“I’VE become the butt of many jokes,” says Emma Stone, referring to her most recent role in the rom-com Aloha in which she was grossly miscast as a half-Asian character.
“I’ve learned on a macro level about the insane history of whitewashing in Hollywood and how prevalent the problem truly is. It’s ignited a conversation that’s very important,” she acknowledges. (The movie was an unmitigated flop with a budget of $US37 million and took in a mere $US23 million worldwide at the box office).
Stone says in defence of director Cameron Crowe’s casting choice, “The character was not supposed to look like her background which was a quarter Hawaiian and a quarter Chinese,” she says.
Emma Stone copped flak for playing a half-Asian character in Aloha. Source: Supplied
The criticism hasn’t stopped there. Stone also copped some flak for her onscreen romantic interests of late, all of whom are 40-plus, namely, Bradley Cooper (Aloha), Ed Norton (Birdman), Colin Firth (Magic in the Moonlight), and now again in the upcoming movie, Irrational Man, opposite Joaquin Phoenix.
What does this 26-year-old starlet think of her romantic pairings with these much older leading men?
“It’s rampant in Hollywood and it’s definitely been that way for a long time, both culturally and in movies. But in Irrational Man, the film is contingent upon the age difference; the movie is about that disparity. And when I did Magic in the Moonlight Colin Firth and I talked about the gap which was huge, absolutely, because he was born the same year as my dad,” she says.
“There’s a lot of conversation about how we want to see people represented on screen and what we need to change as a business to reflect culture in a clearer way and not in an idealised way. There are some flaws in the system,” she says. “My eyes have been opened in many ways this year.”
Emma Stone with her ‘Irrational Man’ co-stars Parker Posey and Joaquin Phoenix Photo: David McNew Source: AFP
Irrational Man is her second Woody Allen feature (following Magic in the Moonlight) and centres on the age old theme of a student-professor romance. Does this situation have any bearing on any former real life fascination she may have had for a teacher?
“I didn’t really go to school,” she reveals. “Well, I sort of did but I was mostly home schooled so I’ve never had that blurred line scenario with a professor or anything like that.”
Stone has been hailed as the esteemed director’s latest muse as the star of his two most recent movies. She follows in the footsteps of Scarlett Johansson, his former cinematic inspiration who he described as ‘sexually overwhelming.’
Characteristically self-deprecating, Stone says, “I’m in no way his muse. I think Woody would laugh that off in a second.” Nevertheless, she belongs to an elite group of young actresses who can claim to have worked with him. “I can certainly tick it off on my bucket list and the experience of working with him couldn’t have gone better,” she gushes.
Phoenix plays a morbid and cynical misanthrope who from the outset wouldn’t necessarily attract a young woman such Stone’s character. In real life this phenomenon is not uncommon. “I don’t know what it is but it’s certainly a story that keeps getting repeated through time with this type of guy. It’s diabolic,” she says. Can she relate to this type of attraction?
She pauses. “To a tortured person? Oh certainly. I don’t know what it is,” she laughs. “Maybe it’s a saviour thing.”
As for her personal life, a subject that has never been open for discussion, especially when it concerns her three-year, on-again-off-again relationship with fellow former Spider-Man co-star Andrew Garfield. She bristles, “I don’t talk about that.” She does add, however, “The best audition I ever did was for Spider-Man. It was what made me want to do the movie. I loved doing the screen-test because it was just Andrew and I getting to play around together; it was wonderful.”
Emma Stone is notoriously guarded about her relationship with Spider-Man co-star Andrew Garfield. Photo: Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images Source: Getty Images
Unsurprisingly, Stone has become a lot more guarded since the days of her breakout movie, Easy A in 2010. “Do I seem more cynical? She asks rhetorically. “Older maybe,” she nods. “Six years will do that to you. I think it’s one thing at 21 and it’s another thing at 27 probably. And maybe just growing up and having more experience in the world, I guess, and just working and learning.”
Stone was one of the victims of the Sony hacking scandal late last year when an email chain from Sony execs went viral and Stone’s personal email and mobile phone number were published. She says, “I learned a lot, such as don’t send emails.” She chuckles. “Nobody should email anymore, ever. It’s a terrible idea.”
It seems that fame has not been an easy road for Stone. “I struggled with losing my anonymity and it’s something you can’t really prepare yourself for. I thought I was supposed to live up to something or be a certain way,” she explains. “But these days, I don’t feel as bogged down by that now.”
To celebrate Fox’s new Movie Of The Day app where you can purchase a different Fox film every day at a discount, we’ve got a brand new 60 inch Sony Bravia TV to give away! To win, like our news.com.au Entertainment Facebook page and tell us in the Fox post in 25 words or less “what your favourite movie is and why”. Competition closes Friday July 17 at 4pm. For T&C’s click here.
Emma Stone is stunning at the premier of ‘Irrational Man’. Photo: Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images Source: Getty Images
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