Did you believe in fairytales when you were young?
Keri Russell: Sure, I believed in fairytales; every little kid does. I was excited about reading and the stories, and I read all the Disney books. But there’s something about having kids that really tethers you to reality, and you become a little less fantasy-oriented. Your needs are so immediate.
JJ Feilds: Ever since I had my kid, I know what you mean about having that base in reality. But I cannot wait to read those books to him, and seeing him go through the fantasy. For me as kid, it was all about C.S. Lewis, and I’m excited to introduce him to The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. Or Roald Dahl, which should be a horror film, as it terrifies you. I can’t wait to vicariously read them through him again.
Jennifer: Coolidge: Movies are like drinking. They’ve ruined my life, and they’ve improved my life. When you drink through a bad break up, you’re like, “God if it hadn’t had been for those 45 bottles of wine, I might have killed myself.” It numbs you through a really rough period so that you make it to the other side.
Then again at the same time, movies can ruin your life because you grow up with these ideas thinking that something really cool can happen. What are the odds that I’d find Mr. Darcy and he would fall in love with me forever? It’s just so highly unlikely.
Stephenie Meyer: I usually only try to evoke things for myself. I read and write as an escape, personally, especially when it’s a story I want to know more about.
For movies it’s different, because it feels like a separate entity. I think it’s like fantasy football for men; if they really get all those players together and coach them in a game, that would be the coolest thing ever. It’s sort of the same for me on this movie, as we have my fantasy cast, and we see them get together to see how they would actually do it.
I respond to fantasy. Ever since I was a small child, I’ve spent most of my time in other places than where I really was. So for me, it was like an addiction. I never really spent a lot of time in the real world.
Do you read Jane Austin’s novels, and are you dedicated fans, like Jane is in the film?
Stephenie Meyer: I would probably do my room a little differently; Jane has her room all girly. Mine would look like a real Jane Austin room. There wouldn’t be any of these letters on the wall.
What was the process of casting the actors for the film, since they have such chemistry?
Jerusha Hess: It felt very much like making phone calls to friends. I don’t know how I magically got so many cool people, like Bret (McKenzie), because I knew him. I said, “Please be in this movie, it starts in 10 days.” (laughs) He was like, “Yeah, I’ll come on.” We were friends with Jennifer, and she jumped on board, thank goodness, because it would have fallen without her.
Stephenie Meyer: When we were first discussing the cast in the very early stages, the part was written for her, not just in the script, but also in the novel. She’s who Shannon Hale had in mind when she was writing it. We had a list of people if we couldn’t get Jennifer, and they were all good actresses, but there was no one else who could have played her part.
Jerusha Hale: Some of the others were British actors, and it came together magically. We gave Keri Russell the script a year before, and when it was finished, she said, “I’m pregnant, but I’m game.” She said, “You should make your first movie with someone like me, because I’m super easy,” and she wasn’t lying.
Stephenie Meyer: She goes to work like you would go to work at an accounting firm. It’s her job, and she’s not a diva about it, and she doesn’t expect special treatment. She just comes and works and it was very refreshing.
That concludes our interview, but we’d like to thank Keri Russell, Jennifer Coolidge, JJ Feild, Stephenie Meyer and Jerusha Hale for taking the time to speak with us. Austenland is now playing in select theaters.