Emma Stone co-starred with a doll in a surreal new Athens photo-shoot by her The Favourite director Yorgos Lanthimos.
The 35-year-old actress is the cover girl for W magazine’s Art Issue, draped in a pleated, tiered Louis Vuitton dress inspired by Yorgos’ office drapes.
Inside the magazine, she can be seen bringing the doll along with her through various desolate scenes hinting at the Greek capital’s urban decay.
A tender bond appears to exist between Emma and the doll as they drift from locale to locale, from a deserted park to a street near a docked cruise ship.
In her interview, Emma dished about her creative relationship with Yorgos – and why she harbors a half-joking wish that all her movies could be silent.
Emma Stone co-starred with a doll in a surreal new Athens photo-shoot by her The Favourite director Yorgos Lanthimos
The 35-year-old actress is the cover girl for W magazine’s Art Issue, draped in a pleated, tiered Louis Vuitton dress inspired by Yorgos’ office drapes
Emma was showered with critical acclaim for her role as a ruthless social climber in Yorgos’ The Favourite, set in the court of England’s Queen Anne.
Now they are awaiting the release of their buzzy new film Poor Things, starring Emma as a Victorian woman who kills herself and is then resuscitated.
A scientist brings Emma’s character back to life by putting a baby’s brain inside her, meaning she has to go through a mental childhood in an adult’s body.
As her mind gradually develops, she embarks on a madcap adventure of hedonism with a libertine lawyer played by Mark Ruffalo.
However Yorgos and Emma were unable to chat about Poor Things with W because their joint interview took place during the SAG-AFTRA strike.
They were able to discuss their new silent film Bleat, starring Emma as a grieving widow opposite a goat she described as the real ‘star’ of the picture.
Bleat was able to secure a strike waiver inasmuch as the studios pitted against SAG-AFTRA were not involved with the project.
Yorgos described the silent film as ‘a live performance’ that must always be shown ‘accompanied by an orchestra playing live music.’
She can be seen bringing the doll along with her through various desolate scenes hinting at the Greek capital’s urban decay
A tender bond appears to exist between Emma and the doll as they drift from locale to locale, from a deserted park to a street near a docked cruise ship
In her interview, Emma dished about her creative relationship with Yorgos – and why she harbors a half-joking wish that all her movies could be silent
Emma and Yorgos revealed how their professional bond reached a new medium as they collaborated on film photography
‘We started in a makeshift darkroom in his bathroom, but over the past few years, he’s built a professional darkroom in his studio in Athens,’ said Emma
‘He pretty much learned how to develop film by watching YouTube videos,’ said Emma
The filmmaker added with a laugh that ‘I did have a master printer teach me for 20 minutes,’ then confessed: ‘But yes, YouTube!’
As for her co-star, she vamped: ‘Who said she was a doll?! Her name is a secret because she’s very shy and this is her first role’
He and Emma conceived the idea of their Athens photo-shoot as a team, he said, recalling: ‘Together, we looked at different references’
After making Bleat with Yorgos, Emma shared onstage at the New York Film Festival that she wished she could act exclusively in silent movies.
‘I was half-kidding,. But I do love the silence,’ she explained to W. ‘It’s a nice thing to not have any pressure to use words to communicate. There’s something wonderful in being able to speak with just your eyes and your body.’
Their new photo shoot included one snap Yorgos procured by having Emma run across a highway and stop by the center divider to pose for him.
The Oscar-winning actress quipped: ‘Have you seen the things I’ve done in films? In comparison, running across a highway is not scary.’
As for her co-star, she vamped: ‘Who said she was a doll?! Her name is a secret because she’s very shy and this is her first role. We found her.…She was perfect!’
Now they are awaiting the release of their buzzy new film Poor Things, starring Emma as a Victorian woman who kills herself and is then resuscitated
Emma and Yorgos revealed how their professional bond reached a new medium as they collaborated on film photography.
‘A few years ago, Yorgos became interested in film photography. He began developing his own prints, and he taught me,’ said Emma.
‘We started in a makeshift darkroom in his bathroom, but over the past few years, he’s built a professional darkroom in his studio in Athens. He pretty much learned how to develop film by watching YouTube videos.’
The filmmaker added with a laugh that ‘I did have a master printer teach me for 20 minutes,’ then confessed: ‘But yes, YouTube!’
He and Emma conceived the idea of their Athens photo-shoot as a team, he said, recalling: ‘Together, we looked at different references. I was particularly impressed by Harry Callahan’s photos of his wife and daughter – he shot them in natural settings, where the figures appeared tiny, and he also did closer portraits.’
Yorgos revealed: ‘Emma, apart from being a model and a muse, helped develop the photos. We created the prints together.’
