Civil War star Kirsten Dunst says film ‘really terrified me’

Published

9 months ago

April 12, 2024

admin

It’s more than 150 years since the American Civil War, but in Oscar-nominated director Alex Garland’s new film the present-day United States is divided – and the country is at war with itself again.

In Civil War, Kirsten Dunst plays photojournalist Lee who braves the lawless frontlines for an exclusive interview with the president, played by Nick Offerman.

Three years after the January 6 attacks on the US Capitol, it’s easy to draw similarities to current-day US politics, but talking to Sky News, Dunst said that wasn’t what motivated her to take the role.

“Alex wrote this movie before that happened so it’s not based on that and I knew that information,” she said.

“Reading the script, it really terrified me as I was reading it… And so, for me, and in Alex Garland’s hands, I knew that he was going to make something really unique and special, and I wanted to be a part of that.”

She added that, despite the film’s relevance to current-day politics, it doesn’t take sides.

“This movie really allows the audience to bring their own selves into the theatre,” she said.

“It’s not talking about right and left or who is bad or good. It kind of leaves things for the person watching it to bring their own viewpoint.”

Central to the film is the role that journalists play in reporting.

Dunst’s character is joined by Reuters reporter Joel (Wagner Moura), veteran New York Times reporter Sammy (Stephen McKinley Henderson) and aspiring photojournalist Jessie (Cailee Spaeny).

With films like Leave the World Behind, starring Julia Roberts, Michael Sheen’s Welsh uprising series The Way, and now Alex Garland’s latest film, civil unrest and the breakdown of society appear to be in vogue.

For Dunst, this is a product of the media age we live in and journalism’s pursuit of bigger audiences.

“I think these stories are about when polarisation gets too extreme and we stop listening to each other,” she said.

“With all the internet, media, all that stuff, it really feeds into it. And so I think that dystopian thing feels like a possibility in some ways.”

In 2021, the Office of The Director of National Intelligence listed violent militias as a lethal domestic extremist threat in the US and the film takes an unnerving look at the product of division.

In Civil War, Jesse Plemons plays a murderous militant who, at gunpoint, asks the journalists: “What kind of American are you?”

Dunst, who is Plemons’s real-life wife, plays down the threat of a civil war happening but admits the fear is there.

“I really believe that this polarisation is something that is kind of being said and heightened in a way which makes you believe more and more,” she said.

“And I think that those groups are very small, but also very scary.”

Civil War as a film avoids taking sides. What it does is make something that for over a century seemed impossible a little closer to reality.

Civil War is in cinemas from 12 April.

Entertainment

The Wanted star Max George recalls moment he wrote will from hospital bed before heart surgery

Published

42 mins ago

January 13, 2025

admin

The Wanted star Max George recalls moment he wrote will from hospital bed before heart surgery

The Wanted star Max George has told of the moment he wrote his will from a hospital bed, as he was convinced he “was going to die”.

In December, George revealed he had to undergo urgent heart surgery after being diagnosed with a block.

In an interview with The Sun, his first since he underwent the lifesaving surgery, the 36-year-old described the moment when he thought he would die.

He said: “If I could go from being absolutely on top of the world to being told ‘the bottom part of your heart isn’t working’, I kept thinking in my head, ‘Well, what if the top half stops working overnight?'”

“That first night I wrote a will, I thought I was going to die,” the 36-year-old musician added.

On the night of 13 December, George said his heart rate and blood pressure dropped, “I felt like I was dying,” he said.

He had a pacemaker fitted by doctors during the surgery, but the former Strictly Come Dancing star said he made a will on his phone fearing the worst.

Before the surgery, George said his thoughts turned to his partner, British actress Maisie Smith, and his family who he feared he’d leave behind.

He shared updates on social media throughout the process.

While the procedure was complicated by collapsed veins caused by the condition, the surgery was successful and he returned home before Christmas.

He described his pacemaker as “the best Christmas present”.

Tom Parker, who also rose to fame in the 2010s with the boy band along with George, died at the age of 33 after being diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour.

Entertainment

Former Little Mix star Jesy Nelson announces pregnancy – and it’s twins

Published

42 mins ago

January 13, 2025

admin

Former Little Mix star Jesy Nelson announces pregnancy - and it's twins

Former Little Mix star Jesy Nelson has announced she is pregnant with twins.

The singer, 33, said she was “eating for three now” on her Instagram alongside a polaroid picture of her with Zion Foster, with whom she was reported to have split up last year.

Nelson shared the touching post on Sunday, letting the world know she is set to become a mum for the first time – including two baby emojis next to her message.

The cosy picture shows the pair smiling in a kitchen.

Nelson rose to fame with the girl band Little Mix, which formed on The X Factor in 2011 and earned a string of UK number-one singles.

However, she left in December 2020 after nine years, saying the pressures of being in the group had taken a toll on her mental health.

Nelson has since performed as a solo artist but still had praise for her former bandmates, telling The Graham Norton Show in 2021: “To me they are still the sickest girl band in the world.”

Little Mix continued as a trio after Nelson’s departure in December 2020 before going on hiatus in 2022.

Entertainment

Duchess of Sussex delays release of Netflix series due to LA fires

Published

42 mins ago

January 13, 2025

admin

Duchess of Sussex delays release of Netflix series due to LA fires

The Duchess of Sussex has delayed the release of her new Netflix series due to the devastation caused by the wildfires in LA, the streaming platform has announced.

Meghan’s eight-part series, With Love, will premiere on 4 March instead of 15 January.

“I’m thankful to my partners at Netflix for supporting me in delaying the launch, as we focus on the needs of those impacted by the wildfires in my home state of California,” Meghan said in a statement to Tudum, the official companion site to Netflix.

Harry and Meghan comforted volunteers and handed out food to evacuees during a visit to Pasadena on Friday, where they met with the city’s mayor Victor Gordo and emergency workers tackling the Eaton Fire.

Footage showed the duchess, wearing a blue “LA” baseball cap, and the prince hugging and consoling people who had fled to the Pasadena Convention Center.

Latest on LA fires

They were also seen speaking Doug Goodwin, whose home was destroyed in the wildfires, and also to Jose Andres, founder of World Central Kitchen (WCK) which has been helping feed the public and emergency crews.

A description of the Netflix series on Tudum’s website said: “Produced by Meghan, ‘With Love, Meghan’ blends practical how-to’s and candid conversation with friends, new and old.

“Meghan shares personal tips and tricks, embracing playfulness over perfection, and highlights how easy it can be to create beauty, even in the unexpected.

“She and her guests roll up their sleeves in the kitchen, the garden, and beyond, and invite you to do the same.”

The royals live in Montecito, near Santa Barbara, around 90 miles from Los Angeles.

They are understood to have donated supplies, including clothing and children’s items, to people affected by the disaster.

They released a statement on Thursday urging people to help those affected by the wildfires and to open their homes to those evacuated.