IfAubrey Plaza’s Hollywood career doesn’t work out, she might have a future in credit-card fraud.
She says the experience reminded her why she loves making movies.
“The entire movie felt like we pulled off a scam,” she says.
Aubrey Plaza in ‘Emily the Criminal’.Roadside Attractions/Vertical Entertainment
“All independent films in some ways feel like some kind of heist.
I can’t believe we got away with that.'”
Walk me through what that was like for you.
AUBREY PLAZA:The script is an incredible read.
John Patton Ford is such a talented writer.
Couldn’t put it down.
I was reading it really for recreational purposes.
I loved the character.
And I just love the energy of it, the momentum of it.
You start the film and you don’t stop.
There’s no pandering to the audience.
There’s no random scene of exposition.
There’s just nothing unnecessary.
It just feels lean and fun, and I became obsessed with it immediately after I read it.
Did your feelings about her change as you went through the script?
And I agree, it’s like she’s surviving.
She’s doing what she’s got to do to get by.
She likes what she’s doing.
She’s good at it.
It starts off to be about money and survival.
I think she says the things that most people want to say but don’t.
And we get to watch her do that.
We get to watch her live out these fantasies that most people have.
You know, being asked to work in an internship and not get paid, or whatever it is.
And I think there’s something cathartic about watching her character go, “You know what?
I’m not going to put up with it anymore.
I’m going to do what I want to do.”
Most people don’t get to do that.
They don’t make those choices.
Were you familiar with dummy shoppers before signing on?
No, definitely not.
That was something that John discovered when he was living in L.A. and researching the film.
But no, it’s a real thing.
I definitely didn’t know about it.
But John was my resource, and he had.
Emily is at times relatable, and at other times does some pretty terrible things.
Did you feel you should probably empathize with her to get to play her?
I don’t judge the characters that I play, ever.
It’s not helpful to do that.
You have to understand why they’re doing something, and then you have to empathize with it.
So I felt like it was easy for me to relate to her.
And I liked how unapologetic she is in the film.
I think that it’s rare to have a female character like that.
She’s doing what she’s got to do.
How did you channel Emily’s rage in those moments?
Did you pull from your own experiences there?
It’s easy for me to conjure the rage for that.
I mean I won’t give specific details about it, but definitely that’s the way I work.
I have to use my own personal experiences and people in my life that I feel the rage toward.
I just slot them right in there and just go for it, get it all out there.
We talked earlier about how lean the film is, but there’s a lot in there.
You’ve got car chases and fight scenes and tasers and all kinds of things going on.
Well, you know, this is my second tasing scene.
But no, there were so many things.
So it felt kind of fun to really get my hands dirty and get to do some action stuff.
We’re shooting an action movie.
That stuff was really fun.
The entire movie felt like we pulled off a scam.
All independent films in some ways feel like some kind of heist.
Like, “Wow.
I can’t believe we got away with that.”
And I walked away feeling satisfied, and feeling like we did not compromise the script.
I felt like this whole experience is why I love making movies.
It doesn’t always work out that way.
Really, it comes down to the script.
The script is just undeniably good.
So the lesson learned for me is: script, script, script.
But if the script is good, if the script is great, you have a chance.
