I could never be a publicist or a personal assistant for a celebrity. It’s not the hard work I’m afraid of; it’s the adult babysitting. They are SO fragile and insecure and narcissistic, it’s an exhausting experience. And, frankly, it can be really, really sad.
I’ve been really hard on Rooney Mara the last couple of weeks for the “aloof”-ing and the SVU trashing. As previously noted, people who are aloof don’t generally point out their own aloofness. People who really, really want to be aloof will try to convince you that they are. In her case, it’s self preoccupation - standard behaviour for an actor - and also, as expected, terrible insecurity.
An article has been published in the Swedish press featuring interviews with some of the local extras and crew who worked on The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. I love Google Translate.
Donald Josephson has a scene with Mara in the film. Here’s his account of his experience:
I have two lines in the film. Lisbeth Salander comes to the computer store that I work in and I said: "Unfortunately, this computer is completely broken. I hope you have a backup. "
I biked to the set. When I arrived expecting a self-trailers, buffets and assistants.
The scene was a real computer shop on Götgatan, which was redesigned and thoroughly equipped with Apple logos.
The most fun was to keep up with Rooney Mara in "The Green Room", the room where the actors wait between shots. To be part of there and hear her anxiety over whether she would be better than Naomi Rapace. She had lots of those "Mirror mirror on the wall" moments in there. Mara asked all the time her assistant, "Did we not do better when we did this scene? Don’t I look better than her? Am I not better? Am I not young? Am I not cool? "And the assistant just replied:" Yes, yes, yes! You are the best, you're the best! "
This ...is pretty much standard procedure. It’s a f-cked up life, the acting business. The promises almost never materialise. They’re repeatedly rejected, and when they aren’t rejected, they are constantly afraid they will be. And so the people around them, they keep telling them what they want to hear. And when they hear it, they either start to believe it, or try to believe it but doubt it, and spend the rest of the time searching for a truth that feels authentic... which, sometimes, eludes them forever. Because in Hollywood, well, does the truth even exist?
Michelle Williams delivers an extraordinary representation of this in My Week With Marilyn. Marilyn’s issues were exacerbated by drug dependency and all that other sh-t she was carrying around with her from when she was a child. But her lack of self worth was not unique. It manifests itself in different ways for different people. For Rooney Mara, there’s the fake aloof-ery and bravado. And of course, you can imagine, under those circumstances, what David Fincher must represent: Creator and God. Everything.
Click here to read the Swedish article with more insight from others who participated in the production of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.
December 22, 2011 at 10:37
They're creeping everyone out
