was Rachel Weisz, the actress in the role of Evanora the witch. Weisz was lovely an actually a bit shy. Here are a few of my favorite portions of the interview.

QUESTION:   Did you feel nervous at all accepting this role?  Were you a little bit nervous jumping in there?
RW   :   I’m nervous at any role that I do, because, there’s the fear that you might, you know, suck.  So I wouldn’t really do a role unless I wasn’t nervous about it, because that’s what’s exciting is trying something new, and I’ve never done anything like this.  I’ve never played a fantasy character.  You know, of late I’ve been doing very kind of gritty, earth-bound gals with no makeup, and very different kinds of things. So, for me it was scary, ’cause it’s a new thing, but that was a plus for me.
QUESTION:   What was your reaction to the film the very first time you read the script?
RW   :    I loved it.  I loved it.  I just loved the idea. I didn’t know about that Frank L. Baum had wrote ten books, and the Wizard of Oz film is just, you know, one-tenth of the whole cycle of stories, and I loved it.  You know, we all know the Wizard of Oz so well, and this is the story of how the Wizard came to be the Wizard.  So, I loved it, and I loved the character of Evanora, and I loved how, how mercilessly horrible she is.  And, it was really fun, really, really fun.

QUESTION: So, you were so deliciously evil.
RW : She’s bad, isn’t she?
QUESTION: What did you like slipping into more, the costumes or the character?
RW : You know what? It’s weird. They were kind of like the same the thing. When I put that costume on I became that character. I couldn’t have played her without that corset, and sequence, and feathers, and lashes, and lips, and pushed up boobs, and, you know, the whole thing. The costume was huge, huge part of the character, and it was very fun to be so nasty.
QUESTION: Because you were so nasty, how did you feel about, you know, knowing this is a children’s film and yet you’ve gotta be pretty badass out there.
RW   :   Well, I think fairytales traditionally have really, really evil characters.  Like all the Grimm’s fairytales got bad people in them, so I think kids are used to evil characters.  And I think she’s dark, but she’s having a lot of fun being bad.  So, I think it’s like Disney bad.  I don’t think it’s really, really bad.

QUESTION: What was your most memorable moment while filming?  What was your favorite part?
RW   :   Well, Evanora really enjoyed torturing Glenda, when she was chained in the Emerald City. I did too. It was just really fun.  I mean she and I get along brilliantly.  Michelle she’s a fellow mom, and she’s a lovely lady, but that was just a really fun scene, being that bad.  And then just pure fun without being evil was flying.  Flying is really fun – a little scary and quite exciting, like having a really good rollercoaster ride.
QUESTION: Speaking of flying, how much flying and stunt work did you actually do?
RW   :   All of it.
QUESTION:   Are you in all of it? 
RW   :   Yeah.  I didn’t think there was any flying that isn’t me.  Yeah, they didn’t do head replacement or anything.  Yeah, it’s me all the way.
QUESTITON :    You don’t really fly.
RW   :   I don’t.
QUESTION :   What helped you prepare the most for your role in the film?
RW   :   Really there was nothing that could help me prepare.  Obviously, there’s no witches I could interview or talk to, and it’s just pure fantasy.  So, the costume, as I said, was a huge part of finding the character, and it’s just, just pure make belief.  There was absolutely no research, just make believe, just like being a kid basically.

QUESTION:   How was working with the rest of the cast?
RW   :   Really great. I mean I did most of my scenes with Mila, my sister, and, a few scenes with James, and then a few scenes with Glenda, and then, of course, with my monkeys, with my army, with my army of monkeys, and that, that was really fun, the army of monkeys.  So, I really got scream orders at them. They’re my soldiers.  It was really fun.  It was really fun with all of them.
QUESTION:   Evanora, of course, s your favorite, but which other character did you enjoy watching on the screen or in the script? 
RW   :   God, it’s really hard for me to pick.  I just think it’s like the whole big big family of characters.  I thought Theodora was just delicious, and, the Wizard is great. I guess the most surprising for me was the China Girl and the Monkey, because I never got to work with them, and, of course, it was the animated you know. I have no idea so, that was really very surprising, and they’re really delightful characters.
QUESTION :   The sets, the sets were amazing. Did that kind of along with the costumes, did sets kind of transform your character, and did you fall into that world when you were in those amazing places?
RW   :   Yeah.  Definitely.  I was really not on that many sets.  I was in the throne room, and my character really loves the throne a lot, ’cause she wants that throne by herself.  She wants to sit in it. That was a big, regal room, kind of like this, so, it made me feel like I was a queen of this throne room.  I wasn’t on all the sets with all the incredible flowers and stuff like that.  Basically my character was just interested in the throne.  So, that’s what I remember.  Yeah, she wanted the throne.
Here’s the newest trailer.

Synopsis – Disney’s fantastical adventure “Oz The Great and Powerful,” directed by Sam Raimi, imagines the origins of L. Frank Baum’s beloved wizard character. When Oscar Diggs (James Franco), a small-time circus magician with dubious ethics, is hurled away from dusty Kansas to the vibrant Land of Oz, he thinks he’s hit the jackpot—fame and fortune are his for the taking—that is until he meets three witches, Theodora (Mila Kunis), Evanora (Rachel Weisz) and Glinda (Michelle Williams), who are not convinced he is the great wizard everyone’s been expecting. Reluctantly drawn into the epic problems facing the Land of Oz and its inhabitants, Oscar must find out who is good and who is evil before it is too late. Putting his magical arts to use through illusion, ingenuity—and even a bit of wizardry—Oscar transforms himself not only into the great wizard but into a better man as well. “Oz The Great and Powerful” is produced by Joe Roth, with screen story by Mitchell Kapner and screenplay by Mitchell Kapner and David Lindsay-Abaire. Grant Curtis, Palak Patel, Josh Donen and Philip Steuer are serving as executive producers.
“Oz The Great and Powerful” opens in U.S. theaters on March 8, 2013.
OZ Website and Mobile site: www.Disney.com/TheWizard
OZ The Great And Powerful on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OzTheGreatAndPowerful
OZ The Great And Powerful on Twitter: https://twitter.com/disneyozmovie
I attended this event as a guest of Disney, with all expenses paid. As always, any personal opinions reflected in this post are my own and have not been influenced by the sponsor in any way.