I attended an all paid press trip to facilitate the review of Tomorrowland. All opinions shared, and my excitement for #Tomorrowland is 100% my own. #TomorrowlandEvent
Disney’s new film Tomorrowland is charged with great acting. Case and point, Ms. Britt Robertson. If you have seen her in previous roles, she is indeed a rising star. Additionally, she plays a pivotal role in this film. I was more than curious to know how she felt about owning such an important role in the movie being that she is, obviously, a woman, and more than that, a young one, taking on dreams and the future. She is asking “Can we fix it?” and that caught me from the onset.
Before we begin, in Disney’s riveting mystery adventure “Tomorrowland,” a jaded scientist and an optimistic teen embark on a danger-filled mission to unearth the secrets of an enigmatic place somewhere in time and space. This optimistic teen is Casey Newton, the daughter of a NASA engineer who is about to be laid off now that the space program has been all but shut down, Robertson says, “She’s this really smart chick who has always wanted to be an astronaut. It’s her passion and what she and her father have bonded over. Casey has this drive to do big things and change the world; she wants the world to be a place that’s full of hope and inspiration, but she doesn’t know how to make it so.” Without further due, Getting to Know Britt Robertson and Casey from Tomorrowland #TomorrowlandEvent
As she walked in the room I saw a confident beautiful young lady striding in with superb fashion sense. She was all smiles and clapping right back at us 🙂
The first question asked to Britt Robertson requested her to share about her audition process. It really took us all by surprise to discover how extensive it was. Here is her answer:
BR: “It was very lengthy. I started auditioning for the movie the November before we started shooting, so November of like two thousand twelve, I think. I had like multiple auditions from November to July. I first sent in a tape from New York in November, and then I went in for Brad Bird, and the casting people, a few times. After that, right around May they brought me in to do a full read with Brad. At that point they flew me to Vancouver to actually do a screen test with Raffey Cassidy who plays Athena. From that point, like a week later they told me that I got the part.
We asked her what was it about the movie that captivated her. To this she replied:
BR: “You know, the story itself is really sweet. It’s an original idea, and it’s something that I had never thought about. It really covers the future, how we look at our future, and how as a society, we can actually influence our future and make it the world that we want to live in. And, I thought that that was a really powerful message and especially for a young woman to be the lead in a movie like this was, was really cool for me.
You know it, this was perfect timing for my curiosity to be satisfied! I had ants in my pants, so the question did not delay any further:
Question: My next question for you and rebounding on that, is, how did you feel about being the hero of the movie?
BR: Well, [LAUGHS] you know, it’s great, it’s a really great thing to be the hero of a movie like this – A Disney film, and to be a young woman and carry a movie like that! I found it really intimidating, but luckily Brad Bird is such a wonderful human being and he’s a family man. He understands people on a very real level, so I think he gave me the encouragement to be brave and just take it one day at a time. So that I wasn’t too overwhelmed by being the hero.
Question : How much of you is there in Casey? Similarities, differences.
BR: I think her mindset is very different from mine. Not so much anymore because I’ve adopted a lot of her traits and characteristics because I like her [LAUGHS] and I think she’s a cool chick.
Question: George Clooney said great things about working with the two, (referring to Raffey Cassidy) so what was it like for you to work with George Clooney?
BR: You have all the expectations of a person like that. A movie star and what that means. For me, if I was George Clooney, I don’t know that I would be able to handle it as well as he has. That was what was so surprising to me. Being able to be around him, and see how he’s just completely himself. Its like, he hasn’t been lost in the process of becoming George Clooney – the star. He’s still the person that he wants to be, and working with him made me realize you can still be who you want to be in this industry. You don’t have to be tainted by the process or the people. He’s so professional and I just learned a lot from him. In case you want to read more about what George Clooney had to say about Tomorrowland, read our exclusive interview to him here .
Question: The term retro-futuristic has been coined for this film. Did that change how you prepared for your role or, or how did that impact how you prepared for the role?
BR: I didn’t think about that. With a lot of films (out there), there’s genres that sort of pigeonhole an idea or film, and in my experience working for, a short period of time, but most of my life, I’ve realized that if you start getting caught up in ideas or genres then it can actually affect a film in a negative way because you’re thinking too much about the end goal, and not enough about the story and the moment.
This is always my favorite to know – Question: What was your favorite scene to shoot?
BR: I loved all the pin experience scenes. There’s one in particular where I end up out in a lake. It’s not even a lake. It is a swamp really, in Florida. What was so cool about it is,in Florida swamps there’s alligators. I was on the hunt for an alligator the entire time I was there. We were actually out in the water and they had spotted some. But, something about just being in the water and having to also create these little pin experiences, it was just a lot of fun.
Hey, I live in Florida and I am positively on the spying game with alligators whenever we are in or around water or lots of lush green. She is a brave one too!
On talking about filming the movie, Britt Robertson also filled us in on the fact that she needs a baseball bat to protect herself from people after her in Tomorrowland. She giggles as she said that she was given batting lessons and was practicing on a dummy. This strong young lady said she was sure she didn’t need any lessons hurting anyone that wanted to harm her. She would be ready to attack them with all her power. And power away she did in the scene where a stunt man replaced the dummy! She thinks at that point the lines of George Clooney, her co-star, were not so much acting anymore when she asks her to relent. She is certain it he was concerned for the stuntman she was interacting with.
Question: What about working with Hugh Laurie?
BR: Oh, Hugh Laurie is just such a gem. I remember being in the makeup trailer with him, and every day there was a new fun fact about life, but not even a fun fact. He would give you stories and theories on life. He’s really informed of everything that’s going on, so I sort of looked at him like a book of knowledge. He’s also really talented.
Overall I get the sense that filming Tomorrowland was the experience of a lifetime with an incredible cast that was taken by the vision of the film. Soon I will be sharing with you a few more interviews plus my thoughts on this family movie that will be in theaters on May 22. I hope you are making plans to see it together!
For now, enjoy this new featurette, and keep following the conversation at #TomorrowlandEvent!
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