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Your new movie 73
Minutes - in a few words, what is it about, and what can you tell
us about your character in it?
73
Minutes
follows an ambulance chaser lawyer, Monica (my character), who is
NOT living her best life. She is in a job she hates, seeing a married
coworker, when a stranger threatens to kill her mother and child if she
doesn’t bring a file to him within 73 minutes.
What did you draw upon to
bring your character to life, and how much Aniela McGuiness can we find in
Monica? This
role was definitely a challenge. On the surface, Monica and I don’t have
much in common, but the emotional turmoil of life being a bitch and not
going your way is all part of the human experience. So it was about
tapping into that deep well. How did you get involved with the project in the
first place, and what drew you to it? You
know how Rob Schneider is in almost every Adam Sandler movie? At this
point, that is me with a Lou Simon movie [Lou
Simon interview - click here]. This was our fourth film
together. If Lou calls, I say yes. I don’t even need to hear the pitch.
It is a chance to play with friends.
With 73
Minutes shot under pandemic/lockdown condition, you lacked a
physical scene partner for pretty much the whole movie - so what can you
tell us about that experience, and did this put any extra strain on you as
an actress? We
got creative. Throughout the whole movie, I had a wireless earbud with
Lou, the other actors, and the script supervisor on Skype. The other
actors would be recording the audio of their side of the scene at the same
time. The only problem was between scenes while I was struggling to stay
in this panicked emotional state and Lou would be BSing, forgetting that
she was unmuted. Let’s just say there was almost a real murder. What can you tell us about 73
Minutes' director Lou Simon, and what was working with her like? Lou
does it all. She writes, directs, edits, produces, speaks five languages,
and makes more happen in a week than I do in a year. She is a flippen
badass and just being around her makes me want to do better. Also, a heads
up, her sixth language is sarcasm… so watch out. 73
Minutes wasn't your first time working with Lou Simon - so what
can you tell us about your previous collaborations, and how did the two of
you first meet even? My
first film was Lou was Hazmat, which is still my favorite. The
director of photography, Anthony Dones, told me about the audition and I
got lucky enough to book it. From that point on, I would get a random call
from Lou every year saying, “I wrote this thing with you in mind. Read
it and tell me if you want to do it.” After I had breast cancer and a
double mastectomy, she called, “I want to write a story where a
person’s nipples get cut off, you up for that?” Of course, my answer
was, “Hell yes.” That is our film 3 if you want to see more of
Lou’s twisted mind. Back to 73
Minutes - what can you tell us about the shoot as such, and the
on-set atmosphere?
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photo by Matt Lacari |
It felt like a group of misfit teenagers sneaking out after curfew and
doing donuts in the street. Covid lockdown just happened. The world was
stopped. The roads were empty. And here we were with a car trailer filled
with cameras driving down backroads trying not to get caught. We filmed
almost the entire movie in less than a week. We didn’t know if any of
this would work. The whole thing felt like an experiment that might fail
miserably but was worth trying just so we could play and make something. Any future projects you'd like to
share? I
just finished a rom-com Lifetime movie called
Best Woman. Yes, not
really in the horror genre but was such a joy to make. Come to find out,
it’s a lot easier to act when you don’t have to pretend your imaginary
daughter is about to be killed. What can
you tell us about your filmwork prior to 73
Minutes? I have had the absolute pleasure of working on The Marvelous Mrs.
Maisel and a bunch of little movies here and there. Tons of
commercials. But the craziest experience I had was getting to be at the Rock of Ages table read with Alex Baldwin, Tom Cruise, and the rest
of the cast. I didn’t know if I was going to be cast yet, but I was
brought in to read a bunch of the small roles. When I sat down, I was next
to Mary J. Blige, and she extends her hand and introduces herself, “Hi,
I’m Mary” as Tom Cruise walks in in full costume, while Russel Brand
gives Alex Baldwin a big hug. The whole thing was surreal. This biz can be
wild sometimes. From what I know, you have a background
in improv comedy - so do talk about that aspect of your career, and in
what way has it informed your acting? I
love improv. It was my gateway drug into acting professionally and remains
my weekly gym where I get on stage with my team, Sick Puppies Comedy, and
we get weird. The freedom to perform with no script and only succeed with
the support of your castmates is pure crack. It’s also healing. Every
month I volunteer and teach improv to cancer patients at Gilda’s Club
South Florida. It gives people living through some really hard shit the
freedom to connect and laugh when life might not feel funny. Actresses (and indeed actors) who
inspire you? When
I think of my favorite actors and actresses they all have one thing in
common. They seem like genuinely kind people. Like Tom Hanks, Keanu
Reeves, Pedro Pascual, and Olivia Coleman. You can be a great actor but if
you are a jerk, it’s hard to look up to that type of person. Your favourite movies?
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Forrest Gump and Dirty Dancing. There is something about the movies you watch as a
kid that just sticks with you. I LOVED Everything Everywhere All At
Once. ...
and of course, films you really deplore? Don’t
hate me, but I don’t watch horror movies. I can’t even watch the
previews. I am a huge scaredy cat. Your/your
movie's website, social media, whatever else? Instagram:
@AnielaMcG
Website:
ItsAniela.com
Thanks
for the interview!
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