Academy
Award® winner Rachel Weisz,
known for her powerful performances in such films as The Constant Gardener, The
Lovely Bones and The Whistleblower,
was eager for the challenges that lie ahead and the results were more than they
had hoped for. In her new anticipated
movie The Bourne Legacy she plays Marta a workaholic, utterly devoted to her
groundbreaking research as a biochemist at a top-secret lab in Maryland. Marta’s
mundane life is turned upside down and she becomes a target when Outcome is
rapidly shut down and she is perceived as simply residual cleanup. Aaron played by Jeremy Renner —a man whom she
has examined multiple times in four years but doesn’t know well—appears in time
to save her, and the two quickly
form a relationship out of necessity.
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Rachel Weisz.Photo courtesy of Solar Entertainment Corp.
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Do
you think that a franchise film can still be original or does it rely too much
on its original pedigree?
I
think what is similar with this film when compared to the original BOURNE films
is the realism. We don’t have the shaky camera work that was the stamp of the
first three. We don’t have that reportage style. What is interesting is that
this film is about the legacy. If you have not seen the first three, you can
come in to this fresh. If you were a fan of the previous films in the series,
you get to see the curtain lifted and the man who has been in charge. I think
that is an incredible reveal. The movie is like peeling off onion layers. It is
a whole new operation. At the beginning, they cannot find Jason Bourne so we do
have a tie to the other films.
In
this film, we are now back in the world of BOURNE but with new players and a
new risk. Can you talk about how this all comes together?
Good
writing sets you up emotionally. The set-up is that Edward Norton’s character
has been in charge of the whole operation since the beginning. He has been the
behind-the-scenes puppet master for the first three movies. He has been behind
the curtain but now the curtain lifts and we meet Edward Norton’s character. We
find out that he needs to wipe out all the various operations, including the
one Jeremy Renner’s character is a part of. I am part of the science team that
has developed the science aspect of the operation and they come in and wipe out
my entire team. Every single person in my work place has been shot and I am
witness to it. That was pretty intense. The next day, I have three people from
the CIA come to my house to try and kill me. Jeremy’s character shows up and
saves me. From there we set out on this adventure to find out the truth.
What
drew you into the series?
I
loved the realism and the level of the acting. The acting was very realistic.
They are not superhero films but about real people. Jason Bourne was just a man
enhanced with special gifts. It could happen out there now. When you watch THE
AVENGERS, you like seeing the characters but you know they are not one of us.
When you see the BOURNE films, you can understand the man and identify with
what would happen to an ordinary man who got caught up in this government
program. I just identify with the realism. It is not fantasy. It could be
happening around the corner. That is exciting to me.
With
the science that has been developed, the government, in a strange way, has made
these men into drug addicts. Jeremy’s character keeps telling you that he
“needs the chems.”
The
issue for my character is that this is a huge moral conundrum. I am doing this
cutting edge science but I am told not to think of the moral implications of
this science. When I meet Aaron, I am told not to think. So, when it all blows
apart, I am morally compromised. What I have been doing for the government is
massively, morally compromised.
Does
that give you any food for thought morally about the grains of truth this film
explores?
I
know there are elements of truth. What we show is not science fiction. All that
we show can happen. Our story is fiction but totally realistic fiction. Tony
and I went to speak with some really high-powered scientists before the movie
and they told us that in certain areas some of these things are really happing.
It is scary but it is true.
Did
you like the opportunity to play a scientist? One presumes most scientists
don’t look as glamorous as you.
I
am an actor and I like to play various parts. My character, Marta, is not a
super hero. She is a real person. I did meet some scientists who dressed up and
wore lipstick but once this film gets going, it would look preposterous for
Marta to whip out a blow dryer. This is the real world she is in and she has to
deal with her environment.
Tony
Gilroy wrote the first three BOURNE films. Now he gets a chance to direct. Do
you feel he was emboldened with this responsibility?
Tony
was the writer on all of the other BOURNE films He masterminded the whole thing
and now he tells the fans, “You think you knew it all. You didn’t. You think
you knew who was in charge? You didn’t.” It is brilliant and fun.
What
was your assessment of working with Tony Gilroy?
It
was fantastic. I like to improvise and play with the piece when we shoot. Some
directors, who also write, don’t let you play around with their material but
Tony is fine with it. He is this great mixture of a brilliant wordsmith but he
also loves chaos. That is great because that is what acting is about, getting
chaotic in the moment. Tony is intellectually brilliant but loves the chaos.
Your
character goes through this wide range of emotions in the film. Does that come
naturally to you?
There
is not much smiling in the film. Marta is fighting for her life.
How
do you get to that emotional place?
There
is a whole scene to act so you just have to do the scene and hopefully the
reality of the situation takes over. You have to pretend that this is really
happening.
You
were a tomboy as a kid. Do you think that helps you make a movie like this?
Yes it does. I can climb trees and run. I am not too girly.
In
part of the movie, Marta is running for her life. Did you worry that you didn’t
want to run like a girl when the going got tough?
I
am flattered if you thought that I didn’t run like a girl. Women have wider
hips, so we tend to kick our feet out. We run like we run.
You
are not an actress we usually picture with a gun in her hand. When that
situation arises in THE BOURNE LEGACY does that put you in a different state of
mind?
Hmm,
it is a really scary situation. I don’t really shoot.
Was
it fun to be gripped on the back of that motorcycle?
I
just had to hold on (laugh). I don’t drive. It was terrifying.
Was
it fun to kick some ass?
My
role was a realistic journey about someone who has never had to fight for her
life. Marta has always been in a lab doing things with test tubes and she
suddenly has to learn to fight. She is not a super hero. She is a real person
who has to fight for her life.
Was
that the biggest challenge on the film?
The
stunts were the challenge. There are a lot in the film. In Manila, we have this
huge chase scene on a motorcycle and Jeremy and I did most of it. We drove
through that city and jumped over bridges and crashed into buses. I was way out
of my comfort zone.
When
does ego step in and allow you to ask for a stunt double?
I
would say about 99% of the time Jeremy and I were doing the stunts. Jeremy is a
really good rider. He is just very physically adept at stunts. He is agile and
fluid and beautiful to watch. I felt safe with him. We practiced for a couple
of weeks in a big parking lot.
Was
there an adrenaline rush?
Oh
yes, but I had a lot of trust. Sometime when you watch a film, you see action
scenes and car crashes and you just know that it is fake. Here we are on the
streets of Manila, on this bike, going fast. Audiences can see that this was
really happening.
You
don’t do each scene once. You have to do them numerous times. How do you keep
your adrenaline up?
You
need a lot of takes and your body starts to rebel. You do get some aches and
pains. I did something to my elbow while we were running through the streets of
Manila. I jammed it and it still sort of hurts. Sometimes you have to look
completely desperate and after take thirty, you don’t have to act anymore
because you are feeling that way (laugh).
At
one point in the film, Jeremy calls your character naïve. When was the last
time someone called you naïve? And what was the circumstance?
I
cannot recall someone calling me naïve. My character is in a very particular
situation. She is not naïve. She is just not morally thinking about the
implications of her actions. Have I had regrets about things? Have I made
mistakes? Is that naïve? I think it is just being human. It is all about trying
things that you have never done to get the experience. You never know how any
decisions will turn out, so maybe we are all naïve.
How
delicate has the balance been for you to keep your personal life and
professional life separate? Fame can consume one’s life. Can you fight being
famous?
I
see them as two separate things. I cannot say that I am not a celebrity at this
point. That would be silly.
How
difficult is the balance between being a mother and the demands of acting?
Of
course it is difficult, but it is difficult for any working mother. All moms
face the challenge. I am lucky that I work extensively and then I am off. Some
moms work all day and they get home late and have to be a mom.
Being
a mother of a young boy, is it like being in an action movie all the time?
Not
really. For my son’s birthday, he just got this little plastic lie detector
test. He makes me put my fingers on it, and he asks me questions. I turn it
around on him and ask questions like, “Did you eat your vegetables at school
today?” It has been fun.
What
are your criteria for choosing a film?
Sometimes
you seek things out and sometimes you are chosen. The reasons vary. It can be
the director or the material. With OZ, I chose that film. It is the prequel to
THE WIZARD OF OZ. I wanted to do it because it was something I have never done
before. I play the Wicked Witch of the East. She is really evil and the role
was different from anything I had ever done before. I just read it and knew I
wanted to play that character. That was a challenge. I got to be in a whole new
universe where lightning bolts shoot out of my fingertips. When does one get to
do something like that? It was like being a kid.
The
movie is called THE BOURNE LEGACY. What kind of legacy do you hope to have?
Beyond
my child, I cannot think of anything. I am sure there will be some movies on
DVD that might be a legacy. Hopefully my carbon footprint won’t be too big. We
filmed in a disadvantaged area of Manila and I funded a playground for the kids
there. They had no resources there to do it themselves. I actually wanted to
call it THE BOURNE LEGACY, but we couldn’t for legal reasons. Is that a legacy?
“The Bourne Legacy” is
released and distributed by
United International Pictures through
Solar
Entertainment Corp.
Showing
on August 8, 2012, Nationwide!
