美国国家公共电台 NPR Actress Sigourney Weaver Talks About Redefining The Leading Lady Role

 

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: 

Now we're going to spend a few minutes with a woman who's redefined what it means to be a leading lady. Sigourney Weaver¹ starred in the "Alien" movie franchise² of the 1980s. Since then, she has cemented her icon³ status with memorable⁴ roles in movies ranging from "Ghostbusters" to "Avatar." She narrated⁵ the American version of the BBC's hugely popular "Planet Earth" series. Her voice is so recognizable that it was even a subplot in Pixar's "Finding Dory." And now she's in a new film which also focuses on a family on a quest of sorts, but it is very different. It's adapted from the dark children's fantasy novel by Patrick Ness. It's called "A Monster Calls," and it centers on a thoughtful, creative 12-year-old boy named Conor O'Malley who's negotiating some of the familiar turmoil⁶ of adolescence⁷ - bullying⁸, an absent dad - while also navigating⁹ deep feelings about his mother's cancer, feelings that come to life embodied¹⁰ by a monster of his own imagination.

Sigourney Weaver is the grandmother struggling with her own fear and sadness in a performance that is both powerful and understated. And Sigourney Weaver is with us now from New York. Sigourney Weaver, thank you so much for speaking with us.

SIGOURNEY WEAVER: It's my pleasure.

MARTIN: So first, of course, I wanted to ask what drew you to this particular role?

WEAVER: Well, I loved Juan Antonio Bayona - the director's two movies that I had seen "The Orphanage¹²" and "The Impossible." So it was actually the chance to work with him that I first jumped at. The role was a bit off-putting because she is not a sort of cozy¹³, jolly grandmother. She's quite forbidding, and if you were to make this story into a fairy tale, she would be sort of like the wicked queen. So it was the chance to work with him because I thought this was the perfect marriage of a director and a story.

MARTIN: Well, let's play a scene talking about grandma who is a kind of a severe figure, and there's a scene in which Conor, who's the boy at the center of this, has to stay with her while his mom is undergoing another course of chemotherapy.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "A MONSTER CALLS")

WEAVER: (As Grandma) When you go to the hospital, your father may not notice how tired your mom is getting. OK? So we have to make sure that he doesn't overstay his welcome, not that that's historically been a problem. No eggs. You've already had eggs twice this week. If you get hungry, there's spinach¹⁴ in the fridge which you can steam.

LEWIS: (As Conor) Yeah, sure.

WEAVER: (As Grandma) Don't touch anything.

MARTIN: Tell us a little bit more about how you thought about her. And I'll just say for myself one of the things that I really admired about your performance is that it would have been easy to kind of overdo¹⁵ it in either direction, you know, make her a real nightmare or just to try to soften¹⁶ her edges. But you also really allow yourself to show the pain that she's feeling as a mother whose daughter is very ill. So talk to me a little bit, if you would, about how you thought about it.

WEAVER: Well, I guess I first looked at it - I'm very close to my daughter. And I thought to be in a situation like this when you didn't have good communication with your daughter would already be so heartbreaking. And my character is - first of all, it's rather rare when you play an older character in a movie in a supporting role to even get an arc. But in this case, the grandmother is quite forbidding in the beginning with all kinds of rules and not very empathetic to her grandson. And by the end, that armor that defines her for the first part of the story has been literally¹⁷ torn away practically. And you just see she's a woman who loves her daughter and is losing her and who loves her grandson and is going to make it work.

MARTIN: Conor's mother is struggling with an illness and over the course of the film, you see the toll¹⁸ that it takes. I think I'm thinking of the point at which it becomes really clear...

WEAVER: Yeah.

MARTIN: ...That the situation is as dire¹¹. And, you know, we live in a very compartmentalized world now. A lot of people - unless you've had somebody in your own life who's been very sick, a lot of people don't know what that's like, right?

WEAVER: Yeah.

MARTIN: They don't know what it's like to be up close and have to hold somebody who's really sick and struggling, and I think that your character shows what it's like to be right there.

WEAVER: Well, that really means a lot because we had the time to do some research on our roles, and I remember Felicity Jones who plays my daughter - we went to a couple of hospices in England in the North to find out exactly what care was needed at each stage of any illness and where, you know, I wanted to know what could I do, you know, when you feel so helpless? What small things could I do that a very ill person would appreciate? And, you know, I took care of my aging parents. That was something I learned a lot from, but this was very specific. And we - Felicity and I and Bayona certainly, too - wanted to be as respectful as we could be to the specifics of the story.

MARTIN: Who do you think this movie is for? It doesn't feel like your typical holiday family fare, but who do you think it's for?

WEAVER: Well, in a way, I feel this is such an old-fashioned sort of classic movie the way our stories used to be in literature, Dickens and I guess I feel like to watch this boy conjure¹⁹ up this other life and this companion monster teacher to go on these journeys with, all the elements are there for - to me what is a sort of classic tale. And it's really a mix of genres²⁰ as I think any great story is, so I hope that families will go. I think so many families are touched by illness and loss, and we kind of overprotect our children often, you know, we sanitize. And in this case, I think that the story is written with great respect for the point of view of the child and how hard it is and how frightened they can get if they don't have information.

MARTIN: Can I ask you while I have you about another movie?

WEAVER: OK.

MARTIN: Very different. Earlier this summer, your voice appeared in "Finding Dory." It's a surprisingly big role that runs throughout the film with all the fish and the - all the aquatic²¹ animals talking about you. How did you wind up playing yourself in it? Did you know you were going to be such a big part of the movie?

WEAVER: Well, I think not even Andrew Stanton knew I was going to be a big part of the movie. I think - I worked with Andrew on "Wall-E," and I'm a great fan. And I think when he was working on the movie, I was like a temp idea. I mean, I remember Andrew called and said, you know, I just want you to do a couple of lines, and I don't even know if it'll be in the movie.

So we met eventually, I did a couple of lines, and I don't think that he or I had any idea that they would use it so much and that it would become kind of a running gag. And, frankly²², as someone who is involved with conservation, I was so flattered when the fish - when Dory said my friend, Sigourney. I was so touched by that because, even though I eat one occasionally, I do consider myself a friend of the fish.

MARTIN: (Laughter).

WEAVER: I hope I am. I think it's such a marvelous movie. I was delighted to be a part of it.

MARTIN: Sigourney Weaver is an Oscar-nominated actor. Her latest film "A Monster Calls" opens this Friday. She was kind enough to speak to us from New York. Sigourney Weaver, thank you so much for speaking with us.

WEAVER: Thank you so much for having me.

1 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

2 franchise   

n.特许，特权，专营权，特许权

参考例句：

• Catering in the schools is run on a franchise basis.学校餐饮服务以特许权经营。
• The United States granted the franchise to women in 1920.美国于1920年给妇女以参政权。

3 icon   

n.偶像，崇拜的对象，画像

参考例句：

• They found an icon in the monastery.他们在修道院中发现了一个圣像。
• Click on this icon to align or justify text.点击这个图标使文本排齐。

4 memorable   

adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的

参考例句：

• This was indeed the most memorable day of my life.这的确是我一生中最值得怀念的日子。
• The veteran soldier has fought many memorable battles.这个老兵参加过许多难忘的战斗。

5 narrated   

v.故事( narrate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Some of the story was narrated in the film. 该电影叙述了这个故事的部分情节。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Defoe skilfully narrated the adventures of Robinson Crusoe on his desert island. 笛福生动地叙述了鲁滨逊·克鲁索在荒岛上的冒险故事。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

7 adolescence   

n.青春期，青少年

参考例句：

• Adolescence is the process of going from childhood to maturity.青春期是从少年到成年的过渡期。
• The film is about the trials and tribulations of adolescence.这部电影讲述了青春期的麻烦和苦恼。

8 bullying   

v.恐吓，威逼( bully的现在分词 )；豪；跋扈

参考例句：

• Many cases of bullying go unreported . 很多恐吓案件都没有人告发。
• All cases of bullying will be severely dealt with. 所有以大欺小的情况都将受到严肃处理。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 navigating   

v.给（船舶、飞机等）引航，导航( navigate的现在分词 )；（从海上、空中等）横越；横渡；飞跃

参考例句：

• These can also be very useful when navigating time-based documents, such as video and audio. 它对于和时间有关的文档非常有用，比如视频和音频文档。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• Vehicles slowed to a crawl on city roads, navigating slushy snow. 汽车在市区路上行驶缓慢，穿越泥泞的雪地。 来自互联网

10 embodied   

v.表现( embody的过去式和过去分词 )；象征；包括；包含

参考例句：

• a politician who embodied the hopes of black youth 代表黑人青年希望的政治家
• The heroic deeds of him embodied the glorious tradition of the troops. 他的英雄事迹体现了军队的光荣传统。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 dire   

adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的

参考例句：

• There were dire warnings about the dangers of watching too much TV.曾经有人就看电视太多的危害性提出严重警告。
• We were indeed in dire straits.But we pulled through.那时我们的困难真是大极了，但是我们渡过了困难。

12 orphanage   

n.孤儿院

参考例句：

• They dispensed new clothes to the children in the orphanage.他们把新衣服发给孤儿院的小孩们。
• They gave the proceeds of the sale to the orphanage.他们把销售的收入给了这家孤儿院。

13 cozy   

adj.亲如手足的，密切的，暖和舒服的

参考例句：

• I like blankets because they are cozy.我喜欢毛毯，因为他们是舒适的。
• We spent a cozy evening chatting by the fire.我们在炉火旁聊天度过了一个舒适的晚上。

14 spinach   

n.菠菜

参考例句：

• Eating spinach is supposed to make you strong.据说吃菠菜能使人强壮。
• You should eat such vegetables as carrot,celery and spinach.你应该吃胡萝卜、芹菜和菠菜这类的蔬菜。

15 overdo   

vt.把...做得过头，演得过火

参考例句：

• Do not overdo your privilege of reproving me.不要过分使用责备我的特权。
• The taxi drivers' association is urging its members,who can work as many hours as they want,not to overdo it.出租车司机协会劝告那些工作时长不受限制的会员不要疲劳驾驶。

16 soften   

v.(使)变柔软；(使)变柔和

参考例句：

• Plastics will soften when exposed to heat.塑料适当加热就可以软化。
• This special cream will help to soften up our skin.这种特殊的护肤霜有助于使皮肤变得柔软。

17 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

18 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

19 conjure   

v.恳求，祈求；变魔术，变戏法

参考例句：

• I conjure you not to betray me.我恳求你不要背弃我。
• I can't simply conjure up the money out of thin air.我是不能像变魔术似的把钱变来。

20 genres   

（文学、艺术等的）类型，体裁，风格( genre的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Novel and short story are different genres. 长篇小说和短篇小说是不同的类别。
• But confusions over the two genres have a long history. 但是类型的混淆，古已有之。 来自汉英文学 - 散文英译

21 aquatic   

adj.水生的，水栖的

参考例句：

• Aquatic sports include swimming and rowing.水上运动包括游泳和划船。
• We visited an aquatic city in Italy.我们在意大利访问过一个水上城市。

22 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。