Subject: Actresses on set with Oliver Stone Posted By: J-.J. (norsemen@club-internet.fr) Date Posted: 1/11/2010 1:36:12 PM Number Of Times Message Viewed: 84

In the Hollywood Reporter: Awards Watch: Actresses II By Christopher Lisotta Maggie Gyllenhaall was nervous. It was her first week of production on 2006's "World Trade Center" and the actress admits she had trepidations about working with Oliver Stone, a director she'd admired for "Nixon" and "Platoon" but who -- she assumed -- could be a tad intense. And then she blew two takes of a big, emotional scene. When Stone approached her, both were concerned. Gyllenhaal asked for help, and Stone did something the actress never expected. He took her hands, looked in her eyes and said: "I give you the power of Zeus." Those words worked magic. They gave Gyllenhaal (who co-stars in this year's "Crazy Heart") just the confidence she needed, and from that point on it was smooth sailing. Few directors associate themselves so overtly with a god (covertly is another matter), but their power on a set is undisputed. Other factors that are equally extraneous to how an actress and director get on can also impact their working relationship, as Carey Mulligan found with Stone. "I get really camera-phobic," she explains. "We shot something on 'Wall Street' (Stone's upcoming sequel to the original film) where I had a complete meltdown because it was a Steadicam (shot). They covered (Shia LaBeouf) because it was a big emotional scene for him and then they turned round to me -- and I hadn't filmed since May and so when the camera came toward me, I thought, 'Oh, what -- !" Mulligan began to cry. "And I just suddenly thought, 'I'm an actress, why am I crying? It's not real and I'm wearing a costume and I'm (playing) an American. This is bizarre!' " Stone, she says, "had to come and talk me through it." But he was helped by outside factors that most outsiders might never consider, in this case a great crew. "I need the whole crew to give me hugs -- do you know that feeling?" Mulligan says. "If the grip is cuddling you, you're good with everyone." This message currently has had 1 reply messages posted. RE: Actresses on set with Oliver Stone -- 1/11/2010 2:24:39 PM posted by dan