It's nothing he didn't say about her when they were just friends.
I think this is probably an indirect response to her in depth interview. I'm sure he was asked about their relationship and things she said and instead of getting angry, uptight or defensive about his love life being up for public discussion he's saying it's not only part of the territory in being an actor but there's no shame about a part of his life that was good. He's not going to deny her right to share her own feelings and life or pretend people won't be curious. That doesn't mean he's gong to open up about anything truly private or intimate.
Octavia Spencer doesn’t let her battle with dyslexia hold her back.
The actress, 46, opened up about growing up with dyslexia, revealing how her teachers taught her how to overcome her learning disability in school.
“I was a dyslexic child and am a dyslexic adult; that doesn’t really mean that you’re not intelligent — it just means that your brain functions differently,” Spencer told WENN. “I was actually tested for the gifted program in my school because I was more auditorially inclined than visually.”
Spencer — who stars in the new drama Gifted, out April 7 — said having dyslexia actually gave her an edge when it came to solving puzzles.
“I just remember thinking differently. I could solve puzzles quicker than the average child,” she said. “I would start with the mazes at the end and go to the front and be done in, like, 30 seconds. My deductive reasoning was very important.”
She credits her teachers for giving her the motivation to overcome her learning disability and pinpoint her other strengths.
“You have to allow kids to be kids,” she said. “You also need to nurture their thirst for knowledge. I don’t know that allowing them to skip grades is good because then they end up in a grade with people who are much more mature than they are.”
“They’re also teaching them and shaping their views about themselves,” she added. “I feel very fortunate that in the public school system in Montgomery, Alabama, I had some wonderful teachers.”
Having trouble dealing with how sweet this girl is!! She is coping so incredibly well .... and Uncle Chris is doing a passable job of looking after her.
"The movie came to life every time you were on the screen." Stan Lee to Chris Evans.
It's nothing he didn't say about her when they were just friends.
I think this is probably an indirect response to her in depth interview. I'm sure he was asked about their relationship and things she said and instead of getting angry, uptight or defensive about his love life being up for public discussion he's saying it's not only part of the territory in being an actor but there's no shame about a part of his life that was good. He's not going to deny her right to share her own feelings and life or pretend people won't be curious. That doesn't mean he's gong to open up about anything truly private or intimate.
People are giving it too much weight on a soundbite which is on People, which we all know how much they could have edited his words to fit what they want to put in their movie, and also, it was quoted even more out of context on yahoo. the quote about Jenny is the same thing he said about her a year ago at Anna's podcast, and the comment about people talking about his private life, is a generic quote about being on the spotlight, applied in context by People and Yahoo as if he were referring to his reacent break up, it makes it look like he is all happy about having his life discussed, specially after that article on Vulture.
Octavia Spencer on child prodigies, faith and superheroes
The first thing Octavia Spencer says after assessing my outfit is, “This is cute, honey, I love this!”
I tell her I have to put on my A game at 10 o’clock in the morning. She smiles and says, “Well I got a team, but you did that on your own. Beautiful!”
This is a woman full of life. She’s open to everyone and shows kindness to the room. She also knows how to work a crowd, making us laugh with an anecdote of how she left her straw in the other room as she sips her glass of Coke.
Spencer is here promoting her latest movie, Fox Searchlight’s “Gifted,” directed by Marc Webb and starring Chris Evans as loving, kind uncle Frank Adler and Mckenna Grace as his math prodigy niece Mary. She plays the nurturing, fiercely protective neighbor Roberta, Mary’s best friend.
The two-time Oscar nominee is fresh off her success in “Hidden Figures,” in which Taraji P. Henson’s character math prodigy Katherine Johnson is able to flourish and become a NASA mathematician. Yet in “Gifted,” 7-year-old Mary is stifled inside the regular classroom as well as the professional world. I ask Spencer how her experience in these two movies have shaped her opinions about balancing the nurturing of a gifted child and still keeping that inner child intact.
“I think that’s a slippery slope. If we could solve that one problem, there wouldn’t be so many crazy custody battles,” she says. “Education is very important and I think providing a space for a gifted child to flourish is important. But I also think you have to allow them to be a kid. Their mind and their intellect already ages them. And childhood once it’s gone it’s gone and you don’t get to revisit it. You have to provide a space for them to be able to do both. That’s the optimum outcome.”
Though she wasn’t a math prodigy, Spencer was exceptionally bright for her age growing up. And in that way, she could see herself in Mary’s character—inquisitive, intelligent, and not to mention a little bit sassy.
“Every time [Mary] asked questions, I thought, ‘oh my god she is so annoying,’ but I love her, because that’s me,” she says emphatically.
The role of Roberta is relatively small, but Spencer recognized that this wasn’t Roberta’s story. She was the first to be attached to the project because she loved the storyline, and after all, “There is no small role,” she clarifies.
When she heard Evans was circling the project, she quickly told him to hop on board. They had previously worked on “Snowpiercer” together. “Gifted” was such a fun set, she says, so much so she went to watch them film even on her days off.
One particular day ended up being one of her favorite moments in the making of the film. The cast was shooting at the beach and the filmmakers were able to capture a scene with Evans and Grace as silhouettes against a huge setting sun.
“I will never ever forget it. I made Marc save the screencapture,” says Spencer, recalling the beautiful moment. “They did the sunball. It’s a giant setting sun. To me it was a beautiful metaphor of just how small we are in the real world, yet connected to everything. They were tiny silhouettes in front of the sun. We rushed down the beach—everyone was so quick. When they got the shot, I started clapping. It was one of my favorite moments.”
In that scene, Evans’ and Grace’s characters are discussing the possible existence of God. He tells her that he doesn’t know, but the scene is left very open-ended as to how Grace will one day make up her mind.
“I loved his response to her and it was the best response possible,” she says. “He left her free to shape her own choice. He didn’t dismiss it and he didn’t tell her what to think. She’s going to have to come to a conclusion on her own. But he’s also not a person who’s taking her to church every Sunday. It’s great because that’s not his belief, but he’s not telling her she shouldn’t believe.”
'Gifted' star Mckenna Grace lights up the screen and livens up an interview Wednesday
By Ed Symkus More Content Now A few weeks ago, on one of those late-night TV talk shows, some frustrated young actress was going on and on about how there just aren't enough good parts for women these days. But, hold on. A quick glance on the Internet Movie Data Base (imdb.com) under the name Mckenna Grace shows 41 credits, ranging from TV movies ("Marvel's Most Wanted") to TV series ("Designated Survivor") to a soap opera ("The Young and the Restless") to feature films ("Mr. Church"). She now stars, opposite Chris Evans and Octavia Spencer, in the upcoming feature film "Gifted."
Oh, one other thing: Mckenna Grace is 10. Playing a brilliant mathematics wizard who becomes the object of a custody battle in "Gifted," she absolutely steals the film away from her costars. Her character, Mary, doesn't come across as precocious or overbearing or super sweet. Grace nails the part, portraying Mary as a normal little girl who can laugh and play and have a loving relationship with her guardian uncle (Evans), but who just happens to be, as the title suggests, gifted. She spoke about the film and about her craft by phone from Los Angeles, and proved to be charming, sharp, and insightful.
Q: When did you first have the idea of going into acting? A: I love Shirley Temple, and I've always wanted to be like Shirley Temple. But to be completely honest, I've also always wanted to be in "The Pee-Wee Herman Show."
Q: The acting business is pretty crazy, with a lot of ups and downs. Did anyone ever take you aside and give you advice about it? A: Well, my mom told me if you do your best, then you know that you did all you could have done, and you can do anything you put your mind to.
Q: You are very real in the movie. You don't appear to be acting. And you get to do both funny and serious things. So, are you acting or is that mostly the actual Mckenna on the screen? A: It's both. It's acting and it's me. I enjoy doing serious. It's fun, but it is acting. And it's not that hard; it's only hard when I have to go to a dark place, and get sad.
Q: What was it like the first time you had a discussion about Mary with your director, Marc Webb? Did you have any ideas for how you were going to play her? A: I don't remember giving him any ideas for Mary, but we had a really great connection when we first met. There was one thing that may have helped me in the audition. They had given me the wrong lines (of dialogue) when I walked in to the director session, and they said, "Oh, no! We're sorry. Do you want to reschedule?" And I said, "No, just give me about 5 minutes." Then I did the new lines.
Q: Tell me a little bit about Mary. Introduce her. A: Mary has a lot of things that she struggles with in her life. We all go through a time where we feel like we don't fit in, that we feel different. That's how I think we can all relate with Mary. She's a very emotional little girl. She can make you laugh, she can make you cry, she can make you angry at times. She's a wonderful character, and I'm not saying that just because I played her. I fell in love with her the first time I read the script.
Q: You have a lot of technical dialogue and you work with complicated equations in the movie. What kind of research did you do for the part? A: I turned all of the equations into songs that I sang inside my head whenever I had to write them down. And I watched a lot of movies to get emotionally prepared for it. Like I watched "Paper Moon," I watched "Kramer vs. Kramer," I watched "I Am Sam." Then whenever I would go on set and do the lines and do the scene a couple of times, Marc might say, "'Paper Moon,' Mckenna," which meant do it more angry. It was fun to have our own little secret language.
Q: How did you find out you got the part in "Gifted?" A: My mom picked up the phone one day, and her jaw dropped. And I said, "What is it? What happened?" She looked over at me and said, "You got 'Gifted!'" I looked at her and said, "Is this a joke?" I was running around and screaming, "Oh, my gosh!" And I was bawling and bawling. It was one of the best days of my entire life.
Q: How did you celebrate? A: I think I ate a cupcake that night.
Q: There are quite a few videos of you singing your favorite song "Imagine" on YouTube. Are you planning to have a singing career, too? A: Yes, I've always wanted to be a singer. And I've always wanted to do a musical. Being in a musical is on my bucket list.
"Gifted" opens on April 7. -- Ed Symkus writes about movies for More Content Now.
Chris Evans Has Nothing but Good Things to Say About His Ex and Gifted Costar Jenny Slate: ‘She’s My Favorite Human’
By Kara Warner
Posted on March 29, 2017
Chris Evans and Jenny Slate are friendly ex relationship goals.
Although their romantic relationship ended earlier this year, the Gifted costars have remained friends and share genuine respect and admiration for one other.
“She’s my favorite human,” Evans tells PEOPLE of Slate. “She’s the best. I’ve never ever ever met someone in my life who has a mastery of the English language the way she does. She’ll give you one sentence and there’s no fat to it. You’re like, ‘You just chose such an unbelievable collection of words that beautifully articulate what you say.’
“It’s like an art form talking with her, because the visuals associated with her expression are just so colorful,” he continues. “She’s so vulnerable, so honest, so interested in other people more than herself, she’s incredibly compassionate, there’s just nothing to not love about her.”
Evans and Slate, both 35, met while filming their new movie, Gifted, a drama about a man who struggles with how to parent his niece, a child prodigy. Slate, who plays the young prodigy’s teacher and Evans’s love interest in the film, recently expressed similar sentiments, praising the Captain America star’s kindness, joyful energy and “beautiful, big, strong emotions.”
Evans has always been very careful and private about certain details he shares about his personal life, but he understands the public’s interest.
“I chose to be an actor, you can’t be an actor and then be like, “I’m pissed people want to know about me!’ ” he says. “To some degree I welcome it, because I’ve always found that for the most part, in interviews, being anything less than candid feels wrong. To some degree it feels right to share certain things. So, I’m not too sour if all the sudden it feels like there’s a large influx in curiosity.”
He adds: “It’s not a bad thing. And you know what, if the things you’re doing and the things you’re surrounding yourself with are quality people and they are beautiful experiences, there’s no shame in sharing.”
In the end he's not sharing anything more personal than what he's shared about co-stars/friends like Scarlett or even McKenna.
Absolutely EVERYTHING about this film is blowing me away so far. Is it going to replace Puncture as my favourite Evans movie? We'll see.
@bob I see what you mean about the father spark. I get it totally too.
Re. Jenny. So weird when exes heap praises on each other like that. You can't help wondering if they love each other so much what went wrong? I get how Jenny might be freaked out by the fame but if you really adore someone any shit is better than the shit of being without them. Maybe they'll get back together à la Kelly. Maybe not. I wonder how the questions about do you want to be a dad would have sounded if he and Jenny were still dating?!
At the risk of getting female hearts fluttering I am thinking of something Michael Cain said years back when asked about his lifelong marriage. He said basically the secret was that when he was away filming the family upped sticks and went with him. I see RDJ has a similar routine. So if he wants that family I'd urge him to look for partners outside of showbiz. If the girl is unknown the press are oddly indifferent to them. How many people can actually name the non-famous spouses of famous actors? He could do with someone who could put their career on hold and be a full time parent. Being a famous actor seems to consume one's life so two together is on a hiding to nothing. However, one of my favourite quotes ever is 'you love who you love. It sucks.' You all know that one. Whatever, he's a hugely loved uncle.
Anyway, back to the film. I am totally loving every single thing about it.
In addition to the strain of large fame and it's intrusion into their day to day lives, it just may have been too soon after her break up with her husband. She's said she never lived alone before and it's probably something she needs to do.
RDJ's wife is very much in the business. She's a producer which is how they met, he worked on her movie Gothica. She tells a cute story that she never expected to marry or have kids and that if she had been inclined RDJ with his history would never have come to mind. RDJ points out she was the big bread winner when they were first together. Now they're partners in their production company and do projects together. Since she's her own boss her career is malleable and she can go and live on location with him and their children. It's also easier for them both to do that now when their children are so young, when they get older it might change things. RDJ also now takes significant time off between projects like Chris. That's an enormous luxury most people don't have.
Different strokes though. I doubt Amal Clooney is going to put her career on hold after she has twins. And as pointed out before Military spouses manage to survive through long deployments and that's certainly more stressful on a relationship than any actor going away to make a movie for a few months - especially one who can afford a lot of plane tickets.
When you mentioned Amal Clooney it reminded me of a story in the papers here recently about George Clooney paying a quick visit to an elderly lady. I love how they referred to him as husband of lawyer Amal Clooney turning the usual cliche on its head.
You can't help wondering if they love each other so much what went wrong?
that's actually simple; human beings did not evolve to be monogamous for a lifetime. that doesn't mean society can't encourage it, but people have to get into it knowing that it's an uphill battle. out of over 5000 mammalian species, there are literally fewer than a dozen that maintain lifetime monogamy. and anyone who wishes to be honest, has to admit, this propensity for promiscuity (i.e., to sow the wild oats) has served humanity and life in general very well--it's the main reason we're here. it was the only way to circumvent the historically cruel circumstances of human existence--most of your babies died, the only way around it was to have lots of them. this is still true in huge parts of the world. besides this it encourages a very generous exchange of genetic material. you can see this in the oldest form of life on the planet, bacteria. their exchange of resistance and survival determinants causes us endless mischief. the evidence for this is literally all around us but we refuse to acknowledge it because of 2000 year old stories from the desert and our inability to separate culture from superstitious nonsense.
scarlett just got her second divorce. out of the avengers cast, more of them have been divorced and remarried than been in a single marriage. the surprise would actually be if chris makes it work with one person his whole life, speaking purely in terms of statistics.
sigh. first two reviews are up on RT--negative. i knew the twitter response was too good to be true. ah well. that's the nature of the beast. unfortunately i think chris' tastes runs to the sentimental.
sigh. first two reviews are up on RT--negative. i knew the twitter response was too good to be true. ah well. that's the nature of the beast. unfortunately i think chris' tastes runs to the sentimental.
Ugh, I hate RT.
re monogamy. The etymology of that word is from the two Greek words 'monos' meaning single and 'gamos' meaning wedding. So really it means somebody only marrying once, which is already less usual than it was. I work with kids and they always ask 'sir, are you married?' I have recently had 'is it your first marriage?'
As you journey through life you change and I'm thinking if you both change in a way that still fits together it's definitely partly hard work but a large part is probably pure luck.
Anyway, hate RT.
"The movie came to life every time you were on the screen." Stan Lee to Chris Evans.
sigh. first two reviews are up on RT--negative. i knew the twitter response was too good to be true. ah well. that's the nature of the beast. unfortunately i think chris' tastes runs to the sentimental.
Both still say good things about his performance (all the performances really). The Hollywood Reporter and The Wrap aren't on RT yet but they're positive. Indiewire is mixed but also says good things about the performances and calls the film solid.
