Zooey Deschanel is most famous for her roles in comedies like Elf (where she famously warbled “Baby It’s Cold Outside” in the shower) and Almost Famous, plus indie fare like All the Real Girls, Winter Passing, and The Go-Getter. She’s also known for winning the hearts of women and men alike with her winsome beauty, her DIY vintage-y style, and most recently, her new album with M. Ward under the moniker She & Him. This summer marks her debut as the leading lady of an honest-to-goodness popcorn blockbuster, M. Night Shyamalan’s The Happening. In it, she plays the terrified Alma Moore, a woman on the run with her husband (Mark Wahlberg) and the daughter of their missing friend as they try to escape a horrible and mysterious epidemic that causes its victims to kill themselves in gruesome ways. She sat down with Premiere for a one-on-one interview to discuss her love for M. Night Shyamalan and Mark Wahlberg, her fear of fake blood, and her upcoming projects with Jim Carrey and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
Premiere: What did you think of the journalist earlier that day who described your character in The Happening, Alma Moore, as ditzy?
I think it’s interesting to hear what people think of characters ’cause I don’t want to impose my own thoughts of what the character is supposed to be on anyone else’s point of view. If it came off that way, I think there was some subconscious way I was nudging the character, obviously, that brought it to that. I wouldn’t describe her as ditzy; I think she is extremely neurotic, which maybe can come off [as ditzy] — you know, some people might describe it as ditzy, but she’s neurotic and she’s nervous and she’s dealing with a situation that’s beyond her understanding. Because even well-informed people wouldn’t know how to respond to the situation.
This is your second science-fiction movie. Are you drawn to science fiction at all or is it just the characters who led you there?
I usually just choose movies because of characters. I mostly don’t do science fiction. I mostly do comedies and dramas sort of straight up. But yeah, I mostly do things because of the director and because of the character and the script.
Initially, it was M. Night. I love his movies; I think he’s really, really talented. And Mark [Wahlberg], I love Mark’s movies. I’m a big fan of Mark; I think he’s amazing. So I was excited to work with them… I flew out to Philadelphia without having read the script… It was like, “If you fly out there, maybe they’ll give you a script.” And I was like, “Okay, alright!” And no one had read it.
Did M. Night want to keep it a surprise?
No, I think he just keeps it close, you know. And for good reason, because I think people are too curious sometimes, like they want to read the script before the movie comes out. But I think a lot of times it’s like, a filmmaker doesn’t want anyone to see it before it’s fully finished. Even a rough cut is not… movies can change so much in the editing process, and so you don’t want people to see it before it’s final. So I think he was just being choosy about who he shared it with.
Right, and I’m sure people were really curious ’cause he usually has a twist.
I’m sure that feels like someone’s trying to take something away from you when you’re trying to entertain people and everyone’s just trying to undermine the entertainment.
This film is about fear, and specifically the fear of being alone. How do you cope with that? All of these characters have these different ways of coping with that.
I think, you know, in those moments you have, I mean, I feel like you want to be around people you love and it makes your [making quote gesture with fingers] problems seem insignificant, so in terms of what do you do, I think that is the question that the film raises. The film raises questions more than it [answers them]. A lot of people are saying that it has a message, and in a way it has a message, but I think the message is more like a question, like, “What would you do in this situation? Does this seem possible to you? Like, think about it.” It’s more of a “think about it” kind of message than anything. And I like that about it. It doesn’t feel too preachy.
What did you think of the violence?
Yeah, I was reading the script [and] I thought it was effective, and seeing the movie, I thought it was very effective… I was not around a lot of it when we were shooting. I had a couple of [scenes]. I don’t like fake blood [laughs]. I’m kinda scared of blood, so I was like, this is a little bit jarring for me. I thought it worked in the context of the movie.
In 2003 you told the LA Times that you found out that there’s a kind of “find us a Zooey Deschanel character” attitude. Do you still feel that you’re being pigeonholed in that way?
You know, even then I didn’t feel like I was being pigeonholed. I thought it was funny that there was a Zooey Deschanel type [because] I didn’t realize I was a type. No, I never felt like I was being pigeonholed; I just thought it was funny that somebody had said that. I feel like I’ve had amazing opportunities to be very diverse in my choices, you know, like I guess if you consider the whole picture of all the different things that I’ve been fortunate enough to do.
It was so serendipitous that you met M. Ward on the set of The Go-Getter, and I love your album [She & Him: Volume One by her band with M. Ward, She & Him].
Thank you so much!
It’s sort of a magical happening that you guys met. And it’s so interesting that it sort of abutted The Happening, these drastically different films. How did you did you change from one skin to another?
I actually shot The Go-Getter way before The Happening. I shot The Go-Getter in November of, let’s see, I feel like, November of 2005. So I had done a bunch of other things in between that… They came out next to each other, I know. The Go-Getter was one of those little indie movies that goes to Sundance and then takes forever to come out. A lot of the movies that go to Sundance take a lot of time to come out.
Do you have any talismans like the mood ring in the movie?
No, I’m not that superstitious. I feel like if you have it, you have it. You don’t need some trinket. Make the trinket yourself. [laughs]
How was doing the action part of the movie?
It was tiring. It was a lot of running. I hurt my leg towards the end, which I didn’t want to tell anybody about. I was sort of like, pretending like it didn’t happen. But then the last day I was limping and Night was like, “What’s wrong with you?!” and I was like, “I can’t walk!” He was like, “Stop limping! What’s wrong with you?” I’m like, “I pulled a muscle!” But yeah, it was a lot of running. But it was really great ’cause I love Night and I love Mark, and they’re just really great people to work with all the time. Mark’s a really generous actor, and Night’s such a passionate person and director and he loves film and he loves making movies, he loves making movies that he thinks will entertain and excite people. It was really good company. I was definitely tired at the end of it. I went right into another movie… I went right into filming the Jim Carrey movie Yes Man.
And now you’re filming 500 Days of Summer with Joseph Gordon-Levitt…
He’s wonderful, I love working with him. The director is a guy named Marc Webb, who’s a first-time movie director but he’s directed all these really great music videos, so it’s fun. I love working with them.
What are you wearing right now?
This is H&M. [laughs] This is like, the one thing I was told not to say! Well, no, not really. It’s cute. I like it… I choose mostly for color. And this is such a cute dress. I like it.
What are you wearing to the premiere?
It’s a surprise! I can’t tell you. It’s tomorrow.
Have you ever thought about designing clothes?
I have, but there are other things that I would rather do first. But I like to sew.
I bet there would be a lot of people who would want to wear your creations.
Maybe one day I will!
