Chloe Sevigny Interviewed

I’ve been trying to stop writing my thoughts on a movie in an interview article but in this case I have to say a few words on Zodiac.

David Fincher has crafted a superb film on the famous Zodiac murders and I don’t think anyone else could’ve done a better job. What I especially thought was brilliant was the way he handled the story through all the years of the case. While most filmmakers might be overwhelmed by trying to tell a captivating story while also giving a history lesson, Zodiac weaves the various characters and places like a fine wine. While the long running time (2hr. 40min) might be a bit of a problem for some, I feel that any less screen time would have hampered the ability to tell the story and it would have resulted in compromising the material.

The other thing that makes the film so brilliant is that it never feels like it’s exploiting the murders or the people involved. While Hollywood sometimes tries to make a buck off subject matter than should be left alone, I thought the film never made any attempt to sensationalize or glamorize the brutal nature of the material. Again all credit needs to be given to Fincher for crafting a brilliant film and one that can be placed next to Seven and Fight Club – films that will be remembered and talked about for years.

Below is the interview (conducted in roundtable form) that I got to do with Chloe Sevigny a few weeks back. If you would rather listen to it click here, otherwise below is the transcript.

I also got to do an interview with Robert Graysmith who is the one who wrote the Zodiac books and was portrayed in the film by Jake Gyllenhaal. I only have the audio of the interview so click here if you would like to listen to it.

Question: As an actress playing a character who’s not inside of the investigation, but is affected by it, did you find that you had a different relationship to the material than Mark Ruffalo did. He was somebody who became obsessed with the actual workings of the case, and I’m assuming that Jake Gyllenhaal did as well.

Q: Did you find that, since you weren’t involved with that, you were watching these guys get into the strange nitty gritty of this sickness?

CS: Definitely. And, before I started the picture, a girlfriend of mine who was obsessed with Zodiac when she was a teenager, as lots of alternative girls probably were [laughs], gave me a copy of her book. I thought, “Maybe I’ll read it and try to get into where my husband in the movie’s mind was, what he was obsessed with and what he was dealing with, day in and day out,” and I couldn’t. I got almost through half of it and I had to put it down. I was like, “I just don’t want to read about this anymore.” [Laughs] That’s probably how Melanie is. She doesn’t want to hear about it anymore. It’s this morbid subject. Her kids are threatened. I feel like that’s probably how she was. She just wanted it out of her face. She didn’t even want to read the newspaper articles. She’d heard way too much about it already. I feel like that was probably her attitude. That’s what I did, not because I’m lazy or anything. [Laughs] But, I truly was disturbed reading it. I was alternative, but I was never obsessed with Manson or Zodiac, or whatever else kids like that get into.

Q: Do you think some of the retro clothes and the big glasses helped you and made you feel more like you were of the period?

CS: The wardrobe really affects me, and the hair and make-up, and all of that. I felt like they were trying to make me look frumpy to make Jake look less attractive. [Laughs] He has this unattractive girlfriend, therefore you can believe he’s less attractive. I don’t know. That’s my own insecurities. But, I did like that she wasn’t glamorous, in any regard. She was a working mother, and she was very practical. I got to be kind of cute, in the beginning. I liked that she was this practical, sassy, no nonsense lady.

CS: I did. She came to the set with one of her daughters and hung around for half a day. A set’s kind of boring, so she didn’t last that long. But, she was very spunky. They changed so much of the details, within their relationship. When they met, she also worked at The Chronicle, and things like that. I didn’t want to delve too deep. It’s always difficult when you’re playing [a real person]. After ‘Boys Don’t Cry,’ I actually vowed I would never play another living person, and then I have twice, already. It’s always a little touchy.

CS: I didn’t meet him. My scenes were fully realized. I had no trouble realizing where I was in the story or what the intention was of the scene. It was pretty obvious, to me, what was happening. My character was, to a certain degree, there to service what was happening to Jake, who was the main character, and I don’t mind that. I love the film, the overall script, and Fincher and his vision, and I wanted to be a piece of that puzzle that put this movie together.

CS: No. I only worked 10 days out of 100, so I always think, “God, it’s such a small part.” But, people like that humanity, or to see that aspect, or to see someone’s home life fall apart. The movie is all about obsessions, and these different people’s obsessions with the Zodiac, and how it ruins their home lives.

Q: The cool that your character had was an interesting touch, as opposed to freaking out.

CS: That’s how it was written. But, I also didn’t want to be this hysterical woman. I think that she respects her husband, and she knows he has this [obsession]. She wants to understand why because she wants to help him, but she’s not going to go crazy and throw things around because she realizes that he’s gotta do what he’s gotta do. He’s gotta follow it through, or else he’s never going to come out of it.

Q: Have you ever had a friend or a family member or a relationship where somebody’s obsession is just wrecking it and you had to get out because of their obsession?

CS: Something about him that you don’t know? I don’t know. What do you know? [Laughs]

CS: He does, yeah. He has a lot. And, I liked how obsessive he was, as a filmmaker. I felt like I was in really safe hands. I’m quite obsessive compulsive, myself, and to know that he is aware of every inch of the frame and what’s going on, I felt very safe in his hands. But, he was very friendly and warm, actually, and jokey. His little daughter, Phelix, would come to the set. It was a really nice set. He would get very angry and curse a lot, which I kind of find sexy sometimes. [Laughs] He was just so in control. Sometimes, he would curse at people.

CS: I’ve had obsessions with different rock stars or musicians growing up, throughout my life. But, right now, I don’t have any real obsessions. I don’t have time to obsess over things because I’m working on the second season of ‘Big Love’ and we work five days a week, 10-16 hour days, every day. So, I don’t really have time right now. I’m in a relationship and I did obsess over him, to a degree that we had to [take a break]. It was a little too much, so we had to back off. Now, it’s good. [Laughs] I’m kind of a smotherer, which is slightly obsessive.

Q: How was working with Jake, and how did you guys create those two people together?

CS: We had some rehearsals, where we went through all of our scenes and talked through the scenes and the dialogue, and he was very active in rewriting or adjusting his dialogue. I’m not a writer. I’m happy with the lines you give me, to a certain extent. But, he was very active in that and he would come with ideas for me, for my lines. [Laughs] He was very boyish and very funny. He kept the whole crew in stitches. They were all very charmed by him. He’s very creative. He has so much energy. He’s always bouncing off the walls. After 80 takes, I think he would get bored a little bit, especially when it was my coverage, so he’d be switching up the lines. His mind is always very active.

Q: What would you do if you lived in a house like that, with everything piled to the ceiling?

CS: Oh, my God, I could not take it. Clutter drives me bonkers. I think I would just hide it all in the closet.

Q: What was it like being the only female in the film? Did you feel kind of alone?

CS: No. There were lots of wardrobe and make-up girls. I’m not one to go sit behind the monitor with the producers and chat. I always go off in a corner and read my newspaper. I’m not so ambitious that I’m trying to work everybody. I know I’m only there for 10 days, so I’m going to do my work and do it the best I can. That’s it for me. I’m not trying to make any friends. I’ve got enough. [Laughs] Was that horrible to say?

CS: What can I say about it? I think people will be really pleased. It moves at a much faster pace. Last season, I think it was a little slow, especially in the beginning. It kind of picked up towards the end. We’d have these problems that went over seven episodes, and now there’s a problem and a resolve, almost per episode.

CS: I don’t know. It took so long for us to come back because the show-runners wrote the next season 6-9 months after where the last season stopped and HBO didn’t like that, so they had to go back and rewrite everything, starting the day after. So, we basically pick up where the show left off. A lot of unanswered questions are answered, and Nicki, my character, gets into some trouble again, and it’s quite funny. But, I don’t know if I can give you any specifics. I might get in trouble. Oh, but they have a brilliant idea. They’re going to do these teasers that come out around Mother’s Day ‘cause the show starts airing in June. So, you’re going to have all these promos that are backstory, showing when we first met, or when Barb is sick and I’m there and we’re talking about me marrying Bill -- different insights into how we all got to where we are, which I think are great teasers. It’s more clever than a regular commercial.

Q: What’s it like working on a show that is more fast-paced, like ‘Big Love,’ compared to a film like this, where there are 80 takes?

CS: As tedious as the 80 takes was, I liked it because you just got to try so many more things. You got to just experiment with it. The 80 takes wasn’t just because of performance, obviously. He’s so technical that a lot of it had to do with camera moves and lighting or background. With the children, it was obviously very difficult, so any of the scenes with the kids, there’s always lots of [takes]. The pace of the show is just insane. What they make us do is unfair. It really is. [Laughs] There’s all this chaos and then they’re like, “Okay, we’re shooting, now act!” It’s very hard.

CS: No, I like the show. And, I think we might get more days next season. If it does well, they’ll give you a couple more. They like to spend money, though.

Q: Do you contribute ideas to your character, or do you just want to act and have nothing to do with that?

CS: A little bit. If there’s something I really feel that she wouldn’t do, I’ll voice my opinion, but I can’t write like they can. I think they’re pretty brilliant, and I’m pretty pleased with the character, overall.

Q: If it is going that fast, do you feel you have more freedom to interpret the character the way you want to, as opposed to something like ‘Zodiac’ where you’re doing 80 takes and you’re not going to get as much of a choice as what the director wants?

CS: No. The creators and the writers are always on the set of ‘Big Love,’ and they’re always watching and they’re always analyzing everything. It’s kind of annoying. [Laughs]